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Have a question as well about generators. Looked up some and found they averaged 1000 and up even for the small ones.
We just need one to keep the sump running if the power goes out..and it will..during the winter. We are set on heating with our wood stove, and have gas for cooking and lanterns for light. Sump is the only worrisome thing - our house is near a river and we get a wet basement sometimes but very bad when power is out. So having the sump working is imperative.
Is there a small gas generator that is below 500 bucks or so?
Think it would be a cool Christmas gift..altho DH has said no presents this year, budget is too tight. We were very worried about our furnace last year.
Hello,
There are plenty of Gensets out there for under $500
I bought one a few months ago for $25 (Yeah it needed work then found out I could not find any parts for the old Onan.)
Anyway, I was looking on Craigslist yesterday and found a 1500w genset (Old Military) with an EXTRA 2 cylinder motor for $25 it RUNS fine.
So the deals are out there you just have to find them. Although it depends on how soon you need the genset.
I am a patient man and will wait for the deals.
Since I never buy anything new I cannot tell you where you can get a new one cheap, Good luck in your search,
Place an "Item Wanted" or "Barter" ad in your local Craigslist and see what people are willing to sell or barter for one.
Northern Tool and Harbor Freight have generators that give roughly 500 watts of dirty power using a 2 cycle engine/alternator combination. These would power your pump, and they run for a long time on a small amount of gas. Cost is about $120. Just don't try to power electronics with them, as they can damage circuitry pretty easily. BTW, the rating you will see of 1000 watts or 800 watts is a lie. Trust me, I tested mine.
If you have municipal water, you can use a water powered jet pump as a backup pump. It uses the pressure of the water main as power, and is much more reliable than having to start a generator and keep it running. Battery operated pumps are possible only if you have a very small amount of inflow and low lift requirements. Even a big car battery doesn't hold more power than about a cup of gasoline.
Northern Tool and Harbor Freight have generators that give roughly 500 watts of dirty power using a 2 cycle engine/alternator combination. These would power your pump, and they run for a long time on a small amount of gas. Cost is about $120. Just don't try to power electronics with them, as they can damage circuitry pretty easily. BTW, the rating you will see of 1000 watts or 800 watts is a lie. Trust me, I tested mine.
If you have municipal water, you can use a water powered jet pump as a backup pump. It uses the pressure of the water main as power, and is much more reliable than having to start a generator and keep it running. Battery operated pumps are possible only if you have a very small amount of inflow and low lift requirements. Even a big car battery doesn't hold more power than about a cup of gasoline.
Good point, Thaskateguy. Some municipal systems have significant standpipes or are even gravity fed. Others depend on pumps to maintain pressure. In that case, you are dependent on the foresight of the city engineers as to whether water pressure remains after a power outage. Even worse, many cities use sewage pumps. If you live near a failing one of these, nothing is going to help.
Appreciate all the info here. Will get a new version most likely of one of the smaller ones and if he wants to get a 5000, he can look on Craiglist - saw a few there but my mechanical knowledge is between slim and none so I will just get a small gas powered generator for him that I know works.
Depending on the area and the type of disaster;but natural gas generators are great in a hurricane area. Most find that in gasoline about a 500 to 6000 is all you want especailly witht eh gasoline consumption and availabilty for some time after.Thsoe can be had for aboput $700 in many areas and wil keep thngs like a refogerator;freezer;lights and fans going for about 12 hours on 5 gallons easily. Don;t for get satbilsed gasoline that needs to be switched evry years and maintenace on the generator and a chain and lock to protect it after a disaster at night.i saw on eguy who had his stolen at night with a running lawnmower that replaced it on his porch.Also good extensions and spark plugs plus runnig it very week or two all year.I run mine to pwer teh lawn equipmnet then.
Not so funny generator story. A few years ago a friend's parents had a nice new generator, still in the box, sitting in their garage. We had about four hurricanes in a row, with one being particularly bad, knocking electricity out for days in some areas. When her dad went to get out the generator, he found an empty box. It seems the son has a problem with drugs and.....had sold the generator who knows how long before.
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