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Rona

Firman Gas Portable Generator - 5700W - 6 Outlets $499 (reg. $999) Also at Lowe's/Reno Depot

  • Last Updated:
  • Oct 17th, 2021 9:48 am
Sr. Member
Mar 12, 2012
669 posts
795 upvotes
Belleville
TrueToy wrote: . there's one brand of gas in ontario that doesn't contain any ethanol, and its shell v power (91). all the other chain gas stations in ontario do not carry any ethanol free gas.
OH wow, that's great info. I knew ethanol was the real problem, but didn't know that any ethanol free gas was easily available here. Thanks!
Sr. Member
Mar 12, 2012
669 posts
795 upvotes
Belleville
robpiper wrote: Great price, anyone knows how loud they are? Would they be annoying to take camping?
Very. Please don't do this unless you have no one near you.
Deal Fanatic
Feb 15, 2006
9183 posts
3861 upvotes
Toronto
What else would you need to power part of the house in case of power outages, especially in winter to run the furnace as a min.
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User avatar
Feb 13, 2021
1122 posts
1176 upvotes
I have this generator which I PMed at HD two years ago during Lowes half price sale. It's great. The noise level is perfect for camping to keep bears and other campers away. Wear hearing protection within 15 meters of it.

Like others have mentioned, I only fill it with Shell V-Power 91 (no ethanol) and it starts with one or two pulls after sitting for months over the winter in a garage.

Lowes owns Rona and RenoDepot so HD will PM for sure, they did for me. Mine had a bent frame so I ended up getting it for a little over $300, an absolute bargain for this well made generator.
Last edited by BenKlaar on Aug 2nd, 2021 11:21 am, edited 1 time in total.
Member
Jan 11, 2012
410 posts
351 upvotes
PORT ALBERNI
I'm curious - I've never been to Ontario, do you have Chevron gas stations in Ontario? Or is this a "West Coast" brand of gas stations? I live in BC and the Chevron premium gas is definitely 100% ethanol free for anyone who is looking for a source in the West Coast. Also as I understand it the marine gas that is sold in some retailers (Co-op, stations close to the marina, etc) might be a another source of premium ethanol free gas. You would need to confirm with your station but just for FWIW.
TrueToy wrote: this is good advice but i hope you dont mind if i expand on this. the real issue isn't octane, as these likely aren't very high compression (and it will say next to the cap and in the manual what to use,) the issue is water vapour contaminating your fuel and making it go bad. ethanol based fuels will absorb more atmospheric moisture and go bad faster than ethanol free gas. there's one brand of gas in ontario that doesn't contain any ethanol, and its shell v power (91). all the other chain gas stations in ontario do not carry any ethanol free gas.

if you're going to keep gas in your generator, i'd really suggest getting some fresh v power, immediately adding fuel stabilizer to it, and filling the tank to the brim. as always YMMV, but fresh enthanol free gas with stabilizer in it would be good for around a year. unfortunately where i live the power goes out 2-3 times a month, so i dont have that problem.
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User avatar
Nov 28, 2016
22791 posts
3321 upvotes
Out west
qaz393 wrote: Is this good charger for Tesla??
Are you the author that says trucks shouldnt be used? Sounds just as stupid
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Feb 13, 2021
1122 posts
1176 upvotes
Timetripper wrote: I'm curious - I've never been to Ontario, do you have Chevron gas stations in Ontario? Or is this a "West Coast" brand of gas stations? I live in BC and the Chevron premium gas is definitely 100% ethanol free for anyone who is looking for a source in the West Coast. Also as I understand it the marine gas that is sold in some retailers (Co-op, stations close to the marina, etc) might be a another source of premium ethanol free gas. You would need to confirm with your station but just for FWIW.
Marinas, that's a good suggestion for no-ethanol gas but only if they get their fuel from Shell in the east and Chevron on the west coast. Boat owners have complained about ethanol in their fuel since it stratifies in boat fuel tanks that may sit unused for long periods of time, regardless of added stabilizer. Since ethanol is hygroscopic it may be good to absorb water in fuel tanks that have gas sloshing around on a daily basis in cars, but there is no advantage of ethanol other than to keep corn farmers happy and wealthy.
Sr. Member
Oct 14, 2007
613 posts
1303 upvotes
Thedford
robpiper wrote: Great price, anyone knows how loud they are? Would they be annoying to take camping?
This thing will be very heavy to lift and move. The wheels will bog down if camped at a site with sandy soil; even worse it will be quite loud. I would expect campers at sites near yours would not tolerate the noise for very long and you would be asked to turn it off. Generators like this have to operate at / around 3600 rpm to maintain the 60 cycles / second frequency of the electricity they generate. This means they are always loud even when producing small amounts of electricity.

On the other hand, inverters will raise or lower the rpm of the engine depending on the load applied. They also tend to have more effective mufflers allowing the inverter to operate with lower noise levels. Inverters tend to be more expensive and only a few will output the wattage of the Firman.
Deal Addict
Dec 24, 2007
1676 posts
2995 upvotes
BenKlaar wrote: Marinas, that's a good suggestion for no-ethanol gas but only if they get their fuel from Shell in the east and Chevron on the west coast. Boat owners have complained about ethanol in their fuel since it stratifies in boat fuel tanks that may sit unused for long periods of time, regardless of added stabilizer. Since ethanol is hygroscopic it may be good to absorb water in fuel tanks that have gas sloshing around on a daily basis in cars, but there is no advantage of ethanol other than to keep corn farmers happy and wealthy.
agreed

resource for ethanol free gas:
https://www.pure-gas.org/index.jsp?stateprov=ON

no chevron in ontario
Arrgh wrote: What else would you need to power part of the house in case of power outages, especially in winter to run the furnace as a min.
to have what i have at my house, you'd need to have an electrician come and install a generator sub panel.

generac makes some interesting hardware which goes between your meter and the its receptacle. it can do automatic failover too. my neighbours who have newer homes than me have this system
science is not an opinion contest
Deal Fanatic
Feb 15, 2006
9183 posts
3861 upvotes
Toronto
TrueToy wrote: to have what i have at my house, you'd need to have an electrician come and install a generator sub panel.

generac makes some interesting hardware which goes between your meter and the its receptacle. it can do automatic failover too. my neighbours who have newer homes than me have this system
What would that cost approximately? Sounds like a non-trivial set up and expense.
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User avatar
Oct 14, 2017
1314 posts
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Toronto
Arrgh wrote: What would that cost approximately? Sounds like a non-trivial set up and expense.
I'd like to know too.

Grabbed 1 of two at the Mississauga location.
Newbie
Aug 10, 2020
37 posts
28 upvotes
darcyh wrote: This thing will be very heavy to lift and move. The wheels will bog down if camped at a site with sandy soil; even worse it will be quite loud. I would expect campers at sites near yours would not tolerate the noise for very long and you would be asked to turn it off. Generators like this have to operate at / around 3600 rpm to maintain the 60 cycles / second frequency of the electricity they generate. This means they are always loud even when producing small amounts of electricity.

On the other hand, inverters will raise or lower the rpm of the engine depending on the load applied. They also tend to have more effective mufflers allowing the inverter to operate with lower noise levels. Inverters tend to be more expensive and only a few will output the wattage of the Firman.
Thanks for all the details, I will pass on this one.
Deal Addict
Dec 24, 2007
1676 posts
2995 upvotes
Arrgh wrote: How do I get a free house?

I heard sometimes it comes with a wife, but wives can be so expensive.
rich parents help.

i have no wife, i live alone on an acreage near algonquin park with my toys.
science is not an opinion contest
Deal Fanatic
Jun 11, 2016
5291 posts
6491 upvotes
TrueToy wrote: rich parents help.

i have no wife, i live alone on an acreage near algonquin park with my toys.
After the property price spikes due to covid I can't afford to move.
Deal Addict
Feb 28, 2016
1569 posts
1156 upvotes
TrueToy wrote: this is just ignorant. this generator has a l14-30r 240v output. my house is wired for a generator. this generator would definitely run my house.

i use a Mitsubishi MGE5800Z, though.
Side note on that Mitsubishi, I had bought one at auction nearly a year ago as a project. Pretty nice generator for its vintage, but info and parts for these units are super hard to find. I believe mine needed a voltage regulator as power generating was intermittent. A new one was $300+, not worth the expense for a generator that old. The engine ran perfectly though and started first or second pull.
Member
May 22, 2014
491 posts
446 upvotes
is this the one that takes peoples fingers off?
Deal Addict
Jan 10, 2009
2596 posts
1987 upvotes
Boom and Bust Calgar…
robpiper wrote: Great price, anyone knows how loud they are? Would they be annoying to take camping?
If you have to ask if this is good for camping, you need to a whole lot of research.

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