Small generator

Ben Lawrence

Ben Lawrence

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Mar 2, 2011
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I am thinking about picking up a small generator for 2 speakers on sticks style stuff. It looks like there is a couple options besides the Honda Eu2000i. Considerations are loudness,purchase price and reliability. I know the default is the Honda but it looks like Yamaha makes a similar model and the one I thought was interesting was the Generac IQ 2000 because it has a couple cool features such as run time indicator, Fuel guage and current draw as well as being the quietest. I guess they are all in the same ballpark for pricing give or take a couple hundred dollars.
Does anyone have any experience running these with little systems. The other option is a battery powered system but Im afraid that leaves to much room for a dead system and the options for those are very slim.
Also is it standard practice to sink a ground rod with these? It looks like some of them have a place to connect a ground wire. Excuse my ignorance with generators.
 
I couldn't justify the cost of getting either a Honda EU2000 or a Yamaha EF 2000 which seem to be the top of the crop so I just purchased 2 of these ..
http://www.usesmartertools.com/AP-2000iQ.html

The reviews are superb and at $600 each, Yamaha MZ80 engine (same as the EF2000), parallel capability, fuel petcock, fuel gauge, 44lbs dry weight, 51db noise level, 3 year warranty etc etc... this was a no brainer for me. The customer service is excellent too - any questions or concerns have been answered right away. Only time will tell how long they last but I fired them both up today and they run smoothly - crazy quiet and lighter than any of the speakers I own!!

Amazon, Home Depot and Costco sell them to name a few ( and have done so for some years) so quite a few stores have confidence in them.....Hope this helps.
 
Ben Lawrence said:
Also is it standard practice to sink a ground rod with these? It looks like some of them have a place to connect a ground wire.
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Most of the small generators (especially the single-circuit variety) have GFCI protection on the output, and should not need a ground rod. That said, your local inspector may have a different opinion, may require permits, and may not allow you to use gas generators everywhere you might like to (I know of a couple locales where the local fire marshal requires that portable generators run off diesel. Gasoline-powered is not allowed.)
 
The need comes up a couple times a year. If I was going to flip it I would probably just go with the Honda as they appear to get the best return on investment.
I guess I am kinda slowly answering my own question that a Honda might be the better move.
I could have used that shure mixer last week actually.
 
Ben Lawrence said:
The need comes up a couple times a year. If I was going to flip it I would probably just go with the Honda as they appear to get the best return on investment.
I guess I am kinda slowly answering my own question that a Honda might be the better move.
Click to expand...

Only getting used a couple times a year makes it tough to construct the business case, especially once you factor in the routine maintenance required for generators (of any size). Have you priced out the cost of owning vs. subrenting? Most of the construction equipment rental houses seem to carry small generators these days...
 
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