Cheap Generator

[mattbeau]

Mine is going great, it's so convenient to charge at the field.

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[canbarelyhover]

Got mine about 3 weeks ago. Great unit for $200. Small, light, starts easy. I've only taken it out a couple times - about 8hrs run total time.

I can't seem to reach the spec'd 1000peak/800running watts with mine though. I'm seeing more of 800peak/700running watts.

On my 308duo, i'm able to run 14A 6S on one channel and 15A 6S on the other channel or some other combination thereof w/o the generator stalling. At that rate i'm looking at around 35-37min charge time given a starting level of 20% on a 12S 5000 pack. Ok if you're sharing a field but a bit on the slow side if you've got the field to yourself and just want to do back to back to back flights.

[2slow2g]

I almost picked one of these up but bought some 7s packs recently. To charge 1 pair of 4,400's at 3c I'll need around 777 watts and while those are charging I'd like to charge smaller 6s packs for my x3l on the other channel. 4 of those 6s 1550's at 3c requires another 469 watts plus overhead for the charger of course. I found a Powerhorse 2000 for $100 more than the non sale price of the Sportsman that sounds like it will meet my needs. Anyone here have any experience with it? Going to be using 4 HP DPS1200 power supplies in series for 48V.

[Mike680]

Dang, I just ordered one of these and the price was $158. $168 shipped. I've been wanting a field generator and that price was too cheap to ignore!

I just saw in the ratings of the unit that it shouldn't be used at over 3000ft elevation. I'm at 4500ft, so has anyone used these at over 3000ft? Any issues?

[prairie ville]

I would bet because the jetting on the carburetor. I rejetted my Honda for higher altitude, they run better and not so rich with the right jets. At 4500 feet, wouldnt think you would notice it too much. May be able to find a smaller jet for your altitude but with the cheaper units maybe not, I dont know with those......my .02$

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[Mike680]

Originally Posted by prairie ville

I would bet because the jetting on the carburetor. I rejetted my Honda for higher altitude, they run better and not so rich with the right jets. At 4500 feet, wouldnt think you would notice it too much. May be able to find a smaller jet for your altitude but with the cheaper units maybe not, I dont know with those......my .02$

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I'm hoping it will be fine for the fuel/air ratio since my Honda lawn mower and snow blower work great with no issues.

[prairie ville]

Yea, you shouldnt have a problem. Do keep in mind, you`ll lose some power at that altitude, reduced generator output. General rule of thumb is, 3% loss for every 1000 feet of elevation above 1000 feet, so the first 1000 feet you dont lose anything. Also depends on the base horsepower of the engine, could be slightly oversized so the generator losses could be less.....Sorry for the generator lesson.....

[Mike680]

I just got my generator today and was perusing the manual. It says to adjust the valve clearances at 100 hours. Okay, easy enough, but what's the clearance? I didn't see it listed in my printed manual or the one I found on-line.

[Stang Man]

Looks like its back on sale at Home Depot For $158 with free shipping.

[Mike680]

Originally Posted by Stang Man

Looks like its back on sale at Home Depot For $158 with free shipping.

That's what I paid for mine. $168 delivered.

[mattbeau]

I think I paid close to that
I had a coupon though for moving into the neighborhood

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[prairie ville]

Originally Posted by Mike680

I just got my generator today and was perusing the manual. It says to adjust the valve clearances at 100 hours. Okay, easy enough, but what's the clearance? I didn't see it listed in my printed manual or the one I found on-line.

Maybe a sticker or the like on the engine somewhere? Just a thought.

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[Mike680]

Originally Posted by prairie ville

Maybe a sticker or the like on the engine somewhere? Just a thought.

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I didn't see one. I emailed the company, so hopefully they'll write back. That's a big oversight on their part. If they don't, I'll just adjust them for a bit of "wiggle" in the rockers when they're off their respective valve. I thought about tearing into it and measuring the out-of-the-box clearances with a feeler gauge, but I didn't want to mess with it. Also, they list an interval for checking/cleaning the oil filter. Um, there isn't one. Couldn't find it on the generator and the exploded parts diagram for the crankcase, oil pan, etc doesn't even list a part number for an oil filter.

But, anyway, I got it up and running. Ran it for an hour with no load, changed the oil and now I'm charging batteries. It will handle my server power supply, iCharger 306b and three 6S 5000mAh batteries at 2C (30A) just fine. It runs quite nicely even though it's almost maxed out for the continuous rating of 800W. I used an on-line watt calculator and that load came out to 756W. Now, just need to hope it's reliable and lasts a long time. Not bad at all for a little $150 generator.

[mattbeau]

Originally Posted by Mike680

I didn't see one. I emailed the company, so hopefully they'll write back. That's a big oversight on their part. If they don't, I'll just adjust them for a bit of "wiggle" in the rockers when they're off their respective valve. I thought about tearing into it and measuring the out-of-the-box clearances with a feeler gauge, but I didn't want to mess with it. Also, they list an interval for checking/cleaning the oil filter. Um, there isn't one. Couldn't find it on the generator and the exploded parts diagram for the crankcase, oil pan, etc doesn't even list a part number for an oil filter.

But, anyway, I got it up and running. Ran it for an hour with no load, changed the oil and now I'm charging batteries. It will handle my server power supply, iCharger 306b and three 6S 5000mAh batteries at 2C (30A) just fine. It runs quite nicely even though it's almost maxed out for the continuous rating of 800W. I used an on-line watt calculator and that load came out to 756W. Now, just need to hope it's reliable and lasts a long time. Not bad at all for a little $150 generator.

Yep I keep mine at 800w also. It really starts to bog if you try to go more

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[Mike680]

Originally Posted by mattbeau

Yep I keep mine at 800w also. It really starts to bog if you try to go more

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Well, it's only rated for 800W continuous anyway and that's probably a bit optimistic. However, I just had an issue with mine at that 756W load. It started sounding rough, so I went out to look at it. It started shooting white smoke out the exhaust because it was burning oil. I shut everything down and disconnected the load. It re-started easily and the smoke cleared up to nothing in about 30 sec. I probably shouldn't have run such a high load until it's fully broken in. It only had about an hour (no load) on it when I connected that big load. Oh well, lesson learned. It's my first generator, so I hope I didn't permanently hurt it. Burning a little oil never hurt anything anyway...right?

I found out that you do have to leave the fuel cap vent in the middle and not fully open. I saw a video where a guy said the "open" position is too closed and it will shut off eventually. Mine started sputtering and it immediately stopped when I moved the vent from the "open" position to in the middle.

[Mike680]

Also, derrr hurrr herpity derp on my part.

I realized that R/C lipo watt calculator doesn't take into account the power needed to run the power supply charger and any efficiency losses. If I was pumping out 756W to the batteries, I'll bet that charger was easily putting out over 800W, which is what could have caused the overload.

Anyone have an idea of the load needed to run a standard converted server powersupply and an iCharger 306B or the equivalent? No batteries charging, just to run those two components.

[prairie ville]

Is that a overhead valve type or a flathead? I`d probably run about half load for a few hours for break in, its air cooled so full load right away will heat everything to max temp on a green engine and the altitude also means thinner air which is less efficient for cooling also. Maybe the smoke will clear up some.

[Mike680]

Yes, as I posted above, I ran it no-load and the smoke completely cleared after about 30 secs. It's been constantly running and charging batteries at a more moderate (about 50%) load with no issues. It's an overhead valve pushrod engine.

But, for those who have this generator, is it normal to make a kind of "puff" or stumble type sound for a split second every once in a while? It's never quit. It did it before my smoke out fiasco, too, so that didn't cause it. The noise gets much less frequent the more load it has on it, but it doesn't go away completely.

[Mike680]

I did some research and it seems you have to take into account a 20% overall loss from the generator output from what's actually delivered to the batteries. For your desired wattage output, multiply by 1.2. So, for my 756W desired output, that was really 907W pumped out by the generator. No wonder it sagged and smoked after running for 15-20 min or so since it's only rated for 800W continuous, 1000W peak. Hope I didn't damage anything permanently.

[prairie ville]

Running a 100 watts over rated continuous rating is within its "peak" wattage rating, so most likely youre fine. Wont get into the whole "peak" rating thing.... The sputter every now and then could be from running alittle rich, like I said before, proper jets make it run better and better on fuel usage. Just trying to help..........my .02$

PS: Be curious what the manual defines as "peak wattage" run time and at what ambient temperature.

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