Harbor Freight Predator 4000 Generator review

[speedhighway46]

Champion has proven itself through field use for years. It's gotten to the point that the only thing they are not is red. With the 3200/35500 surpassing the EU3000is, yellow is looking pretty good to a lot of people.

Jim: I respect your opinion. But facts and data would move us from the subjective to the objective. I don't remember much here on the CRVL abt it. Any long term use reports we can read?

If it is as good as you are reporting we all need to know abt it. My 23 year old Honda still starts on the first pull. 

Thanks for being persistent!

 

[jimindenver]

The 3200/3500 is recent and just starting to show up. It's just a 3100i that has been out for a few years with a larger engine and I would imaging inverter in it. I would expect the same quality as they have provided with the 3100i, complaints on them are hard to find.

You can see a lot on the Champions on RV.net. The 3500/4000 open frame is considered near bullet proof for $300 and has a cleaner output than any dual voltage unit. Even their 2000i has quite a following. A bit less powerful than the red and blue but less expensive too. Testing on the 3100i shows it to have better surge capabilities than either the EU300is or a pair of EU2000's.

I wanted a EU3000is or a 3100i but the altitude I camp at requires more generator to do the same work. I'm not sure a 3200/3500 inverter will do it either.

I wanted to mention that in the OP it says the generator sat for 8 months top up with gas. It really should be exercised on a regular basis and I run mine dry in between.

 

[29chico]

Until proven differently through field use; there is Honda, and then there's everything else.

I find the Yamaha inverter generators superior to the Honda units.  Having a separate fuel petcock from the genny on off switch is better.  Having a pushrod OHV motor on a slow revving genny motor is better than the goofy OHC setup of the Honda. 

Since both company's make motorcycles also the fact the build quality of the Yamaha cycles has been better than Honda for a number of years now is also relevant.  I was a motorcycle and power product tech back in the day and Honda was the best for sure then, sadly not anymore.

I have two inverter generators, an ef2000is and an ef2400isHC, both by Yamaha.

 

[Canine]

My 6 year old,$199 HF quit running.Oh wait.It was just out of gas.Never mind.

 

[debit.servus]

Why do a lot of people who get Harbor Freight savvy don't share their tips and tricks? I do, in other threads on here. There are a few blogs on the internet for HFT savings tips and tricks but are abandoned.

So I ended up buying the 2200 watt PREDATOR genset, will see how loud it is from 3 feet and which A/C it powers. Got a 1 year protection plan for it so I can exchange it if it goes bust outside of California as they're not sold in California.

On Ebay used and operational HONDA eu2000i gensets go for as low as $650 with shipping, no bidding required. The 2200 watt HONDA clone ended up costing over $550 $609, with tax and protection plan. For $50 more I could have bought the HONDA, the reason I didn't is I wasn't the one financing the purchase.

HONDA really needs a layaway program for poor bois to put $50 to each month to afford the HONDA. Or better yet people shouldn't ask $700 for their well-used, beat up HONDA eu2000i as that is something for nothing. People want waaay too much for their used HONDA generators.

The HONDA eu2000i is 2000 peak watts with 1600 running watts, while this clone claims 2500 peak watts and 2200 running watts. So the clone has a larger power output than the real deal, which says something.

 

[darude]

Found on the web today.

http://stealthsurvival.blogspot.com/2014/02/riverwalkers-gear-review-predator-4000.html

as another poster has said it was the loudest SOB that they heard!!!
to me that's an off brand so what about parts or service if it decides to crap out on you???
i would not hook up any of my eletronics to a generator that's NOT an inverter style gen set so i say yamaha or honda/ also invert style gen sets don't have to run full throttle all of the time so they will be more fuel efficent..

if you owned one of those i would not want you parked next to me
i went with a yamaha EF2400ISHC and that runs everything i need it to and that's down grading from a honda EU7000I as that's to much baggage. the yamaha's are more fuel efficent than the honda's and there have higher amp and wattage outputs than the hondas

 

[darude]

oh and the yamahas have a fuel cut off switch so you don't have to bleed the thing dry if your not going to use it for a while

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

I bought the Honda EU2000I about a year ago and have been extremely impressed. Ended up going new as they seem to hold 70-80% of their value, even years down the road.

 

[debit.servus]

Finally have the real deal in inverter generators, the HONDA eu2000i. I bought it used for $700 locally through Craigslist, after taking back the 2200 watt HFT clone for a full refund (actually more than a full refund due to the difference between Idaho and California sales tax, great arbitrage opportunity). If I had money I would have went straight to the HONDA...

Somebody that deals with Honda generators needs to start a layaway program for refurbished HONDA eu2000i generators and/or a rent-to-own program.

 

[canadian_prepper]

Finally have the real deal in inverter generators, the HONDA eu2000i. I bought it used for $700 locally through Craigslist, after taking back the 2200 watt HFT clone for a full refund (actually more than a full refund due to the difference between Idaho and California sales tax, great arbitrage opportunity). If I had money I would have went straight to the HONDA...

Somebody that deals with Honda generators needs to start a layaway program for refurbished HONDA eu2000i generators and/or a rent-to-own program.

I have been researching and Honda eu2000i seems to be a great choice, but in my case 1600 running Watt is just not enough in my case. So I have to look elsewhere. My budget is limited. I have been considering Predator 4000 generator.

Do you guys think it is still worth it?

 

[Feelit]

The Harbor Freight, Predator branded, generators have my attention currently, especially the 7000/8750 model that they have on sale for $499 if you use the coupon:
http://www.harborfreight.com/420cc-...yMDgiLCJza3UiOiI2ODUzMCIsImlzIjoiNDk5Ljk5In0=
https://generatoron.org/best-portable-generator/ - read here if you want feedback about predator generators

But I'm not sure I can trust the quality control.

 

[regis101]

I'm kinda thinking that a sell point might be with the type of inverter that each gen set uses.

I browsed around on Honda hoping to read Pure Sine Wave or Modified Sine Wave.

But they seem to only state it's safe for computers and sensitive equipment. They do show a graph pic that copies what a PSW looks like.

This link has a comparison graph. http://www.xvsy.com.au/modified-sine-wave-vs-pure-sine-wave-inverters/

I'll keep looking around.

 

[bullfrog]

I bought a Harbor Freight Predator 3500 last year on sale with warranty for less than $700 if I remember correctly. It is quiet at around 55 to 60 decibels and I used it inside a vented storage shed with an angled sound deflector outside the vent so I could not hear it running at 100 yards. I followed the instructions that came with it as well as the many suggestions off Youtube. I checked to make sure it had a quality spark plug as many of the early ones had problems with the cheap manufactures plug but mine had a Denso which worked fine. I was shocked to see lots of what appeared to be metal shavings and casting sand in the oil after just a few minutes run time but as suggested changed the oil several times before extended runs were made. It requires stabilized gasoline be used and I used one for ethanol (Stable 360 I think) and it ran with no problems for about 120 hours. The exhaust silencer baffles carboned up at that point and caused it to start and run poorly but it was a simple clean out and will be required about every month as I run it 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the evening. I can move and lift it but it is at my limit and I only do this for oil changes. We have used it for almost a year now but over summer solar has kept the batteries up and have only ran it a few days for AC which it has no problems with. I really dislike running generators no matter how quiet they are as it is a pain to do the required maintenance. I considered dual fuel but I'm over 4000' elevation and hope to get enough solar to meet my winter needs soon so I went with cheap gasoline generator for hopefully a short period of time. I highly recommend running non ethanol fuel if it will not be used within 30 days even with stabilizer. When one manufacturer excels their price becomes so inflated it seems that cheaper lower quality begins to make sense for short term use.