In our never-ending quest to improve this place by listening to feedback from the B&B, we are taking a new tack with these product posts, choosing instead to focus on items we have actually used or purchased with our own meagre income. After all, if we’re giving you the truth about cars, we ought to give you the truth about car accessories and tools.
This instalment of Stuff We Use tackles a product which is a mite more expensive than the shop rags and ratchet sets we’ve covered in the past. While a gasoline-powered generator is definitely an investment, there have been more than a few times in which it has made the lives of gearheads infinitely easier – and saved their bacon.
No one wants to think about the specter of an extended power outage, especially if the weather is foul (which ironically a time in which most electric failures occur). Never mind we live in an age of hyper connectivity and instant-on communication which relies on juice from the grid, just about everyone needs to keep a refrigerator running to safely store food while more than a few rural types (raises hand) need electricity to run a well pump for water. Having a generator on hand is essential in these types of scenarios.
The units also come in handy whilst working remotely. No, I’m not talking about a wretched Zoom call or Teams meeting, rather doing some welding work at a far-flung location or needing to power a compressor in that ramshackle shed you call a garage. Turning wrenches in a space which isn’t wired for electricity (or is insufficiently wired, as the case may be) is a challenge at the best of times – being able to carry along a skiff of portable power can turn a slog of a job into a much more comfortable couple of hours behind the wrench.
Come to think of it, ‘Behind the Wrench’ could be the name of a tell-all tv special about dealership mechanics lifting the lid on shady warranty claims. Let’s file that thought away for later.
Digressions aside, generators show up in many shapes and power outputs. We feel the need (actually, our sniveling lawyers feel the need) to mention that any device, like these generators, running an internal combustion engine needs to be operated in a well-ventilated area. Don’t use these things in an enclosed space; rather, tuck them outside the door of yer workspace while running, or work in a breezeway sort of area where there is a good cross breeze to waft away the exhaust fumes.
The present generator at our disposal is a Honda unit, marketed as an inverter and belting out a maximum output of 2,200 watts. This is more than enough for the requirements around here, great for tools in the garage or the fridge and freezer when this area’s power company fails to keep the lights on (again). A huge feature of this Honda 2200i unit is its quiet operation, putting out less than 60 decibels of noise even at full whack. Using about a quarter of the 2,200-watt output results in a sub-50 decibel performance, which is scarcely more than a quiet room with the A/C softly blowing. Weight isn’t much more than 50 pounds even with fuel on board, so slinging it into the back of a truck and heading out for field work is a simple ask. If yer into technical specs, its four-stroke OHC engine displaces 121cc and the manual pull start is smoother than wax. It’s 0.75-gallon fuel tank lasts about four hours at near-full electrical load, longer if you take it easy on demand. It’s expensive but worth the cash for its ultra-quiet operation and seamless user experience. Highly recommended by this author.
Another larger (and much louder) generator has also resided in my garage, an older DeVilbiss branded unit that belted out 6,500 peak watts and served well during emergencies such as the occasion when our place lost power for nearly two weeks after a devastating storm. This is a more traditional compared to the Honda, basically just an 11hp engine powering an electricity generator all wrapped up in metal scaffolding with wheels attached for moving it around. It’s hella noisy and can easily drain its 7-gallon fuel tank in 8 hours or less. Still, it runs like a train and has been very reliable.
Doing the math to determine how many watts one needs for their application isn’t difficult but is an important step before splashing out the money on a generator. For example, the typical fridge/freezer only needs about 1,000 watts to run but likely requires at least twice that to start its cooling compressor when it cuts in. Keep those types of considerations in mind when selecting a generator and you’ll be golden.
As planned, this series of posts will continue to focus on items we’ve actually used and bought with our own money. We hope you found this one helpful.
[Images: Author]
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