Generator on sale at Costco online

[kmaggard]

Westinghouse 7000W Running/8500W Peak Electric Start Generator With 20

I ordered one.

[n2916s]

Well, you have ordered a big, honking contractor style generator that is not designed for quiet (or particularly clean) power.

You won't be popular in most campgrounds and will likely be visited by a Ranger if you try and fire it up in a National Park...

Hurricane preparedness? Well, that is another story...

Mike

[TinShack]

When they don't list the decibel level in the specs, I'm automatically wary. I had to search for the db level on this one and it looks to be 70-74. Compare this to a Honda 2000i at 53-59 db.

[Lara Me]

What N2916s said.

I have a Costco generator, with a Honda OHV engine, but not an official Honda labeled gen. Bought it solely for power outages at the house, as winter storms usually result in a 1-2 day outage every 2 years, and twice longer than 5 days.

It weighs a lot, like 150 lbs or more. I dread firing it up because it is louder than my Honda lawnmower. I can't run it at night and still look my neighbor in the eye, or sleep in the upstairs bedroom adjoining the wall where I park this outside. I have to shout to be heard when next to this thing. I would dearly love to convert the exhaust to something remotely tolerable for low noise.

It gulps gasoline from its 8 gallon tank which lasts maybe 8-10 hours, and the exhaust was hot enough to melt a hole in plastic trash can 2 feet away. Only good thing about it was it was cheaper (like 1/5tth the cost) of a similar power-rated Honda gen, and it will run my house using a transfer switch and aux Circuit panel. In fairness, I've never exceeded 3kw when on gen power for the whole house.

I justify using this only when hearing about the neighbors trying to find a hotel room under $200 a night with heat, and having to throw out a few hundred dollars worth of food, while me and family were enjoying Xbox, microwaves, forced hot air, and beers from both the inside and garage fridges.

I really hope you are not serious about using this anywhere except on your own property. You wouldn't last a second in any RV park without complaints (or worse, self-help noise reduction efforts).

I will buy a Honda EU2000i and the same "companion" model for duty on the Airstream, and since my neighbor seems to get buy with his two Honda EU's to power his house during an outage, I may just sell the beast and reclaim the space. Probably wait for the next storm and 4 day outage when I could name my own price (not a gen to be found in 4 states during the 06 ice storm when power was out for 9 days).

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by CA Streamer

When they don't list the decibel level in the specs, I'm automatically wary. I had to search for the db level on this one and it looks to be 70-74. Compare this to a Honda 2000i at 53-59 db.

For reference, normal human speech is about 55dB at arm's length. The threshold of human hearing is about 3dB for a 20-year-old with no hearing damage, and about 13dB for a 60-year-old.

Also, an increase of 10dB means the unit is perceived by the human ear to be twice as loud. One interesting side effect of this is, if you run paired Honda 2000i units side-by-side, the perceived sound from both together will be 63-69dB, just 10dB higher than running one by itself.

Sound pressure waves obey the Inverse-Square Law, that states for each doubling of the distance, the sound level is quartered. So, a generator rated 74dB is about four times as loud as one rated 54dB, and you have to be twice as far away from the generator to hold a conversation without shouting over the noise of the generator.

[switz]

Glad they are offering a 3 year warranty, but who will support it? CostCo only "services" tires. They do offer a great return policy.....

[Aage]

It's somewhere between "loud", and "very loud" on this chart.

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by Aage

It's somewhere "loud", and "very loud" on this chart.

But still quieter than a screaming child.

[PharmGeek]

question real quick about the noise...for something like two honda 2000's running stuff at my house in the case of a power outage....would neighbors even hear it at all indoors? When my neighbor runs his....oohhhh boy do I hear it...and he runs it like a good boy once a month or so it seems

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by PharmGeek

question real quick about the noise...for something like two honda 2000's running stuff at my house in the case of a power outage....would neighbors even hear it at all indoors? When my neighbor runs his....oohhhh boy do I hear it...and he runs it like a good boy once a month or so it seems

That depends on so many factors…
How his house is built, if if has a brick veneer wall, how many windows he has, whether the windows face your generator, etc.
Where exactly you put your generators to run them, including which way the exhaust is pointed.
Whether you have any kind of barrier between your generators and his house (even your trailer or tow vehicle between the generators and his house will slightly reduce noise levels for him, but probably raise noise levels for you).

His generator is probably set up to minimize the noise he hears, with no consideration given to the noise you hear. Since you're already considering the noise he will hear from your generators, you've clearly demonstrated that you're a better neighbor than he is.

If you want to minimize the noise your neighbor hears, open the garage doors and run the generators in the garage. Again, louder for you, quieter for him. But at least they'll also be out of the weather.

[AldeanFan]

At Jamboree in the hills this summer I put my Twin Honda's in front of the truck, chained to the tow hook. The trailer and truck were still hitched. When my neighbor about 75' away was running this yellow generator I had to walk to the front of the truck and feel for exhaust with my hand to see if the generators were still running because I could not hear them over the yellow machine. My Honda's ran flawlessly all weekend, the yellow generator seemed to need a lot of tinkering to keep it happy.

At home, if I put the generators behind the garage I have to open the window to hear them running the Furnace and Freezer.

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Originally Posted by kmaggard

Westinghouse 7000W Running/8500W Peak Electric Start Generator With 20

I ordered one.

Hi, it's funny [NOT] how many comments he received by just saying that he ordered this generator; That's all he said. He never said where or how he was going to use it.

[Wazbro]

Originally Posted by ROBERTSUNRUS

Hi, it's funny [NOT] how many comments he received by just saying that he ordered this generator; That's all he said. He never said where or how he was going to use it.

True, but since this is a Airstream/camping forum when you post you bought something (whatever you bought) unless you post you got it for something else it is implied that it would be used for camping or an Airstream, if it can be.

[panheaddale]

Costco 699.00. Honda gen 1000.00 plus second one = 2000.00. WOW think how much more fun he can have or buy something for his airstream with the money he has left over.. Stayed for years at race tracks with generators running all night long and can still sleep like a baby.

[Lumatic]

Originally Posted by Protagonist

But still quieter than a screaming child.

But might work to drown out yapping dogs and spouses.

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by panheaddale

Costco 699.00. Honda gen 1000.00 plus second one = 2000.00. WOW think how much more fun he can have or buy something for his airstream with the money he has left over..

Yes, he'll have enough left to purchase a replacement when his neighbors sabotage the first one...

[Silver Hawk]

Why do people buy two Honda 2000's for $2,000. Each only produces 1600 watts so you have to buy two to run your A/C.
Generac cost $615 ea, produce 2000 watts each - so you only need one for your A/C. Just as quiet as a Honda, and run as long on gas.
Some say quality - been using mine for three years (live in mountains and have lots of blackouts mostly due to fires) and still running fine. Has anyone ever had problems with Generac?

[Bluto]

Honeywell 2000i vs Generac 2000ix inverter generators - YouTube

Generac is noisy. Not Honda like at all unless your talking about a lawn mower.
Too bad I couldn't find a video with a Honda vs Generac. Oh well.
By the way, I don't own a Honda generator, but I've heard them in campgrounds and they are much quiter than this generac model in the video.

[AldeanFan]

I bought the best trailer so it deserves the best generator

Both were bought used and got a great deal

[overlander63]

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