I've used these with friends camping and been absolutely amazed. This model has a number of positives about it. Yamaha has produced small, reliable generators for over 15 years.My big plusses:
1 REALLY quiet. The engine drives basically just an alternator and produces about 12V, though it varries. When there is a small load on the generator (typical of most camping / outdoor uses) it slows down the engine. This not only makes it quiet, it cuts back on fumes, and saves gas. A tank filling can last half a day easily depending on demand.
2 clean power. Because the alternator is outputting a DC voltage into a sinewave inverter your 110 VAC is comming from one of the best sources. I use inverters in many of my service vehicles, right at 1000W, and have found no situation where that was not enough power. Since the inverter tells the throttle how much power it needs, wasted noise and gas are eliminated. Basically it does not feel like the old 5000W genset on wheels.
3 light weight. Compared to taking the 5000W generator camping, the small size and light weight are a welcome change.
4 very small gasoline consumption. Unless you are running the full 1000W all the time you'll get great mileage. If you do need to run 1000W all the time, consider a larger digital inverter genset. Honda makes a 2000W which can be joined to a second 2000W for 4000 total if I recall.
5 well built engine. Although only 50cc, it has overhead valves and excellent sound isolation.
Cons:
It's not going to run EVERYTHING in your RV at the same time. If you are watching the plasma TV (400W) and turn on the microwave (1000W) the generator will shut down due to the 1400W load. Consider your loads and if you must run everything simultaneously.
Heavy loads make it spin faster and thus change the acoustic tone of the exhaust. If it's within hearing range and you turn alot of stuff on/off the noise may irritate some people.
Pros:
Put a 100 foot extension cord between you and the generator and you'll be saying "what generator" as the lights and appliances work fine for 12+ hours. It's that quiet.
1000W is enough to run your vehicle's battery charger, a good size TV, and small cooking appliances, just not at the same time. Consider the kill-a-watt wattmeter to know EXACTLY what your load is P3 International P4460 Kill A Watt EZ Electricity Usage Monitor
It is extremely quiet, just slightly louder than that of a good refridgerator.
Why the 4-star rating?
The Yamaha website doesn't appear to be too up-to-date on Yamaha Generator Service Shops. When we got our generator, it had a bad seal on it and the oil leaked out. When we looked on the Yamaha website, it showed two dealers in our area that fixed these generators. Neither one would take it. They said they stopped working on generators. I ended up having to drive over to the next town where the dealer told me that most dealers do not like to take generators unless they sold it to you themselves.
So, while I got lucky and found someone that would take it. Just be aware that you might not be so lucky. Before buying, call the dealers on the Yamaha website and ask them if they can fix a generator for you. Then you will have a better idea of what situation you are in before you buy.I wanted a smaller generator than the one built into my RV to save on gas and operate quieter. this little yamaha did the trick. I use a 50 foot extension cord and run it to my rv through the window. It can power my computer, battery chargers, and small appliances on its quiet, low power setting. I barely hear when it is running on low power if it is 50 feet from the RV. Uses only 1/2 gallon of gas if i run it all day. but you do need to go to a local Yamaha dealer and get the proper oil. make sure you read the instructions for this or you will burn out the motor.I love the size of this unit, perfect for my VW Vanagon camper.
I can't run a portlable AC unit as it doesn't have enough power output.
The oil filler dish is an interesting piece of equipment, it works.
For power where there is none I'm sure this is going to be just fine.
Its a little louder than I had hoped for.
All in all a quality piece of equipment, I would recommend this to a friendI'm in CT and lost power for 8 days last year. I vowed never to live in colonial times again and bought this generator just to run a pellet stove and a few lights when the power goes out. I was extremely happy when my Yamaha 1000is arrived two days early, just in time for hurricane Sandie. Of course now that I have a generator we didn't lose power. I added oil and fired it up to get ready for the storm. It started on the 5th pull right out of the box, and one pull after that. It is quiet, but still loader than I expected. Then again the Hondas I have heard were at a little distance so I might be expecting too much. Get a 50 foot cord and you won't hear it. It ran my pellet stove using manual ignition with no problem, about 500W. In econ mode it varies the speed when the feed motor kicks in like it should. For fun I disconnected the stove and ran a small microwave on it, about 850W. It stumbled but didn't kick out. Probably should not run econ mode with heavy loads, but it did take the load. It won't run your whole house, but manage your loads and this generator does the job on a minimal amount of gas which gets hard to come by when there is no power. Its small size makes it easy to store too. My Yammie is now drained of gas and sleeping in its box waiting for the next outage. My neighbors can't believe we didn't lose power during Sandie. I smile, because I know the reason we didn't lose power is because I bought this generator and that we will never ever lose power again. Lucky I camp so I can use the generator in the summer.
Save 10% Off
No comments:
Post a Comment