hi folks
our lovely city council has given us a metal meeting hut,its very nice indeed,we now want to buy a petrol generator to provide electricity for tea making,heating etc. the council have said they will build a metal burglar proof box outside to house it,but i fear we could wait a while.therefore my question is,are they light enough to store inside and lift out on a daily basis?
can anyone recomend a cheap one? do they all make an enormous racket,or are more pricey models a bit quieter?
thanks i advance
rach
x
Elvis,
you have a wide range to choose from regarding price and performance/output depending on what you want it to do, you want to look at the generators that are used by the caravanning fraternity which when running you can hardly hear them, :)
I bought a £50 generator from Screwfix a couple of years ago, an 800w 2 stroke one. It is light enough to move at will, but difficult to start.
Don't bother with these, I wouldn't again. I'd at the very least go for a small 4 stroke.
The little Honda suitacse ones that claim to "Run SIlent" really do..... you'd barely know they're running when you're stood next to them.... my cheap (and easily portable) 650W Wolf sounds like someone's mowing next-door-but-one's lawn....
BTW,
a small generator will easily run a bunch of modern high-efficiency lightbulbs but you will need at least 4kVA (4000W) continuous (as opposed to peak) output if you want to plug a kettle, Baby Belling or tea urn in. I'd suggest a small genny for lighting and gas for a small stove to heat water for tea etc.... You won't want to try and lift a 4-6kW genny BTW, it's at the small end of trailer generators.....
A generator just to run a kettle? what's wrong with a gas cooker? generators for kettles need to be 3.5 Kva at least, usually very heavy, and noisy!
as for lighting, why not have your meetings during daylight hours?
To meet elfinsafety regulations, you should first do a risk assessment,you would be amazed at the amount of people that will not wait for them to cool down when refueling. Most places insist on us having a diesel Generator with a cut out. It lessens the risk of fire, explosions, electracution etc.
After you have assessed all the risks, you will find you did not really need one. but if you are all too stubborn and carry on regardless, at least get a diesel and site it in a vented brick bunker.