thoughts on this inverter?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Chicago-Electric-2000-4000-Watt-Power-Inverter-/322588145415

I did search up the inverters you mentioned lodge but was confused by the results, I do like this one because it is small, has indicators and is not flashy or weirdly designed like some of the other things out there:
https://www.ebay.com/p/Energizer-EN2000-2000-Watt-Power-Inverter/1908010962?iid=271246619761
Gross...
just... yeah no.
 (I don't like building with things that aren't roughly box shaped, it just makes things harder to mount/fit for one and two it is hard to deal with looking at something that looks like a giant Tylenol with legs and blue eyes or some animal that obviously ate too much for its own good, IDK think of a better description if you must, but those  are what i can think of...

I like my stuff utilitarian, and simple, this is why i hate alot of modern cars, well that and they prettymuch all started to look the same to me after 2014 and not in a way (I'd) consider attractive, also why i dont care for alot of modern electronics, like those new smart TV things... they lack alot of the connections that are useful to me, and they have a weird form so they take up more space than their counterparts (or past counterparts IDK if they killed off normal TV's) I also hate cloud storage and societies idea of Modern/Futuristic... ahhhhh. some accuse me of not liking change. maybe thats the case, i cant tell to be honest

Anyway, sorry for the rant try to focus more on what i typed before all that, that was the original question... then my mind kinda trailed off 

They are both modified sine wave, which a magnetic ballast will not like, sure if you go electronic ballasts they will run and not give you much grief, but the magnetic ones will get hot and you run the risk of damaging them when running magnetic ballasts like this long term, or even damaging the inverter or worse both.. 

Seriously look for a used ups there is hundreds of youtube videos on how to change them into an inverter, most just need a few fans added for cooling and booster cables to reach a larger battery... 

Alright i'll look a little deeper into the UPS.... what is modified sine wave anyway?

It's basically a squarewave... see snip from analyticsystems.com..

Most UPS manufacturers call much less than that a "modified sine wave"

Yep that is why I like the older APC smart UPS's above 700 VA, they output pretty clean sine waves, with some noise on loads below 20 watts but above that they are very clean right up to the max, but they will start to clip the wave as the battery dies, which wouldn't be an issue if your powering it with a DC generator, and a small lead acid to deal with any inrushes. Some models like the SUA750RM2U the inverter power output is usually cleaner then the grid power... But I will agree with you, if you get the smaller cheap 300 or 500 VA units the output is horrific, and most of the smaller unit's you can't cold start them so they need to be plugged in to start the inverter otherwise they are useless for this application...  

The flywheel: Don't forget the generator has its own inertia as well. Mainly the car alternator (which needs some overdrive gearing; usually the best efficiency at high loads is at around 4000rpm on the alternator shaft, so about a 3:2 ratio would be ideal; in cars it uses to be 2:1) uses to have the rotor quite heavy for the power level it works with.
It features counterweights for the piston and tie rod assembly, these are way sufficient for running. Plus the cooling fan and magneto rotors add their momentum as well. For 2000rpm and above I don't thing you will ever need anything more.

The only time when some extra flywheel momentum would help is a high load (so a lot of air sucked in and so to compress) operation at low rpm, but with a genset that is present only during starting (helping you to overcome the last section of the compression, when there is already high pressure in the cylinder).
To check that, you may just try to start the engine without the blade. If it starts reasonably and the governor isn't much "hunting" (the rpm regulation isn't oscillating; but don't forget the generator will add its inertia, for the regulator stability it does not matter if it is behind the belt drive or directly on the shaft), it is proof you really don't need any flywheel at all.

And the "cooling vents" within the flywheel are useless (there is nothing to cool below the base plate), they will only ad an aerodynamic drag to the system. So better to choose rear disc (without the cooling features), it will allow better fuel economy and/or higher available power.

Plus when using a car alternator, you may make the governor rpm adjustable, so at lower load you select lower rpm to reduce the losses in the engine, so improve the fuel economy. The car alternator is simply designed for wide range, so not much of a problem...

And with the car alternator there is another problem: It needs a battery for proper operation. Without it it may not start up (there is a kind of "chicken-egg" problem inside: The alternator needs an excitation power, but the excitation power comes from the generated power; typically the car systems use the car battery power for kicking this up). And note, if the alternator has a wire for the "trouble light", presence of this lamp (at least a 2W incandescent bulb or an equivalent resistor) is there essential, as it provides the alternator "priming".
Another problem why it needs the battery is, the voltage regulation needs the low car battery impedance to make it operating correctly, without huge over/undershoots and so on.
Plus this battery allows uninterrupted lamp operation even during refueling (which is extremely dangerous, if the engine is running).
But it does not have to be that big, for the alternator operation 10Ah is way sufficient (or you may use a bank of 6 supercapacitor 300F cells; they are not that expensive, but you may need to "prime" them in order for the alternator to start generating power - the "chicken-egg" excitation problem)
For the light operation backup you should look for its discharge current rating (for 10..15minutes or so), if it is able to cover your load needs.



And for the inverter: Don't use and "UPS", they are usually designed to work only for very limited time (till the typically small UPS battery discharges typically in 10 minutes), for longer operation they tend to overheat. Use really "inverter" product, rated for permanent load.

Medved is correct UPS's aren't factory built to run for any length of time, they are built for short periods allowing a computer to shut down in an orderly fashion, they are going to need a few computer cooling fans added to them for cooling, I would suggest a purpose built inverter, but here is the reason I have suggested a UPS, so many of them get thrown out when the battery dies, lots of people either don't know the battery is designed to be user serviceable with nothing more then a screwdriver needed, or if they do when they call the local battery shop and they get an unrealistic price on the battery, or they go online and get an unreasonable shipping cost because they are heavy.

If I look at a big box store that sells 12 volt 12 amp hour batteries they want $75 for the battery, and the battery only store wants $65,  online they are about $100, now if I go to a local electronics parts store they are $30 but most people don't know about it, so they figure if they have to get two batteries (something like a 1000VA APC) it's going to cost them between $130 and $200, so they might as well just buy an entire new unit from Costco for $178.99 delivered to there door and $149 in-store and not have to do any work or worry about something else in the UPS failing because it's getting old, so to the recycle that UPS shall go, or Kijiji. Or they figure there is something wrong with it and they don't care the read the instructions and it beeps late in the night disturbing there sleep so in to the recycle it shall go... So you should be able to find a nice UPS for free or under $20, but honestly if you can afford a good automotive style pure sine wave inverter or better a morning star solar grade inverter I would go that route, but just for experimenting a UPS will be fine, plus if you smoke a free UPS you won't be as mad as you will be if you smoke a $300 + Inverter..

And I like the supercap idea, they are pretty solid and last a very long time, and will weigh less and be smaller then a lead acid, but to prime the alternator and this is only done during start up you can use a simple 9 volt battery it doesn't take much and once the alternator is outputting power it will take care of it from there..   

   

well todays the day i go out to find stuff.... i will deal with the inverter later.... right now it is time to find alternators... and some other parts..

there is several RV's there... could they perhaps have inverters in them already?

Alright, i got an alternator, it is from a 1975? Dodge coachman RV, it looks to be in decent shape (from what i can tell anyway, it still spins freely LOL) it has a battery connection, two of these (FLD) connections and a connector that appears to connect directly to the chassis of the alternator, there are numbers on it but im not sure which ones are part numbers, theres a lone 05305 near the pulley, another number which is one of these i cant tell : 209-5191, 205-5191 or something along those lines... maybe S191?? i cant tell, anyway thers one more number thats really worn off 38/42 and some more numbers underneath that which i cant read other than the beginning "3" the reason i went after this one is because i had a limited amount of time and this was right in the cab, so i could walk in get on the floor and unbolt it in decent time. what is the amperage of these ones usually?

Time for the bad news, that alternator needs an external voltage regulator, the FLD contacts are for the field winding's and it's probably a 65 Amp model so about 750 watts max power and in reality you shouldn't drive them to the max 100% of the time so it's good for about 500 watts 100% of the time.. Now you can make them work but it will require some additional work, so let me know which way you are looking at going, if your going to return it, or make it work ..

Did they have any 99 to 04 GMC trucks like an S10 or blazer lots the Delphi alternators where 105 to 220 amps and single wire with an internal voltage regulator and a 105 amp will give you about 1 Kw and a 220 will give you about 2kw and more then likely stall the lawnmower engine or slip the belt but only if you load it to 2 kW, ideally if you can find a 220 amp get that one so you are only putting a smaller load on it and letting it run cooler, also older high end cars are a good because they have large electrical loads like heated seats and they also have larger alternators in them..

like these ones? if so i'll target those, also i don't really have to return them, the people like to dump the cars off their property so its free pickings (thats where i got this alternator), and they don't even put up a fence so just waltz right in if i wanted

Ok I was going to cut and paste pictures but this website has the info already done so it's easier.. http://www.madelectrical.com/electricaltech/delcoremy.shtml

And if you take them to most autoparts store, like NAPA/UAP Autozone etc, they will test them for you for free, and let you know if it works..

I do know that a Toyota Corolla from around 1990 with the 4A-FE engine had an alternator with an internal regulator (as I once onwed one and had to replace the built in regulator with brushes), however the alternator itself may be underpowered being an old, small Japanese car.

Ok I was going to cut and paste pictures but this website has the info already done so it's easier.. http://www.madelectrical.com/electricaltech/delcoremy.shtml

And if you take them to most autoparts store, like NAPA/UAP Autozone etc, they will test them for you for free, and let you know if it works..

so wait those are the alternators im hunting for? or thats the one i got? im confused