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>A 9 kW generator that costs $1000 is going to be an open-frame, bottom of the barrel model. Not even close to bottom-of-the-barrel. In fact, pretty standard

>A 9 kW generator that costs $1000 is going to be an open-frame, bottom of the barrel model. Not even close to bottom-of-the-barrel. In fact, pretty standard, and can last forever. >requires a lot of maintenance. Lots of maintenance? Like what, changing the oil and plug once a season? >If you don't, you'll have to bury a LPG tank, or have an unsightly blob in your yard. You seem to have very particular tastes about "sound" and "looks", so go ahead and spend $20k for a backup system. But don't try to tell people it can't be done for far cheaper, because I've been running my house on a backup system with a $1000 Generac portable coming up on a decade. The generator I replaced was from the 70s.

sgarland 4y ago
An open-frame generator under load is going to be somewhere around 72-76 dB, and that's usually measured at around 20 feet. That is entirely too loud to be running overnight in a neighborhood when everyone's power is out, and thus things are dead quiet. Inverter generators, especially good ones, are more like 50-56 dB. Maintenance requirements are usually spec'd by runtime; mine is oil change at 20 hours for break-in, then every 100 hours. It's not difficult, but it's annoying. Beyond that, if you aren't running it at least quarterly (I do monthly), you're risking it not starting when you need it. Not to mention the aforementioned fuel requirements - ethanol free is sometimes hard to find, and you need to keep a mental note of when you bought it so you can rotate fuel supplies. It comes down to personal taste and willingness to be loud in your neighborhood, sure. If I'm going to spend the money on backup power, I first and foremost don't want there to be any question about its reliability. I trust Honda's engines and electronics. I also don't want to piss off my neighbors, or make myself an easy target of theft, so it needs to be as quiet as possible.

sgarland 4y ago

An open-frame generator under load is going to be somewhere around 72-76 dB, and that's usually measured at around 20 feet. That is entirely too loud to be running overnight in a neighborhood when everyone's power is out, and thus things are dead quiet. Inverter generators, especially good ones, are more like 50-56 dB. Maintenance requirements are usually spec'd by runtime; mine is oil change at 20 hours for break-in, then every 100 hours. It's not difficult, but it's annoying. Beyond that, if you aren't running it at least quarterly (I do monthly), you're risking it not starting when you need it. Not to mention the aforementioned fuel requirements - ethanol free is sometimes hard to find, and you need to keep a mental note of when you bought it so you can rotate fuel supplies. It comes down to personal taste and willingness to be loud in your neighborhood, sure. If I'm going to spend the money on backup power, I first and foremost don't want there to be any question about its reliability. I trust Honda's engines and electronics. I also don't want to piss off my neighbors, or make myself an easy target of theft, so it needs to be as quiet as possible.