Any Harman Owners Using Portable Generators?

I'm actually looking for one now too with all the crazy weather we've been having. I managed to espace the power outage this time around but I lost a bunch of food in that hurricane earlier in the year. I'm looking to do both the stove and the fridge with some overhead in case I need to throw the sub-pump on there for a few minutes. Been looking at this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Generac-5982-...JHSU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1320089119&sr=8-1

Amazon has it for $420 from them with free shipping but they are currently out of stock. I'm pretty sure they were in stock this morning too...should have pulled the trigger.

Another good site that has decent prices and that I've heard nothing but good things about is Electric Generators Direct:

http://www.electricgeneratorsdirect.com/

I believe that an inverter with true sine wave power is strongly recommended for a Harmon. That logic board runs everything.

Do you know of one that they recommend?

I know someone who runs his Accentra Insert off a generator like the one in the link, not to say that it's the correct or best thing for it though...

I don't have a generator for mine, so I cant recommend one from experience. Been lucky on power outages being short enough to endure, but that will run out eventually. Personally, I would prefer a Honda with inverter (the EU versions) but they are not cheap and I cant afford one at this time, especially since I would want something more than for just the stove.

The EU2000 would work fine for the stove and maybe a couple of other smaller items.

Yea I'm looking more closely at those now. Of course Honda doesn't let anyone post the prices on-line so you have to talk to someone or get a quote. Seeing what they say now. I like the fact that you can join the EU's together with a parallel cable in case you ever wanted to add some more juice to your setup.

The generac's look nice for the price but apparently they are made oversea's and some people have given bad reviews, although there are plenty more good reviews then bad...decisions decisions.

i run a 4000 watt lincoln with mine..because it's a welder it's rated higher than 4k..
back feed the whole house
runs water pump boiler tv lights, everything..
during the summer even had the pool pump and dehumidifier on and didn't realize it..lol

Not cheap but I purchased the Honda 2000i specifically for my Harman P-38. We tend to have 1-2 extended power outages per winter. I am in the process of adding a transfer switch by my electrical panel that will make it easy to power not only the Harman but also my refrigerator & upstairs EPA fireplace blower. That will keep the beer cold and the house warm....

I purchased a cheap cheap cheap 1500 watt generator from Tractor Supply (2nd one left) for $199. It's a Sportsman Portable Generator. It's had a mix of good and bad reviews. It appears to be due to terrible QC on the product line. I get about 10 hours out of 1.5 gallons of gas, and it's powering the P38, the hot water heater (gas), a couple lights, fans ,and laptops. I could run a bit more, but am enjoying the low fuel rate considering the ultra long lines at the gas stations. I drove around southern NH (hollis, merrimack, nashua, amherst, bedford ) but didn't find many that weren't quite busy.

I'm not sure how many others are running cheap generators. I have the surge protector inline, but the power is anything but clean. The stove objects a bit from time to time, but it's running like a champ.

I have no choice, been out of power since Saturday... I'm running the pellet stove on a 15 year old yamaha Genny... Don't know about sin waves... But I do know flame.... And I have been warm... If I fry the board... I'll have to deal with it when it happens.... Since I can be out for three more days I pray that the board holds up...

Honda EU Series is the best. Inverter with sine wave technology is the safest for the stove. I have an EU2000I, and have used it with my Harman Advance.

Most cheap generators are only suitable for inductive loads...in other words, light bulbs, small heaters, motors, etc. Running a cheap genny will not cause your electronics to fail right away, it's a bit of a "slow burn"... Bad power over long periods will cause the electronics to fail prematurely. How do you define prematurely? I say, "later and when you least expect it". Then Harman will get a bad rap because the circuit board failed "for no reason". If a cheap genny would blow your electronics immediately, we wouldn't be having this discussion... My 2 cents.

PS - I sell surge suppressors for industrial applications...for CNC machines with 24 volt electronics...

lbcynya said:

Most cheap generators are only suitable for inductive loads...in other words, light bulbs, small heaters, motors, etc. Running a cheap genny will not cause your electronics to fail right away, it's a bit of a "slow burn"... Bad power over long periods will cause the electronics to fail prematurely. How do you define prematurely? I say, "later and when you least expect it". Then Harman will get a bad rap because the circuit board failed "for no reason". If a cheap genny would blow your electronics immediately, we wouldn't be having this discussion... My 2 cents.

PS - I sell surge suppressors for industrial applications...for CNC machines with 24 volt electronics...

Click to expand...

i simply can't afford a honda with all the money we are putting into the new house.
but i would really like your opinion of just the "clean" aspect of these gennys-

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200419022_200419022 $299 with $79 shipping (amazon) or $84 shipping northern tools (seller is northern tools on amazon too)
i'm more comfortable with these over the low end generac ix series (not american made like generac's better models)
as these appear to have much better motors and much better reviews compared to the generac ix series.
you can get higher wattage units of the same design too.

quote from the blurb on the powerhorse page-
"...you can count on it to generate clean electricity with a smoother output to safely run sensitive electronics, producing less than 5% total harmonic distortion at full load"

is that level of "clean" good enough?

i haven't yet found (for comparison) the figure on % distortion that the hondas produce.

*edit. i'm finding more info.
it looks 5% or less is what is considered safe.
and one citation saying briggs and stratton give a range of from 3% to 6% thd on their rigs.
http://www.aboutgenerators.com/harmonic-distortion-for-the-briggs-stratton-pro-series-30338.html

this briggs and stratton is a bit more expensive. but far less than a honda.
it's still more than i want to spend now. but looks like a decent alternative to the honda if you want to spend less but still go with a non chinese made unit.
http://www.amazon.com/Briggs-Stratton-Portable-Inverter-Generator/dp/B0037C18U4

Honda EU1000

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverter_(electrical)

Buy the best generator you can afford and be prepared to accept that electrical issues >could<<< pop up over the long run. 6% THD is the highest "accpeptable" limit, so 5% THD is a little better. Invertor generators produce less than 3% THD which is similar to grid power.

Regardless, invertor generators product 12 volt power and use high qualty electronics to convert the DC to AC. The higher quality the generator the better the electronics resulting in cleaner power. Some generators "fake" it and those are typically 500 bucks or less.

It's a debate that will rage on. Affordability is a big issue and I understand that. Everyting is a calculated risk. Find out how much a new board is for the stove and weigh the potential costs.

Weigh the costs and go with your gut...

at the risk of totally beating a dead horse, do you think a stove like mine, heatilator ps50, with fewer and less sophisticated electronics, would have a little greater tolerance for these small margins difference in thd?
i know the thread author was referring to his own harman. perhaps this applies on the other side of my question. i.e. sensitivity.

I have the Honda EU3000i and the APC BACK-UPS XS 1000 which has the AVR and 20-30 back power. Gives me time to hook the genny up and not miss a beat.

BrotherBart said:

lbcynya said:

Most cheap generators are only suitable for inductive loads...in other words, light bulbs, small heaters, motors, etc. Running a cheap genny will not cause your electronics to fail right away, it's a bit of a "slow burn"... Bad power over long periods will cause the electronics to fail prematurely. How do you define prematurely? I say, "later and when you least expect it". Then Harman will get a bad rap because the circuit board failed "for no reason". If a cheap genny would blow your electronics immediately, we wouldn't be having this discussion... My 2 cents.

PS - I sell surge suppressors for industrial applications...for CNC machines with 24 volt electronics...

Click to expand...

And how much "dirty power" do you see with line current?

Click to expand...

Plenty I'm most cases power fluctuations are a bigger problem. Also, a good amount of noise, 'dirt', etc. comes from within the facility itself.

I bought our generator in October 1996 when my wife was VERY pregnant with our twins and we came home from a trip to DC to find no power and a basement full of water, ready to swamp our boiler. This was a Friday night.

First thing Saturday morning I was first on line at Sears and snagged the last generator they had, to power the sump pump.

It may not be what I would have picked after careful consideration and shopping, but 15 years later it still works great. I think it is 2400 watts and we made good use of it during hurricane Irene to power fridge, lights, computers and more. I assume, sine waves or not, that it will power my stove as well.

Bottom line - just get something that works.

Yes, my dream is a NG powered generator which will take over at the moment of an outage. But then again . . . I have lots of dreams and lots of other things which will likely come first.

Powerhorse from Northern Tool
very clean power, safe for sensitive electronics, great price

Last winter when the big ice storm was forecasted for much of NE PA, I went to HD and bought a Rigid electric start 8kw running 10kw peak generator for $1299. It has a Subarau engine. Havn't had to use it yet but it should almost run my entire house minus my geothermal heating and cooling. I will need to use oil filled electric radiators for heat and once I have this Big E installed this week, I can use that in an emergency and blow heat from the garage into the home. I have electric 80gal hot water heater and a well pump. I do not forsee any issues as long as everything doesn't come on at once, which I can control by turning breakers on and off when needed.

First off, I am no engineer or electrician, however, my electrician friends did tell me NOT to use my 8,000 watt generac for my Harman Accentra which I bought from electricgeneratorsdirect, which I might add works very well for the rest of the house. I did buy a 1600 watt B&S inverter for my TV and the Harman. Just my $0.02!