GMC Generators?

[rosettaquarrier]

I've seen a 750w Generator in Bunnings for $98. What do you guys reckon? :confused:

The main purpose for getting one would be to power my sprinkler system in case the power fails in a bushfire, so hopefully it will never be needed :o

Are they too cheap to be true?

Cheers!

[RichardK]

Be very careful, I have known cheap generators to do a lot of damage to electrical equipment.
Remember, you get what you pay for.............

[Blknight.aus]

nope these are the ubiquitious 800w genies rebadges are required...

Ive got one and I use mine for battery charging, field/emergancy lighting, running small hand tool even getting ironing done once.

I wouldnt want on that small for running any sort of real sized pump from as they start to peak at about the 600w mark and die off from there in real terms thats about 3/4 of a hp worth of pump ignoring all losses which doesnt get you a whole lot of water or pressure.

my 600w sine wave inverter does pretty much everything that the genny will do with the exception that where the inverter goes and has a lie down if its overloaded the genny gives its all to try and do what it cant... in the case of driving an iron it takes it 10 minutes to get it up to temp but then holds it there quite nicely. It will also drive a 1200w heating element in an urn to get you boiling water, you can tell when the waters boiled cause the genny goes from a really angry labour to a nice hi speed 2 stroke zing as it bounces off of the govenor.

More than once Id have been lost without mine.

[paulthepilot_5]

I did have one for a while, they do not have a very stable power output, also seemed to be a bit low in the voltage department. It eventually died, due to a confrontation with a salisbury diff. (I forgot i had left it behind the landy one morning when i went to work.) :eek:

[CraigE]

I have one of these little genies and what they do for the price is great. Not a great expense and will power a fridge or 2 or charge batteries etc with ease. I only use mine during the day as it is a bit noisy being a two stroke. I would not run a computer or anything off of it though. But is great as a back up and cheap.
I want my Honda E20 though when I can afford one.
Cheers
Craig

[landyfromanuthaland]

I have an 850 genset, its goes ok, normally use mine down the back area of our stables where it is pitch black at night and out in the bush, I run 3x100 watt floodlights no probs with no fading, a full tank of fuel gets me about 3.5 hours straight running, generally reliable long as water is kept out of the fuel. They have there limitations though and not real sure why they were actually designed, ok for taking bush if you want to run a light or have a way of charging a battery or boiling a jug if your too lazy to boil a billy, price is ok they are getting cheaper.

[Blknight.aus]

they were originally aimed at campers who couldnt be without TV+ vids I saw them about 5 maybe 6 years back at $250somthingish in a camping store. the size and weight of them ment that most people could easily stow and unstow one from a box or the steps of a van.

[CraigE]

They will not boil a jug. Most jugs are around 2000watt. Same for toasters etc.
:(

I have an 850 genset, its goes ok, normally use mine down the back area of our stables where it is pitch black at night and out in the bush, I run 3x100 watt floodlights no probs with no fading, a full tank of fuel gets me about 3.5 hours straight running, generally reliable long as water is kept out of the fuel. They have there limitations though and not real sure why they were actually designed, ok for taking bush if you want to run a light or have a way of charging a battery or boiling a jug if your too lazy to boil a billy, price is ok they are getting cheaper.

[Disco Steve]

Fist thing is to check the power that the pump needs, get geni to suit.
My 800w GMC is great in the back of the van for lighting and running power tools.

[RMB3218]

Agree with last post. It is important to check the current that the pump needs. This is usually on a sticker on the pump and will be the "run" current. The "start" current can be 3-4 times higher. If the generator is 800w then the current it can supply at 240 volts is 800/240=3.3amps

[Outback 1]

Agree with last post. It is important to check the current that the pump needs. This is usually on a sticker on the pump and will be the "run" current. The "start" current can be 3-4 times higher. If the generator is 800w then the current it can supply at 240 volts is 800/240=3.3amps

i agree with this post we have one and use it for power at night ,but if we have to run pumps/washing machine etc we use either a 3 or 6 kva.

[Outback 1]

however we do use the gmc whenever we go camping it's great for charging the batteries or powering the engel or lights etc

[Ken]

I used to charge my Fridge battery with one of those el cheapo s and never had a drama with it,Of course we have a surge protection curcuit in between it and the Waeco but I would say that they are fine as long as you dont mess with the throttle while its running

[EchiDna]

I'd be buying diesel powered for a fire pump if you can swing the $$...

depends on the primary purpose I guess, but for fire fighting diesel is you friend :)

[Brett]

I have had the 850 for 2 years it lives on my boat ,get salt spray somethings ,it always starts 1st go i only use it for power tools best 100 bucks spent.

[longreach]

:cool:HI,I looked at these G M C generators at bunnings to-day....there 750 watts..I ve been thinking of getting one to charge my fridge battery,that connected to my main battery in my defender...but they are not fitted with a built in 12v battery charger !!they are only 240 v out let(our am I wrong)so I'll have to take my 240 v mains powered charger to plug into the GMC generator to charge the battery......also can I charge the battery,with the waeco fridge connected ??......any advise will be good..regards keith

[Blknight.aus]

they should have a 12v 8 amp outlet on them although they are not always plumbed up if your dandy with the spanners and soldering iron it can be fitted up.

That said..

DONT USE IT......

instead put a mains 240v charger on the 240v outlet and use that instead... a, it charges the batteries faster( I use a transformer based 30a charger and it works great) and b the dc out put of those gennies is at best questionable with spikes and dips left right and center (bad for swithcmode power supplies and ECU's). As a bonus to that If you happen to be within co-ee of mains power sling an extention cord and you dont need the genny running.

Ive occasionally used my 12v oultet but only when Ive just needed to get enough volts to let me crank/push start a vehicle with a dead battery and even then that was a series rover (bug 1.0) once the engine was running I let the alternator do the work while driving and shut the genny down.

[robert42]

The little gmc's are fine.. have had a few over the last 4-5 years.. I now have a 1k KIPOR Inverter and for $600 its a little jem.. the only thing I did to it was reset the tappets.. who ever set them must have used a 5 cent piece.. the gmc melted when charging a batt.. the out put was around 35 vdc..becareful running waceo's engel's tv.ect..
they WILL kill the elect..when they run out of fuel...have seen the ac out put pass 300 vac.. robert42..

[longreach]

The little gmc's are fine.. have had a few over the last 4-5 years.. I now have a 1k KIPOR Inverter and for $600 its a little jem.. the only thing I did to it was reset the tappets.. who ever set them must have used a 5 cent piece.. the gmc melted when charging a batt.. the out put was around 35 vdc..becareful running waceo's engel's tv.ect..
they WILL kill the elect..when they run out of fuel...have seen the ac out put pass 300 vac.. robert42..
whats the differance between a generator and a invertor

[Disco300Tdi]

They are a worthwhile investment but the golden rule to using them is....

Never use it without a surge protector

[rovercare]

whats the differance between a generator and a invertor

Generator turns mechanical energy into electrical energy, an invertor converts elec to elec:D fancy name for a transformer

[EchiDna]

Guys - the original poster was not asking if the GMC works ok, but more along the lines of would you use one for powering a fire fighting pump....

given the comment above, would you entrust your house's survival in a bushfire to a $98 GMC generator? if the answer is yes, I hope your insurance is good!

[longreach]

I've seen a 750w Generator in Bunnings for $98. What do you guys reckon? :confused:

The main purpose for getting one would be to power my sprinkler system in case the power fails in a bushfire, so hopefully it will never be needed :o

Are they too cheap to be true?

Cheers!
sorry ,did,nt mean to high jack the thread,just wanted to find out more about the GMC generators......as for powering a fire fighting pump !I would,nt now...

[George130]

Don't know about the pump but I have used one to run things like angle grinders in the middle of a paddock. Friend picked one up for $30 as it was dead. $5 to fix it.
I plan to get one for emergency power at home and camping

[robert42]

Hi longreach just to clear up a little on inverters over gen.
the gen.inverters type run about 40-45 volts dc. then run it in to a inverter onboard = 240 very stable ac voltage..pure sign wave..very much like a 12volt -- 240 volt inverter you buy that runs from your car batt.. very safe for the puter and tv.. waceo elect..ect...more miles to the gal. as well..to replace the inverter in one cost nealy as much as the new price of the gen..also wooden run a gmc come fire pump..safer to get full insurance cover and run..well thats wot I think..

[waynep]

Generator turns mechanical energy into electrical energy, an invertor converts elec to elec:D fancy name for a transformer

A transformer converts AC voltage ( alternating current ) to another AC voltage. It's a passive device ( ie doesn't need any fancy electronics )

An inverter is the term normally applied to a device that converts a DC voltage ( direct current ) to another DC voltage, or an AC voltage. To do this some electronics are employed.

A generator is a device that turns some other form of energy or fuel ( like coal, petrol diesel, wind, sun whatever ) into electricity either AC or DC.

well that's my memory from my basic electronics training aynway .....does that sound right ?

[rovercare]

A transformer converts AC voltage ( alternating current ) to another AC voltage. It's a passive device ( ie doesn't need any fancy electronics )

An inverter is the term normally applied to a device that converts a DC voltage ( direct current ) to another DC voltage, or an AC voltage. To do this some electronics are employed.

A generator is a device that turns some other form of energy or fuel ( like coal, petrol diesel, wind, sun whatever ) into electricity either AC or DC.

well that's my memory from my basic electronics training aynway .....does that sound right ?

Ahh, kind of right, will get there tomorrow, knocking off work now for a pizz up, no time to elaborate:(

[CraigE]

Guys - the original poster was not asking if the GMC works ok, but more along the lines of would you use one for powering a fire fighting pump....

given the comment above, would you entrust your house's survival in a bushfire to a $98 GMC generator? if the answer is yes, I hope your insurance is good!
Fair point. I would not rely on a cheap gen set for fire protection. But hey if its all you got or all you can afford it is better than nothing at all.
I like the Honda gen sets but most good quality ones will suffice and realistically you are looking at around $1700 up.
I have had $3k, $5k and larger more than I earn ina year AGGREKO units and similar fail as well, so price does not mean they will be fault free.

[DirtyDawg]

got one works well running the fridge when western power cocks up.....I wouldnt want to make it , export it for $70:eek: