Thread: Small Diesel Generator

I am in the market to purchase a small 5-10KW diesel generator. My parameters are quiet running, dependability, ease of maintenance and cost. I have seen several models in Udon Thani that appear to be either Chinese or Korean. Does anyone have experience using a quiet, decent diesel generator or have recommendations for a particular brand or model?

These electrical blackouts have finally gotten to me.

Especially this time of year. Feel for ya.

Mine is the best piece of essential household kit I ever bought, however it's neither diesel nor quiet.

You probably have a fair amount of outages Davis. What size is your gen set, and what are you able to run off of it?

Originally Posted by aging one

Especially this time of year. Feel for ya.

Are you in the States AO?

Originally Posted by rickschoppers

Are you in the States AO?

Nope sweltering with you here but in Don Muang.

How are you going to reconcile the fact that it needs to be as far from the house as possible (due to noise/fumes), but at the same time proof against being stolen by the local cowboys ?

Perhaps building a tiny breeze block shed would solve both probs ?

I have a couple of choices for placement. One is out in the old kitchen that was added onto the carport when we also added a large kennel and is lockable. The second is on our large patio where we can easily build a lockable brick enclosure. The former is my first choice since it is away from the house and well ventilated.

From Davis' explanation, something like a 10KW gen would be needed since I want to run 1 AC, fridge/freezer, lights and 1 TV.

Originally Posted by rickschoppers

I have a couple of choices for placement. One is out in the old kitchen that was added onto the carport when we also added a large kennel and is lockable. The second is on our large patio where we can easily build a lockable brick enclosure. The former is my first choice since it is away from the house and well ventilated.

From Davis' explanation, something like a 10KW gen would be needed since I want to run 1 AC, fridge/freezer, lights and 1 TV.

10KW should be more than adequate.

Some good info about genset's in Thailand on this site.

An introduction to Generators in Thailand

I see that they had an update in 2012, so not sure if they are still in business.

Thanks Davis. I should have purchased one of the 10KW diesel generators I saw at Tool Pro awhile back for 45K. I did not recognize the make, so I hesitated. What make is your 5K Davis and any problems with it?

Originally Posted by Barty

Some good info about genset's in Thailand on this site.

An introduction to Generators in Thailand

I see that they had an update in 2012, so not sure if they are still in business.

Thanks Barty, I will take a look.

start with this
Reviews of the Best Portable, Home & Diesel Generators | Generator Power Source

then cross reference with amazon reviews

Originally Posted by rickschoppers

Thanks Davis. I should have purchased one of the 10KW diesel generators I saw at Tool Pro awhile back for 45K. I did not recognize the make, so I hesitated. What make is your 5K Davis and any problems with it?

Mine is 9, not 5. No real problems. Had it for about 8 years. Don't know brand - some slanty-eye country.

Originally Posted by baldrick

start with this
Reviews of the Best Portable, Home & Diesel Generators | Generator Power Source

then cross reference with amazon reviews

Thanks Baldrick.

Originally Posted by Davis Knowlton

Originally Posted by rickschoppers

Thanks Davis. I should have purchased one of the 10KW diesel generators I saw at Tool Pro awhile back for 45K. I did not recognize the make, so I hesitated. What make is your 5K Davis and any problems with it?

Mine is 9, not 5. No real problems. Had it for about 8 years. Don't know brand - some slanty-eye country.

Ha, I think that covers about all the gen sets that are available here in Thailand. I will research a few before I buy.

I was in Global House the other day and they had a good amount of Diesel generators there. I haven't heard of the name but they where around 35,000 Baht + depending on KW. 10 would be good for your home and run 1 A/C. They also had one with a built in Welder.

We always used Kobota gensets at work for light-duty power (under 10kva) in remote locations and they must have been ok or the Mechs wouldn't have kept them around for long. I remember they were Diesel, reliable, quiet, and could handle hot weather.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is what type of power do you want Pure sine wave ~ gennys are expensive 2 -3 times the cost of a Modified sine wave AKA Quasi Sine or Square wave ⎴ .
Modififed sine wave has been known to shorten the life of electronics like computers tv's also old style fluorescent lighting the ballast over heat I've noticed and I have a friend who uses a MS genny and said his drills ( that's all it's used for) are only lasting 6 months using daily for work when they would last for years.

^ Bit over my head with the terminology there, but my experience has been the same with gen-sets that run on an incompatible frequency to what appliances I'm using.

50 or 60 herts I mean. Laptops are fine with it, most personal chargers & tv's, gaming consoles etc... But home appliances, power tools, etc... are not. Home alarm clocks don't work very well running on the wrong frequency.

A thing to look at as well. Thailand is 50 Hz. Japan has both 50 and 60 Hz etc...

Food for thought.

Whatever the answer, quality is best.

As long as it doesn't get "lent" to a relative by the wife, next time he's away

Quick read might help explain my above post better.

http://www.rpc.com.au/pdf/sine_&_squ...lectricity.pdf