Generators

Rocky

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Apr 4, 2002
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For those of you who live here in the DR and are considering purchasing a small generator to get you those extra hours of power to charge your inverter batteries, this may be of interest to you.
As I hate noisy stinky high maintenance gas guzzling generators, I have managed to get around the power failures with an inverter, a multitude and batteries and economy bulbs throughout Rocky's.
We also turn off all unnecessary electrical devices when not in use and we don't even attempt to run hotwater tanks, refrigerators (we use ice during long power outages) AC units or water pumps.
That being said, the latest power failures forced me to buy a mechanical generator.
As there was hardly anything left on the market, I had little choice of what to buy and I landed up with a Honda powered Elemax semi quiet 2.9 K unit.
To my surprise, when I run it during the daytime, I have been managing to run the bare essentials here, a few lights, fans, TV's and the 3 PC's, and still squeeze out 50 amps of charge power from our Trace 3.6 inverter.
Although the charger is capable of puting out 100 amps, in reality, it's rare that we get enough voltage from Edenorte to ever get that much.
Typically, it puts out 50 or 60 amps when the batteries are low, as we rarely get more than 100 volts from the street lines.
All this to say that if you are in a similar position and have to buy a small generator to supplement you until we get through these long power outages, this Honda, as small as it is, might be what you need to resolve the problem.
It costs a bit less that $1,000 US, should be more reliable than a "no name" brand, consumes approx. 1 US gallon of gas per 3 hours of operation and is substantially quieter that most.
We put ours into a small shed with an extended 15 foot exhaust pipe and can't even hear it in the bar while the neighbouring generators drone out their low rumble.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.
 
T

TiberiusMineola

Guest
Thank you, Rocky!!

A most appropriate subject matter. Timely! Well written. Very specific. I suspect that there are 100s of us on the verg of buying a generator. Any other personal experiences with specific makes & models? Gas vs. diesel? Question: is it possilbe to buy a generator in the USA [ex Home Depot] via the net, & have it shipped here? Duty free? Suggestions? Comments? Again, thank you , Rocky!!
 

Chris

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Oct 21, 2002
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Generators for Women!

Last year for Xmas, Richard bought me my own little 2.5 Kw generator. It is red, on wheels, I can wheel it where-ever I need power - so, I wheel it where I want it, pour about a pint of gas into it, check the oil, pull the starter cord and plug in whatever I want to run, eg. the washing machine, my two sewing machines, or about 3 computers and our satellite modems.

As far as household appliances, it is the absolute 'must-have' accessory for any modern Dominican Woman! :classic:
 

Rosemary

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Apr 13, 2004
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Chris said:
Last year for Xmas, Richard bought me my own little 2.5 Kw generator. It is red, on wheels, I can wheel it where-ever I need power - so, I wheel it where I want it, pour about a pint of gas into it, check the oil, pull the starter cord and plug in whatever I want to run, eg. the washing machine, my two sewing machines, or about 3 computers and our satellite modems.

As far as household appliances, it is the absolute 'must-have' accessory for any modern Dominican Woman! :classic:

Did you buy it in the D.R. ? Could I buy it in Canada and was it expensive!
Would I have problems getting it through Customs ? Last time I brought a George Forman B-B-Q down and they wanted to confiscate it at customs, said it looked dangerous ! After a Dominican friend talked to them they allowed it through ! Thanks for any info you can shed on this !
 

Chris

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Oct 21, 2002
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Richard bought it in the Turks and Caicos Islands (they have a large American style Home Depot type store there), and handcarried it through customs at Puerto Plata. He paid US$650 and at customs paid $50.00 to our 'regular' clearing officer. You should be able to get these at any large hardware store in Canada or the US.
 

Criss Colon

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Jan 2, 2002
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Last time I was a "Price Mart",a year ago!

They had several small(2 to 4.5 kilo)gas generators.Might all be sold out with the current situation.In Santo Dominigo,next to Tokyo Motors,they are selling some diesel units in the 4 to 6 kilo range!
I have a 20 kilo "Planta" ,wish I could sell my over capacity back to "Edisur"!I can run lots of TVs,fans,and air-conditioners,while I recharge my 8 batteries though! CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
 

Rocky

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Apr 4, 2002
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windeguy said:
After being here a year and the power situation getting worse and worse, this month I purchased a Yamaha 2.6 KW generator in Jarabacoa for about $700 US. It uses about 1.2 gallons of gas in 3.5 hours. It charges 8 batteries using a 2.5KW Trace inverter and runs the rest of my stuff including the refrigerator, TV and and laptop computer/internet interface. Just don't try running the microwave at the same time.

This generator is not really quiet and the Honda that Rocky purchased is probably a better unit.

My neighbor has 16 batteries and a 5 KW diesel generator that sounds almost as loud at my house as my generator does. You need hearing protection to get in the same room as his generator.
Sounds like you made a good purchase.
No sense buying a huge unit if the power situation is going to improve and you never get to use it, and if you decide to sell it one day, a Yamaha will be a lot easier to sell that some no name brand.
 

Rocky

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221 said:
this is what you should have bought

http://www.yamaha-motor.com/products/gen/ef3000ise-b.html

doesnt get any quieter than that and the fuel efficiency is unparalleled
I think we all know what we should have bought, but in my case, I was lucky to find anything at all, let alone a semi quiet one.
All the ultra quiet ones were gone, and most dealers and fereterias were just plumb out of generators.
Ochoa had nothing, the Mitsubishi dealer had nothing, the Suzuki dealer had nothing, and I mean nothing at all, just parts for sale, Bellon had 2 diesel models left and Honda Cibae?a had a few noisy 5 and 6 k models and 3 units like the one I bought, and they were going like hot cross buns.
BTW: That's a nice looking machine. Wish I had one.