Community Forums

twinboat · 03-20-2016, 12:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RVGuy1966

I myself buy all my tools from HF. have yet to have any issues.

my next genny WILL be the HF predator 2500 inverter. I tested one and its just as quiet or as loud as the yanaha or honda in its class.

in my opinion.....

I read the specs on the HF 2500 inverter gen. It is much quieter then the little 2 stroke thing.

The 1000 is 91 dba and the 2500 is 64 dba.

In comparison the Honda and Yamaha are 53 dba.

Look around for an authorized repair shop or parts supplier. That will tell the story.

RVGuy1966 · 03-20-2016, 07:05 AM

for some reason people love to dump on HF. there opinions are their own but I found no difference in the 2500 and the other name brand except price. The genny is for emergency mostly and to charge some batteries when needed for a little while so to assume you are getting one just to boondock and annoy other people is foolish. I would hope the question be asked before assumptions are made. I never boondock and if I did the genny is a tool when needed.

now, for newbies:

Respect is the name of the game in this lifestyle.

treat every camp site like you want to be treated.

if that means noisy, dirty and obnoxious then stay home and camp in your driveway.

I thought there was a forum where the rules were written?

if not we should have that for newbies to get an understanding of how the people who are serious about this lifestyle live.

the do's and don'ts of RV life.....

as for HF or any other discount chain,

you buy at your own risk and should always research your purchase.

go to the stores and test the items as much as you can.

give your honest opinion when asked if you want but please don't bash an item because you don't like it.

I myself have had no issues with HF products but it may happen someday and I will respond if asked.

Good luck to the newbies, this is fun but frustrating at times...

remember to read all the reviews on third party web sites and not the actual stores as they lean towards their interest.

jacwjames · 03-20-2016, 07:22 AM

Make sure you get an inverter type generator for clean power.

I bought a generator head from Harbor Freight. I knew what I was buying and I had a specific purpose for it and at the time it was on sale & I had a 20% off coupon. They were selling the exact same generator head on Amazon for twice as much. BTW, they only charged $7 for the shipping, the thing weighs 100 lbs.

The issue with the generator head I have is that it requires EXACTLY 3600 rpm to provide 60 hz power. More or less and you power will be dirty.

I mounted this onto the front my lawn mower and drive it off of the electric clutch pulley. I am using it to power a deep well pump on some property we bought. I have to set the throttle slightly higher to generate 61.7 hertz and when I kick the pump on it will go to +/- 60 hertz fluctuating up and down by 1/2 hertz. It is being powered by a 20HP kohler engine with a governor but still fluctuates.

Again, know what you are buying and make sure it meets your needs.

TVG · 03-20-2016, 12:11 PM

Ok. Thanks for all the replies. I am not trying to reinvent the wheel. MANY before me have already faced my concerns. that is whI y ask the salty vets here. if it was a good idea, I would see hundreds of HF gens out there,... I don't. I do see a lot of champions, Hondas, yamahas. I really like the Champion 75537i. I would really like your all thoughts on this. We bought our trailer to be "part of the community" and lifestyle. We don't want to be that guy that has no respect for others or look foolish with a 100+ DB gen. DOes anybody have this gen? does the remote work well? do you all recommend another before this one? Thanks again

TVG · 03-20-2016, 12:15 PM

One thing I will say is , I am a HF junkie. I buy lots of stuff there knowing my risks and that sometimes modifications are needed. In fact one of their gens is on consumer reports best gen list. Cant be all bad right?

**TonyDi** · 03-20-2016, 12:51 PM

I personally feel like most HF stuff is cheaply made and good for a once only project. Some hand tools are okay but they just don't have good fit all the time.

1bigmess · 03-20-2016, 12:53 PM

It isn't all bad. Of course it isn't. But run an HF industrial/worksite gennie near other campers, and I think it's pretty obvious how the other campers will feel about it.

That is, if it doesn't drive you nuts first!

RVGuy1966 · 03-20-2016, 02:13 PM

I have seen so much talk about running generators at camp sites. I personally have only seen it done once and that was when the power failed for the whole park. I will be camping or at least plan too this summer at a few new places up north and I will look out for the people who run their loud generators. I am curious to see if that really happens as much as I hear about it in the forums.

keep the ones who care posted..

1bigmess · 03-20-2016, 02:21 PM

If you always stay in an RV park setting that has electrical power to the sites, then no, you won't hear any generators running. Why would you, when electricity from a utility is always cheaper than liquid fuels?

TVG · 03-20-2016, 04:46 PM

I imagine we will stay in parks once in a while. But we really enjoy dispersed camping next to a river or close to a lake. Here in Az , lots of public land to do that in. Most of the west has lots of public land. never stayed in a campground with full hookups before. I am sure its coming though.

1bigmess · 03-20-2016, 10:13 PM

You're gonna have to try it. I find it hard to call it "camping" when I can turn on the air conditioner without going outside to start the gennies first.

nothermark · 03-21-2016, 01:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jacwjames

Make sure you get an inverter type generator for clean power.

>snip<
The issue with the generator head I have is that it requires EXACTLY 3600 rpm to provide 60 hz power. More or less and you power will be dirty.

I mounted this onto the front my lawn mower and drive it off of the electric clutch pulley. I am using it to power a deep well pump on some property we bought. I have to set the throttle slightly higher to generate 61.7 hertz and when I kick the pump on it will go to +/- 60 hertz fluctuating up and down by 1/2 hertz. It is being powered by a 20HP kohler engine with a governor but still fluctuates.

Again, know what you are buying and make sure it meets your needs.

Dirty power is not a smooth sine wave. *No* inverter generator is clean. All "pure sine" means is more than 3 steps in the wave form from the inverter. A rotary alternator (the proper term) makes a smooth sine output to start with. That is what the big boys use. It is a function of the physical construction of the device.

Frequency stability is seldom an issue if kept within a few cycles per second. The loads do not care. What they do care about to some extent is flat spots in the wave form. Better inverters have fewer flat spots but rotary alternators have no flat spots. Rotaries do have noise spikes if the brushes are arcing. ;-)

RVGuy1966 · 03-21-2016, 05:23 PM

hmm, who cares what type of camping anyone does? its all camping....

some have state parks and forests close by and some do not.

the camper does the same thing plugged in or not.

I just don't get the big issue.... if you want to really camp then pitch a tent like I did before I had back surgery

and couldn't anymore....

now I just realized I was pulled into the nonsense...

last I will say about it period....

TVG · 03-21-2016, 07:21 PM

RVGuy, I am definitely a newbie! And like you, just recently had back surgery. went Elk hunting this past year and conditions were..... lets say.. not optimal. Rain sleet snow... you name it. I loved every minute of it. My back didn't and I paid for it. Harsh realities of losing a step or two. Hence the house on wheels.

1Big Mess ...how ya like your ORV? where'd ya get it?