What generator to get?

motofan said:
x2

Honda or Yamaha.

Lots of Chinese clones out there... they make better guns than genny's. The clones are cheap, and they start fine for the first few times, but after that... you'll be cursing it and kicking it to the curb.

EU2000i will run pretty much anything you need to throw at it, except an AC in the motorhome. However, you can still pack a EU2000i around by yourself with no troubles. When you take the next leap to an EU3000... it doubles in weight, and you ain't packing that thing around with one arm anymore.

If you buy the EU2000i Companion model, you can always hunt around for a second EU2000i (regular model), and parallel them to get a full 30A. The Companion has a 30A twistlock on it already... but by itself only does 16A. Two EU2000i's are still lighter and more compact than a single EU3000i.

One thing to be aware of with any of these inverter generators is that the neutral isn't bonded to ground, it floats. So, hot an neutral run around 60VAC each, when measured to ground. Your appliances don't care, they are quite happy with that. It only becomes an issue if you are wanting to connect that to a house through a transfer switch... your house has neutral bonded to ground... and that will make your inverter very unhappy. You can do it with a properly rated isolation transformer, or just run an extension cord to the freezer instead. :)
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I have a Honda EU3000i is connected to my house. It doesn't care that the neutral is bonded.
 
Have three Hondas. 1000 which is handy but not strong enough for what the OP is after. 2000 is older, but runs well, a real grunt to move around, the newer ones are lighter, 4000 came out of a motor home and runs the house during our frequent power outages, not portable. Ran a Yamaha for two years doing bush construction and it was flawless. My knock on the Yamaha was it did not have a no load feature and the noise does get to you. I would go for the Honda 2000 or equivalent Yamaha and make sure the revs drop when not loaded. Seems like a small thing but I imagine the newer ones all have the no load features.
 
If you want quiet, then go with an inverter generator. As for size, it depends on what you want to do/run with it. A kettle is typically 1500 watts. Lights are what's on the bulb. A fridge needs fairly high starting current, then running current is much lower. So, say you had a 2000 watt generator, you could plug in a kettle, but hopefully your fridge doesn't start at the same time.

Of course you can't go wrong with Yamaha or Honda, but you also pay dearly for that privilege. There are some excellent clones, a little lessor quality than Honda or Yamaha, but at 1/3 to 1/2 the cost. A couple are Champion and Generac. I have Champion, Generac and Honda. People commenting that they have 20 or 30 year old Honda, Yamaha, etc. Well, that's fine, however consider that the chinese engines of 20 years ago were junk (even 10 years ago). Far different story of the engines built today. The top Chinese engines are approaching Honda and Yamaha in quality and longevity. For a conventional (non-inverter) generator, there is no way I'd buy Honda or Yamaha. They aren't worth the price difference. We have a Generac, and it's been outstanding.

Small engines, regardless of brand, are only designed for a life of 2,000 hrs (heavily loaded), and they are intended to be disposable.

Now for inverter generators, there is a bit more of a difference, not the engine, but the electronics. We have a Champion 2000 watt inverter (actually had, it was stolen) that we got from Costco for $400. It doesn't quite match the performance of a 2,000 watt Honda or Yamaha, but it's 1/3 the cost. The difference is it doesn't have quite the surge capability as Honda or Yamaha. I had our Champion apart to put in an hour meter, and was impressed with the build quality. Much better than expected.

Champion also has a 3000 watt inverter for around $700 that I will pick up to replace the one stolen. I just can't justify spending well over $2k on a 3kw Yamaha for one or two hundred hours a year. Reliability and ability to start has little to do with brand, and much more to do with quality of gas and how the generator is maintained. Meaning draining all gas if it's not going to be used in the next few weeks. Our Honda engines (about 4 of them right now) have exactly the same issues with stale gas as all our other small engines.

The only thing I do on Chinese engines is to change the oil several times in the first few hours of running. The Chinese don't clean out the inside of the engines quite as well as the Japanese.

So, it you intend to run a generator 24/7 in a remote camp for the entire summer, absolutely get a Yamaha or Honda. Or get a 3 top quality Chinese clones (generac or similar), which will last much longer. For occasional use? How much do you want to spend?


EDIT: These days with the price of gas, if I was going to run a generator for a couple thousand hours, I'd get a diesel. Yanmar, not the Chinese clones. The fuel savings would quickly pay for the entire generator.

There is an interesting Yamaha inverter model, 2400 watts, the only one between 2000 and 3000 watts. If you want/need more than 2000w but don't want to go to the much larger 3000w models, it could be a good choice.

Also, Honda has had very major issues with their largest generator their 6500 watt inverter. The engines routinely surge and won't settle down. Replacing carb and controls sometimes helps. But Honda has been denying warranty claims, saying it's the customer's fault. They indirectly acknowledged the problem this year (but won't admit it) by dropping that model and replacing it with a fuel injected model.
 
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I have a Honda eu2000i and I'm glad I did. Like others have said, great running. It really shines in the maintenance department as well. Can be serviced at any Honda power equipment dealer.
Another great feature is the carb is really easy to drain for storage.
 
A cheaper option is the Honda 2500cx, still available. Not an inverter, but still fairly quiet compared to bigger units. I bought mine about 1.5 years ago brand new for $700. Sold the big champion after i bought the honda.

20121031_133434_zpso1m2iqan.jpg
 
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Redbearded1 said:
This. Seriously, look no further. There are a ton of cheaper ones available. And they all come up short. The Hondas are bullet proof.
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I live off grid and run a battery bank and a Honda ES3000i. I do wear them out, but they see an awful lot of hours. They are an Alternator style generator which only runs the engine/alternator as hard as necessary to keep up with load. They are great on fuel, quiet, electric start and dead dependable.

An ES2000 is probably all you need for camping purposes.
 
Unless running an AC unit is a must, the Honda 2000 inverter is the way to go. Mine goes up north to the lake every trip, runs the trailer just fine during power outages. Haven't used it at home for power failure yet, but it's ready. They sip fuel compared to others.
 
I guess you really have to buy as per your needs. Almost 15 years ago, my Dad picked up a 20 Kw generator with a 2 cyl deutze diesel engine. Had the pump rebuilt and has made friends with the owners of a local dairy queen for veg oil. He gets more than he can use and it has a dual purpose; it heats his house in the winter, and the heat generated by the engine running also heats the garage.
Couple weeks ago, he was at a yard sale and picked up a Coleman 6kw for $40 which didnt run. He got it home cleaned it up, and found the fuel petcock, turned it and it started on the 2nd pull. It's a bit loud, but was able to buy a small muffler that he can adapt to it.
Myself, I'm looking for a ~10kw to put in my garage, have to run a gas line out to the garage, so figure I may as well run a cable out at the same time so I can have power during an outage. Going to stick with diesel for its friendliness for multiple fuel sources. Would be nice to have a smaller portable unit as well.
 
blargon said:
A cheaper option is the Honda 2500cx, still available. Not an inverter, but still fairly quiet compared to bigger units. I bought mine about 1.5 years ago brand new for $700. Sold the big champion after i bought the honda.

20121031_133434_zpso1m2iqan.jpg
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How does it handle electronics like computers etc..
 
SandRoad said:
If you want quiet, then go with an inverter generator. As for size, it depends on what you want to do/run with it. A kettle is typically 1500 watts. Lights are what's on the bulb. A fridge needs fairly high starting current, then running current is much lower. So, say you had a 2000 watt generator, you could plug in a kettle, but hopefully your fridge doesn't start at the same time.

Of course you can't go wrong with Yamaha or Honda, but you also pay dearly for that privilege. There are some excellent clones, a little lessor quality than Honda or Yamaha, but at 1/3 to 1/2 the cost. A couple are Champion and Generac. I have Champion, Generac and Honda. People commenting that they have 20 or 30 year old Honda, Yamaha, etc. Well, that's fine, however consider that the chinese engines of 20 years ago were junk (even 10 years ago). Far different story of the engines built today. The top Chinese engines are approaching Honda and Yamaha in quality and longevity. For a conventional (non-inverter) generator, there is no way I'd buy Honda or Yamaha. They aren't worth the price difference. We have a Generac, and it's been outstanding.

Small engines, regardless of brand, are only designed for a life of 2,000 hrs (heavily loaded), and they are intended to be disposable.

Now for inverter generators, there is a bit more of a difference, not the engine, but the electronics. We have a Champion 2000 watt inverter (actually had, it was stolen) that we got from Costco for $400. It doesn't quite match the performance of a 2,000 watt Honda or Yamaha, but it's 1/3 the cost. The difference is it doesn't have quite the surge capability as Honda or Yamaha. I had our Champion apart to put in an hour meter, and was impressed with the build quality. Much better than expected.

Champion also has a 3000 watt inverter for around $700 that I will pick up to replace the one stolen. I just can't justify spending well over $2k on a 3kw Yamaha for one or two hundred hours a year. Reliability and ability to start has little to do with brand, and much more to do with quality of gas and how the generator is maintained. Meaning draining all gas if it's not going to be used in the next few weeks. Our Honda engines (about 4 of them right now) have exactly the same issues with stale gas as all our other small engines.

The only thing I do on Chinese engines is to change the oil several times in the first few hours of running. The Chinese don't clean out the inside of the engines quite as well as the Japanese.

So, it you intend to run a generator 24/7 in a remote camp for the entire summer, absolutely get a Yamaha or Honda. Or get a 3 top quality Chinese clones (generac or similar), which will last much longer. For occasional use? How much do you want to spend?
Click to expand...

Took the words right out of my mouth. Honestly, this is all you need to read and then make your call.
 
Purchased a Champion 6500 with electric start about 6 years ago at Costco for $699.00. Has strictly been used at the hunting camp, and leave it behind when we are not there. We regularly service it and it hasn't missed a beat yet. It supplies power to the kitchen (fridge, microwave, deep freeze, lights, etc...and 3 other cabins. Never had issues. Loud?...Of course. But it is placed about 100 feet from camp and we run a heavy gauge wire to a breaker box in the main building.

One surprising thing...the original battery is still good!

Friend recently bought a little 1500 watt Champion at Canadian Tire on sale for $179.00. Put oil in it and started with one pull. Surprisingly quiet.

Yeah, Honda and Yamaha are very good products, and I have owned both of them throughout the years. But for the cost, reliability, and present day quality, Champion, in my opinion, is a bit hard to beat.
 
silverfoxdj said:
How does it handle electronics like computers etc..
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This is a question I have as well. My thoughts would be to have a good quality power bar to protect your computer electronics from possible surges etc. Any thoughts on this?
 
AS Noted from various sites:

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Computers and power-sensitive testing equipment require what is referred to as "clean power." Clean power is electrical current that is consistent and has a stable "sine wave" or signal. If the lights or other basic appliances in your home were being powered by a generator and there was a fluctuation in the AC power, you’d probably see the lights dim and then return to full brightness—no problem! However, if your computer was being powered by a generator and the voltage fluctuated, chances are the computer would either shut down or at least interrupt the program you were working in.[/FONT]
 
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