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John Matthews
Joined: 04 Dec 2004
Posts: 1988
Location: United States, Michigan, Williamsburg
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 Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2013 11:02 am Post subject: |
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The best generator is the one that belongs to the guy you pit next to 
I sell portables and home standbys in my shop and it's two different applications. Here's what I've learned....
If you're going to the track with it you'll want either the smallest unit you can get or a big one built into your trailer, anything in-between will mostly be in the way. If you just have small stuff that needs 110v you can get away with an inverter plugged into your cigarette lighter, much cheaper and you already have the tow vehicle.
If you want something for your home you'll need to figure out how to fuel it for a couple of days. Natural gas is great but don't let any air-cooled engine run for 4 days straight, one of my customers did and it wore the sucker out. If you want a portable that can do double duty you'll need at least 7500 watts and that's barely portable, you'll need a bunch of space in your trailer to carry it around and a transfer switch to hook it to your house. I sell a tri-fuel model from Winco that will meet your needs but it's almost as expensive as the Honda. I'm also a Honda dealer/service center, their stuff is good but they sure are proud of it. I think I'd rather have an extra kart or half a season running than a generator to run my IPod....
Non-inverter generators will cook your computer.
So, if the generator is something your wife wants to feel more secure at home while you're away you should just go with a home standby with the automatic switch, otherwise it's almost guaranteed that you'll be at the track with the generator when power goes out at home. If you're worried about natural gas get a big propane tank. Run synthetic oil and make sure you shut it down after a day or two running to change the oil.
If the generator is for you, and you want something that will power your house and be useful at the track get a Miller Trailblazer
http://www.millerwelds.com/products/enginedriven/product.php?model=M00190
and install it into your 40' race trailer. All you need is a long cord to get to your house 
Cheers,
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John Matthews
Heartbeat Power, LLC. |
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Johnny Brooks
Joined: 04 Aug 2005
Posts: 313
Location: United States, Virginia, Arlington
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| Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2013 12:33 pm Post subject: |
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| joseph hollinger wrote: |
Almost all of that stuff either runs on 12V or is something you don't need. |
Joe, did you move to DC and get a job in Govt??
So your solution is to buy all new stuff that runs on 12v?
Ya ever try to make a pitcher of margaritas with a 12v blender?
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John Matthews
Joined: 04 Dec 2004
Posts: 1988
Location: United States, Michigan, Williamsburg
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| Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2013 12:56 pm Post subject: |
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Who needs electricity for margaritas?
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John Matthews
Heartbeat Power, LLC. |
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Ken Schilling
Joined: 01 Dec 2005
Posts: 1340
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| Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2013 2:44 pm Post subject: |
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I'm seeing that this one is not for sale in California...
Why...?
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Ken Schilling
#21x / S4 / ProKart Challenge (PKC)
SKUSA Data Administrator
Good luck is where preparation and opportunity meet!!!
The opinions I express are mine alone and do not reflect those of any organization of which I am a member. |
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John Matthews
Joined: 04 Dec 2004
Posts: 1988
Location: United States, Michigan, Williamsburg
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| Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2013 3:00 pm Post subject: |
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CARB
http://www.arb.ca.gov/homepage.htm
California has had it's own environmental standards for a long time now. I happen to think it's a good thing but some manufacturers don't see the value in certifying their products for sale in the eighth largest economy in the world 
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John Matthews
Heartbeat Power, LLC. |
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Lawrence Doty
Joined: 08 Jul 2010
Posts: 140
Location: United States, California,
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| Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2013 4:09 pm Post subject: |
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| Jeff DeMello wrote: | | I wanted a Honda eu3000 but I was at a super modified race in Ohio and saw a used kipor 3000 for 600$$.. It powers my a/c and my compressor.. It's as quite as the Honda. If I was to buy new I would go with the Honda |
I have one of these also. "Honda clone" Can't run the microwave and the A/C at the same time in the TT and needs oil every morning... but it's been very reliable (pull start)... |
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Kerry Matthews
Joined: 01 Oct 2008
Posts: 773
Location: United States, California, Sacramento
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| Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2013 5:06 pm Post subject: |
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| joseph hollinger wrote: | | Kerry Matthews wrote: | | joseph hollinger wrote: | | One thing to keep in mind: the really small units can't run an A/C (or they can't start an A/C). That could be of interest in the future. And if you're not going to run an A/C then its hard to understand why you would waste money on a generator. |
Power for the air compressor, track computer, fan, stereo/ iPod, battery chargers, and blender.
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Almost all of that stuff either runs on 12V or is something you don't need. |
Wrong. I NEED all that stuff! lol Gotta recharge the Contour battery between heats while I'm downloading video into my laptop. Then the MyChron info goes into the track computer while I sit in front of the fan because it's 108 in the shade at Buttonwillow in the middle of August... And the Doghouse without blender drinks????
I've been plugging the race trailer into the Doghouse lately, since I run the diesel generator in the Doghouse so Kozmo can watch Dog Whisperer in air conditioned comfort while I'm out on the track... Figured why run both generators, when one will do the trick?
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joseph hollinger
Joined: 12 Sep 2002
Posts: 9474
Location: United States, California, san francisco
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| Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2013 12:06 am Post subject: |
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| Johnny Brooks wrote: | | joseph hollinger wrote: |
Almost all of that stuff either runs on 12V or is something you don't need. |
Joe, did you move to DC and get a job in Govt??
So your solution is to buy all new stuff that runs on 12v?
Ya ever try to make a pitcher of margaritas with a 12v blender?
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Most of that stuff already runs on DC. And no one need a margarita when they already have tequila.
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Tim Koyen
Advertiser
Joined: 26 Nov 2002
Posts: 1556
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| Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2013 8:25 am Post subject: |
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I have a friend that kart races and he had a couple of the Kipor ones that never worked well. They would just randomly die or not start at all. He became frustrated and just bought a nice Yamaha one. I have the Yamaha 3000 and its great. Super quiet, electric start, fairly portable, and runs everything except the A/C and compressor at the same time. I highly recommend it. You can't go wrong with the Honda EU ones either, which mine is basically Yamaha's version of it.
Whatever you do, don't get one of those obnoxiously loud generators. Anytime your generator is so loud that it pisses off your pit neighbor, it's too loud. Your fault, not his.
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Mitch Wright
Joined: 04 Sep 2001
Posts: 437
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Johnny Brooks
Joined: 04 Aug 2005
Posts: 313
Location: United States, Virginia, Arlington
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| Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2013 10:23 am Post subject: |
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| joseph hollinger wrote: |
Most of that stuff already runs on DC. And no one need a margarita when they already have tequila. |
"Power for the air compressor, track computer, fan, stereo/ iPod, battery chargers, and blender."
My stuff:
Air compressor--120vac only
Laptop--18.5vdc--120vac transformer to run/charge.
Fan--120vac only
Stereo/boombox--8 D-cells or 120vac only. (Priced D-cells lately?)
Battery chargers--Ctek and Sears--120vac only
Tequila--yes I could just drink it straight...but when it's 100 degrees with 90% humidity like we get here in the east, a nice frosty frozen drink is kinda nice! So is the AC in the trailer.
I've had a Honda EU3000i for years....highly recommended. I've used it for power outages as well...runs plasma TV, refrigerator, window AC unit or space heater, couple of lamps, etc.
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The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.--Winston Churchill |
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joseph hollinger
Joined: 12 Sep 2002
Posts: 9474
Location: United States, California, san francisco
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| Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2013 11:30 am Post subject: |
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| Johnny Brooks wrote: | | joseph hollinger wrote: |
Most of that stuff already runs on DC. And no one need a margarita when they already have tequila. |
"Power for the air compressor, track computer, fan, stereo/ iPod, battery chargers, and blender."
My stuff:
Air compressor--120vac only
Laptop--18.5vdc--120vac transformer to run/charge.
Fan--120vac only
Stereo/boombox--8 D-cells or 120vac only. (Priced D-cells lately?)
Battery chargers--Ctek and Sears--120vac only
Tequila--yes I could just drink it straight...but when it's 100 degrees with 90% humidity like we get here in the east, a nice frosty frozen drink is kinda nice! So is the AC in the trailer.
I've had a Honda EU3000i for years....highly recommended. I've used it for power outages as well...runs plasma TV, refrigerator, window AC unit or space heater, couple of lamps, etc.
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My stuff: nitrogen tank (0V). Laptop: charged at home. Stock Moto never needs charging (0V). Boombox 12V. No fan, no AC, cooler full of beer. Man up.
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Kerry Matthews
Joined: 01 Oct 2008
Posts: 773
Location: United States, California, Sacramento
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| Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2013 1:52 pm Post subject: |
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Sorry Joe, I don't like beer. And I'll keep all my toys, thank you. I LIKE toys...
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John Matthews
Joined: 04 Dec 2004
Posts: 1988
Location: United States, Michigan, Williamsburg
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| Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2013 2:52 pm Post subject: |
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Seriously though....
If you're gonna spend all that money on a generator why not go with one that also works as a welder????
I have had to weld things at the track occasionally and even my puny Harbor Freight mig would cook a pretty decent sized welder trying to run on 110v.
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John Matthews
Heartbeat Power, LLC. |
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Walt Gifford
Joined: 19 Jul 2002
Posts: 4298
Location: United States, South Jerrrsey,
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| Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2013 11:41 am Post subject: |
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| There's a tiny one at HF I'm looking at. I just need to run a heat gun to scrape my tires, what would you suggest for that? |
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