3000W Chinese Gensets Info.

jking2000 wrote:
I dropped by the my Local PepBoys and they have the Power Pro 3500 series, the sales man also showed me a Power Pro 5500 series from the same company. I am looking for an affordable RV generator as well as House Backup generator for Storm Season. Will this one work for both needs? Thanks for all the Information!

James King

The PowerPro 3500 should fill the bill for both RV and Home.

I bought a PowerPro 3500 at Pep Boys, and use it very effectively for power backup of my home here in storm-prone south Florida. Believe it or not, this was done to replace a perfectly good Coleman 5500 Watt unit that I used during Hurricane Frances last fall. (The Coleman used 14 gallons of gas in 24 hours, and is very loud. I now keep it as a backup which I can use to run the water heater if needed, or use if the Power Pro should break down.)

Having gone through Hurricane Andrew in 1992, and Hurricane Frances last Fall, My philosophy is to think "MINIMALIST," When doing emergency power planning. I also freely confess that I like my creature comforts.

Let me make a couple of points:

1. Forget running the central air. Equip one room, such as the master bedroom with an Energy Star rated room A/C unit. (Also great while waiting for a service tech if your central A/C breaks down.)
Ditto for washers, dryers, water heaters, electric ranges, Etc.

2. When considering emergency power for a home one must consider the amount of FUEL that will be consumed. In the event of a severe weather event, such as hurricane Frances that hit my area last fall, one may not be able to easily obtain fuel for many days after the storm. It took 8 days for power company to restore service in my location. If you run a Power Pro 24 hours a day, it will consume about 10 gallons at nearly full load. That means 50 gallons will keep you running for 5 days. In reality, one can usually get away with 18 hours a day, and stretch the fuel for another couple of days. Buying, transporting, and storing more than 80-100 gallons of gas before a predicted storm gets to be problematic for many of us. After the storm season ends, the fuel inventory can be reduced by using it in your car or truck.

3. A 3,500 watt unit, such as the Power Pro will be quiet enough not to prevent your getting a good night's sleep, or disturb neighbors who may own guns, and will be cranky because they don't have power;-)

4. The Power Pro 3,500 easily runs my room A/C, (7,500 BTU that I bought for $120.00) My recent vintage side-by-side reefer, my desktop computer & monitor, 32" TV, a few box fans, and plenty of lighting around the house. Having fresh food and plenty of ICE really helps the comfort level during an extended outage. I can run my microwave if I shut the A/C and some lighting off first.

5. Modest cost, small space requirements. The Power Pro 3500 is compact and lends itself to being left set up and ready to go without having to move it. I run it for 15 minutes once a week, and added some fuel stabilizer. I installed a U.L. Transfer switch so I can quickly switch over. Transfer switches rated for 5,000 watts can be had on eBay for about $125.00 The price jumps dramatically for larger ones. Since my breaker panel is in my garage, near the garage door, I piped the exhaust through the cement block wall, and can run the unit with the garage door open about 18" with the generator faced so it's internal fan blows in the direction of the open door. (I installed a Carbon Monoxide/smoke detector next to the door leading inside the house for safety.)

The one thing these small generators don't do very well is run fluorescent lighting. The lamps tend to flicker, which I find quite annoying.

I also have 2 ELM3000 units, one of which I use to power my office when the power fails, which it did for 2 hours this past Monday. Having all the 110V power available via extension cords makes this an ideal unit for quick set up, since my landlord won't let me install a transfer switch.

One last thought: If your home does not have gas service, then one should have a Coleman camping stove & lantern for light and cooking should the generator fail.

I hope this information proves useful, and not be considered as being too far off-topic. After all, much of camping and RVing is about being self-sufficient.

Have a great Independence Day!

Cheers!