| TCMAS Twin Cities Marine Aquarium Society Club Forum |
Registered Members don't see these ads. Register now it's free!
04-16-2005, 02:49 PM
|
#1
|
|
Shark
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: crystal
Posts: 2,774
|
where is a good place to get cheap generators ?
power went out for about a hour today and it really got me thinking . with all this money i have spent . what's an extra few hundred to protect against the almost inevitable extended power outage ?
where is a good place to pick one up ?
|
|
|
|
Registered Members don't see these ads. Register now it's free!
|
|
|
|
|
04-16-2005, 03:39 PM
|
#2
|
|
The Reefer in the Boonies
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Little Canada MN
Posts: 1,721
|
Classifieds and garage sales.
__________________
|
|
|
|
|
04-16-2005, 04:32 PM
|
#3
|
|
Nothing to See Here
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Savage, MN
Posts: 2,176
|
Northern
|
|
|
|
|
04-16-2005, 10:58 PM
|
#4
|
|
Reef Society Duluth/Mpls
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Duluth,Mn
Posts: 1,033
|
I would buy a new one then you know what your getting. Nothing worse then getting someone elses junk and having it fail then your twice burned. I second Northern just looked at them the other day.
Fahz
|
|
|
|
|
04-17-2005, 12:42 AM
|
#5
|
|
Shark
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: crystal
Posts: 2,774
|
|
|
|
|
|
04-17-2005, 10:43 AM
|
#6
|
|
Reef Society Duluth/Mpls
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Duluth,Mn
Posts: 1,033
|
One thing a lot of guys who have bought generators have said is buy one big enough to run your furnace also. Makes the wife happy when its cold and your not freezing you butt looking at you nice warm tank.
Fahz
|
|
|
|
|
04-17-2005, 10:51 AM
|
#7
|
|
The Reefer in the Boonies
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Little Canada MN
Posts: 1,721
|
You plan on hooking it up so it turns on when power goes out by itself? At the camp I worked at we had a Arctic Cat generator that was awesome. I am a Cat enemy, but I must say they can do something right aleast, their generators. We powered an inustrial walk-in cooler for days when we had a major outage. But I think that's more around $2k.
__________________
|
|
|
|
|
04-17-2005, 10:57 AM
|
#8
|
|
Nothing to See Here
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Savage, MN
Posts: 2,176
|
check fleabay, there are some reasonably priced generators.
There is an automatic transfer switch generator that runs on propane gas ... pretty slick...but $1600  |
|
|
|
|
04-17-2005, 01:28 PM
|
#9
|
|
Shark
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: crystal
Posts: 2,774
|
think my budget is about $500.i can go over a bit if it is justified. Im not sure if i will go new or used yet but i guess i want it to work when i need it so i may go new,any suggestions ? how many watts ya need to run a furnace ?
|
|
|
|
|
04-17-2005, 05:54 PM
|
#10
|
|
TCMAS member
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Saginaw, MN
Posts: 299
|
I bought my Generac generator form Home Depot and it was a refurb, came with all the accs and still had the same waranty. I bought a 5000w because I needed 220 so I could run my well when the power went out. The problem with going on flebay is the s/h is going to kill you. I would look in the paper for one that was hardly used.
Mark
|
|
|
|
|
04-17-2005, 06:09 PM
|
#11
|
|
Carp
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Eagan
Posts: 310
|
Honda. Good on gas, quite and has lots of power.
__________________
Matt
I read somewhere that reefing, drinking, and sex were bad for you... I quit reading.
|
|
|
|
|
04-17-2005, 06:18 PM
|
#12
|
|
Big Fishy
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: 3rd rock
Posts: 839
|
Home depot!
|
|
|
|
|
04-17-2005, 10:41 PM
|
#13
|
|
Little Fishy
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: St. Cloud MN
Posts: 140
|
Home Depot. Most of the refurbs are, guy bought to go to WEfest or the like, used it two days, returned it. HD sends it to be checked, then has to sell it for deep discount. I worked in the department that sold these so I got to deal with the return guys. But 10 to 15 generators go though a store in a summer most at 30-50 off retail, and still carry a warranty. don't be afraid to ask about the history or make a lower offer these were always a pain and we just wanted to get rid of them.
__________________
Rule #4. They who have "Pet" in their name, have no clue.
|
|
|
|
|
04-17-2005, 11:42 PM
|
#14
|
|
TCMAS Member
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Lakeville, MN.
Posts: 263
|
This past week puts me on this generator bandwagon too. Parts of Lakeville, Apple Valley, and Farmington all lost power for an hour tonight. Not a big deal right? It is the second power outage in 6 days, and not even weather related. Geesh, what happens when T-storm season and 90° weather arrives? Dakota Electric will be getting an ear full from me tomorrow.
Anyway, I am now in the market for a generator...thanks for the info on Home Depot and returns/refurbs!
|
|
|
|
|
04-18-2005, 10:20 AM
|
#15
|
|
TCMAS Member
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: Brooklyn Center, MN
Posts: 5,665
|
Generators are great for long outages however, for the shorter ones I would prefer a UPS sized big enough for your return pump or a couple of powerheads to run at least 8 hours. That way if you not a home when it occurs your covered until you get home or wake up. A generator that you have to manually hook up (which sounds like is all your budget can handle right now) does you little good if your not home or asleep....... My UPS was about $500 by the time you take in account the batteries and keeps my little return pump ( 28w load ) running 48+hours and used to keep my bigger return (210W load ) running about 8 hours.....
|
|
|
|
|
