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Hey Todd! I have a cursory understanding, I think, hah, of the ethanol ratings and percentages. At gas stations local to me, they have the ratings of, I believe, E87, E89, and E93 (www.eia.gov/energyexplained/gasoline/octane-in-depth.php) - and I just go with the cheapest / regular gasoline, which would be E87 I believe. Now, that said, I have always had the fuel stabilized with Seafoam - I've never had an outage last longer than my 10 gallon reserve supply that I keep on hand. So, I can't say that I've used just straight, untreated / unstabilized gasoline by itself if that makes sense. I share in the generator maintenance video I did though that, in chatting with the Champion representatives regarding some of the recommended maintenance, they advised using Seafoam to clean out the fuel lines. So, it can't hurt to treat it with Seafoam or a product like it (but I'm partial to Seafoam of course, just personal preference!) however often you would want to, to keep it clean. And also, they do have guidelines on storage and whether to empty the fuel from the system / tank, and that sort of thing, between uses. I hope this helps - good luck on your generator purchase!

Thanks Ken. Bought the champion 5500/4000w gas only model. I’m in Louisiana and they are expecting a rough hurricane season. Could be without power for a couple of hours or a couple of weeks. Just depends where the hurricane comes ashore. I’m subscribing now so any generator vids are greatly appreciated. Also looking to purchase the midea u-shape window ac to run on the genny. Cheers Todd

I wish I could ping more than one comment - this one deserves a pin too (but I have one pinned already and YT has a 1 pin limit, doh...). I forgot about the floating neutral - VERY good info to include. I'll make a mention of this as an edited add within the description. I agree with you re: the device charts too - I wondered that same thing. When I was doing all of the research for my generator setup, it was so frustrating to see that so many recommendations were made for the bigger units. Seeing people spend money that they don't need to (especially if their finances are tight), well, the ethics aren't great for that at all. I wonder if they're also just assuming *everything* has to be on at the same time, which is ridiculous, especially for major appliances. If that IS needed, then sure, go for the big units that can carry that much load, but even with a large family (6 kiddos) that isn't the reality in my case. And, well, if it isn't for my family's needs, I have a hard time imagining it would be for the majority of others. Thanks for commenting and watching!

@@TheKenAgain I have one of those Emporia Vue 2, home energy monitors. My furnace needs only 500 starting watts and 200 running watts. Refrigerator only calling for 270 starting and 120 running watts.

Haha, now that you mention it, I can totally see that! Thanks for watching and commenting!

​@@TheKenAgain "No Problemo".........(as Arnold Schwartzman, the actor/governor guy would say). As most people do, I forgot to like the video and sub., done. p.s., If you like puppets (they actually call them "Marionettes"), check the 1960's British TV show: "Thunderbirds". Very cool stuff. Cheers!

Yes...! I remember the electrician I hired (or maybe it was the city inspector...) mentioned something along these very lines, but I didn't want to speak on it as I wasn't sure exactly how that worked. I'm going to pin this comment - thank you very much for sharing and for watching!

I was JUST thinking about the parallel operation...! Question with that: if you have two generators that are capable of that which are 120v gennies, can you actually use 240v appliances / systems? I really like the idea of having two just for backup purposes (backup to the backup, hah). Esp. if you could run 240v systems that'd be sweet. Even if not, you're absolutely right, having more power capability would be awesome. I guess now that I think about it, just one of the 120v inverters would feed into the house (through the same hookup I have, I guess?) and so maybe it would still just be a 120v output... Thanks for commenting and watching! It's got me thinkin'! :)

GenMax has inverter technology that allows you to run in parallel or series with their special parallel kit, you can switch between 120 and 240

Oh wow, that's awesome! I'll definitely check that out. Thanks so much for sharing!

Yeah that's definitely an option, and a good quality headlamp assembly SHOULD have a good clearcoat on it that I imagine would last close to if not as long as the factory installed ones do. BUT! For my Odysseys, on RockAuto the price PER headlamp is $85, and that's the cheapest option I see. I will say, I've bought other assemblies in the past for other cars and the quality is hit or miss... Some actually had weak areas / non-sealed areas where moisture got in, so that's just a whole host of other issues. So to me, the cost of a kit like this (~$20) plus an hour or two of labor (DIY) is a decent savings. However, it all depends on how long it lasts...! Did you have another source for good quality but cheaper assemblies than RockAuto? I'd definitely check out other reputable options in the future. Thanks for commenting and watching!

so how is $85 cheaper then 20-30 bucks? and not everyone has cheap headlights.

Glad to hear I'm not alone and that you came to the same conclusions - thanks so much for watching and commenting! :)

That's awesome! Having this larger unit has made me wonder if I should have gone with a Honda - a smaller one like you describe probably would have suited us fine as well. Seeing as how my vehicles are both Odysseys, I'm a big fan, hah. Thanks for watching and commenting!

Thanks so much for commenting! Yeah you're right there with the kids - especially my six year old, he loves to help and do anything I set him loose on, hah. He's always eager to do projects which is awesome. I've got a LOT on tap for us, so we'll be busy. I'm a big advocate for trade / technical colleges - graduate of one myself. Absolutely loved it! Hands on learning is priceless, you're so right about that. I've seen that stubby, too! I want to pick one of those up at some point - might do it for the looming timing belt job (have another 10k to go thankfully...!) and see if it can crack the crank bolt loose. Thanks for watching and happy weekend!

Thanks so much for the kind words and comment. That's awesome! Nothing beats the efficiency, hah, time well spent with the kiddos AND some to-do list tasks knocked out. Win / win! Hang in there too, those are busy (but fun) ages. Thanks for watching!

Oooh yeah, I've seen that trick before on TH-cam - right on! It definitely looks like a fun way of doing it (but like you said, could be dangerous if not done properly!). Thanks for posting the info!

Haha! I love the wisdom there, so true regarding the water. Is there any risk of rusting? Can the water evaporate out? Maybe a dumb question on my part there. Yeah! On the note about the reinforcement for the bead breaker, I was thinking I might have to do that, but it handled the 16" wheels I have flawlessly. Was very impressed on that. Sounds like a much more affordable route at $125, that's awesome! I'm glad I'm starting now, but I never knew it was possible years ago (ignorance isn't always bliss...!). Thanks for commenting and watching!

Soapy water does not hurt anything I only use a little bit on each bead of the tire Ding dismounting, and then mounting the new one. It helps because there’s too much friction without it. It makes the whole process less difficult

Yay, welcome! Thanks for watching!

Haha, love the comment, thanks for sharing!

Ooh good tips - do you use the antifreeze instead of tire lube? Thanks for watching!

@@TheKenAgain Yes , the antifreeze works fantastic. My 90 year old father showed me that trick so many years ago. Don't need much just full coverage all around. He's the only guy I know that has a jack for a model T. I've learned alot from him.

Nice! I was thinking about getting a die grinder, but then remembered I had the brass wheels and figured I should give them and the other drill attachments a whirl. Are the scotch brites called that when you buy them? Or they're just abrasive pads for the grinder basically? I saw a few options at Harbor Freight but wasn't sure if they were the right stuff I had in mind. I was thinking of exactly this though and may try it next time. Thanks for commenting and watching!

Does it help to push the tire down on the other side when you first start - or no? Or in other words, good to make sure it's not too far up on the other side? Good comment, and thanks for watching!

@@TheKenAgain Yes it does...because that action is helping the other side to move into the dished portion of the rim, giving the other side more "slack" to go over and off the rim. Remember, the rim is larger than the tire..so that is why the wheel rim is dished in the center.

@@TheKenAgain Changing tires with irons, by hand with the thing you have, or even a machine requires the opposite bead to be in the center. It is called a drop center rim as otherwise pulling the bead over the rim would be like trying to shove a manhole cover in the hole (it never fits) and will cause severe tire damage. If you want to know how to really change a tire and how the drop center works nothing beats Motorcycle tires, using good tire irons about 1/2 the length of your Harbor Freight ones. I would suggest learning from a Motorcycle repair video, but not from TH-cam content providers who get lots of complements but make actual professional motorcycle technicians scream at the screen. IMO, many if not most popular "get the motorcycle running" TH-cam super stars are far from instructional. Stumbling through incorrect diagnosis and improper tool use is making a living for "content creators" while misinforming lots of unsuspecting people giving unwarranted high praise. BTW: that goofy thing you refer to as a clamp for securing the tire to the rim, is actually meant to hold the opposite end of the car tire in the drop center. Which might be a non professional gimmick, but effective for inexperienced users such as yourself or others viewing this video.

Hah! Yesss, I definitely don't want any experts tearing their hair out on my account! Do you have any recommendations for a good channel that shows changing a motorcycle tire the right way? Definitely interested in learning more. Good to know about the clamp too. Thanks so much for the comment and details!!

@@TheKenAgain I did a quick search looking at a few options. This one th-cam.com/video/yxZl9pQOf3A/w-d-xo.html titled "You Missed the Most Important Step -The Drop Center Secret and How to Use it ." seemed to cover the correct points without too much extra stuff. Amazingly as you see in the end when he backs up the inner tube lock nut, that is the exact reason I rejected several other name brand professional instructional videos. Specifically, because they tightened the nut when they shouldn't. Or more often skipped passed emphasizing the need to utilize the drop center. The reason you never tighten a valve stem nut is because if the tire slips whatsoever it will tear the valve stem from the inner tube. Better than watching videos though, changing tires of any kind yourself while knowing to always utilize the drop center whenever you are levering on a bead is the finest instruction you can have, for life. One more thing, scuffing the finish of an alloy wheel will definitely lead to corrosion as they are clear coated to prevent oxidation, and brushing it off removes that protection. I don't have a suggested remedy for that.