small 2000 watt inverter generators

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small 2000 watt inverter generators

Postby yycwrangler » Sat Feb 02, 2019 3:40 pm

I'm looking to buy a small generator for dry camping. We use ebikes and need to charge them daily. Also where we camp is usually a substantial amount of trees so reduces the chance of using solar.

Has anyone recently purchased one of the newer inverter generators in the 2000watt range. Obviously the Honda is king it seems but reading recent literature some of the other models are sure giving Honda a run for their money. My goal is as quiet as possible. It will of course only be run during daytime to charge bike batteries and then a small battery to power led lights etc in cargo trailer.

Current units that catch my eye are WEN 56200i, Yamaha EF2000iSv2 (although more expensive) and champion 2000-Watt Inverter Generator (not the one with the square look but still yellow with the big carry handle on top).

Any thoughts or guidance you can give me would be greatly appreciated

Cheer
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Re: small 2000 watt inverter generators

Postby Padilen » Sat Feb 02, 2019 4:04 pm

This is what I bought. Video is just to show how loud the small unit is. The Champion is very quiet and efficient. The smaller unit was given to me blow'n up. I just wanted to mess with engine. A Predator engine is similar so I did a engine/ crank swap. But it was too loud. So I bought the Champion.
https://youtu.be/sU-BABfF9Eg

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Re: small 2000 watt inverter generators

Postby troubleScottie » Sat Feb 02, 2019 4:24 pm

The Honda Generator EU2200i is probably the best one.

Very quiet. Reduced fuel consumption at idle. Can be chained together. Liftable. Runs for a long time on a gallon of gas. Separate oil tank. Great quality.

Cheaper than replacing several of the other ones.
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Re: small 2000 watt inverter generators

Postby John61CT » Sat Feb 02, 2019 8:15 pm

Yamaha and Honda both top quality, charge accordingly. Biggest risk is theft.

Champion meh but OK for value.

Have a look at Ryobi.

Propane fueled would be ideal if not used constantly.

I would avoid no-name Chinese, maybe Wen is rising above that.
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Re: small 2000 watt inverter generators

Postby yycwrangler » Mon Feb 04, 2019 11:18 am

I can pick up the champion for about $512 cdn at Costco compared to about $1300 for a Honda.

Can anyone help me out with the math. So my ebike battery is 500 watts. It says it will take 5 hours to charge. So in simplistic terms I need a charging system that can provide 100watts/hr for 5 hours. If my wife has her ebike with us then 200w/hr. Most of these investor gens say 1700 or so watts running. Does that mean 1700w/hr..if so, I should have plenty of juice to charge the bikes and also the battery for led purposes.

I also have a home 5000btu AC that I use sometimes..Would these gens be able to power that as well


Appreciate any feedback

Al
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Re: small 2000 watt inverter generators

Postby Philip » Mon Feb 04, 2019 1:40 pm

The watt rating is per hour on generators.


I have one of the 2000 watt Yamaha generators. I also have a 5k BTU climate right A/C/ heat setup. The Yamaha runs it fine. Doesn't even go to high idle when the A/C kicks on. The Yamaha has 12 volt power on it. The 12 volt is not a regulated supply. Its rated for 10 amps or 1k watts an hour.

When your looking at generators. Look at sound decibles it produces. The higher the number the louder it is. That little Yamaha has a lower sound rating than the same size Honda. Eather one would do you good.
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Re: small 2000 watt inverter generators

Postby absolutsnwbrdr » Mon Feb 04, 2019 3:59 pm

I've got a Briggs & Stratton P2200 and have been happy with it. I'll probably catch some flack from the Honda fans, but many of the 'name brand' inverter generators on the market (Yamaha, Generac, Briggs & Stratton, Champion, etc.) have really caught up with the Honda in terms of features and performance. I believe they're all 4-stroke (you don't have to mix the oil with the gas), most have 'economy mode' and are able to be linked together.

While the Honda is still assumed to be the 'most reliable' in terms of lifespan, at more than $1000 its also the most expensive by a large margin. I'd put my Briggs & Stratton up against the Honda any day, and for half the price of the Honda I'm sure I'll continue to be happy with it.

Surprisingly, I've even heard some really good reviews on the Harbor Freight brand, Predator. Take that for what it is though. In a pinch, I'd buy one.
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Re: small 2000 watt inverter generators

Postby GuitarPhotog » Mon Feb 04, 2019 5:53 pm

The big down side to the HF Predator generators is lack of service or repair parts. For a few extra bucks, you can buy a replacement guarantee. However, if you present your broken HF Predator generator to the local HF store, it will take 3-4 weeks before you receive your replacement. Not my idea of a good warranty.

YMMV

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:beer:

Oh, and converting a HF generator to propane voids the warranty.
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Re: small 2000 watt inverter generators

Postby Trebor English » Mon Feb 04, 2019 6:29 pm

yycwrangler wrote:Can anyone help me out with the math. So my ebike battery is 500 watts. It says it will take 5 hours to charge. So in simplistic terms I need a charging system that can provide 100watts/hr for 5 hours. If my wife has her ebike with us then 200w/hr. Most of these investor gens say 1700 or so watts running. Does that mean 1700w/hr..if so, I should have plenty of juice to charge the bikes and also the battery for led purposes.

Al


Watts is a unit of measure for power, the speed of doing work. It is equivalent to horsepower. One horsepower is 746 watts. A toaster that takes 750 watts takes 750 watts while it is on. Watts per hour doesn't make sense. If a lawnmower engine produces 3.5 horsepower it doesn't matter how long it takes to mow your yard. It is just 3.5 horsepower. After toasting an entire loaf of bread the toaster continues to use energy at the rate of 745 watts.

If your ebike charger takes 500 watts for 5 hours it takes 500 watts the whole time. At the end your energy use will have been 2500 watt hours or 2.5 kilowatt hours. The electric company charges about ten cents per kilowatt hour. If you also charge a second bike the two chargers, each taking 500 watts, will require 1000 watts if run at the same time.

If you charge them one at a time you use energy at the rate of 500 watts for 10 hours. If you charge them at the same time the total energy, 5000 watt hours, gets transferred at twice the speed, 1000 watts for half the time.

The cheapest Harbor Freight generator is good for 700 watts continuously. It can charge one bike. Your 200 watts per hour calculation for 2 bikes doesn't work.

A generator rated to produce 1000 watts continuously should work, theoretically. A 2000 watt generator will be less likely to overheat and more likely to actually work at high elevation. The 1000 watt generator might be louder. The 120 volts produced might drop to 110 or 105. The bikes might take longer to charge. The total fuel consumed might be higher.

Actually, the battery chargers don't run at a constant rate. Lithium batteries are much better than lead acid but the charger power requirement will vary with the battery state of charge and the battery current will vary too.

Another way to look at it is to consider the cruise ship going from Miami to Mexico. It is going 20 knots. After an hour it is still going 20 knots. If you say it's going 20 knots per hour does that mean it is going 40 knots after an hour? After an hour of 20 knots it will have gone 20 nautical miles but it is still going 20 knots. Knots per hour doesn't make sense for cruise ships. After 20 hours it is not going 400 knots.
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Re: small 2000 watt inverter generators

Postby Trebor English » Mon Feb 04, 2019 6:33 pm

Air conditioners of the 5000 BTU size usually take about 500 watts running, 1000 watts momentarily when the thermostat turns on the compressor. A 1000 watt generator should theoretically charge 2 bikes or run the air conditioner. A 2000 watt might do it all.
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Re: small 2000 watt inverter generators

Postby redbicycle » Mon Feb 04, 2019 8:46 pm

Philip wrote:The watt rating is per hour on generators.


I have one of the 2000 watt Yamaha generators.


Do you know which model you have?
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Re: small 2000 watt inverter generators

Postby crttaz » Tue Feb 05, 2019 1:40 am

Aldi had their no name 2000 watt gensets for $349, then marked them down to $199. Several of my car racers friends bought them and have had no complaints. 2-3 dB louder than a Honda ay 1/4 the price. I bought one but haven't taken it out of the box yet.
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Re: small 2000 watt inverter generators

Postby Philip » Tue Feb 05, 2019 11:02 am

redbicycle wrote:
Philip wrote:The watt rating is per hour on generators.


I have one of the 2000 watt Yamaha generators.


Do you know which model you have?


Mine is EF2000IS V2 inverter model.

Now these inverter models the 2000 watt rating is for surge only. Continious rating is 1700 watts. Honda is the same way. The Yamaha is a little smaller than the 2k Honda. By the stats its a little quitter. Its was a couple of hundred cheaper.

If you watch the u-tube video of the two model (Honda/Yamaha) doing a sound test. Remember that guy has both with the exhaust aimed at a garage door. So all sound is reflected and captured inside a closed building. In outside usage. They are no where as loud as he made them to be.
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Re: small 2000 watt inverter generators

Postby yycwrangler » Tue Feb 05, 2019 5:35 pm

great discussions and thanks for all the tips guys. I was looking at the Honda and it states 51db. The champion is 53db, so I assume not much louder. I also understand that these days most of the parts are made overseas on most units. Lastly my thoughts regarding Champion is there are a lot of dealerships around should a part be needed. I do like the Yamaha but again in Canada, around $1100, twice the price of the Champion. And the champion has a fuel gauge which I see many don't have which I thought was weird. Also 2 120 volt and 1 12volt outlet

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Re: small 2000 watt inverter generators

Postby Trebor English » Tue Feb 05, 2019 5:48 pm

After failing to find a part locally in Florida I found one in Texas using the interwebs. It was for a Honda.
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