I am considering purchasing a 1200 watt (max) 10A generator. They are reasonably priced right now. I would think that it should power my furnace in case of a power outage. My furnace is 6 years old. It is a mid-efficiency type with a 4 position blower fan. It is connected to an electronic programmable thermostat. It seems to me if I disconnect it from the house wiring and divert it to the generator, everything should work including the blower fan, gas valve and thermostat. I would think that 1000 watts continuous would be adequate. Do you agree? Is there anything else I should know?

While the manufacturers specs on the label is the best place to start, sometimes it is not perfectly accurate or complete. Best approach I've had is to use a clamp on current probe with average and peak readings. This will give you operating and startup current requirements for the furnace. From there you can decide whether the 1200 watt generator is adequate. My hot water baseboard oil furnace requires only 276 watts while operating and 780 watts startup.
Perhaps the easiest place to do your wiring is at the main electrical panel. Remove the furnace wiring from the panel and install a twistlock plug on the end. From the panel, install a new twistlock outlet powered from the original circuit breaker. Under normal operation the furnace will simply plug into the outlet. During an outage, disconnect the plug and connect it to an extension cord to the generator. This will leave the emergency cutoff switch active in case you need to turn the furnace off.
Never connect the generator to your house with a double male cord, and always use it outdoors where there is adequate ventilation. Read my home generator page for other ideas.

http://members.rennlist.org/warren/generator.html

I want to purchase a 5500 watt generator for my home for the upcomming hurricane season but I want to spend under $1000 for the generator. I was told a Coleman generator does not have good quality and Home Depot is selling the Coleman generators with Briggs & Stratton motor. Lowe's is selling the Troy-Built generators. I had a chance to buy a Honda powered Coleman generator but was leary of the Coleman generator quality. Can anyone out there with generator knowledge enlighten me on whats good and bad?

Coleman generators don't have lower quality alternators. The Troy-Bilt Generator is assembled by Briggs and Stratton who also make Craftsman Generators. Colemans 5500 watt unit could be a Chinese built unit. Be careful.

The customer returns on the Colemen generators are much higher compared to Briggs built generators at Home Depot.

Home Depot also sells a 5500 watt Briggs built generator called the Wheel House which is easy to move and has a removable gas tank for easy filling.

Troy-Bilt tillers are manufactured by someone else. It is a "leased" brand name.

Good luck.

I have a friend who is looking for some parts fo a 1000 watt generator made by the Zhejiang Robot Power Machinery Co., ltd in China. This generator was recently sold through Heartland America company in Chaska, MN.
Anybody got any ideas on how to get the starter recoil mechanism and the DC circuit breaker?

Good luck finding anything or getting proper after sales support from China. This is one of the points I make against purchasing cheap Chinese generators. It appears to be a great deal up front, but support afterwards is essentially non existant. Spend a few extra dollars for a product from an established and reputable manufacturer.

I suspect you will rebuild the starter recoil mechanism with whatever parts you can find or make. The circuit breaker will have to be replaced with the closest match you can find.

I have other generator information on my web page...

http://members.rennlist.org/warren/generator.html

i already have a 1000 watt generator, i heard you can install 2 extra house dual cycle batteries 2 power your electronics but what is the best way to keep charging them and keep everything running properly , without running out of electricity over and over?

the mission impossible! When you drain the batteries, they will have to be re-charged somehow. You might look into solar panels to charge the batteries during the day. An expensive solution.

i bought a 1000 watt generator and the generator part is burned out i just wanted the engine its a 2.4 hp how do i get it apart do i beat it off or does it unscrew from the engine i have it fully took apart except for the shaft and cant figure out if it screws out and which direction it screws

It likely uses a tapered shaft to hold the rotor to the engine shaft. Remove the covers to expose the end of the rotor shaft. It should have a threaded rod which tightens into the engine shaft.
I've had to remove the rotor from a Coleman Powermate generator and have pictures on my web page.

if you don't need a really quiet one try Pep Boys

$320 w/tax for a 3500 watt (surge) generator.

"Power Pro by Wen Power" made in China.

For the money, you could by two Power Pros for the cost of one Honda and still have cash left over.

It is a taylor dunn electric utility vehicle and I want to bypass the lead-acid batteries and just power the lectric motor from something like a 1000 watt gas generator. Is this doable? if so, how may I go about doing it?

doubt if it's practical

The name on the gas tank is Yamada. But I have seen others that are identicle with the name buffalo tool. Its made in China.It runs fine I just need a new gas shut off valve!Or gaskets to repair the one I have

Check with a local machine repair shop. They'll have charts for repair parts cross-referenced with different manufacturers.

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100658711&N=10000003+524798+10401010 - The Generator

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100545746&N=10000003+90401+501093 - The Work light

Basically a few friends and I are going to buy a generator and a work light so that we can play basketball at this school near our house whenever we want. We expect to play about 3 to 4 hours at a time, and are wondering if the generator I listed would be enough to power the work light for that amount of time. If not, then I guess we would get another backup generator.

Anyway, any other solutions for portable lighting for a playground basketball game would be greatly appreciated.

Generally generator capacity is provided in VA. One 1200 VA generator can deliver 1020 watt load at 0.85 power factor.Generally the luminares available in market do have arrangements for power factor improvement and they used to keep the power factor of 0.85. Regarding hours, there is no constraint for running hours. Only you have to pour the fuel.Your 3-4 hours is very small period and the generator will get enough cooling time. Your perday fuel consumption (1000W for 4 hours) shall be about 1.25 ltrs diesel.
You can go ahead with your proposal.

No, thank you.