YOUR GENERATOR SUCKS
Long read, but maybe worth it
Mine does too.-a If you are on jobs sites using it all the time it
probably doesn't suck.-a If you have plenty of time to take care of everything exactly the way you are supposed to, it might not suck as
much, but if like me, you use your generator once every year or two when
the power goes out due to a traffic accident or a bad storm, you may
have found yourself outside in whatever shelter you can find from the
storm holding a flashlight in your mouth while you clean the carburetor before you can use it.
I've got three gas generators. They are good generators, and after last night they are all for sale.
A while back I had the dumb idea to get a tri fuel generator, and just
run it on propane.-a Never any residue left behind to gum it up.-a Close
the valve when the power comes back on and hook your bottle back up to
your barbeque grill.-a Okay I went a little further than that with a
100lb gas bottle that should carry the generator at about 50% load for
up to 16 hours according to the manual.-a It peaks at 13Kw on gasoline,
but on propane they say it will only produce about 9Kw sustained.-a It
also says you shouldn't run it over 50% capacity for the first 30 hours during breakin.
https://www.yumabassman.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/20260921_075211.jpg
The power went out yesterday.-a Reports said due to an auto accident. The initial couple hours estimated to repair didn't bother me.-a I would have been content to take care of some yard chores until the light level
dropped to low, surf machining videos on my cell phone, and just leave
the refrigerator and freezer doors closed, but the service restoral time kept getting pushed out.
When I received the tri-fuel generator all I did was take it out of the
box, put the wheel kit on it, put all the accessory items in a
waterproof ammo can on top of the generator, and roll it in out of the sun.-a I didn't do anything to prep it.-a I didn't hook up the battery.-a I didn't put the battery maintainer on it.-a I didn't even put engine oil
in it.-a Total elapsed time from rolling it up to the house to everything
I wanted powered being powered was (or felt like) much less than the
normal time to get one of my gas generators going after it's been
setting for a year or more.
https://www.yumabassman.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/20260921_075207.jpg
It started right up.
It is brand new (not any more I guess), so I didn't hook that much up.
It's still in the break-in period.-a Two refrigerators, an upright
freezer, and the power strip that our electric recliners plug into.-a The recliners have USB charging ports in the arm rests, so I was able to
charge my phone to use as a wireless hot spot for my laptop.-a I added my laptop power supply and a fan to the power strip for the chairs and we
were quite comfortable watching one of our regular TV series on Amazon
Prime Video on the laptop.
I did the basic power calculations in my head, and I could have
certainly added some lights, and a couple medium size window air conditioners after it is broken in and can run full load.-a The temps
were nice (after the sweat from hauling everything into place and
running cords to everything dried up) so I didn't worry to much about
air conditioning.-a A fan was more than enough.
Would I recommend this particular model?-a Well not really.-a Its a Harbor Freight generator, but most other generators in the same size and configuration likely aren't much better.-a I expect if you use it like I
do and change the oil after the initial break in it might last you decades.-a If you use it everyday all day long, well it's a relatively affordable Harbor Freight model.-a I'd probably go with a Honda or a
Yamaha a generator instead.-a I have a Honda and a smaller Yamaha for
sale by the way, I am sure both need the air filters and the carburetors cleaned again.-a LOL.
All said and done I probably spent more time rolling up my heavy duty extension cords this morning than I did getting it going yesterday afternoon.
Seriously though for my rare use for a few hours to a day or two at
worst, it's probably perfectly fine.-a Maybe in five or ten years, after
it gets broken in at this rate, I might change my mind.
YOUR GENERATOR SUCKS Mine does too. If you are on jobs sites using it all the time it probably doesn't suck. If you have plenty of time to take
care of everything exactly the way you are supposed to, it might not suck
as much, but if like me, you use your generator once every year or two
when the power goes out due to a traffic accident or a bad storm, you may have found yourself outside in whatever shelter you can find from the
storm holding a flashlight in your mouth while you clean the carburetor before you can use it.
"Snag"-a wrote in message news:118s8bh$94b9$1@dont-email.me...
On 9/21/2026 2:29 PM, Bob La Londe wrote:
YOUR GENERATOR SUCKS Mine does too.-a If you are on jobs sites using it
all the time it probably doesn't suck.-a If you have plenty of time to
take care of everything exactly the way you are supposed to, it might
not suck as much, but if like me, you use your generator once every
year or two when the power goes out due to a traffic accident or a bad
storm, you may have found yourself outside in whatever shelter you can
find from the storm holding a flashlight in your mouth while you clean
the carburetor before you can use it.
-a Since I'm pretty anal about running the carb dry it usually starts on
the first or second pull . I keep the tank full of stabilized non
ethanol gas to minimize condensation . I don't use it often , but when I
need it I NEED it and since it's been reliable I hesitate to change
things .
Snag
---------------------------------
I run the 1st model HF 61169 2500W Predator inverter genny dry after the periodic tests and made a tank pressurizer to prime the Honda EU1000i
when filled from empty, and to push all the gas out the carb bowl drain after using it. The little Honda is stored indoors so I need to clear
snow / ice from only a small area outside the garage door to use it
after a storm. The cord comes in through the clothes dryer vent hole.
It's powerful enough to recharge the batteries for an inverter that can start the refrigerator or run the microwave.
One of my inverters is an APC1400 UPS with external 100Ah batteries that
I plug the refrigerator into when a night storm that might take down the grid is predicted. The battery shipping disconnect Anderson connector on
the rear panel is easily rewired to be a parallel input.
The Predator is in the shed behind the house so I have to clear a path
to use it, and also reach the firewood. It's inaudible from the street
back there, especially in a sound enclosure made from fireproof
suspended ceiling panels, and I might risk running it while I sleep. The Honda and a gallon of gas should be enough while I loudly clear the
paths and driveway.
Both start quickly and easily. The Honda is from the early 2000's and
was running poorly when I bought it cheap at a flea market. Pressure-flushing the fuel system returned it to full performance.
Both start quickly and easily. The Honda is from the early 2000's and was running poorly when I bought it cheap at a flea market. Pressure-flushing the fuel system returned it to full performance.
"Snag" wrote in message news:1190ed5$b7m6$1@dont-email.me...
On 9/23/2026 6:34 AM, Jim Wilkins wrote:
Both start quickly and easily. The Honda is from the early 2000's and was running poorly when I bought it cheap at a flea market. Pressure-flushing the fuel system returned it to full performance.
I find it amusing the things people toss out for the simplest problems .
Snag
----------------------------------
I bought it and a 3KW Coleman that needed carb work at ham radio flea markets from sellers with at least electronic competence. For some of this old stuff I've needed to lathe turn larger main jets for ethanol gas. Make two, increase a drill size at a time until slightly too rich then step back. I learned the signs and smell of correct mixture on adjustable Mikuni and Keihin motorcycle carbs, and chainsaws. The lead-in taper should match the stock jet to have the same discharge coefficient, requiring a custom D bit. I also tuned my wood stove secondary heated air inlet for complete combustion; smoke-free exhaust that doesn't sting my eyes and smells fragrant.
https://www.bbq-brethren.com/threads/using-red-oak.106023/
"Normally, red oak is a great wood for smoking - especially beef. A lot of Brethren swear by it."
YOUR GENERATOR SUCKS
Long read, but maybe worth it
All said and done I probably spent more time rolling up my heavy duty extension cords this morning than I did getting it going yesterday afternoon.
Seriously though for my rare use for a few hours to a day or two at
worst, it's probably perfectly fine. Maybe in five or ten years, after
it gets broken in at this rate, I might change my mind.
YOUR GENERATOR SUCKS
Long read, but maybe worth it
All said and done I probably spent more time rolling up my heavy duty extension cords this morning than I did getting it going yesterday
afternoon.
Seriously though for my rare use for a few hours to a day or two at
worst, it's probably perfectly fine. Maybe in five or ten years, after
it gets broken in at this rate, I might change my mind.
BP wrote in message news:1190sgk$1tdnf$1@dont-email.me...
Bob La Londe <none@none.com99> wrote:
YOUR GENERATOR SUCKS
Long read, but maybe worth it
All said and done I probably spent more time rolling up my heavy duty
extension cords this morning than I did getting it going yesterday
afternoon.
Seriously though for my rare use for a few hours to a day or two at
worst, it's probably perfectly fine.-a Maybe in five or ten years, after
it gets broken in at this rate, I might change my mind.
It's unclear what you're objecting to, maybe the nuisance of handling extension cords? If so, a portable generator inlet receptacle takes
most of that work away.
Running the gasoline out of a carb isn't usually a difficult problem,
am I missing something?
Thanks for reading,
bob prohaska
--------------------------------
It's unclear that he was objecting at all, just commenting on his new purchase.
On 9/23/2026 9:30 AM, Jim Wilkins wrote:
BP wrote in message news:1190sgk$1tdnf$1@dont-email.me...
Bob La Londe <none@none.com99> wrote:
YOUR GENERATOR SUCKS
Long read, but maybe worth it
All said and done I probably spent more time rolling up my heavy duty
extension cords this morning than I did getting it going yesterday
afternoon.
Seriously though for my rare use for a few hours to a day or two at
worst, it's probably perfectly fine.-a Maybe in five or ten years, after >>> it gets broken in at this rate, I might change my mind.
It's unclear what you're objecting to, maybe the nuisance of handling
extension cords? If so, a portable generator inlet receptacle takes
most of that work away.
Running the gasoline out of a carb isn't usually a difficult problem,
am I missing something?
Thanks for reading,
bob prohaska
--------------------------------
It's unclear that he was objecting at all, just commenting on his new
purchase.
Ah-yup.
On 9/24/2026 3:15 PM, Bob La Londe wrote:For long outages I'll just ration my power a bit and run mine on
On 9/23/2026 9:30 AM, Jim Wilkins wrote:
BP wrote in message news:1190sgk$1tdnf$1@dont-email.me...
Bob La Londe <none@none.com99> wrote:
YOUR GENERATOR SUCKS
Long read, but maybe worth it
All said and done I probably spent more time rolling up my heavy duty
extension cords this morning than I did getting it going yesterday
afternoon.
Seriously though for my rare use for a few hours to a day or two at
worst, it's probably perfectly fine.a Maybe in five or ten years, after >>>> it gets broken in at this rate, I might change my mind.
It's unclear what you're objecting to, maybe the nuisance of handling
extension cords? If so, a portable generator inlet receptacle takes
most of that work away.
Running the gasoline out of a carb isn't usually a difficult problem,
am I missing something?
Thanks for reading,
bob prohaska
--------------------------------
It's unclear that he was objecting at all, just commenting on his new
purchase.
Ah-yup.
The title was "clickbait." So far I like the convenience of running the >tri-fuel generator on propane. Probably going to pick up a couple more >100lb cylinders since I use propane for forge and foundry work as well.
A 100lb cylinder won't ice up in the amount of time I usually have to
run a project, and I don't have to play regulator games to get both
burners (on the forge) burning properly with the modern safety valvea on
the smaller cylinders. I'd pick up a 250lb, but they are more than 2.5 >times as expensive. Doesn't make sense except for the longer run time >without changing bottles. If we had more frequent power outages I might >anyway.
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