GENERATORS

[JJM844]

What's the best inverter generator for racing with? and where is the best place to buy them from? Any advice would be appreciated.

[mark christopher]

none of them are particulary good for racing, only the bigger ones have wheels and they are heavier than the small ones

[zoaman]

dont know if theres is a better type but the higher the amps would be a good idea. also buy one with 240 and 12v.then you dont need a inverter as well.you can charge batteries straight from the 12v to your charger as most are in the range of11 -15v.just make up a lead from the gen to your charger.

[mark christopher]

an inverter normally makes 12volt to 240, so pointless just use your indoor psu to provide 12 volts and run off the mains output.
best is honda, or kipor but machine mart do a good one now, 1000 watts is ample and will serve two or three racers easy

[TonyM]

You must buy a generator with an inverter built in. This gives you the sine wave output which is needed for anything electronic e.g. chargers. If you use a generator without an inverter you get a rough square'ish wave output and these are fine for power tools but can easilly damage the equipment we have.

Honda suitcase inverter generators are the best, but are very expensive. Kipor is a copycat of the Honda at about half the price. I have a Kipor 2600 and it has been fine for almost three years. If I bought one again I would go for the slightly smaller/lighter 2000 model. Still plenty enough for racing use.

EDIT - here is the wording from Kipor as to why you should use an inverter generator:-
High quality power output is achieved with Kipor Generators by a built-in pure sine wave inverter, which filters the initial power of the alternator to minimise wave distortion and voltage fluctuation. This results in the output being more refined, clean and smooth. The inverter delivers a true Sine wave, no power spikes, surges or fluctuations of voltage, making it suitable for highly sensitive electronic equipment such as computers and laptops.

[Hpi_guy]

What ever generators you guys have I can service them

[Legacy555]

I bought a KIPOR 1300tc - its perfect! 240v and 12v output. Have had 6 chargers running of it with no issues.
It'll run for a whole day on about 4 litres of petrol.
Make sure to keep a spare spark plug handy - seems to go through about 2-3 a year.

[JJM844]

Thanks for all your thoughts guys, much appreciated.

[DCM]

I have used the cheap 2 stroke ones from B&Q reliably for a couple of years, and an old computer PSU, down side is you have to change spark plugs regular and keep a load on it, like a halogen flood light, but otherwise runs great for a whole days racing.