Makita/Rodriguez: Check the warranty period and support.

Subaru Robin/Meyer: If buyers have time they should do a little homework first to help them determine the size of generator they need. Unfortunately during storms, they purchase whatever is available and it may not be the size they need. They should also consider the size of fuel tank and hours of run time before re-fueling. How quiet is it? With the inverter generators in the market, homeowners can get very quiet generators. Talk to their local dealer, to find out general operating instructions, warranty information and how to handle service and repairs if needed in the future.

Wacker/Leupi: Length of warranty is a good indication of how confident the OEM is of its generators. Build quality, especially elimination of rust points, is important because lower build quality shows up as rust and excess body wear within a short period of time.

Ingersoll Rand/Howe: Customers have given us three key product attributes that they look at when evaluating the purchase of a generator. Environmental containment, which prevents fuel, oil or coolant spillage outside the generator, is a key feature that more and more applications and jobsites are requiring. Additionally, many customers are looking for generators designed for quiet operation. Also, the generator needs to be easy to operate to minimize operator training requirements, particularly in the rental environment.

Godwin Pumps/Givler: Durability, the right generator for the job, the company they are purchasing from, and that company’s quality and service reputation.

What new trends are coming up in generators?

Baldor/Raber: We see low sound or noise requirements as the biggest new trend. More and more municipalities are requiring engine-driven equipment to have low sound output levels.

MQ Power/Brown: Although the technology is not widely applied in larger generator sets, variable speed units are available today in small packages[DB1] and for special applications, including rubber-tired gantry cranes and military projects. The power electronics that make this possible are widely used in wind, solar and turbine applications.

Miller Electric/Moureau: One of the new trends we’re noticing is the pairing of very large generator-only units with multi-operator inverter-based welding systems. Instead of renting 20 individual generator welders, companies are renting one 300-kW generator and running five racks of four inverters off of that.

These configurations are increasingly replacing multiple generators on construction sites because they reduce transportation costs and the overall footprint. Inverter-based welders also provide better arc characteristics than traditional transformer-based systems.

I also believe alternative fuel capabilities will be one of the major new trends in generators in the future, although that development is not on the near horizon at Miller.

Honda/Delaney: Although we are unable to discuss Honda’s future product plans specifically, the market for generators appears to be growing in the portable segment. This leads people who track the marketplace to believe that increased portable generator offerings with new technologies will be important in the future.

Makita/Rodriguez: The inverted generators are becoming popular because of their steady power, noise level and reliability.

Wacker/Leupi: Even cleaner-burning engines due to the EPA Tier 3 emissions regulations to control particulate emissions. In smaller generators, inverter technology will replace standard alternators, although this is still several years out.

Ingersoll Rand/Howe: Keeping up with EPA and European emissions standards means manufacturers will be redesigning their products to incorporate cleaner Tier 3 engines, and, in the future, Tier 4 engines. Along with this, there will be increased focus on fuel efficiency and alternative fuels as fuel costs have continued to rise. Manufacturers will also continue to achieve lower sound levels for their products with new sound-attenuating materials and design principles.

Magnum/Joseph/McAllister: The newest trend is variable-speed power generation. At present time, diesel-powered mobile generator sets run at a constant 1,800 rpm. With a variable-speed system, the rpm would be dependent on the load applied to the generator. This provides two significant advantages: First, you have an extremely fuel-efficient system, and second, you are matching the load to the rpm, which virtually eliminates the possibility of wet stacking. Although this technology does currently exist, the controls and components are very expensive and not rugged enough for the mobile environment.

Have you seen a trend of backup generators being used in new homes (for power in case of outages)?

Baldor/Raber: This market has been established for several years now and has historically been serviced by standby generator manufacturers with a residential product line.

MQ Power/Brown: Yes. This is a growing trend but there are some barriers rental companies should be aware of if they intend to branch out into this market. These include, but are not limited to, emissions, fuel storage, installation and application issues, local codes and community restrictions.

Miller Electric/Moureau: We are seeing an increase in backup welder generators primarily in rural areas where they can regularly make use of the welder and have the generator handy if needed.

Honda/Delaney: Absolutely. During the past several years, the increased number of power outages and the tragic results of natural disasters in the United States have led many more consumers to consider utilizing generators for stand-by and backup power for their homes and offices when the AC power goes out. Honda’s EU2000 is a popular choice for backup power for homeowners, as it offers ample power to operate necessary home appliances in an emergency, while offering exceptionally quiet operation and best-in-class fuel economy.

Subaru Robin/Meyer: Yes. It is now becoming very common when building a new home to pick out the generator you want — almost as common as it is to pick out the kitchen cupboards. Homeowners can no longer rely on uninterrupted power to keep their lights and heat on, their food cold and their sump pump working.

Wacker/Leupi: Yes, and as homes become larger — and filled with more electronic gadgets, big screen TVs, computers and sound systems — the backup generators have become larger as well.

Ingersoll Rand/Howe: There is a growing market for residential backup generators, spurred by awareness generated as result of recent natural disasters, particularly in areas prone to power outages. Typically these units are 15 kW or smaller and may be fueled by diesel, natural gas or propane.

Magnum/Joseph/McAllister: Our dealers have sold our mobile units for residential use from time to time, but the residential market is another market all in itself.

How do you determine the correct size generator?

Baldor/Raber: By understanding the requirements of the electrical load you want to run and matching that to the electrical output and characteristics of the gen-set. There are mathematical formulas to help with this.

MQ Power/Brown: The most important factors are the size and type of load. You should know the voltage, the amps, whether the load is single-phase or three-phase, if the load is purely resistive, whether motor starting is a concern, the duty cycle of the load, and the operating environment. Altitude and ambient temperature are also important. Once these factors are known, there is a variety of sizing tables, charts, graphs and software to assist the customer in determining the correct size of generator for the job.

Honda/Delaney: Power needs and portability are the most important factors in determining the right sized generator for a specific application or job. For example, in the case of an industrial application, Honda’s EB series of generators would most likely allow for the most power on the jobsite while offering longer run times and durable frames. The Honda website at www.honda.com has a handy wattage calculator to help users understand the power requirements of specific electrical devices.

Makita/Rodriguez: We offer a chart identifying specific Makita generators that will work best with a number of commonly used tools based on their wattage.

Subaru Robin/Meyer: If you are a homeowner, the best way to ensure you are purchasing the correctly sized generator is to have your electrician review the appliances you want to run during an outage. If you are looking at installing an automatic home standby, a generator with a manual transfer switch system or just wanting to run extension cords out to a portable generator, they will be able to review your electrical system to make sure everything is done properly. Rental dealers need to make sure they ask the user what he plans on running with the generator. Determining all of the amperage of the tools/appliances that will be run on the generator will avoid problems later with the generator not being able to start and run everything. Subaru has a sizing guide on our website that will walk you through the process step by step in sizing your generator.

Wacker/Leupi: By determining the total power required by all tools and equipment that will be connected to that generator. Important in that calculation is factoring in the start-up power and the starting sequence of the multiple tools.

Ingersoll Rand/Howe: To accurately size a generator you need to know as much information as you can about the devices that will be connected to it. At a minimum you need to know the voltage and amperage of each device that will be connected.

Also, you need to recognize that motors require special attention to calculate the “inrush” or starting kVA of the motor at start-up. Once you have this information, you convert this data to kilowatts to determine the size generator required. This gives a simple overview into what can be a fairly complicated procedure depending upon the application. To assist, Ingersoll Rand has developed GenSelect, which is a generator sizing tool. GenSelect allows the user to input data about the devices to be connected to the generator and automatically calculates the power requirements and suggests the correct generator for the application. In addition, our generator specialists and field sales team have the capability to provide application and sizing assistance.

Godwin Pumps/Givler: By gathering as much information about the application as possible. For example, what is the generator being used for? What voltage and amperage is required? What phase? Permanent installation or portable application?

Magnum/Joseph/McAllister: It is first important to decipher what the voltage and amperage requirements are for the application. Compare the requirements with amperage outputs listed for each generator on our literature. Select a generator where the application requirements are at least 60 percent to 90 percent of the generator’s prime output. This is a good rule of thumb for standard construction site power requirements.

In the event that you have a customer looking to power an electric motor, we will need to know the lock-rotor-amps and motor code to properly size a generator. Electric motors can require two to nine times the power to start them, as it does to run them. Therefore, we recommend gathering the information noted above and contact one of our sales people or technicians for proper sizing.

In what situation would you recommend a generator-welder combination unit rather than a generator-only product?

MQ Power/Brown: Where flexibility is important, space is limited and both functions are required.

Miller Electric/Moureau: We recommend renting a generator-welder whenever space is at a premium or when both are needed.

Honda/Delaney: A generator-welder is a specific product for a specific solution. This type of combination unit is only recommended when there is a specific need for this unique welding application.

Makita/Rodriguez: A generator-welder combination is best when mounted in service trucks that do welding in steel frame buildings.

Subaru Robin/Meyer: The welder-generator combination unit is great for the utility and service truck market. This allows them to have two products in one package, which saves valuable space on their trucks for other tools.

Wacker/Leupi: Primarily useful for welder heavy applications where there is a need for auxilliary power.

Godwin Pumps/Givler: In a convenient application where it allows for the productive use of the generator and the welder or in an application where it is more sensible to use one piece of equipment in place of two.

What is the most unusual application you’ve seen your generators used for?

Baldor/Raber: We sold several skid-mount 80kVA generators that are mounted to a “cat tracks” and used for emergency power in mountainous regions with heavy snow coverage.

MQ Power/Brown: Both our mobile generators and custom-engineered products have seen duty in just about every conceivable application. They have supported our troops abroad, powered the equipment used in responding to 9/11, supported various NASA programs and provided power to thousands of victims and rescue workers after Hurricane Katrina.

Some of our more unique applications were those that required considerable engineering to achieve the design goals. For example, we designed and built custom generators that were placed into aircraft shipping containers to be deployed as part of a major telecom company’s disaster recovery strategy.

MQ Power has also built a very unique system consisting of four 190-kW generators genn in a custom trailer. The system provides quiet, redundant, lightweight power with parallel capability — all within a custom trailer that includes a conference room.

Our engineering team has designed a 1,500-kW lightweight generator set packaged in a custom trailer to fit inside a Military Cargo Transport Aircraft. The gen-set is rated to operate in extreme operating environments.

Miller Electric/Moureau: Using a Miller Bobcat to power a plastic welder for welding plastic pipes.

Honda/Delaney: In the past, people typically used generators to power home appliances during outages or to provide electricity at remote worksites. But lately, more consumers and businesses are using our EU series of generators to power computers and delicate electronics in remote locations or in emergency situations. This is possible because Honda’s complete line of EU Series inverter generators produce cleaner power required by sensitive electronics.

Makita/Rodriguez: I once saw a generator being used to power drills to mix beans in a chili cook out.

Wacker/Leupi: Some more unique applications are running amusement park rides, running pumps for aerating fish ponds, backup generator for a chicken farm.

Ingersoll Rand/Howe: One of the most unique applications we’ve heard about lately was from a customer in south Florida who purchased a mobile generator to protect his business against power failure. The customer’s business was to supply bait to commercial fisherman. The generator was needed to provide backup power to circulation tanks and refrigeration systems to keep the bait alive and prevent losses in tens of thousands of dollars.

Godwin Pumps/Givler: On a floating barge powering submersible pumps for the Army Corp of Engineers.

Magnum/Joseph/McAllister: NASA came out with a specification a few years ago for a pair of 290-kVA ground support generators for the space shuttle. In true fashion, their specification had NASA written all over it! After a number of conference calls, and a couple of visits on-site we had our direction. Our twin 290-kVA generators are now part of 75-foot trailer that is brought out onto the runway upon the return of a space shuttle mission. This ground support package powers the shuttle’s internal cooling systems. The generators run in parallel, and if one goes down for any reason, the other generator instantaneously takes the load.

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