Northstar Generators from Northern Tool Co.

jerseydave · November 11, 2006, 04:00:37 PM

Would anyone happen to have bought one of these generators.

I've only bought from Northern Tool once in the past, and that was a name brand (Hobart) welder...... not one of their "generic" products.

Just trying to find out if they build a good product. (or put their name on a good product)

Thanks

John Raabe · November 11, 2006, 07:51:41 PM

Here's the new generator I just ordered from Harbor Freight.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=90236

We'll see how it works in a couple of weeks. Shipping was $62 so I didn't even bother going to the store (off the island and a $30 1/2 day trip).

November 11, 2006, 10:18:39 PM

One of my customers had a North Star - a wierd one with 3 vertical shaft generators run by belt drive -- it wasn't working at the time and they had quite a bit of trouble with it. I'm sure they have good ones also - I have bought a few things from them and they have been OK.

I have had pretty good luck with the Harbor Freight stuff. I bought their vibratory plate compactor and it seem to be very good quality for a reasonable price (like 1/4th of other comparable products). I used to buy Honda generators for my jobsite use years ago. To me they were over rated and wore out much too quickly for the price. They were nice and quiet though.

Amanda_931 · November 11, 2006, 11:17:55 PM

As far as I'm concerned quiet counts--a lot--when it comes to generators.

John Raabe · November 16, 2006, 11:40:59 AM

My new generator didn't get here fast enough! We were out of power from about 5 am Wed night (11/15) until 6:30 am today (Thurs). My little 1000 watt generator had to pull the load. I was able to keep EITHER the refrigerator OR the upright freezer going plus a few CFL lights (those are sure worth it aren't they?)

By running out in the rain to switch extension cords I was able to keep all the food in those two boxes from spoiling. The wood stove (now working great), the Coleman propane camping stove and kerosene lights took care of the rest. One live phone line, no computer, no answering machine. (Sorry if you tried to call the CountryPlans corporate headquarters!)

It was actually very nice. After about three hours of computer withdrawal

:-/

Mrs Raabe and I were able to relax in front of the fire, read, play games and take naps...

Kind of a low-tech at-home vacation.

November 16, 2006, 12:37:16 PM

John,
Sorry about the power troubles ....

When you get the "new" generator, what do you expect it'll run at one time? Like say a freezer, frig, a few lights ....

John Raabe · November 16, 2006, 12:46:27 PM

With 4 KW of power (4.5 peak) I should be able to run both the freezer and Refrig., plus lots of CFL lights (@14 watts each for 60 watts of regular light bulb power). That will cover the basics.

Then, I'd like to run a line to my office and power the computer, DSL, phones and wireless router. That would give us a place to charge batteries and run a laptop anywhere in the house.

I expect to have to run this power though a battery backup and power cleaner to make it stable enough for electronics. Does anyone have experience with this piece of equipment? I have an old battery backup with a dead battery (working as a surge protector now) but plan to upgrade that.

I'm not going to be doing wiring inside the house so all this will run from temporary extension cords through the windows!

John Raabe · November 16, 2006, 01:07:12 PM

Here's another option...

Use your car as a generator. This is probably equal in power to my little generator, is much smaller and less expensive. Downside is it will burn through gas faster.

Will normal car wiring take the load? I'm not the expert on this.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=94009

PEG688 · November 16, 2006, 01:12:56 PM

So your ready for round two on Sunday eh!

I just fitted / temp'ed up some broken fence post to keep the dog in the yard.

Quite a lil blow 66 MPH here on the rock , I'd guess NAS Whidbey weather station, maybe out at Smith Isl. CGWS, not sure where the reading was from.

peg_688 · November 16, 2006, 01:35:52 PM

Ya think

Nice roof design/ sod roof John on the cedar roof thread , your "person" might need a lil work

Kinda egg shaped, the client might not like that shape

We call um HOMO"S , short for Home owners

Eh what can I say I work for a retired Navy Commander, and we still like our acyronms

jraabe · November 16, 2006, 01:57:51 PM

Yea, they don't have much personality.

In Arch. school we called them "floating head people"... even a klutz like me can draw one of these.

Link to roofs

Sassy · November 16, 2006, 02:09:19 PM

Glenn told me to tell you "so much for the reliability of the grid!" He also said he uses a modified sine wave inverter out of his truck to power his computer when he's on the road. He said most computers are fine with it, "but if you see smoke coming out of your computer, you've got a problem... :-/ "

He just sent his laptop computer back to HP to get it fixed - he's bought 2 new computers in the last few months - returned the one & got another one in its place & now that one had a hard drive go out on it - he's back to his old computer that he had to open up & soder the wires inside to power the cord - poor design on the power cords.

Now he is fixing his bobcat - a buddy of his is helping him... he said he's about to give up on electronics & machines! :-/

He was able to get my clawfoot bathtub hooked up in the master bath & put some more wood siding on the walls so I don't have plastic & insulation & spider webs showing

. My son & I have been plastering the walls outside - Glenn also put the rigid insulation on the outside plus the batt insulation inside - stays pretty cozy now. We had one place that just had plastic & the raccoons were getting into the house through that

- didn't like that too much...

John, btw what type of generator did you get? I don't recall you saying the model, just the kw, may have missed it...

Sassy

jraabe · November 16, 2006, 02:23:39 PM

Yea, I hear ya!! The power grid, computers, machinery... nothing is truly reliable. Even when I go low-tech and rely just on myself, my wood stove and some kerosene lights - things can still go wrong. But then it's usually me that's the weak link in the reliability chain.

Here is the link to the generator I got (a bit higher up the thread).

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=90236
PS - I just discovered what that little "arrow-M" on the icon bar does...

JRR · November 16, 2006, 03:43:54 PM

The grid is very reliable! (At sending out the bills that is.)

By the way, Sam's club now has a gas generator. Seems to be a seasonal thing with these discount stores. Sam's gen is pretty big, maybe 8k or so. 13 hp Honda (for those who like'em). Less than $1000.

glenn-k · November 16, 2006, 11:37:09 PM

I haven't used that particular generator, John but it has the features that should make it good. I agree about the Honda engine -- the Cast Iron sleeve engine will likely outlast it - Subaru Robin should be good. Your stuff should run fine on that generator. My backup at the underground complex is 3000 watts. Backup for the backup is 8000 watts. Backup for the backup for the backup is 10000 watts. I have several more. Welders usually have very good backup generators on them nowadays. Old days they were only about 3000 watts and some were DC which would fry some of the things you hooked up to them. The little inverter you posted from Harbor is a modified sine wave, I'm pretty (to very) sure. Most things should run fine off of it. A few things won't like it - very few will fry and running something too big off of it can accidently fry it but you have to work at it. I managed it with a big drill one time. I carry one in my truck for charging cordless batteries and running my computer when running around cities "borrowing" an internet connection from someones wireless.

Inverters of about 150 watts will run from the cigarette lighter socket. A bit bigger will probably run from a 12 volt power accessory lighter typ plug but after that you will be looking to hook up directly to a main power line or battery. They can run a car battery down but are set to go off before the battery is too dead to start the car (usually). For heavy use or larger sizes you may want to think about installing an extra battery. Ignoring efficiency ratings - 240 watts - a bit over a laptop - would require about 20 amps at 12 volts --20 x 12 = 240. Probably about 5 hours on a single car battery would pull it down pretty good depending on actual ratings.

Off grid-- It's not just a destination. It's a way of life.

(I think I just coined a new catch phrase.)

jraabe · November 17, 2006, 01:57:51 AM

Quote
Off grid-- It's not just a destination. It's a way of life.

Yep, pretty good tagline. Thanks for the info on generators.

glenn-k · November 17, 2006, 02:01:50 AM

My pleasure.

Amanda_931 · November 17, 2006, 10:10:13 PM

It does look good.

And seems like shipping--at least to a distant depot--is not totally outrageous with that company.

williet · December 05, 2006, 10:39:30 AM

John,
did you get the generator and how is it working?

glenn-k · December 05, 2006, 10:42:57 AM

I checked with my buddy the other day -- the failed one down the road is a Northern. I don't know what's wrong with it but no output. You may want to check on who repairs these things in your area too.

tjohns01 · December 06, 2006, 02:39:14 PM

Folks,
I am new to the site having just bought a set of the Big Enchilada plans. Forgive me if my initial posts look funny or I don't follow proper etiquette while I am learning.

I lived in Florida for 25 years which caused me to learn a LOT about generators during hurricane season and I live in Arizona now where I will be building a total solar electricity house which will require me to learn a LOT more about inverters.

When you look for generators sizing is key. I have a list somewhere of what type of loads require what level of continuous power and what level of staring power. This has helped me a lot when buying generators. If anyone is interested I can dig it up and post it.

My only comment on generators is that there are some nice features on the higher end ones that you might want to consider and I have found useful. The three that I think are the most useful are 1) a low oil shutoff safety swith for obvious reasons 2) how loud is it again for obvious reasons and 3) an idle feature that allows the generator to slow down when not at full load making it much more fuel efficient and quieter. Whether these are worth the additional cost IMHO is dependant on just how much you are going to use it.

On the subject of inverters I did learn one thing recently that was interesting. The modified sine wave inverters sometimes do not work well with appliances with internal clocks but not sure what that means in this case. More interesting is that sometimes tool chargers will not shut off properly with these type inverters so the battery overcharges. Not sure if this is a battery killer or a safety (fire) issue. For these two applications a full sine wave inverter is recommended. I have just read this and cannot personally say either is true but might be worth looking into. I am also looking for information on various inverters to give a figure of merit to just how "modified" each model is so if anyone has a line on that info I would love to see it.

Just my two cents. Glad to be aboard, looks like a great forum.

Tim J

jraabe · December 06, 2006, 08:12:43 PM

Welcome aboard, Tim

And thanks for your insights.

PS - Update on my generator. They sent an electric start unit at no additional charge. That is nice.

We used it in the last power outage and it sure is noisy!! (all these larger units are). But it started right up and pumped out all the power I might need. It didn't cough once as I plugged things in.... I ran out of extension cords before running out of power.

Now I have to build a generator shed. This thing's too big to drag around.

Northstar Generators from Northern Tool Co.

jraabe

peg_688

jraabe

Sassy

jraabe

Sassy

JRR

glenn-k

jraabe

glenn-k

Amanda_931

jraabe

williet

glenn-k

tjohns01

jraabe