Help with generator choice...

Djshadyad6

Djshadyad6

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Hi guys. I'm thinking of starting a mobile detailing operation soon. I was wondering how many watts my generator should be. And if any one knows where I could get a good deal on one. Here is a list of equipment I will be getting :

Mytee hp60
Pc 7424
Flex Xc 3401
Tornador interior tool
Metro vac master blaster
Cyclo polisher
Air mover
And a ozone generator.
 
Honda 2000 or 3000. I would get the ultra quiet. All the other generators are way to loud, looks more professional. IMHO


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I have two generators, one gas and one I had converted to run on propane. The propane one starts every time and is very low upkeep. I see they now sell them in northern tool, ready to run on gas grill cylinders. My go to generator is the LP one. But the honda I have on gas is much more refined than others I have seen used and is fairly quite.

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Djshadyad6 said:
Hi guys. I'm thinking of starting a mobile detailing operation soon. I was wondering how many watts my generator should be. And if any one knows where I could get a good deal on one. Here is a list of equipment I will be getting :

Mytee hp60
Pc 7424
Flex Xc 3401
Tornador interior tool
Metro vac master blaster
Cyclo polisher
Air mover
And a ozone generator.
Click to expand...

How many things do you plan on running at once? that will kinda determine how much power you need. there are threads that have covered the math. You need to determine just how many amps you plan on drawing at once and go from there.

personally - I use a 2000w honda gen. Its quiet, its efficient (eco throttle really helps), and 2000w is plenty for me as I typically don't run 2 tools at the same time being that I'm a 1 man show. My biggest power hog is the vx5000 (I have blown fuses at clients homes which is embarassing) and the 2000w honda has no problem with it.
 
The hondas and yamahas are the inverter type. Top of the line stuff. Quiet, reliable, whatever. HUGE resale value. Others work fine most of the time. The honda/yamaha types just rule and that's it.
The wattage should be enough to run your gear or combo's of gear without winding up, over-revving, over-heating, over-voluming.
If you have a polisher that runs 7 amps at 120 VAC you'll (basically)
be using 840 watts of power.
Allow a bit of power for start-up current if need be.
Remember: power (in watts) = voltage X amps.
It's that easy.
 
The answer is Honda EU2000. It will run anything that plugs into a standard 20amp outlet. It will run for decades. After you are done with it, you can sell it for a about as much as you paid for it. Check out speedway sales, they sell them for about $200 off retail, which makes them about 25% more expensive that a POS Generac or Honeywell.
 
Thanks guys. Looks like I will try the Honda one out. I appreciate the feedback. I will be a one man show. So I was maybe wanting to run like a air mover to dry the interior while I work with a polisher or something on the exterior.
 
Get the specs on all the tools you think you'll run at one time. If you'll be working with 1000 watt hologens for illuminating paint defects while doing swirl removals or working at night etc. don't forget to add them in. Generally you'll want to total up the total amp draw of all the tools that you'll have plugged in at any given time, including radios etc.

Take your total amp draw and multiply it by the voltage to get the wattage that you'll need to be covered for and get a generator that puts out about 1000 watts more than what you will be drawing. That way you'll have a little growing room and won't be constantly taxing your generator for all it's worth which would possibly burn it up over time.

so let's say you're going to run a 10 amp polisher, a 10 amp interior dryer, and sometimes have a helper running a 8 amp shop vac. so you have 28 amps total amp draw X 120 volts that equals 3360 watts. If you're doing this with a 1000 watt halogen lamp set up, add that to the total watts so 3360 + 1000 = 4360 watts. To run this load all the time and not overwork your generator you'd want to get at a minimum a 5500 watt generator.

I picked this one up for $300 with about 20 hours or less on it.

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