Generator

Were moving to our property in about a month and a half, and we're planning on purchasing a gas generator as a back up to our solar.
I used to work for a fence company and we used a Yamaha ef2400ishc. I loved it...it was quiet and lightweight, and would handle anything we threw at it.
My questions:
Is the Yamaha suited to run more delicate equipment?
Can you run computers with an inverter generator? I would assume it's not pure sine.
Any thought on propane conversion?
Has anyone had dealings with this company?
http://www.yamaha-propane-natural-gas-generators.com/ef2400is.htm

Thanks in advance

an inverter generator makes AC, converts it to DC then inverts it back to AC which has a good sine wave.
a generator that isn't an inverter gives you a squarer wave not suitable for microwaves, many welders, some TVs and other stuff.

a computer will have a power supply that should be able to cope with crappy square waves but it depends on the quality of the power supply in the computer. A laptop is less likely to have problems than a desktop.

Hi John; If you are moving to your property and you are planning to use solar then you will have a battery bank and you will have an inverter. As long as you buy a quality inverter that produces pure sine wave... most will have a battery charger built in. You will not need a generator that has an inverter, just a plain cheap 3600 rpm gas generator will work fine. Be prepared that no matter how much you spend on a 3600 rpm gen set it will have a limited life, (the $2000.00 honda gen set's last a lot longer time,but you pay for it) I buy a $700.00 champion gen set from cosco with remote start, I have two of them now, a 4000 watt in the shop and a 7500 watt . Both are over two years old and running strong. The larger one is connected to the house and is converted to run on propane ! what a joy.. hooked it up to my 250 gal tank and wala ! NO MORE pouring expensive gas on my self! The nice propane man shows up and my tank is full ! When you start your generator it will sinc with your inverter ,then switch over supplying the power thru the inverter , maintaining a pure sine wave and running all your sensitive electronics . At the same time the built in charger will be charging your battery's. Switching or buying a gen set that runs on propane is an excellent idea. Kit to swap over to propane is close to $190.00... not cheap but... propane costs $1.30 a gal (bulk) gas is currently just under $2.00 a gal and on the way up. Getting started off grid can be expensive but the joy of being lit up when your neighbors are dark is worth it! Good Luck with your new adventure !

Hey John,

I cannot speak directly to the Yamaha product. It does appear to me to be a very similar product to the Honda Inverter generators that I do have years of experience with.

We bought our Honda 10 years ago. I do not have an hour meter on it but I can tell you that we have a ton of hours on it. With the storms this winter alone I can account for nearly 200 hours of runtime. In that time I have changed the oil, spark plug & air filter a number of times and I have had the carb rebuilt once. Oh, I did have to put a new battery in a few years ago. It is very quiet and sips fuel.

If you haven't figured it out, I love my Honda....

The reviews I found for the Yamaha sound fairly similar to the Honda. If you have a preference for Yamaha then I would say that you are on the right track. If you have no preference I would suggest that you consider the Honda as well.

One last thing, as a former electrician turned IT professional, I would suggest that you follow up any advice on this subject (including mine) with your own research. There are many kind and well intentioned folks around that have a "little bit of knowledge" and when it comes to electricity, fire etc. A little bit of information can hurt you.

Peace

S.

Here is some info that I stole from another site:

Inverter Technology:
Inverter generators are a relatively recent development, made possible by advanced electronic circuitry and high-tech magnets. These are generally 3-phase generators that output AC current like most traditional generators, but that current is then converted to DC, and then “inverted” back to clean AC power that maintains a single phase, pure sine wave at the required voltage and frequency.

Efficiency:
Inverters’ fuel-efficient engines and their ability to adjust engine speed to the load at hand (conventional units generally run at 3600 rpm regardless of the load) means they make better use of the fuel they do have (savings can be as much as 40%), and their run times of 8 to 10 hours and more are generally more than adequate for their applications. A more fuel-efficient generator also helps to reduce exhaust emissions .

Noise:
The issue of noise is one that truly separates the two categories of generators. Inverter generators are often designed from the ground up to be comparatively quiet. Quieter engines, special mufflers, and sound-dampening technology are used to reduce noise to amazingly low levels. In addition, conventional models have to run at a constant speed (typically 3600 rpm(Edit: many higher end generators run at 1800rpm and are somewhat quieter) in order to produce electricity with the desired characteristics (120VAC @ 60Hz in most cases). If the engine speed varies, the qualities of the power generated also change, which is clearly undesirable, so the engine speed must remain constant, and with that comes the constant noise of a generator running at full speed. Inverters, on the other hand, can adjust the electrical characteristics of the power produced using microprocessors and special electronics. This means that the engine can throttle back when the load is light, saving fuel and substantially reducing noise.