Bunnings $400 'sine wave' generator

[Jutscher (Sam)]

Hey all,

Just wondering if anyone knows much about this generator that I saw in Bunnings today - Kipor GS 770

The box claims a true sine output and max 770watt.

I figured that 770watt would be plenty for my single laptop and a few low voltage peripheral items, and at $400 bucks, it seems like a bit of a bargain.

Is anybody using this genny in their own setup, can I really go wrong if it offers true sine?

Here is a link to its bigger 1000 watt brother (couldnt find the 770 easily)
http://www.kulkyne.com/au/GS1000-Kipor-Generator.html - this one is $800, but seems that the only variable is max OP.

Cheers

Sam

[koputai (Jason)]

If you don't mind paying $400 for something that will likely last less than a year. I avoid McBunnings like the plague, they only sell cheap Chinese ****. Sorry, **** is the only word for it.

The bonus with shopping there though, is that you get to be 'helped' by people who need assistance to tie their slip-ons in the morning.

Cheers,
Jason.

[marki]

That looks like a honda, in fact it is exactly the same as mine but blue? Hmmmm see link below.

http://www.generatorhouse.com.au/sho...ent+Generators

Quite a bit more expensive in red but if it is exactly the same it would be an absolute bargin at that price. Mine (the 1kVa honda version) definately supplies very clean electricity and I have had no problems with any of my computers I have run off of it.

Cheers

Mark

[Paddy (Patrick)]

Originally Posted by koputai

If you don't mind paying $400 for something that will likely last less than a year. I avoid McBunnings like the plague, they only sell cheap Chinese ****. Sorry, **** is the only word for it.

The bonus with shopping there though, is that you get to be 'helped' by people who need assistance to tie their slip-ons in the morning.

Cheers,
Jason.

This has certainly been my Bunnings experience. And from the folk who service our generator (back up for our solar remote power system) I understand that a cheap generator is indeed a very short-term item. Our Honda has lasted many years beyond what would be expected. Chinese copies as Jason said can be expected to last a year - again this is not from personal experience, but from very trusted and experienced sources.

[GrahamL]

We bought a honda powered preasure cleaner a while back and have had a bit of trouble with the engine since new and its always little stuff breaking or jamming .

While the name does still hold a good reputation, the idea you can slap it on a outsourced power head and flog it off as professional quality is a bit of an ask imo.

Maybe worth a punt Sam , they are cheap , I've had some positive experiances from the cheaper knockoffs.

[Omaroo (Chris Malikoff)]

Some 4WDrivers in our Landrover Club have been using Kipor gennies for years. They're generally good and they work pretty reliably. They're probably not quite as well regarded as Honda or Yamaha generators, but aren't all that far behind. $400 is a bargain for a sine wave generator in anyone's book - and it isn't a "Bunnings" Chinese special import - the brand has been around for a fair while here in Oz now although it IS made in China. THis must be a new model because I couldn't see it on Kipor's website. I personally have a Honda, but would look at this as a second unit for the caravan.

http://www.kipor.com.au/

[BPO]

Back in February 2004, I purchased a cheap (NZ$800) 3,500 kVA Chinese Honda knock-off genset.

My friends laughed and said I was mad for buying "junk".

It's now 2011 and that wee genset is still going strong and has barely missed a beat. (I did once have to replace the Chinese sparkplug with a Japanese sparkplug, but that's it.)

If you try to run them 24/7, these Chinese models will probably fall apart, but for occasional use such as topping-up battery banks and running power tools, etc, they can be excellent.

(Oh, and one difference between the Chinese model and the equivalent Honda genset? Around 10-20 kg! More steel and copper in the Honda is my assumption.)

[Jutscher (Sam)]

Thanks for the feedback.
Seems to be 50:50 either way, so I am gonna take a punt and grab one.
Here's hoping that gennys aren't something you can get wrong anymore.
Cheers

[garymck (Gary)]

Actually Jason,
as someone who works casually at Bunnings just 'cos I love hardware (and I have a PHD!) I do resent people making insulting comments about people who are just trying to do a half decent job under a great deal of pressure from low staffing levels. If you've ever been insulted, treated like crap, and subject to the moods of unpleasant customers who abuse you because they know you'll lose your job if you answer back, perhaps you would understand why sometimes they do lack a little enthusiasm. In addition half the time you're asked to cover an area that you have no expertise in, and are still expected to know everything about everything by customers with unreasonable expectations....Perhaps if you were paid $16 an hour you would be full of enthusiasm at assisting someone who doesn't even have the courtesy to say "please" when asking for help. The people I work with are genuinely nice, many have trade qualifications, most are semi retired and have a genuine desire to help. Never assume that just because someone is in plumbing they are a plumber- the plumber has probably been put in timber, and the paint guy is probably rostered in tools - not their fault.....

You may think your comment amusing, but thousands of nice people work there, and do try to help. You should never assume that just because people work in menial jobs they have no intelligence.....I have known lots of people who are graduates and who have graduate degrees who've worked there as a change of pace....as I do....a day dealing with "customers" at Bunnings can have stressful results:

"You suppose me a very old man - but I am not. It took less than a single day to change these hairs from a jetty black to white, to weaken my limbs, and to unstring my nerves, so that I tremble at the least exertion, and am frightened at a shadow" E A Poe


cheers,
rant over
Gary


The bonus with shopping there though, is that you get to be 'helped' by people who need assistance to tie their slip-ons in the morning.

Cheers,
Jason.[/QUOTE]

[astroron (Ron)]

Originally Posted by garymck

Actually Jason,
as someone who works casually at Bunnings just 'cos I love hardware (and I have a PHD!) I do resent people making insulting comments about people who are just trying to do a half decent job under a great deal of pressure from low staffing levels. If you've ever been insulted, treated like crap, and subject to the moods of unpleasant customers who abuse you because they know you'll lose your job if you answer back, perhaps you would understand why sometimes they do lack a little enthusiasm. In addition half the time you're asked to cover an area that you have no expertise in, and are still expected to know everything about everything by customers with unreasonable expectations....Perhaps if you were paid $16 an hour you would be full of enthusiasm at assisting someone who doesn't even have the courtesy to say "please" when asking for help. The people I work with are genuinely nice, many have trade qualifications, most are semi retired and have a genuine desire to help. Never assume that just because someone is in plumbing they are a plumber- the plumber has probably been put in timber, and the paint guy is probably rostered in tools - not their fault.....

You may think your comment amusing, but thousands of nice people work there, and do try to help. You should never assume that just because people work in menial jobs they have no intelligence.....I have known lots of people who are graduates and who have graduate degrees who've worked there as a change of pace....as I do....a day dealing with "customers" at Bunnings can have stressful results:

"You suppose me a very old man - but I am not. It took less than a single day to change these hairs from a jetty black to white, to weaken my limbs, and to unstring my nerves, so that I tremble at the least exertion, and am frightened at a shadow" E A Poe


cheers,
rant over
Gary


The bonus with shopping there though, is that you get to be 'helped' by people who need assistance to tie their slip-ons in the morning.

Cheers,
Jason.

[/QUOTE]


Gary,Thankyou for your post
I have had nothing but GOOD service from my visits to Bunnings and good humor from it's staff
Isn't it amazing that millions of people use products from Bunnings every
day and I would say that the biggest majority are happy with their purchases as I have over the years
There are bound to be some people who will experience some disappointments
Cheers

[GrahamL]

Thats been my experiance Ron , customer service is always really good i've found.

Some people will fault in a lot of whats in front of them unfortunately
the guy at the checkout the other day wailing on the checkout chick
because the coffee had been put on the wrong shelf.

I hope the bitter and twisted types are a minority in your day Gary

[astroron (Ron)]

Originally Posted by Jutscher

Hey all,

Just wondering if anyone knows much about this generator that I saw in Bunnings today - Kipor GS 770

The box claims a true sine output and max 770watt.

I figured that 770watt would be plenty for my single laptop and a few low voltage peripheral items, and at $400 bucks, it seems like a bit of a bargain.

Is anybody using this genny in their own setup, can I really go wrong if it offers true sine?

Here is a link to its bigger 1000 watt brother (couldnt find the 770 easily)
http://www.kulkyne.com/au/GS1000-Kipor-Generator.html - this one is $800, but seems that the only variable is max OP.

Cheers

Sam

I have a Mobicooler which draws 45w at 240 volt 46w at 12volt,would this be ok to run on this generator?
Cheers

[koputai (Jason)]

Fair enough Gary, it was a bit of an unthinking generalisation. At our Bunnings there are indeed a few decent people. I too would find it difficult (impossible) being nice to the public all day!

Cheers,
Jason.

[renormalised (Carl)]

Originally Posted by marki

That looks like a honda, in fact it is exactly the same as mine but blue? Hmmmm see link below.

http://www.generatorhouse.com.au/sho...ent+Generators

Quite a bit more expensive in red but if it is exactly the same it would be an absolute bargin at that price. Mine (the 1kVa honda version) definately supplies very clean electricity and I have had no problems with any of my computers I have run off of it.

Cheers

Mark

Hey Mark, what's with the Hopskinville Goblin as your avatar

How much was your gen??

[marki]

Originally Posted by renormalised

Hey Mark, what's with the Hopskinville Goblin as your avatar

How much was your gen??

Carl a change is as good as a holiday. From memory the genset cost about $1300, money very well spent IMO. Its small light quiet and runs for 8 hours on a single tank. Been very reliable and is much better than lugging batteries around (it can charge those to ). That knock off is a dead ringer from the outside, wonder what the internal bits look like?

Mark

[tlgerdes (Trevor)]

Originally Posted by garymck

Actually Jason,
as someone who works casually at Bunnings just 'cos I love hardware (and I have a PHD!) I do resent people making insulting comments about people who are just trying to do a half decent job under a great deal of pressure from low staffing levels. If you've ever been insulted, treated like crap, and subject to the moods of unpleasant customers who abuse you because they know you'll lose your job if you answer back, perhaps you would understand why sometimes they do lack a little enthusiasm. In addition half the time you're asked to cover an area that you have no expertise in, and are still expected to know everything about everything by customers with unreasonable expectations....Perhaps if you were paid $16 an hour you would be full of enthusiasm at assisting someone who doesn't even have the courtesy to say "please" when asking for help. The people I work with are genuinely nice, many have trade qualifications, most are semi retired and have a genuine desire to help. Never assume that just because someone is in plumbing they are a plumber- the plumber has probably been put in timber, and the paint guy is probably rostered in tools - not their fault.....

You may think your comment amusing, but thousands of nice people work there, and do try to help. You should never assume that just because people work in menial jobs they have no intelligence.....I have known lots of people who are graduates and who have graduate degrees who've worked there as a change of pace....as I do....a day dealing with "customers" at Bunnings can have stressful results:

"You suppose me a very old man - but I am not. It took less than a single day to change these hairs from a jetty black to white, to weaken my limbs, and to unstring my nerves, so that I tremble at the least exertion, and am frightened at a shadow" E A Poe


cheers,
rant over
Gary

I am behind you on this one Gary. The degree of help at Bunnings is inversely proportional to the busyness of the store. Go in there at 10am on Satruday or Sunday and you will find it hard to get any help. Go in there at 7pm on a weeknight and they are lining up to talk to you

If you want advice pick a quite time to visit.

On the genny side, we picked up 2 chinese ones from ebay, the first lasted 6months, the 2nd is still going great at 18months. It gets run for 24hrs every month. Jsut keep the oil topped up and clean. (I think that was why the first one carked it)

[Brundah1 (David)]

We all know the Hondas and Yamahas are quality units, last a long time; but cost lots $$.

For our occasional camping & Astro requirements these knock-offs are quiet (59Dba 7M) and getting cheaper.

This knock-off type at 18Kgs gives plenty of output and suitable endurance at our moderate loads:

http://www.agrmachinery.com.au/buy/m...rator/MTM1500i

At 18Kgs and 3.6L tank 1.5KVA (or realistic 1000watt constant load) specs say 4hr10mins endurance at max load. For our moderate loads a full tank should run 5 - 6 hours.

AUD390 delivered seems to be now very reasonable!

Yes this is not a Honda, so you pays your money and takes your chances.

For comparison "Aldians Cave" have a 1KVA (realistic load 600watts) 2.7L 13Kg for $349 this week

[mikerr (Michael)]

One at ALDI this week...

http://www.aldi.com.au/au/html/offers/2827_19123.htm

Michael

[Brundah1 (David)]

Mike check my prev "Aldians Cave" = ALDI!
RTFQ

[mswhin63 (Malcolm)]

No Noise level readings on the ALDI unit.