The sound of a generator

[Steve H]

Wish they would make propane weed trimmers....

 

[clifish]

Bringing this back.

4 years ago we had a lot of power outages so i bought a Westinghouse 4500 and I only used propane with it. Lots of neighbors also had generators running. They changed the grid we are on and we hadn't had the problem since.

Well it was put away in the shed and not touched until yesterday. With 30mph winds SCE decided to cut the power. Before dark I pulled everything out and got it ready. The battery was dead from sitting so long but with two pulls it fired up like it was just running a few days ago. It's been going for two days now.

I did have to make a run to the Uhaul station to refill the two 40lb propane tanks.

Funny thing is I don't hear any other generators going. I bet they had gas ones that wouldn't start after all this time.

I would highly recommend if you are buying a new generator to get a propane one since propane does not go bad like gas. That and they run quieter.

First thing I did when i got my gas generator is convert it to natural gas. This company sells a tri-fuel conversion that was easy to install. Now it could be set to run gasoline, propane or NG.

Generator Conversion Kits to Propane and Natural Gas.

Generator conversion kits to propane, lp gas and natural gas for most gasoline generators and engines.

www.uscarb.com

 

[philpom]

Wish they would make propane weed trimmers....

Get an electric e-go, they are amazing.

 

[Steve H]

Get an electric e-go, they are amazing.

They are nice. But they can't use brush blades. Our yard was seriously neglected from not having taken care of it over the summer. Our ryobi electric can't handle it. I had to buy a gas straight shaft. And brush blades to handle it.

 

[philpom]

They are nice. But they can't use brush blades. Our yard was seriously neglected from not having taken care of it over the summer. Our ryobi electric can't handle it. I had to buy a gas straight shaft. And brush blades to handle it.

I haven't used the ryobi but the e-go carbon fiber model I have compares well with gas as far as power goes and the automatic line load is a game changer.

 

[Chris_in_SoCal]

The EGO trimmers definitely have more than enough torque to run a brush blade. I have a trimmer, 16" chainsaw and a leaf blower. All of them have more than enough power. I recently had to replace the batteries after many years with Amazon off brands that are way cheaper and are working just as well.

Mostly used is the leaf blower. My wife uses it every couple of days to clean up the back yard. The California pepper trees in our yard and the neighbors drop lots of small leaves every day and my wife can't stand it.

 

[Chris_in_SoCal]

I'm going to have to disagree with this statement... Fuel source does not dictate sound... Obviously the muffler does...

Also... When running on propane you lose close to 25% of it's output capacity...

For storage (a year or more)... I also drain my tank and carb... Use a paper towel on the end of a doohickey and soak up any gas left in the tank that won't drain... Leave the cap off for a few days for anything left to evaporate.. Unhook the battery... Fires right up when put in service

I agree fuel does not dictate sound but the design does. Generators based on gas do not generally give sound a consideration but the ones on propane generally know their buyers and make them more quiet.

I spent a few months searching for a quiet generator back then not wanting to piss of my neighbors when running it. It also benefits me when I have it running just outside my house not keeping me awake all night.

 

[Steve H]

View attachment 742119

I haven't used the ryobi but the e-go carbon fiber model I have compares well with gas as far as power goes and the automatic line load is a game changer.

Well hell. I bought all of these attachments for the one I bought. Just not that trimmer.

The EGO trimmers definitely have more than enough torque to run a brush blade. I have a trimmer, 16" chainsaw and a leaf blower. All of them have more than enough power. I recently had to replace the batteries after many years with Amazon off brands that are way cheaper and are working just as well.

Mostly used is the leaf blower. My wife uses it every couple of days to clean up the back yard. The California pepper trees in our yard and the neighbors drop lots of small leaves every day and my wife can't stand it.

Oh well. Live and learn. I already bought a Husqvarna gasser.

 

[Chris_in_SoCal]

I received the $30 replacement battery for the generator today. I was expecting to spend some time taking off side or back panels to do this. I was pleasantly surprised to see that there was a removable panel on the back (no tools necessary) to change it out.

In less than 5 minutes I reconnected the propane tank and started it up with the electric start to test it out before putting everything back in the shed.

If CA is going to start shutting off power every time the wind blows at least I'm ready.

At some point I will have to get the whole house Cummins 2KW connected to the house and natural gas.