Generators have become more of a necessity in our society as it has become heavily dependent on electricity.
However, even if you need something, it does not always mean that you have to buy it.
The most common uses of generators are for emergency or standby function or as a contingency backup power in cases of emergencies and power outages, both of which can happen during weather disturbances, calamities and other natural disasters that are known to happen once in a while.
Another common use for the electrical generator is for recreational functions such as providing electrical power in remote and powerless locations like camp sites, hiking sites or fishing sites that offer little or no access to electricity.
The unique traits of these two scenarios where there is a need for electrical generators is that for most people, they do not really happen all the time.
For most of us, power outages and outdoor vacationing do not really happen frequently and hence, it makes buying your own electrical generator somewhat impractical and excessive.
If you are the sort of person who likes to spend his/her money wisely, then buying a new piece of equipment which you only need on rare occasion will not be a good idea indeed.
Good thing there are other options.
As an alternative, if you need such power equipment to bring with you on your trips, you can choose to hire or rent one.
Renting a portable power generator is a good option for those who do not really foresee plenty of need for it in the future and only really go on camping trips or fishing trips, say, only once or twice a year, in which case buying a new equipment that can be expensive may be impractical and a waste of money.
The only drawback with this option, however, is the possibility of being given a faulty unit that could conk out on you while on usage.
In this case, renting could become a headache.
The second alternative would be to buy a cheaper used generator.
This option goes for those who would like to own their own equipment but do not have a lot of money to work with.
If you look hard enough, you could potentially find units that are still in good condition but this might be a low probability event.
Since recreational generators are usually subjected to the rigors of road or recreational travel, most used units that you find in the market may be problematic or have hidden faults.
Care should be taken in choosing a good used generator.
This may not be a problem if you are looking for a used standby generators because by their very nature, they should not have been used extensively as they are only used as backup in case of emergencies.