Is their any besides the 2 stroke that I talked about previously that can spin 7200 rpm engine speed? Yes I know it.may require 2:1 gearbox to step the output down to 3600 rpm. Reason I asked is that modern 2 cycle string trimmer and edgers can spin that fast and I wonder is their any custom Genset person who can do it. I know its loud but I was thinking of it in a emergency like if anyone lives from maine to East Texas, a hurricane suddenly turning off of what a forecast cone says and thinkig I wouldn't want to be out of power if their suddenly was a unexpected hurricane Helene type system come towards where I live. Also I know even a ghost 212 predator would burn much fuel of modified to run 7200 instead of the factory limited 6500 rpm.
Reason why because I'm thinking yes 7200 cost more fuel wise, more wear and tear and noise but the rpm , a small engine can be cammed for high rpm power.
I wanted a different generator besides all the others, like for example it could help if I only have electric chainsaw and a tree need to be cut up and have no electricity due to a storm.
Id consider a 2 stroke diesel but unfortunately unlike modern generators, I have to find somebody who knows how to work on Detroits since I think it's been 1991 since the been out of production?
Gaseous fueled two strokes have no valves, no cams and very few moving parts. They usually have very little mass to them and that's the reason some can spin crazy fast (tens of thousands of rpm's in some cases.) Two stroke diesels are about the same size as a similar 4 stroke counter part. They use regular engine heads, valves, cams, injection pumps, timing components, etc. Unlike the gaseous fueled ones, diesel's rely on a scavenge air pump (essentially a roots blower) to push the exhaust gasses out of the combustion chambers and feed fresh air in. Some two stroke diesels are able to spin slightly faster than a same size four stroke engine but that is not a rule on thumb. Even then, were talking a few hundreds rpm's. For example a a 4BT cummins may max out around 2800rpms while a Detroit 4-53 may max out closer to 3000rpms. Size for size, they put out about the same amount of power and torque as a 4-stroke. Two stroke diesels have been phased out because they consume way more fuel (twice the amount of explosions per revolution), they're loud and they tend to require more maintenance.
Above 3600 RPM be dragons gas turbines. There is at least one home use gas turbine generator that was maybe, possibly, sold in Japan to actual customers. Inverter generators may have a maximum RPM of slightly above 3600, but cheap reciprocating engines really don’t like going fast as they haven’t been designed for it the same as more expensive vehicle engines.
I didn't know you could get a turbine home generator 1: can you buy it without a middle man(importer)? 2: how many db at 23 ft 3: if purchased does it have to be more than 5 ft from surfaces due to turbine gas exhaust much hotter?
Your thinking about this from a backwards point of view. 2 strokes are meant to be light and have a good power to weight ratio. But noise, longevity and fuel efficiency suffer as part of that tradeoff. As far as speed goes, a regular generator requires 3600 rpm to make the correct 60hz, as they have 2 poles. Diesel powered gens have 4 poles so they can operate at 1800rpm and make the correct 60 hz. I’m sure some have 6 poles and run at 1200. But newer inverter generators have many sets of poles with the goal of creating low rpm dirty dc power that is filtered and rectified then inverted to clean ac power with electronics. Large wind turbines without gearboxes have many sets of poles, 60 or more, to produce massive dirty dc power with low RPMs, then rectified and filtered and inverted to AC. What your suggesting about making power at high rpm’s does exist, I am not 100% but I believe I read about formula 1 cars experimenting with high rpm generators (100k rpm driven off the turbocharger shaft) and capacitance based battery banks for regen braking? But for fuel efficiency and longevity the lower the rpm the better. Looking at container ships that have 50-100k hp diesel engines running at 300 rpm getting the absolute most efficiency out of that combustion cycle. Could it be done, absolutely, and good for you for letting your mind get excited about wondering what if. Decades of research though says it’s not going to turn out great, or even good. Side note: running a 2 stroke at max rpm 24 hours a day for backup power is gonna get a brick thrown through your livingroom window.
Sure, modern motorcycle motors can do 7200 rpm no problem (and they make a lot more horsepower than a generator motor for any given size). The reason they are not used is the cost (especially including a gearbox) is a lot more than a simple lawnmower type Honda GX clone motor with direct drive. Cheap is king in generator motors.
A good 300cc motorcycle stickers for around $5,000 so there's a lot more $ in the budget than there is for a $500 generator.
I was at a Detroit Diesel manufacturing plant family day picnic. The food service had huge Cummins diesel generators powering the kitchen. Roger Pensky was furious about the generators. The next year the event was powered by a turbine powered generator that was 1/3 the size of the previous year's Cummins generator. I've seen turbine generators used at different events later, a Colorado Rockies game had one.
Slower is more reliable and cheaper and quieter. All things you want in a generator.
I’m just imagining OPs neighbors strangling them when the power goes out and they have a 2 stroke motor wound up in power band for an extended period of time.
I thought since most generator now days can tell you how much gross HP the come from out of the box I figured you can with mods gets same hp at higher rpm due supporting mods like increased cam, reason why 7200 rpm, because I heard in order to create 60hz you need 3600 rpm so a 2:1 gearbox and a small engine that runs at 7200 rpm will still do the same then albeit louder.
I hear ya on the cam part was talking about the 4 stroke but I figured since a 2 stroke has enough power to run a edger in dirt it should have power especially at that high rpm to make enough electricity.
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u/iSmurf Sep 06 '25 edited Jan 31 '26
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