New Harbor Freight 3500 inverter gen

[CA_Tallguy]

I'll just leave this right here....

https://www.harborfreight.com/3500-w...tor-63584.html

I bought this and so far so good!!

[uncle_bob]

Hi

My experience with Harbor Freight has been "mixed". Some of their stuff is pretty good, other items ... not so much.

How quiet is this on a sound meter when running in "full" mode?

Bob

[FCStreamer]

Wow. They claim 57db. Great find. Thanks for sharing. Let us know how it works out for you in the long run.

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by FCStreamer

Wow. They claim 57db. Great find. Thanks for sharing. Let us know how it works out for you in the long run.

Hi

We may have internet ghosts here .... The page I have shows 99 lb product weight and 105 lb shipping weight.

Bob

[Al and Missy]

Originally Posted by uncle_bob

Hi

We may have internet ghosts here .... The page I have shows 99 lb product weight and 105 lb shipping weight.

Bob

? Not the same - 57dB is noise level.

Al

[Mollysdad]

I hope it's a real find!
It may come from the same factory as the Champion.
The test will come in a year or so, but Harbor Freight is very good about returns if need be.

[AWCHIEF]

+3db is twice the perceived level of sound. That makes it more than twice as loud as the Honda or Yamaha 2000.

[thinder]

Originally Posted by AWCHIEF

+3db is twice the perceived level of sound. That makes it more than twice as loud as the Honda or Yamaha 2000.

Actually 6-10db is considered twice as loud. It takes double the power to increase 3db but that doesn't make the sound twice as loud to a listener.

[CA_Tallguy]

I can't really hear it inside my trailer over the air conditioner. This is with it sitting right next to the trailer towards the back. I have a "hybrid inverter/charger" so my AC will run without the generator on.... and I did manage to overload it once and didn't immediately realize it had died.

It is heavy especially with fuel in it so that is the biggest drawback. It is much easier to wrangle the 2000 watt units -- I also have one of those from HF. I was searching 'inverter generator' the other day on the website thinking about buying a second to parallel and then this 3500 popped up with zero reviews. Calls to stores showed they were just arriving this past Thursday and I grabbed one same day before they were even on display.

[AWCHIEF]

Originally Posted by thinder

Actually 6-10db is considered twice as loud. It takes double the power to increase 3db but that doesn't make the sound twice as loud to a listener.

22 years acoustic analyst. I guess I have been misleading my students.

[thinder]

Originally Posted by AWCHIEF

22 years acoustic analyst. I guess I have been misleading my students.

If you told them that +3 db in SPL is perceived at twice as loud, yes you have. If you told them the +3db is twice the power level you didn't. "Twice" as loud is very subjective.

Additionally, if you were referring to exchange rate, a term used to relate dose and intensity for the sake of hearing protection, everyone has differing measures. The navy says 4db, the army says 3db, and OSHA says 5db. At least those were the numbers in 2000.

Ref: Occupational Safety and health, fourth edition, by David l goetsch. P399-401

[WayneG]

If I could trust the brand and if the output was a sine wave, I would consider pulling my generac from the MH and putting this in, but I cant find any good data on the unit.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

The gotcha with the noise level numbers on *all* these generators is just how they do or don't measure it. Is it in the direction away from the exhaust or in line with it? Is it at zero throttle or at full power? Can people duplicate their numbers at 10 feet away or do they have to go to 50 feet?

YouTube is full of people doing this or that to check sound level numbers. At least when you see the test, you can also see what assumptions they are making. You can also spot the mistakes and sort things out a bit.

Bob

[dmbecke]

Can it be converted to LP?

[AstroBruce]

I've been looking at the Northern Tool Powerhorse 3500 for a while. $1299. It appears to be the same generator as the Harbor Freight Predator 3500, except for the color and a slight difference in the control panel. I jumped on it. For $700, I will take the risk. Oh Boy, a new toy.

Bruce

[CA_Tallguy]

Yeah I thought it looked like the same unit too. I wonder if the HF price is an intro deal to strike up interest or if it will stay this chreap -- or cheaper with coupon! I know I'll be watching for a coupon to try to get the diff refunded but I'm happy with the value at full price. It's a huge difference from he price of the northern tool unit!

[CA_Tallguy]

Keeps chugging right along without flinching.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

What does the output waveform look like? (How close to a sine wave is it?)

Yes that sounds like it would take a big fancy rack of gear to figure out. With some care and free software, you can do it with a PC and the mic input on the sound card. You can actually do it with some cell phones. I don't know of free cell phone software though.

Bob

[AstroBruce]

Originally Posted by uncle_bob

Hi

What does the output waveform look like? (How close to a sine wave is it?)

Yes that sounds like it would take a big fancy rack of gear to figure out. With some care and free software, you can do it with a PC and the mic input on the sound card. You can actually do it with some cell phones. I don't know of free cell phone software though.

Bob

I may be wrong, but I would think any inverter generator that is parallel ready is necessarily a sine-wave output.

Bruce

[Mollysdad]

Originally Posted by uncle_bob

What does the output waveform look like? (How close to a sine wave is it?)

??? How many people asked that about the Honda 2000?
Personally, I hope it's a great value. Competition is good.

As someone who spent the last 25 years looking a VU meters, there's more difference in how the sound is measured than how it's perceived. It's also possible the manufacturers are making it all up anyway. Really? 57Db? Was it indoors or out? What was it sitting on? Which way was it facing? What load was on it? The best reviews allow you to surmise, Yes, #1 is louder than #2. Sometimes it's the tone. The Honda 2000 has a more pleasing noise than a Champion, perhaps. Same level, one is perceived as more annoying.
Everyone tells me, "TV commercials are louder than the program." Well, they're not. They're compressed, so they're perceived as being louder.

Anyway, The market for RV generators is wide open! And that's good.
Soon I expect to see one sold in a Hush Pack, like the Onan for MH's. Air has to get in, exhaust has to escape, it can't catch fire, and you need to add fuel. Off to the drawing board! 40DB!