Re: Electric power generators ?

[Tim May <tcmay@got.net>]

At 3:52 PM -0800 11/7/98, Igor Chudov @ home wrote:

>1) Aside from probably lower power, are those cheaper generators somehow
>worse?
>
>2) How reliable are those cheaper generators?
>
>3) What is their expected lifetime, in hours of operation?
>
>4) How hard is it to service them?

The answer to all of the above is that the nickname for Briggs and Stratton
engines, the ones commonly found in the $500 generators sold  by local
hardware and home supply stores, is "Breaks and Scrap 'Em."

Coleman and Generac generators are notorious for short running life. See
misc.survivalism for many comments, including comments by equipment rental
folks, who say the Coleman, Generac, and other B & S or Tecumseh-based
generators have low lifetimes.

If one's need is for very short-term, occasional use, the B & S-based
generators are OK. Cheap, that's for sure.

Better engines are Honda and Kohler (and a few of the Coleman generators
are now starting to feature Honda overhead valve (OHV) engines.

Again, look to misc.survivalism, not the Cypherpunks list!

>5) How do you connect them to the electric system, to properly use
>them as backup? (this may be a stupid question, but I am not very
>familiar with American system of electric wiring).

See above. Also, use the Web.

>6) How much gasoline do they consume if you draw 2KW power from them?
>

My Honda 2.5 KW generator is rated at consuming one third of a gallon per
hour. A 3-gallon tank running for 9 hours. I haven't done exhaustive tests,
but this is, so far, about what I am seeing.

All of this is contained in manfacturers specs, available on the Web and
commented upon in groups like misc.survivalism.

Cypherpunks is not a good place to ask.

--Tim May

Y2K: A good chance to reformat America's hard drive and empty the trash.
---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:----
Timothy C. May              | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
ComSec 3DES:   831-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero
W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA  | knowledge, reputations, information markets,
Licensed Ontologist         | black markets, collapse of governments.