Bargain Generator

[HenryJ]

Here is another one that may not last long!

I just bought a 4000 peak / 3500 watt continuous generator for $161.75



Shucks Auto supply (Shucks/Checker/Kragen) are selling the Champion C46540 4000W generator for $399. It is currently marked down to $349 and offers an additional $100 rebate. Add to that a25% off coupon for another $87.25 off.

It is a Chinese knock off of an older Honda generator. I had one of the Hondas like this when I worked construction in the early nineties. It is not huge, but really did a great job and was bullet proof.

It is a 6.5 hp OHV 4 cycle engine. This has a foam washable air filter. Low oil protection. I am told that Honda parts interchange so parts availability is good. The muffler is different. Champion has used a automotive style muffler. Other than that and the air cleaner, everything looks very close to the old Honda I had.
With a four gallon fuel tank running half a day is pretty easy. This will make a very handy tool to have around. It comes with cables for battery changing, a funnel , spark arrestor for the muffler and sparkplug wrench.

This unit is yellow. I see the same generator , painted blue, available on Amazon.com for $240. That is still a good price for a unit this size. I have been watching for quite a while. A back up for power outages is my main concern. This is big enough to power the pump for my well , should the need arise. With water we can do pretty well in an outage.

Reviews are very good for this unit in moderate use. I haven't fired it up yet, but plan to after a trip to the gas station.

Thought I'd spread the word. $162 for a 3500W generator is half price of any unit I have seen thus far. $1 per 10 watts seems to be the best price I had seen. This cuts that nearly in half.

[HenryJ]

Well, good news and bad. Not so bad really.
I put a lifetime of wear on the pull rope. Came real close to taking the POS back and asking for one that runs.

I did everything I could think of. Pulled the plug, checked the spark. Checked the needle valve and float. Pulled the main jet and blew compressed air in the bottom of the carb. WD-40. Choked with fuel. Fuel off in case it was flooding.

I did find a tiny piece of flashing in the float bowl. There must have been a piece in or under the main jet too. It finally started after the removal of the main jet and a good blow job.

It is slightly louder than the old Honda IIRC. Really pretty quiet for a inexpensive generator of this size. Much quieter than the Briggs powered versions this size.

I gave it the 10 minute run in and cool down. Started up after a couple pulls. Remembering to turn the switch back on helps

Barely a burp in the engine to power a 1/2" drill. I have no doubt that it will do all I need. It will come in handy haunting the corn maze this year!

[HenryJ]

Finally won the bid on a power transfer switch. The price on these things was shocking. I was not interested in paying twice what I paid for the generator to buy a manual power transfer switch.
As it turned out I paid nearly as much
This should be nice. I can also monitor the power usage. That will put me right in line for dropping off the grid someday. I should be able to use this transfer switch for connection to the off grid power system too, so that is one less thing on that list.

[HenryJ]

Power has been out for a couple hours. The generator running for an hour or so now. Purring right along and we are not inconvenienced in the least.
Portable HD LCD TV runs on a battery pack. That is my new garage tool. This is a good test for run time.
I like it

[dozer1530]

i know the felling power goes out a lot here. we have a generator two to fun freezer and icebox

[HenryJ]

Hard to believe I have had the bargain generator for five years now.
I successfully converted our home back-up generator to Tri-fuel last weekend. Runs great on propane now. No worries about stale gasoline for us.
I used the kit from US Carberation (Yes, I know it is spelled improperly. They did too. That made me a little uncomfortable. Spell'n can be a window to the intelligence presented) http://uscarb.com/a-c_kits.htm I used the C kit.
The kit arrived promptly and the parts look good. It works as it should and I like the quality overall.
Instructions: Non existent. They were included, but basically worthless. You had better understand how things work and how you want to install it yourself. Watching a couple Youtube installs is helpful.
Not everything is included for a bolt on installation. Cutting the frame and fabricating brackets were items for which I was not forewarned.

This may not have been the cheapest kit. It was the most prevalent I had seen and their website did have good descriptions with pictures. Lots of information there. They did list my generator model. That was comforting as well. Their order form did request enough information about my generator for them to make an accurate kit.

I contacted three supplier / manufacturers. No other supplier responded to my requests for information. That does not sit well with me should I have had a problem, missing part, or needed customer assistance.

Would I buy from them again? Probably. Price? $243 with the 6' hose and propane regulator. A couple quick connectors are still needed to get the Natural Gas connection ready to go.

Just FYI

[green02crew]

I picked up a similar generator at tractor supply but 500w less. I thought I got a deal at $299 but apparently I was mistaken. Although your deal was 5 years ago now

[HenryJ]

$1 - 10W is a good deal. I haven't seen another really good deal lately. My sister picked up a used 3500w Coleman generator for $100. That is about as good as it gets.
I also have a smaller generator that was intended to use on my trailer. It is an 1850w. The solar panels have done so well that I have decided to leave that one home.

[F9K9]

We recently participated in a survey from a local (I think) natural gas company. It's Delta gas and apparently their survey made them decide to run lines through our subdivision. My wife, Anita, has been fixated on getting a back up generator and an alternate heat source. We currently have a heat pump style system but, I guess that I will be looking at both of these options. She just can't handle kerosene fumes but, is able to get by with indoor propane heat sources like Mr heater's Big Buddy but, the required ventilation seems to null any warming effects that it requires. IDK.

[HenryJ]

We have a Natural gas stove. Looks like a glass front stove with the fake ceramic wood inside. LOVE IT. It has become our primary heat source. The furnace does run from time to time. but backing up to a warm stove is a nice comfort. The thermistor allows it to run without power. The fan won't blow the heat around, but it will still get hot all the same. With the generator we can run the fan and do just fine.

I keep the jets to run our furnace and stove on propane should our natural gas be interrupted. We have eighty gallons of propane , adding up all our tanks. If stuff got really bad we might move into the trailer. That would be really tough times though. Electric and natural gas exhausted, or irreparable. The trailer can run indefinitely with the solar panels. Propane could be stretched for several months in favorable weather.

[_STUCKY]

Hey Reed, my dad has a corn furnace at his house. It's been there for I'd say 5-6 years now. He really doesn't use too much propane, since the stove is the only thing that runs on that all the time, maybe the water heater too. Basically, it warms and circulates antifreeze. I don't fully understand it. I do know that it pre heats the water before going into the water heater, and the extra lines that were left over all got coiled up under the floor of the downstairs shower, which makes for a warm surprise in the winter. We are farmers, so growing corn is not an issue. Now, with fluctuating grain prices, you can't really put a price on how much it costs to keep the house warm, grain prices will literally change from the time I started writing this to the time I am done, but I will say that from day 1 of having it, the house was warmer. He has a small (maybe 300 bushels) grain bin, and we fill it maybe at most 2 times a year. We filled it last fall when we were in the fields, and we filled it a couple weeks ago. You do have to clean it out ever couple days though, but its not bad. He put treated seed in the first one he had, which is a big no no. The thing rusted out almost instantly. Non treated grain is the way to go. The one he has is way too big for the size of his house, and he has been wanting to build a machine shed at his place so he can utilize his furnace to its fullest.

[ApproachMedium]

We used to have a natural gas fireplace at my house I grew up in. Before that was a wood burning stove, it was useless! The natural gas fireplace was the best! I have one in my townhouse now and its fantastic. Its way cheaper to heat the house with and isnt a waste of energy like a heat pump or natrual gas furnace with forced air. If you are being offered natural gas to your home take it. Its much easier to deal with and has no muss or fuss to it. Nothing to clean and its extremely reliable. In my 28 years of being in this world I was only left out in the cold one time because the natural gas furnace would not start, it ended up being some stupid carbon build up on the ignitor system which my dad fixed when he got home from work.