Anyone use a Coleman 10hp, 5,000 watt generator, POWERMATE 5000ER?

SAMS sells them and I am considering using one for power in the barn. It would run lights and power tools and most likely a fan

Wondering about the noise it makes and how finicky the engine is.

Den

-- Dennis Virzi (den2007@swbell.net), July 14, 2000

Answers

Dennis: For what a generator will cost you and the high hourly operating cost (and they are real, real gas hogs), I suspect you can have electricity extended to your barn. Initial cost may be high, but the hourly rate is cheap.

-- Ken Scharabok (scharabo@aol.com), July 14, 2000.

Dennis: We used the generator you have described, having purchased it from Sam's. It roared away, gulped enormous amounts of gas, and blew a rod right through it's side. Later we learned other folks had had the same problem!!If there is any chance you can get electricity to your barn, you will ever regret it.. We bought one because it was cheap and no electricity was available on our mountain. I don't miss the roar or the fumes or the overloading that would send it into a sputtering stop, or the yell, the generator is running out of gas...quick light the propane light or where is the flashlight? Or one of our boys insisting on refilling it when it was still hot.. to finish their video. THe last 3 yrs with electricity has been wonderful.

-- norma Lucas (trooper806@webtv.net), July 15, 2000.

...Should have said: NEVER regret it.!!!!!! N. Lucas

-- NormaLucas (trooper806@webtv.net), July 15, 2000.

Den,

I agree with the above posts, get electricity to your barn if possible. If you can't run a line to your barn then consider getting a better quality genset, the Coleman line is not made for extended use. I have two generators, one is a little Coleman 2K Powermate that is on its last leg (blowing smoke and fouling plugs after only 30 minutes of running). What I like about the Coleman is its lightness but it really doesn't have the guts to power what I needed so last year I bought a 10K set from Gillette - this one lets me get power to wherever I need it and it powers up water pumps or the air compressor or any power tool I have.

Regards,

Bob

-- Robert (STBARB@usa.net), July 15, 2000.

I should mention that this is for infrequent use. Eventually power will be run out to the barn.

Perhaps a "contractor grade" generator would be more suitable? Any suggestions?

Den

-- Dennis Virzi (den2007@swbell.net), July 15, 2000.

We had a bad ice & snow storm this past Feb. --we were with out power for 6 days --we used our generator for several hours each day and would not have wanted to do without it but the gas bill was outrageous!!!Now the cost of gas is even higher. And ours is VERY loud and it has fumes from the gas that I would not want in the barn!

-- Debbie T in N.C. (rdtyner@mindspring.com), July 15, 2000.

Dennis: For what its worth and my opinion only, I think the Coleman generators are junk. A buddy of mine had one. It was really noisy and didn't last long. If you can swing it get a generator thats Honda powered. They have an excellent reputation as long lasting, quiet, dependable engines. Check out E-bay for y2k surplus or Northern Tool and Hydraulics. The key here is "Honda powered" but not necessarily a Honda generator, because they're quite a bit more expensive. Good luck!

-- john leake (natlivent@pcpros.net), July 15, 2000.

Yeah, I have been reading the NORTHERN catalog too. Honda seems to be the way to go. I will check out LOWES and HOME DEPOT too. A 5KW Honda generator seems to go for about a grand.

Oh, the "barn" is for equipment and a shop, not for live animals. It is a steel building (or will be when it is erected later this month.)

Figure to hang a few shop lights and wire them to a plug to power 'em.

Another subject, but I will also be cutting in a window into one of the walls. Figure to use a mobile home type single hung window in the opening. Maybe frame it on the inside for support with 2x4s?

-- Dennis Virzi (den2007@swbell.net), July 15, 2000.

If all you're using it for is light duty occasional use you might want to consider hopping over to www.homepower.com and getting their free plans and details of their little generator they made out of a lawnmower engine and a car alternator. I've made one myself except that I left it on the mower deck (to make it moving it around easier), and instead of using a mower that had the shaft coming out the side I used one going straight down. You can make it a little quieter by using a automotive muffler and some muffler tape to adapt it to it.

Hope this helps a bit

-- Dave (AK) (daveh@ecosse.net), July 15, 2000.

Dennis, Prior to y2k I stopped by local small engine repair shop to inquire about coleman generators. The gentleman lead me to a box of bearings from coleman generators. He said that he had 20 to repair for this reason. Needless to say I started looking at other brands. Generac 4000 was the model I purchased at a BJ's Wholesale club. They have been in business for years producing equipment for the homeowner to hospitals and beyond. The 4000 has an overhead valve engine like honda which is not only much quieter but will last alot longer and doesn't consume as much fuel.

-- Peter (pdfitz@mkl.com), July 15, 2000.

Maybe I'm just very lucky, but I bought a coleman contractor grade 3500 watt about 4 years ago. The first one actually didn't work right out of the box, but Home Depot took it back and the new is fine. I'm pretty good about oil changes, but not fanatical. This has been our only source of power, and we run it about 6 hours a day every day. Only slight problems that were easily fixed, like cleaning the carb. I picked this size because it was the most efficient of any brand, running about 9 hours+ on 3 gallons of gas. It has a 5.5 hp briggs on it, maybe that was a great engine or something. It cost about 700.00 at Home Depot, and has been a lifesaver. But all I heard before I bought it concured with the other posts, that it would die after about 1, 000 hours at most. We must have gotten ten times that so far. Hope this helps.

-- Rod Perrino (redjouster@aol.com), July 17, 2000.

Before you buy that particular model, shop around and try to find a diesel powered unit. Diesel engines are more suited as they run cooler,longer and experience less wear on engine parts. Initial cost is greater, but overall costs are lower. However generators are really only for emergancy or totally off grid situations. If you currently have grid power run a line.

-- Jay Blair (jayblair678@yahoo.com), July 21, 2000.

Found the barn complete when we arrived at the place Friday night, so today we went to Home Depot and bought the Generac 4000.

Fired it up in the garage when we got it home and is seems to be fine for what we intend to use it for. No where near as noisy as a Coleman, which I recently heard at a construction site.

This generator will power the lights and outlets in the (equipment) barn, plus be hauled about when power is needed on the place.

I had forgotten this, but it is cheaper to buy extension cords than to buy the just wire to make them. Bought a 12gauge 50' cord and cut it in half to make two extension cords for the gnerator. (This genrator comes with two twist lock plugs.)

Thanks for all the suggestions.

-- Dennis Virzi (den2007@swbell.net), July 23, 2000.

Update on the generator: The Generac 4000 runs well and starts easily and seems to consume fuel at a very moderate rate. Glad I placed it at the far end of the barn (outside with exhaust facing away) as it is noisy Powered three shop lights with it initially and hung an outlet off of the last one to use for convenience. Heh, the cicular saw makes the three fixtures go out, but the heavy duty drill doesn't affect them. Powering the saw directly via an extension cord doesn't affect the lights. With this heat I am very glad I bought the large fan from SAMS, though it makes about the same amount of noise as does the generator.

-- Dennis Virzi (Den2007@swbell.net), August 07, 2000.

Don't know if you have access to propane, but here's a site to convert the 'gassers' over:

Generator Conversion Kits to Propane and Natural Gas

http://www.uscarb.com/

This is the first place I've seen that explains conversions in any sort of detail.

j

-- j (jw_hsv@yahoo.com), August 08, 2000.