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Posted by hallerb@aol.com on August 11, 2006, 8:14 am
I echo the other poster who suggested if you drive to the shed get a 12
volt to 120 converter, really a inverter.
For a couple hundred bucks or less you have it availble not only for
shed detail but other activities, no generator wouldnt start hassles,
compact and light weight, absolitely quiet as your vehicle.
Best thing in a power outage you can use it at your home, no stale gas
issues. etc etc.
If you can drive to shed a inverter is a no brainer.....
I have one and use it for all sorts of wiierd stuff, dont tell your
friends you have one or they will be asking for help too....
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Posted by Pete C. on August 11, 2006, 10:03 am
"hallerb@aol.com" wrote:
>
> I echo the other poster who suggested if you drive to the shed get a 12
> volt to 120 converter, really a inverter.
>
> For a couple hundred bucks or less you have it availble not only for
> shed detail but other activities, no generator wouldnt start hassles,
> compact and light weight, absolitely quiet as your vehicle.
>
> Best thing in a power outage you can use it at your home, no stale gas
> issues. etc etc.
>
> If you can drive to shed a inverter is a no brainer.....
>
> I have one and use it for all sorts of wiierd stuff, dont tell your
> friends you have one or they will be asking for help too....
One warning on that though - a 1 kW inverter can *not* be operated from
your cigarette lighter outlet, it will melt. Inverters running over
about 250W sustained output need to be directly wired to the vehicle's
battery.
If you don't want to permanently install the inverter you can install
one of the heavy DC quick connects as sold for detachable winches. These
are nice since you can go all out and have an inverter, a winch and a
jumper cable that all plug into this DC outlet when needed.
As for the previous posters comments about gas, get a bottle of Stabil
fuel stabilizer. With it a tank of gas in the generator should be in
useable condition even after up to a year of storage. By adding it to
every tank of gas it will also help prevent clogged carbs.
Pete C.
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Posted by Chris Lewis on August 11, 2006, 3:18 pm
> One warning on that though - a 1 kW inverter can *not* be operated from
> your cigarette lighter outlet, it will melt.
No, you'll blow the fuse.
> Inverters running over
> about 250W sustained output need to be directly wired to the vehicle's
> battery.
Inverters rated at 200-300W and up usually come with heavy alligator
clips for direct battery connection - cigarette lighter fuses usually
are only 15A. My inverter (300W + 400W surge) has two sets of detachable
cables - one a alligator set, the other a lighter socket set.
--
Chris Lewis, Una confibula non set est
It's not just anyone who gets a Starship Cruiser class named after them.
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Posted by Pete C. on August 11, 2006, 4:06 pm
Chris Lewis wrote:
>
>
> > One warning on that though - a 1 kW inverter can *not* be operated from
> > your cigarette lighter outlet, it will melt.
>
> No, you'll blow the fuse.
That's the theory, however I have seen quite a few cigarette lighter
plugs that made such poor contact that they heated and melted the plug
at currents below the fuse rating.
>
> > Inverters running over
> > about 250W sustained output need to be directly wired to the vehicle's
> > battery.
>
> Inverters rated at 200-300W and up usually come with heavy alligator
> clips for direct battery connection - cigarette lighter fuses usually
> are only 15A. My inverter (300W + 400W surge) has two sets of detachable
> cables - one a alligator set, the other a lighter socket set.
I have the same inverter, it does a good job. 1 kW inverters draw to
high a load for alligator clips to be reliable, on the order of 83A not
counting inefficiencies. Currents in that range require hard connections
and/or connectors rated for high currents. The DC connectors used for
the winches typically are 175A continuous rated.
Pete C.
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Posted by Larry Caldwell on August 11, 2006, 4:22 pm
says...
> As for the previous posters comments about gas, get a bottle of Stabil
> fuel stabilizer. With it a tank of gas in the generator should be in
> useable condition even after up to a year of storage. By adding it to
> every tank of gas it will also help prevent clogged carbs.
A year is pushing it, and small quantities don't stabilize as well as
large quantities. Sta-bil is an antibacterial that keeps sludge
bacteria from growing in water condensation mixed with the fuel. That
bacteria is one of the primary sources of injector and carburetor gum,
but it is not the only source.
Gasoline stored in an open container, like a gas tank, also loses its
lighter fractions to evaporation. The lighter fractions are what
evaporate and ignite easily when the engine is cold. This can result in
hard starting, even when the gasoline is otherwise OK.
By far the best way to store fuel is to rotate it often. I make up a
small engine mix in 5 gallon quantities. I add 2 oz. of non-alcohol
carb cleaner, 2 oz. of Marvel Mystery Oil, and the recommended quantity
of Sta-Bil to every 5 gallon can, then fill it with gasoline. When the
mix is about 6 months old, I pour it into a vehicle and go buy new gas.
Two cycle mix is made from the 4-cycle mix, with the addition of 2.5 oz.
Red Line synthetic 2-cycle oil per gallon.
Every small engine fuel tank gets run dry at the end of its season, and
the 4-cycle engines get their oil changed with Castrol Syntec 5w-50. My
humble Briggs and Stratton engines run reliably for decades when treated
well. Even my el-cheapo $69 2-cycle leaf blower with the plastic intake
manifold starts immediately when it is needed. I have a lot of small
engines. Pressure washer, riding mower, push mower, 5000 watt
generator, 1200 watt generator, weed whacker, rototiller, chainsaw, leaf
blower and brush chipper. They are all 100% reliable.
One comment on generators. Since my large generator sometimes goes
years in between use, I not only run the tank dry, I drain the last few
dribbles out of the carburetor bowl, change the oil, pull the spark plug
and fog the cylinder with light oil, replace the spark plug and bag the
exhaust with a plastic baggie and rubber band to keep the bugs out.
Then I put it back in its cardboard shipping box, which keeps the dust
off. I bought it new in 1988, and it has run through three extended
power outages. That's an average of once every 5 years, so extra care
in putting it away really pays off. It has a Briggs and Stratton
engine.
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