Portable Generators - Finding the Best

Portable Generators - Finding the Best by Timothy Anderson

A buying guide for portable generators

Many people find portable generators extremely useful. Homeowners make up a huge part of this group, since they are able to take portable generators from room to room, or area to area, in a house.

If you are in the market to buy a portable generator, then this article may be of interest to you. Below you will find a guide to follow when you are shopping for portable generators. Remember this: don't become overwhelmed when looking to find the right portable generator for your needs. Simply follow these tips and your purchasing experience can be stress-free.

Why use portable generators?

Portable generators can save a household that experiences frequent power outages. People who live in areas that are often hard-hit by hurricanes, strong storms, and tornados should certainly consider owning a portable generator. Without power, you have no light, no energy for cooking, refrigeration, or pumping water. Lack of power can make the simplest tasks in life seem incredibly difficult. However, with a portable generator, you can live your life uninterrupted when the power is cut off. The wattage on portable generators

In order to determine how much wattage to look for on a portable generator for your home, you first need to make a list of all of the appliances and lights that you want to run off of the generator. The wattage of all of these things combined will tell you how much wattage your portable generator should have. If you are unsure of how to determine wattage, simply multiply amps by volts. Regardless of which portable generator you choose, you must make sure that it has the maximum output and rated output that you need to run your appliances and lights. Maximum output will start an appliance or light, while sustaining that wattage depends upon the generator's rated output.

Time to shop

Portable generators can be found in your local hardware stores, as well as in chain stores such as Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Home Depot and Lowe's. Portable generators can also be found online on the Internet. There are countless web sites are available on the World Wide Web that enable you to compare prices, research portable generators, and read consumer reviews of portable generators. A few of these web sites are: www.northerntool.com, www.electricgeneratorsdirect.com, www.buyerzone.com, and www.duropower.com. No matter where you decide to purchase your portable generator from, it is a wise idea to speak with a licensed electrician about how to use and maintain it.

About the Author
Timothy Anderson specializes in tools and equipment topics. For more articles by Timothy, visit http://www.PowerfulChecklists.com

Tips for Purchasing a Portable Generator

Tips for Purchasing a Standby Generator by Barry Hooper


So you've decided that you don't want to be left in the dark if a hurricane or a tornado or other disaster hits your area. You've decided to buy a standby generator. Sounds simple enough. But when you get to the store, you find a bewildering variety of generators, from a small 5.5 kilowatt model for around $2,000 to a 45 kilowatt monster for $25,000 or more. How do you determine which one is right for you?

Of course, your budget will be a factor, but there are other factors that are equally important.

The first factor is whether you want a portable or stationary generator. If you want a stationary one, where will you put it? A generator's exhaust gas includes poisonous carbon monoxide, so it must be located outside, in a well ventilated area with plenty of space around it, and protected from the rain. If you want a portable one, where will you store it? You'll need a dry, easily accessible place, and you'll want to be sure to have a wheel kit for it.

The next factor is the maximum amount of electricity you'll need at any given time. Do you need your air conditioning on 24 hours a day? How about your refrigerator and that big freezer? Do you expect to keep everything plugged in as usual, or can you get by with a bare minimum, only pugging in each appliance for a short time as needed?

It's easy to find a chart that tells you how many watts each appliance draws when it's running as well as the additional wattage it draws when it's starting up. From that you should be able to figure out what size standby generator you'll need. If it's not big enough to handle your maximum load, you can burn out your appliances. But if you get one that's too big, you can actually harm the generator by not putting a big enough load on it.

In determining the amount of wattage you'll need, you should consider not only the Running Wattage of the generator, but also the Starting Wattage, especially if you're considering one of the smaller generators and plugging in appliances only as needed. The trick is to stagger the starting or plugging in of appliances. Don't start multiple items at the same time because the Starting Wattage is cumulative for each appliance that starts at the same time.

Another huge consideration is the type and amount of fuel the generator uses. Most of the smaller generators run on gasoline, while the larger units use liquid propane, natural gas or diesel. Remember, fuel is one of the first things that becomes scarce after a major event such as a hurricane. Fuel will very likely be rationed, so you'll have a hard enough time finding gas for your car, let alone your generator. Therefore, you'll need to store enough fuel to run the generator for at least several days, maybe more.

Portable Generator

Who Needs a Standby Generator? by Barry Hooper


Most of us take electricity for granted. When we flip the light switch, we expect the light to turn on. When we plug in the electric grill, we expect it to be ready before the neighbors arrive for the backyard cookout. If there's a power outage, everyone immediately calls the electric company to complain and ask how long they'll have to wait before the electricity comes back on.

But what happens when the electricity goes out for days at a time, like when a hurricane or other natural disaster destroys the power lines? Or what happens in a place like a hospital, where even a short power outage could cause the failure of a life-sustaining respirator or a doctor's operating tools, resulting in the death of a patient? What about the thousands of food manufacturers, grocery stores, and restaurants, which might have to throw away thousands of dollars worth of refrigerated food every time the electricity goes out for a short time?

The answer for all of these situations is a standby generator.

Basically, a standby generator is a stand-alone system that can produce a limited amount of electricity for a limited amount of time. In addition to a generator itself, the system usually includes an engine, a fuel tank, an engine speed regulator and a generator voltage regulator. Many units are equiped with a battery-powered automatic starting system. Larger units, especially those in hospitals and commercial businesses, are usually connected directly to the building's wiring so that when the electricity goes out, the standby generator automatically comes on. A standby generator can also be wired into your home's electrical wiring, but it is not a "do it yourself" job; it requires installation by a qualified electrical contractor. You might also need to get a permit from your local building inspector's office.

Standby generators come in a wide range of sizes, from small portable units that can supply several hundred watts of power, to large industrial units that can supply over a million watts. Most units that are designed for emergency use in the home can supply between 15 and 45 kilowatts and can cost anywhere from $2,000 to $25,000 or more, depending on how many electrical appliances you want to run for how many days, and how big of a fuel tank you want sitting in your yard or buried under it. Most of the smaller units are fueled by gasoline, while the larger units use liquid propane, natural gas or diesel. During the recent hurricanes in Florida, there were news reports of homeowners whose standby generators supplied electricity to their homes for a week or more.