A question for all of you and CDK in particular

Yamaha, Honda, Robin-Subaru all fine generators. And they are easily fixed if a problem developes. Robin-Subaru does have a small diesel also.

 

That said, I have seen the cheap 2 strokes on sale for $60 at places like harbour freight.
One could buy 3-4 of them,assume it will last a year,and scavenge the good parts for the future.
You may get lucky and have them last years each-who knows.

And if you see one advertised with a warranty,don't assume it's good. The seller is just holding back half of the payment to the supplier,so the seller can offer warranties and it costs them nothing.

 

Most of these small gas generators only have a few things that wear out after the engine. I have an old Ajax (Briggs L head) that's 30 years old and though I've replaced the generator's brushes twice and several bearings over the years, the only real related pieces are the L head engine parts. Re-ringing and tossing some new seals and bearings in one of these, is very simple and easily done in a casual afternoon. It's currently in need of it's third carburetor, but the last rebuild is still holding. These old lawn mower engines will run on about anything that burns, just about and I routinely use it to burn up old gas, I pump out of tanks, that can't be used in a more precise engine type.

A good generator head and a cheap engine isn't a bad way to go, if you're willing to replace and rebuild the engine every so often. Now, I seriously doubt the generator head is very good on a Harbor Freight setup.

 

If I did the numbers right (using the low US prices), at 3000 hours, a 750 watt generator would use about $800 in gasoline. So fuel economy is something to consider.

 

I saw a video on the Harbor Freight gen-set. The guy was showing how he dismounted the whole thing, repaired it and remounted BEFORE the first run. So he said : "If you are willing to do these things, it is a good buy"
That is not for me by far.
Good point about the B&S. I have a lawn mower with that engine: you can't kill them. You put the oldest crappy gasoline in the tank and they start first pull. But they are noisy as hell, heavy and I don't know what kind of generator head they put. And they go for the price of the Honda, or very close. They don't offers in my knoweldge very small one.
Yes good point, consumption is sometime the forgotten factor in these small engines.

 

A guy traveling Canada's lake system had a Battery with him for his Electric trolling Motor.
No way of Charging the battery.
I thought of a Weed Eater or smaller motor powering a Motor Cycle alternator.
Using the 'charging' system once each evening for an hour or so should charge any Car Battery.
What do Y'all think of that one?

 

Not a bad idea Thudpucker, but it has some flaws.
The small engines are very loud because they all lack an efficient muffler. The guys with chainsaws a mile away in the forest already irritate me.
Do motorcycles have alternators now? They used to have one or two coils under the flywheel to charge the battery.

And your traveling guy must have a can of fuel for the Weed Eater, so he might as well use a small outboard.

 

You can muffle down a chain saw motor, though often you rob a good bit of power too. I've made a chain saw powered charger, using a 50 amp automotive alternator. It worked and I did muffle it down to a reasonable level (I used a Honda 50 muffler). The small, homeowner size of saws, just don't have the nuts at full load, to spin an alternator, so look for an engine with at least 50cc's, preferably bigger.

 

I always follow jonr's idea and put a tiny amount of 2-stroke oil in the fuel for the 4stroke lawnmower, gives a little bit of lubrication to the upper cylinder, now that leaded fuel is out of fashion.

 

That is interresting. So the lead on the gasoline was some kind of lubriquant, or it was that the quality of explosion was better with lead that the upper cylinder was cleaner than with the unleaded gasoline?

 

For camping with a Charger in the wilds of Canada, most often you can put the little charger right up against a Downed tree or etc to make a good muffler. Just a box over the unit makes a pretty good muffler if you leave a gap for air to escape and some fresh intake air.

Yes motorcycles have some kind of charging system if they have a battery. Some other little devices have a charger too. It does not have to be a big Automotive Alternator.

Some folks don't need a motor. But...Us old guys would "LIKE" a low output motor enough to build a charging system.
Some places in Canada they wont let you make any kind of a fire on the ground. You have to carry a stove with you. So an Electric coffee pot is not out of the realm after all.

 

The first one you said.

As you'll certainly remember, back in the good old 60's and 70's the engines used the leaded gasoline. This gasoline used to leave a thin layer of lead on valve seats, which in turn acted as a sealant and anti-wear protection for the valve seat metal.

Now that gasoline no more contains lead, in order to use it with old engines one has to mix it with a tiny fraction of oil (1:25 to 1:30 ratio), or else valves would be left with no lubrication and would rapidly wear.

Cheers

 

Certainly pays to use some kind of lubricant in the fuel if there is any doubt whether the engine was not designed for unleaded gas. A friend had a valve failure due to this problem in a vintage petrol truck, afterwards he religiously added a specialist upper-cylinder lubricant. Tetraethyl lead had lubricating properties, as well as raising the octane number of the gas and acting as an anti-knock agent.

 

Thanks, that is very good informations.

 

....Or buy a small bottle of tetra-ethyl-lead if you can and brew your own leaded fuel....