costco generator

This will definitely help those who are doing emergency planning (whether aquaria-related or not)!

However, if you are drawing only 100W without the heater, you may be better off with UPS.
- When the power's out, the battery kicks in whether you're there or not (as opposed to the generator, you'll need to be present to start the motor)
- Not sure how happy neighbors would be with a 2-stroke engine running in the backyard at 3am
- Most of the power outages in the area last less than a couple hours, thank goodness we don't have to deal with hurricanes and snowstorms

No intent to be critical of your overall approach, just pointing out some pros and cons. :)
 
I did look into the UPS, but the UPS is 600w and runs 20 minutes only at half load and 3.7 minutes at full load, won't make much difference if nobody is home if it only lasts for a few minutes if heater turns on. Plus, these UPS batteries do not last forever and cost as much as a brand new UPS to replace.

100w is without the 300w heater, which is critical during winter time if power goes out. I've had power go out at my place once only in 15 years that lasted over a day, and maybe 5 times for 8 hours or less. The last time a drunk driver hit the electric post and knocked out power overnight (PG&E had to get a new electric post delivered from Sacramento). So you never know.
 
i use a generator for my car at shows where no power is supplied and your thinking is correct i run 2x honda 3200 (i think) one for stereo and one for lights and tvs.... my generators are so quite i can run them in tight areas and you can still hold normal conversation
 
Show off... im starting to think this car doesn't exist....
If the power goes out just call our local power company and cry cry cry...
Nice pick up.
 
Hey Jess,

Off topic, but thought you might appreciate my new ride:

IMAG0314.jpg




Supercharger, long tubes, CAI, Vararam, and tune sometime next year after im done "breaking it in"
 
Great car but lose the Vararam. Cheap s**t. I just pulled one off my C5 and put a Honker on. I feel SO much better about it.
 
No, I'm not tuned, I only have a CAI. The Vararam does kind of work - it's just such cheap crap - I had to get it off my car. The filter surface area on the Honker is many times greater as well - much more flow. Tell your friend to do the upgrade - I picked up noticable responsiveness over the Varacrap!
 
Back to the generator. I have been thinking about one recently as well although power outages are short and infrequent in SF...

Do we not want to talk about the elephant in the room? What about the Big One? I would imagine a big quake is going to put large chunks of the bay without power for days. If/when this happens the reef tank losses will probably be large.
 
Not that I am not worried about it, I am just thinking I am likely to have bigger problems when The Big One hits.
 
I'll read up on it, thanks. Alright, thread jack over!

BenR7132 said:
No, I'm not tuned, I only have a CAI. The Vararam does kind of work - it's just such cheap crap - I had to get it off my car. The filter surface area on the Honker is many times greater as well - much more flow. Tell your friend to do the upgrade - I picked up noticable responsiveness over the Varacrap!
Click to expand...
 
Frankly, when the "Big One" hits, you will not be thinking about your reef tank. If a big quake hits and you are not incredibly affected, there will be local stores around that can sell you whatever generator you want.

Im sure there is a chance that you will be affected in such a minor way, but it is just not likely in my eyes.

My solution is a battery powered air stone. If things are down for more than a few days, Ill buy a generator. If i cant buy a generator, then im heading for the hills anyway.

Grasshopper23 said:
Back to the generator. I have been thinking about one recently as well although power outages are short and infrequent in SF...

Do we not want to talk about the elephant in the room? What about the Big One? I would imagine a big quake is going to put large chunks of the bay without power for days. If/when this happens the reef tank losses will probably be large.
Click to expand...
 
I tested this last weekend.

I can't say it is quiet. I read the specs again and noise level is 60db, at 23 feet, lol. It sounds like a small motorcycle. Lawnmower or leaf blower are definitely louder. Voltage drops to 90v for one or two seconds before coming back to 120v when large load like 300w heater or 250w MH comes on. Apparently, this is normal for any generator I was told. Even small honda generator will trip its circuit breaker. Problem with MH is ballast will shutoff when voltage is low. So I can't use this generator with MH. Other than that, generator seems fine. The CA version sold out the first day it was out. I got this before we got that recent wind storm where some socal folks were out of power for 3 days.

Hit your browser refresh if you do not see the video image below.

<embed width="600" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullscreen="true" allowNetworking="all" wmode="transparent" src="http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf" flashvars="file=http%3A%2F%2Fvid1193.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Faa352%2Fjerrysy%2Freef%2Fe3734455.mp4">
 
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