Choosing the Right Honda Generator
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Generators are rated in watts and before you buy one you need to be sure that it will be powerful enough for your needs. For occasional needs when the power is cut briefly and you need to power lights and small appliances a 2000 watt side valve generator would be adequate. For longer outages choose an overhead valve with 3500 wattage or higher.
The following information will help you decide what size and type of Honda generator to buy.
Features
Valves may be side-mounted or overhead. In general overhead valved engines last longer.
Low oil auto shutdown helps prevents damage to the engine
Spark arrester for when you use your generator close to combustible material
Starting is easier with a pull start compression release.
Size of the generator
To decide on the wattage needed you must first decide what you will run from your generator in an emergency. This may include lighting, refrigerators, boiler/furnace, water pumps etc. In addition any electric motors, such as water pumps and sump pumps, while using a certain wattage when running will require up to three times the same wattage to start.
Look at the appliances that you will want to run from your generator and find the wattage of each. It should be clearly labeled but the following are some guidelines to help
Appliance Wattage
- Computer 100 watts
- Radio 125
- Fan 100
- Furnace fan 200
- Hot plate 1000
- sump pump 400
- TV 300
- water pump 300-2500
- small freezer 325
- water heater 4500
- Refrigerator 2500
Add up the total wattage needed for the appliances you wish to run. Now we need to take the starting wattage of any motors into consideration. If you have more than one motor and do not have manual control of them all the starting wattages needed to be added to the total to ensure enough power. If you have manual control then you can start them one at a time and not draw power from the generator all at the same time. Your final total wattage does not allow any margin for error so add 10% to this figure to be on the safe side. When considering the generator to buy look at the ‘rated’ or ‘continuous’ wattage not the ’surge’ or ‘maximum’ wattage.
Types of Generator
There are two types of generator, portable or standby. As its name suggests the portable generator can be moved from around as needed, for power on camping trips or for power tools etc when at a distance from a power outlet. A portable generator can be used to power household appliances in an emergency by being temporarily connected to the house supply and switched on manually. The standby generator is fixed in place, usually on some kind of concrete base and permanently wired into your home circuits. An automatic switch will automatically turn on the generator when there is a power outage.
Safety
For both types of generator ensure that they are installed by a properly qualified electrician.
Never set up your generator in an enclosed space as they produce toxic carbon monoxide. In addition we recommend the use of a carbon monoxide detector to keep you and your family safe.
Always use the power cords recommended by the generator manufacturer.
Never attach your generator to power lines or the outlets in your home.
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