Generac vs Honda generators

[dpjeansonne]

Does anyone have experiences with Generac or Honda portable generators n the 2000 watt size?

[MtnDon]

Don't know about the Generac but in the 2000 watt sizes both Yamaha and Honda inverter generators are superb. Quiet. Dependable. Which of Y and H is best? It's a lot like Ford vs Chevy....

Note that in the 3000 watt sizes both Y and H have electric starts.

[OverTheTopCargoTrailer]

MtnDon

Of course Honda is best, especially when getting the propane conversion kit.

[MtnDon]

But I like the fuel shut off on the Yamaha... think it's missing on Honda. But then the H carb bowl is easy to drain IIRC.


One thing I do like about H and Y is that there are dealers all over the place in case you need something.

[lrrowe]

From everything I have read, the Honda EU2000i is the way to go. And from personal listening experience, they are very very quiet.
I want to get one, but my budget today says I have to wait till the CT is built and it is time for the better upgrades. I have seen them a month ago for $899 on sale. But now the lowest I can find is $999.

For this fall's hunting season in the wilderness, I am going to get this Champion listed below for $199 at Tractor Supply. The cons are that is is less in wattage, noisier, bigger and does not have an electric start. And it is only about 50 lbs and I can lift it to locate it away from the camp site. But I figure that I can sell it later and not get hurt if I do not want it. And TS has a 30 return policy so if it does not give us enough light, charge a few batteries and run a coffee pot to my satisfaction or if it should fail for some reason, I will give it back.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/c ... -compliant

But I am going to get a EU2000i one of these days.

[tnriverluver]

From everything I have read, the Honda EU2000i is the way to go. And from personal listening experience, they are very very quiet.
I want to get one, but my budget today says I have to wait till the CT is built and it is time for the better upgrades. I have seen them a month ago for $899 on sale. But now the lowest I can find is $999.

For this fall's hunting season in the wilderness, I am going to get this Champion listed below for $199 at Tractor Supply. The cons are that is is less in wattage, noisier, bigger and does not have an electric start. And it is only about 50 lbs and I can lift it to locate it away from the camp site. But I figure that I can sell it later and not get hurt if I do not want it. And TS has a 30 return policy so if it does not give us enough light, charge a few batteries and run a coffee pot to my satisfaction or if it should fail for some reason, I will give it back.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/c ... -compliant

But I am going to get a EU2000i one of these days.

Do a little searching and get the Champion 3000-3500 watt with the wheel kit. You can find them from $279-299. They are fantastic and reasonably quite for that type of generator. Mine has many hours and runs better (and much quieter) than my similar type Honda 3500 watt. I can often get 18 hours out of a tank of gas also. Note that the 3000- 3500 watt 3500-4000 Champions are the same genny with sometimes different plug outlets available. They just relabel the wattage for the retailer.

[bdosborn]

Honda wont allow it's vendors to advertise discount prices so it can be a chore to shop for the best price, you have to call every place you might buy from. Wise Sales is supposed to have the best price according to the big boy RV site:

http://www.wisesales.com/

Bruce

[dpjeansonne]

tnriverluver
Do you know about Champion's power quality? I have read that the inverter generators are much cleaner for electronic loads.
Also what I saw was that Champion was in the low 70's db noise range which seems significantly above H and Y. This may not be your personal experience though.

[tnriverluver]

tnriverluver
Do you know about Champion's power quality? I have read that the inverter generators are much cleaner for electronic loads.
Also what I saw was that Champion was in the low 70's db noise range which seems significantly above H and Y. This may not be your personal experience though.

I don't know anything about their inverter generators. Mine is not the inverter type. I run my camper Flatscreen TV, DVD player, Power converter charger, A/C, electric heat, microwave, Laptop, cell phone charger, etc on mine with no problem whatsoever. I have used it at home during power outages in the past and run every type of electronic equipment imaginable off of it with no problems. As far as noise it is not that loud compared to many. No where near as quite as an inverter generator would be though. There is a very very long thread over on RV.net about these for those really interested.
275 page thread on Champion Inverter http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fusea ... g/1/page/1
991 page Champion 3000 watt thread http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fusea ... g/1/page/1

HAVE FUN READING

[warnmar10]

But I like the fuel shut off on the Yamaha... think it's missing on Honda. But then the H carb bowl is easy to drain IIRC.


One thing I do like about H and Y is that there are dealers all over the place in case you need something.

On the 2000i the fuel shutoff is incorporated into the on/off switch. Or the on/off switch is incorporated into the fuel shutoff valve. One of those.

[GerryS]

The advantage of a separate shutoff is you can run the carb bowl empty...not just restricting fuel from the tank...

[MtnDon]

The advantage of a separate shutoff is you can run the carb bowl empty...not just restricting fuel from the tank...

That's it!! I just didn't recall the details. But doesn't the H have an easy drain the bowl method?

I still love my Yamaha's.

[warnmar10]

The advantage of a separate shutoff is you can run the carb bowl empty...not just restricting fuel from the tank...

That's it!! I just didn't recall the details. But doesn't the H have an easy drain the bowl method?

I still love my Yamaha's.

1. Loosen the cover screw and remove the maintenance cover.
2. Loosen the carburetor drain screw.
3. Drain the gasoline from the carburetor into a suitable container.
4. Tighten the carburetor drain screw

http://powerequipment.honda.com/support ... generators

[lrrowe]

From everything I have read, the Honda EU2000i is the way to go. And from personal listening experience, they are very very quiet.
I want to get one, but my budget today says I have to wait till the CT is built and it is time for the better upgrades. I have seen them a month ago for $899 on sale. But now the lowest I can find is $999.

For this fall's hunting season in the wilderness, I am going to get this Champion listed below for $199 at Tractor Supply. The cons are that is is less in wattage, noisier, bigger and does not have an electric start. And it is only about 50 lbs and I can lift it to locate it away from the camp site. But I figure that I can sell it later and not get hurt if I do not want it. And TS has a 30 return policy so if it does not give us enough light, charge a few batteries and run a coffee pot to my satisfaction or if it should fail for some reason, I will give it back.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/c ... -compliant

But I am going to get a EU2000i one of these days.

Do a little searching and get the Champion 3000-3500 watt with the wheel kit. You can find them from $279-299. They are fantastic and reasonably quite for that type of generator. Mine has many hours and runs better (and much quieter) than my similar type Honda 3500 watt. I can often get 18 hours out of a tank of gas also. Note that the 3000- 3500 watt 3500-4000 Champions are the same genny with sometimes different plug outlets available. They just relabel the wattage for the retailer.

tnriverluver,

I just read your post moments ago, after getting home from TS and from just purchasing the 1400 Champion. I had previously decided on the 1400 b/c of the 50 or so pound weight. I wanted something light for the roughing it at the hunt camp I am going to in a few weeks. I did notice the 3000 or 3500 (don't remember which I looked at) and decided the weight was too heavy for what I was going to use it for. I am getting much older for sure and not quite as strong as before when it comes to moving heavy things around.

I have 30 days to return it if I do not like it which happens to be the end of the hunt camp trip. So back it goes if it does not serve that duty.
I also have a 9000/10000 watt unit in the basement for real emergencies at the house, so I can afford to be a little skimpy right now.

When I return in the latter part of November, I will post a report on my results. I will set it up tomorrow so see how it operates and I can post an update on that also. I am now looking for some low voltage LED string lights that I can hang up around the camp area for that "quick" light. After awhile, the old Coleman propane lights come on if needed.

[lrrowe]

I put oil and gas into it today and it the starter rope was very easy to pull. About 3 or 4 pulls is all it took and that was even including trying to find the right settings for my first attempt.

It was not as quiet as a Honda 2000, but it is not as loud as my 9000 watt unit either. I have no way of telling you what the rating really is.
But I am sure it will work in my hunt camp for a few lights, a battery charger, cell phone charger, coffee pot and all that. I will do the math later to see about the total wattage for the above items and see if there is not a very small electric heater I can get for that quick warm up when you jump of bed at 4 in the morning on a 30 degree morning.



And again, if I do not like it at the end of the camp trip, I can always return it, but my neighbor has already said he would take it for protection for his expensive aquarium should we have a power failure. So I cannot lose either way. And I do have the H2000 on my wish list for when I really grow up.