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Generator -2 Stroke/ 720w 909 Brand at Masters $50 with Coupon Fathers Day Weekend Sept 1 & 2

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Generator -2 Stroke/ 720w 909 Brand at Masters $50 with Coupon Fathers Day Weekend Sept 1 & 2
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King Tightarse on 26/08/2012 - 19:50 masters.com.au (3210 clicks)
Last edited 26/08/2012 - 21:41

Pretty darn cheap for a portable generator - just the thing in late 2012 (lol)
Indoor/outdoor use. 240V AC output. 4.2L fuel tank. 17kg weight. 63cc 2 stroke type, pull start.

NOTE
Catalog prices are between Thursday 23rd of August to Weds Sept the 5th.
You need to buy online or in store over the fathers day week end (Sept 1 and 2) and use their $10 off coupon to get this price.
The coupon is on the front cover of the latest catalog and is for any item over $50 in value.
Get the coupon here if you don't have a physical copy:

http://miy.masters.com.au/catalogue

Home & Garden Portable Generator

Related Stores

Masters Home Improvement
Masters Home Improvement

closed Comments

  • kiwipride on 26/08/2012 - 19:54

    OP, how is this $50? Online says $98.

  • Woofy on 26/08/2012 - 19:55
    +1

    Bunnings also selling one at $49
    (ad in Saturday's telegraph)

    • kspec on 26/08/2012 - 20:09
      +1

      All bunnings? Same brand?

      • Grunef on 26/08/2012 - 22:52

        It won't be the same brand. 909 is a Masters exclusive brand. I expect the Bunnings one will be Ozito.

    • h3h3 on 26/08/2012 - 20:14

      can anyone find this online?

      • Woofy on 26/08/2012 - 21:16

        Top of Page 26 of yesterday's Daily Telegraph:

        Homelite 720W 2 Stroke Generator: $49.

        (Although it still lists as $98 on the website)

        • tanksinatra on 27/08/2012 - 13:28

          Got any more information on this? Any photos or dates?

        • PotPlant on 29/08/2012 - 13:24

          I just picked up one from my local Bunnings for $49.00. Just sitting on the shelf.

        • King Tightarse on 29/08/2012 - 14:58

          Was it the one I linked below?

      • King Tightarse on 26/08/2012 - 21:26

        I see it as $149 at Bunnings

        http://www.bunnings.com.au/products_product_homelite-720w-2-…
        Looks like the exact same model as this one.

        Bunnings have a 10% Price Guarantee-
        Branding is different but its clearly the same unit hmmm I wonder…

        • gguu on 27/08/2012 - 11:31

          Branding is different for a reason. They have a 10% Price Guarantee only for exactly the same items.

        • [Deactivated] on 27/08/2012 - 21:59

          Several years ago when Bunnings was new in my area (and so the employees were new and green too)… I bought some woodwork clamps. I had already bought some a week earlier from the local autostore in the same centre. The Bunnings ones were obviously from the same manufacturer - just with a different cardboard backing. Took a couple of minutes of convincing, but in the end they 10% off'd the price.

          A few years later I wanted to buy a Triton router. Triton was sold to some chinese company around that time I believe. And the local hardware store had one original Triton router marked down, because it was their last one. I would have bought it, but it had this "sticker pad" showing the increments of one of the adjustments. It wasn't sticky anymore and didn't stay attached. So I asked the lady at the hardware, if Bunnings rang her to check the price, would she confirm the reduced price so I could get it from Bunnings with the sticker pad still attached. She agreed. The Bunnings tool manager rang the hardware to confirm their price, told younger staff member to "give him the 10% off" and stormed off in a huff, saying now he had to ring head office about the price. I guess the price was below cost or something.

  • Elijah on 26/08/2012 - 19:57

    Thats a great price !

  • kspec on 26/08/2012 - 20:08

    How long can 4.2l last??

    • King Tightarse on 26/08/2012 - 20:11

      Says 6 hours.

      • bargaino on 26/08/2012 - 22:11

        no, says "up to" 6 hrs. So I guess that is powering a phone-charger.

        • Steptoe on 26/08/2012 - 22:51
          +1

          No, just idling.

  • maverickjohn on 26/08/2012 - 20:16

    -_-' it did originally say $60 but then it changed to 98, just as i put in the postcode… Silly website. $60 is a great price.

  • HeXa on 26/08/2012 - 20:23
    +4

    sweet price but damn loud

    this model would suck for camping… it seems to be the lowest of the low of their genny range

    • [Deactivated] on 26/08/2012 - 21:05

      That's the beauty of it. It isn't hard at all to design a "silencer" for a Genny, so you can really benefit from a bit of optimization

      • killabob on 27/08/2012 - 09:50

        Can you please tell me how? Love to buy one to use whilst camping.

  • Davo1111 on 26/08/2012 - 20:34
    +2

    Wow, $50-100 got a petrol generator! I always thought they were starting at $1000

    • PinzVidz on 26/08/2012 - 21:16
      +5

      Your thoughts are working along the lines of Honda.

  • King Tightarse on 26/08/2012 - 20:43
    +3

    Does anyone have experience with the different power qualities and restrictions with generators?
    Want to give us the quick low down?
    I can imagine these putting out all kinds of spikes and suffering voltage drift etc with possible dodgy regulation. Not sure I'd be hooking my laptop up to it. Lol.

    Basically what can these cheap ones NOT be used for?

    • battler on 26/08/2012 - 21:05
      +1

      anything you can't afford to damage!

      I have run lights, fans, angle grinders, Engel fridges, chest freezers,and powered laptops off a GMC (identical to that pictured here) 700w cheapie over the years. No probs at all.
      I wouldn't run anything with complex circuitry or high value off them though, eg, LCD TV, Amplifier, etc

      • Moots on 26/08/2012 - 21:08
        +8

        Just in-case you take you 50" flat screen camping with surround sound & amp. Ha.

        • battler on 26/08/2012 - 21:22

          i've seen it done… although it was a projector… and run off a Honda EU20i…. it was quite some setup.

          other run generators into their caravans/motorhomes which may feature electronic circuitry not suited to these cheap generators.

      • King Tightarse on 26/08/2012 - 21:19

        So, lights and basic machines with motors but nothing computer controlled, right.
        I wonder if there are any plug-in power conditioner devices that make these a bit cleaner?
        Just about everything has delicate power needs these days.

        I was thinking of this for an emergency back up.

      • bargaino on 26/08/2012 - 22:15

        I wouldn't run anything with complex circuitry

        I would have guessed the opposite. Electronics gear has switch-mode supplies, which should be able to cope with the horrid waveforms from these generators. Are spikes a big problem?

        My question is can you run a fridge from this? Could be useful in an extended power outage.
        Running the fridge, and recharging batteries would be the main needs.

        • King Tightarse on 26/08/2012 - 22:20

          So you don't mind plugging in your iPhone and testing it for us, do you? ;)

          Yes, spikes are a big problem.
          With a tiny base load or "reservoir" of power relative to demand, you can imagine the huge variations and surges that would occur as, for example, a fridge compressor kicks in and out.

          Should be fine if you basically think "80's electronics" keep it simple and you should be sweet.

        • [Deactivated] on 27/08/2012 - 08:07
          +2

          What about a surge protector powerboard > appliance?

        • [Deactivated] on 27/08/2012 - 11:01

          Exactly my thought, and if it does blow don't they offer $1 million dollars insurance? or $10,000 I think it depends what brand you buy

  • spare13 on 26/08/2012 - 20:52
    +3

    Somehow read the title as something that somehow generated petrol (aka created petrol magically)…

  • compound on 26/08/2012 - 21:04
    +1

    Preparing for the apocalypse are we?

  • Ahil on 26/08/2012 - 21:09
    +16

    How much petrol can this generate?

  • jackwoz on 26/08/2012 - 21:11
    -7

    Its says $98. Am i doing something wrong?

    • diddy50 on 26/08/2012 - 21:14
      +23

      Yeah - you are not reading the comments

    • PotPlant on 27/08/2012 - 13:29

      Are u patting ur head AND rubbing ur belly?

  • MrZ on 26/08/2012 - 21:26
    -2

    Doomsday Preppers FTW.

  • billybrown on 26/08/2012 - 21:26
    -7

    Dang thought this thing generated petrol :(

  • King Tightarse on 26/08/2012 - 21:35

    Updated title from "Petrol Generator" to "Generator 2 Stroke"
    ;)

  • Cluster on 26/08/2012 - 22:01
    +17

    Looks exactly the same as my Homelite unit from Bunnings that I got years ago for $148.

    Good points: it works. I've run several hundred watts of load off mine with no problems. Even a large CRT TV worked fine. Fuel load lasts a long time. Emissions not too smelly (2 stroke). Runs just fine on E10.

    Cons: Takes a while to rev up to meet the load. Don't expect 0 to 500w in an instant. May cause problems with some appliances. LOUD. Beware of running this in an urban setting during a blackout. Need to mix petrol and oil (of course) and ideally needs to be mixed right before use, spark plug can foul which requires cleaning, generator can be a little hard to start after sitting idle for months (usually the case). Use a fuel preservative to make your fuel last longer in storage.

    Not sure about "indoor" use. Maybe with plenty of ventilation. Lots of warnings in the manual about possibility of poisoning with carbon monoxide (as with any engine).

    Is $50 a screaming bargain? YES!
    Will this be as good as a 4 stroke Honda costing 20x as much? LOL

    • King Tightarse on 26/08/2012 - 22:04

      Thanks Cluster.
      So this unit says 720w but I am guessing this would be its absolute peak output and it would poop itself running full time with that load.
      So what do you reckon is a "fair" load for constant use?

      • Cluster on 26/08/2012 - 22:06

        720w is peak, I don't have the manual handy to see what constant load it can support. From memory it's more than 500w.

        • [Deactivated] on 27/08/2012 - 07:13
          +3

          Agree I have one like this, although being Chinese, it could be made by 1 of a hundred manufacturers (a clone of a clone).

          Have had it for 6 or 7 years (maybe longer). Biggest thing to watch is stale fuel.

          I used it when we had a 5 day blackout with massive storms, and it ran the fridge, TV and a couple of lights. Saved all the frozen food milk etc.

          Noisy as hell, but fortunately I live on acreage. Mine was also from Bunnings and cost $98. But I had bought it well before the storms hit. Irony was I was considering selling it a few weeks before the storm hit because I wasnt using it. Its a 550W with 700W peak.

          Not as good as a Honda….

      • killergreely on 27/08/2012 - 07:36

        They're rated at 650w, the 'peak' is 720. Same with the 800w ones Masters are advertising at the moment, they're also rated at 650w.

        Given the quality of these, I would avoid running them close to rated capacity for long periods. Also you are not supposed to run them with more than half the rated load for the first 4 hours of operation.

  • jmone on 26/08/2012 - 22:06
    -1

    These cheapies have just enough Grunt to power the Nespresso Machine when camping :) (bloody loud however).

    • Cluster on 26/08/2012 - 22:08
      +10

      To be honest I'd be a bit embarrassed to run these things while camping if anyone else is within a hundred metres of me. A beefy inverter and car battery would be a better option.

      • StewBalls on 26/08/2012 - 22:11
        +1

        A beefy inverter and car battery would be a better option.

        Spot on! :)

        • bargaino on 26/08/2012 - 22:16

          Would have to be very beefy to power the espresso machine.

        • StewBalls on 26/08/2012 - 22:20
          +2

          That's why they make the Aeropress! ;)

    • Davo1111 on 26/08/2012 - 22:48
      +1

      Glamping? Glamour-Camping

  • onlyletters on 26/08/2012 - 22:13

    I have a feeling that when 1st/2nd September comes, they will take this off the shelf at all the stores, i'm sure they are aware of the mistake..

  • bargaino on 26/08/2012 - 22:18

    On the back page is a li-ion drill driver with 2 batteries for $40. Is it any good?
    Has two gears, variable torque clutch.

    • eug on 27/08/2012 - 01:33

      cheap tools are usually fine for occassional diy use as long as you're not picky. If you're gonna use it a lot, you definitely should look at a better one.

  • browser on 26/08/2012 - 22:31
    -1

    720W (max rating)…can barely power a gaming PC :-)

  • irajohn90 on 26/08/2012 - 22:39

    Worth using as a UPS?

    • udyz on 27/08/2012 - 00:44

      "Uninterruptible power supply"..no no no
      but a backup power supply yes yes yes…

    • [Deactivated] on 27/08/2012 - 11:05
      +1

      it is only uninterrupted until the petrol runs out

      • pmupsinep on 27/08/2012 - 12:26
        -1

        How do you switch from mains power to the generator without interruption ?

  • Steptoe on 26/08/2012 - 22:55

    Will this fit my CX400 Push Bike?

  • SteveAndBelle on 26/08/2012 - 23:03

    Anyone dismantled one of these cheapie Gennies? Are they just 12V AC generators pumping through 240V inverters or is the output of the generator unit itself high voltage but with some frequency stabilising?

    The reason I ask is that I'm after a cheap generator with 12V DC output and wouldn't mind de-engineering one of these to suit to job at hand (a cheap petrol powered car battery charger/jump starter). Dont really want to be generating 12V and bumping it up to 240V then back down to 12V via a battery charger that's all.

    • Cluster on 26/08/2012 - 23:05

      The Homelite unit has a 12v output (pretty sure it's DC, don't have my unit around atm). This unit may be the same.

    • turbodude on 27/08/2012 - 14:15
      +1

      I have one and tested the 12v output on an Oscilloscope. The voltage was incredibly crappy and I wouldn't dream of running anything off it except maybe to do some crude charging of a battery. Mine is a few years old so the newer ones may be better but i doubt it.

      • King Tightarse on 27/08/2012 - 14:30

        How did the 240v AC look?

        • turbodude on 27/08/2012 - 14:34
          +1

          It wasn't very symmetrical but not too bad. I am going from memory as it was about 4 years ago that I tested it.

        • King Tightarse on 27/08/2012 - 14:38

          Cheers.

  • Natura on 27/08/2012 - 00:44
    +1

    Is this good for a zombie apocalypse? ie not too noisy to attract the horde? portable enough to cart around in a get away vehicle? doubles as a heavy brain smashing weapon?

  • Jules66 on 27/08/2012 - 00:56

    how loud is this compared to a honda? i've already got an eu20i, but it will cost more than $50 to get it working lol

  • DEvok on 27/08/2012 - 01:08

    Cool, but what are they used for?!

    • medium_tight on 27/08/2012 - 07:00
      +1

      mostly for interogation :P

    • Davo1111 on 27/08/2012 - 09:18

      you use them to run devices when you don't have mains power.

      Examples

      • pumps for water bores
      • running electricity for camp sites or caravans.
      • supplying power to the house when power goes off
      • Telios on 27/08/2012 - 10:54
        -1

        Yeah people should be noting, it is NOT inverted power.
        Do not use this to run laptops/computers/stereo equipment. The gen will Mod: Foul Language it up after a time as the power will be "unclean" and not inverted.

  • Rumbaar on 27/08/2012 - 08:01

    If I hooked up a UPS battery unit would that be safe to run electrical devices off it? Probably burn out the UPS unit as it tried to compensate for all the spikes in the feed?

    • [Deactivated] on 27/08/2012 - 08:49

      Good point, maybe someone here will know the answer

    • zeomega on 27/08/2012 - 11:03

      Typical cheap low VA UPS switches to the internal battery only when it detects a power failure. So essentially all the dirty power will be going straight to your appliances/devices.

      That said, quality power supplies have circuits to regulate them properly… the only downfall is the earlier failure of the power adaptor.

    • [Deactivated] on 27/08/2012 - 11:08

      Guessing you would need some form of a capacitor set up to remove spiking

    • sickburn on 28/08/2012 - 10:09

      Better UPS' (such as the APC Smart-UPS range, Eaton Powerware, etc) have automatic voltage regulation that can "buck" high voltage and "boost" low voltage, as well as filter incoming power without having to switch to battery power.

      • King Tightarse on 28/08/2012 - 10:54

        These have a slightly dodgy AC wave form. IE not a clean sine wave. Dont think any UPS will help at all.
        It needs proper power conditioning.

        • eug on 28/08/2012 - 10:57

          An online UPS would take care of that, as opposed to the usual cheaper standby/line-interactive ones. Of course, it might be cheaper to just buy a pure sine wave generator. ;)

        • sickburn on 28/08/2012 - 11:03

          Yeah, I was just going to comment that a double conversion would surely work, but cost maybe 20-30x the cost of the genny!

        • King Tightarse on 28/08/2012 - 11:04

          Yes agree
          I think the only way to be safe running these el-cheapo generators and sensitive electronics would be something like:

          Generator> transformer based 12v charger with decent regulation> 12v battery bank (car batteries)> good quality auto-type pure sine wave inverter> 240v out.

        • eug on 28/08/2012 - 11:07

          edit: misread!
          A sine wave generator is over $1k.
          http://www.bcf.com.au/online-store/products/Yamaha-EF1000iS-…

          The Yamaha EF1000iS meets the strong demand from the market for a light, portable generator, which offers long continuous running capability and supplies high quality energy required nowadays to power electronic products with built-in micro-computers, such as laptops.

        • [Deactivated] on 28/08/2012 - 13:03

          Would a laptop with a 12/15/24 volt external power pack be ok?

        • eug on 28/08/2012 - 13:23

          the laptop would be, the power supply … might not last as long.

        • King Tightarse on 28/08/2012 - 13:42

          I wouldn't trust anything much other than lights and simple motors going straight into the generator.
          These (I think) achieve 50htz based on the actual engine speed which is a very approximate/how-you-goin/average way of doing things. The frequency will vary as the load changes also would sag and surge with load.
          Would like to have a look at the output wave too.
          If its more like a modified square wave thats bad ju ju for a lot a devices.

          CAVEAT:
          I have no experience at all with these just based on what I "reckon"

  • activist on 30/08/2012 - 22:33

    I phoned Masters this morning after waiting about 15 minutes I was answered by their call centre who then put me through to the Tingalpa store in Queensland where I had to wait again to be answered. When I asked about stock of the generators on special I was told that the staff who could check stock were busy. They took my name and phone number and said that someone would phone me back. Four hours later no phone call. Again a 15 minute wait to be answered by the call centre as there are no direct phone numbers to the store listed. Then again a long wait to be answered by the store in question. When I asked the Assistant Manager who answered to hold a generator for me I was told there was a company policy not to hold items for customers. Far different to Bunnings. Last Sunday I went to purchase a generator from Bunnings and the last one was not boxed. They phoned another store which I was to be driving past a short time later and a generator in a box was put aside for me without question. The end result was that a generator was put aside at Masters after I explained how I was treated at Bunnings 5 days previously. Masters need to step up if they want my future business.

  • Gracey on 01/09/2012 - 09:15

    They created a new product page for the promo.

    http://www.masters.com.au/product/100461681/909-generator-pr…

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