I am buying a portable generator in order to power up to six, 500 watt halogen work lights to light up my horse arena at night. what are some things I should consider in terms of features that are needed in this application. Also, I don't want alot of bells and whistles, I need to keep as low cost as possible but still safe and quiet.
You have got to upload up the complete wattage ate up through your pumps and lighting fixtures. Then purchase a generator with a little bit of spare potential. If you seek 'transportable turbines united kingdom' you'll get a tremendous alternative of machines. If you forget 'transportable' you'll get commercial giants.
To the past comment regarding fuel consumption - You sated: For some reason, a big generator- say 6000 watts will go through twice as much gas as two 3000 watt generators! No idea why. Look it up if ya want. Totally true. Anyways, that ratio is far from accurate. Don t be misconstrued by not taking into account the fact that the listed specs for any unit describes fuel consumption based on load. All the listed specs show consumption-over-time, indicating that that consumption is during operation of the unit while at only 1/2 of the maximum rated load capacity. For your perusal, some generator specs taken from authorized Honda dealer web sites. Honda ~3500 (max watt) series Tank Size:6.2 Gallons Run Time (50% Load):16 Hours And the Honda ~6500 (max watt) series 6.2 Gallons Run Time (50% Load):10.4 Hours Anyways, if one were to crank up the Honda3500 from its 1/2 load of say 1750watts, to say about 3200watts, I would gamble the fuel consumption rate would spike significantly, and to the point where heat and exhaust would factor in largely; the 1/2 load operation for the 6500 series would yield 3250watts, incidentally. Even if there were so be some kind of (likely negligible if any) savings by having and utilizing 2 of the 3500 units at the same time, would it make up for the additional money spent on the cost of ownership of the 2 units, versus the single expense of the more powerful unit? (one of the 3500w units $1,600 while the 6500w costs about $2700+/-) Also, would someone want to occupy space with 2 units at once, either while in use or in storage? What about the chance of more things going wrong while running 2 units, let alone the increase in noise (et al) pollution. I would fathom the 6500w engine, and all moving components, would be much less taxed over time with respect to the similar output of the 2-unit scenariowhich sounds chaotic and in illogical, and was not even thought out.
Living on the coast and surviving hurricane Ike I did learn a thing or two about generators. The cheap ones are just that. Cheap. If you want one that will last a while go with a name you recognize like Coleman or Honda. (both great, but Honda is the king) And only buy one with just the power that you need. For some reason, a big generator- say 6000 watts will go through twice as much gas as two 3000 watt generators! No idea why. Look it up if ya want. Totally true. So you are talking about 3000 watts that you need. If all you are using is lights you wont need to worry about start-up surge. You know how they say it's a 3000 watt gen with like 3250 peak? That is because if you are running a motor like a fridge or air conditioner they will need extra oomph to get the ball rolling. Those appliances will surge higher than the amount of watts they need just to run, then they come back down. Lights don't so much do this. I know, it's confusing. Just get a good 3000 watter or just a little more in case they exaggerate a bit about the output. It happens. But probably not with a good one. P.S. I have studied long and hard to find the best way to reduce the noise. If the volume is a concern, the most effective and cheapest thing you can do is to just dig a hole 2ft deep and put the generator in it. Or in your case you could put hay bales around it, or both. OH! And you can get one that requires a gas /oil mix which is a pain in the butt, but they don't require adding oil. If you go with a gas one you must watch your oil level or risk burning up the engine. I went with gas/oil mix because if I'm using a generator I am in a crisis and might forget to check the oil.
You will need a minimum 3000 watt generator, but to prevent running it at 100% load go for something slightly larger, likely 4000 watts. Most generators in this size will supply 120V/240V instead of a single 120V output. The lights will have to be broken into two separate chains to feed from separate 120V outputs from the generator.
