🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <31E18179.11F@detente.com>, 
Jeff Schmidt <jas@detente.com> writes:
> 
> Anyway, I recently got ahold of a Northern catalog, and they have a
> Northern Pro brand of generator.  Northern told me that those
> generators are manufactored by Gillette.  The generators in the
> catalog look like a pretty decent deal, but I really have no idea
> about their quality.  The Northern guy, of course, said they were
> high quality, but I've never heard of them (or Gillette outside
> of razors) before.

Given that you will be using it rarely, it should last 5 - 10
years.  

> The one of most interest to me is the 10,500 watt 18HP propane
> or NG fuel generator (item# 161453-C098).  It is priced at $2600
> plus $120 for shipping.  It is attractive because it does not need
> to be converted to run on propane, and 10KW is more than adequate
> for my needs, for a pretty low price.  There are other 6, 9, 12,
> and 15KW models, but they are gasoline or diesel powered.  The
> Northern guy said I'd need to talk with the manufacturer about
> propane conversion.  They don't deal with it directly.

Check with Air Cooled Engines in San Jose.  They may handle
warranty work.  This *is* a fairly strange brand, though.
Chances are good that a problem will only be noticed:
	When you actually need the generator; and

	When everybody else has theirs in for repair, too,
	so it won't be serviced quickly.

> Before seeing the Northern catalog, I was leaning toward the
> Honda ES-6500 (6.5KW).  I can buy this locally for about $3200
> plus about $500 more for the propane conversion (P&L).  This is
> significantly more expensive, but I know Honda is highly reliable,
> and if something goes wrong, there is a local dealer.  Also, it
> looks like derating 10% is common for a propane conversion, so
> I'd end up with much less generating capacity than the Northern Pro,
> though it would still be adequate.

Is this their advertised price?  If so, you can do *bunches* better.
I found that I got the best price over the hill (lots of competition)
in the middle of winter (when they aren't selling bikes) by lying
just a bit ("The other dealer offered it to me for less").

> BTW, Northern sells the ES-6500 (Item #1676-C098) for $2684 (gasoline).
> I looked at the ES-6500 at the dealer and it is pretty quiet
> running, reportedly reliable, and can be used for days at a time.
> It is liquid cooled and well insulated for noise reduction.

If it's insulated, it had *better* be water cooled.  My experience
is that there is a relatively short time each year when it would be
nice to have a water cooled generator up here -- those couple of
weeks in the begining of summer and the last month of summer
when it gets so hot.  Of course, I *could* just install a drip
irrigation system on mine for some additional cooling.  %-}

I *think* that Honda has a diesel about that size that is real
quiet, too.
Do not underestimate your abilities.  That is your boss's job.
It is your job to find ways around your boss's roadblocks.
_______________________________________________________________
Glen Appleby  glena@cruzio.com  http://www2.cruzio.com/~glena/