Small generators

The best one is the cheapest one with the best warranty, cause youll definitely need that!
Youll find they all come from the same area in china, but have different colours or covers from different distributors.

A mate of mine bought a GMC one and it failed a week later while on a trip. No bother... he went back to Bunnings and they swapped it without question. The second one has been OK so far.

Just one tip with these genny's though..... make sure it's already running before you plug any appliances in - apparently they spike a fair amount on start-up. Also, the 12v circuit (if fitted) ain't guarranteed to work at all...... straight from a Bunnings rep's mouth.....

I know of several of these generators in service, none have given any problems & they all do what they are supposed to, on both 12v & 240v.
I know it seems like they are troublesome, but people rarely post about how troublefree things are.

The GMC one is on special from time to time at Bunnings for $99, Being good mates with one of the GMC reps I have been using them for a couple of years, used one for a week(all day everyday, Xbox/Playstation/TV) last Easter on straight fuel(no oil) just to see how long it would last so he could tell customers, still works fine. It did struggle with a 1500 watt kettle though.

Between friends and myself we have 8 of them in varying makes colours and wattages, all seem exactly the same though. Only my dads had a problem with a seal, we pulled it to bits and put a new seal in it (seal was supplied free under warranty), they are suprisingly well built when you look at them inside much better than I anticipated. The one that failed had done far and away more work than the others so maybe it was work maybe it was a fault, I think that they are a bargain at the price they are and you will be pleased with it if you get one.

I did a report on the 750W (peak) GMC from Bunnings on this forum two or three months ago - a search on "generators" or "gmc" should turn it up.

I paid $98 for mine - excellent value. After around 150 hours of running time it is still working well and I have not had any faults. The DC outlet works fine for battery charging with a few conditions - see my report.

The powers you mention are _PEAK_ power for these units - it's "marketing" speak. They are really rated at 200W less, peak power should only be used for a short time. How short? I don't know... could be anything from 4 or 5 seconds to an hour or two.

Check the warranties which come with each - GMC give a two year warranty - can't say fairer than that I reckon - especially for $98!

Mike Harding

I've had the 900 scorpion for over a year, no problems at all ,will run an 2300wt oil heater, yes it drops revs and seems to strugle ,thing is it does the job ,more than its design parrameters called for ,, best bet is to dump original spark for a quality brand.

Could someone please let me know how noisy these things are please.

Thanks for the information concerning small generators. A bit more information. GMC $175, 2hp, 21kg, 850/650, 60db at 7m. Super Works (Super Cheap) $145, 1.5hp, 21kg, 850/650, 64db at 7m. Both 2 years warranty and they look identical apart from colour and label. Our nearest Bunnings is 220 kms away. Any further comments apart from "don't buy either, get a solar set-up".

Thanks Mike, but I meant that the nearest Bunnings (and the possible $99 GMC) was 220 kms away but in fact I can get a GMC locally for $175 and a Super Cheap also locally for $145. Does this alter your recommendation?

DON'T BUY ANY OF THEM...... THEY ARE CRAP.....

Ha done last 3 days (2-3 hours a day). It failed 500 km from Darwin (coburg Peninsular.

Seemed unusual when I contacted GMC when I got bakc and they just said to take it back for a refund.

Paid the 2K for a Honda EU 20. I love it. It has never let me down and runs like a gem...

Reassuring when the Karumba Caravan park power goes out and the gentle hum of gennies starts up.

I know the next power blackout I have here (Sth Queensland) I could just about run the whole house off it...

Spend the extra and get a realiable 4 stroke generator. You can pick up the type in the rolled frames for as little as $500 for a 2 KVA....

Wizard
Prado TD
Gold Coast