Portable Generators

[sl1966]

I've been leaning towards the Honda eu2000i but was recently recommended the Generac brand. Honda would normally win out but Generac has built the generators that are used to keep hospitals and other critical type services going thru the worst of circumstances.

I'm hoping to find others who are aware of the Generac brand (from my research, the only serious competitor to Onan in this field) compared to the more market typical brands of today.


Any and all insight appreciated!

 

[Zil]

The small china Generac (less than 3000W) are not near as good as Honda. The large Generac are still made in USA and are excellent but you would need a trailer.

 

[Lucky mike]

Honda would Be the quitest out here at the moment so that will make a difference.....Generac makes a decent generator on the commercial duty end but the homeowner models are poor quality and there China parts are hard to get when needed...

I guess before laying the money out you should look at usage.....how much are you really going to use it as opposed to hauling it around....and also look at would solar do the same job for the same money.

I have an 4000watt Onan onboard that gets used maybe once a week.....a small 2200 watt coleman as a boondocker power plant.....and a 2000watt inverter and solar array with 8 batteries.

that being said the onan has 560 hours on it (97 model) not fuel efficient a gallon an hour at $3.50

the Colman cube cost me 150 @ a flea....it sips fuel at about a quart an hour , I use it for battery topping and running the microwave in the am or cooling down with the A/C .....it very quite and lightweight more than enough power for most applications

The solar is the best...I have over 600 watts of panels ,4 batteries on the main bank and 2 on the reserve .....all lighting onboard is LED under normal conditions I really dont need to run the generators. the solar was cheaper than a good generator.....

 

[sparky1]

in my Motorhome there is a 5500 watt Onan (Cummings owns them) it has been a great Generator, most of the time starts right up.
as far as having a portable Honda would be my choice but I have no reason to buy one.
I have 370 watts of solar which powers all my LED lighting.
my Van has solar,& 2 Battery's which does fine for me.

 

[caseyc]

Previous threads on the topic of generators usually turned into a China made versus American made slug fest. That plus noisy generators versus (relatively) quiet generators. That was my recollection at least, I could be wrong. That said, I prefer my Yamaha 2,000 watt generator/inverter. The Yamaha model was my first choice, otherwise it would have been the Honda generator. I also looked at other brands, but the others seemed rather large-ish in size compared to the Yamaha or Honda models. I was looking for something as compact and quiet as possible in a 2,000 watt model.

 

[blars]

My motorhome has a 5500 watt generac built in, not the noisiest but not quiet and guzzles the fuel. I don't use it much, my 450 watts of solar does the job most of the time.

 

[Lucky mike]

the smaller Inverter/generators around 2000 watts no matter china or US made are great for portability and economy......minimum fuel/minimum weight....

I have a friend out here that has a 2k Royobi Inv/Gen from lowes....500 bucks and runs like a champ.......its all in how you take care of them.......dont be stingy on changing the oil..a good fuel additive or marvel mystery oil goes a long way in preventing problems....

unless your in a rig that requires alot of power its pointless to drag a big beast around...
like I said in my earlier post ,Im overkilled in power....most of it came with the MH....Im disabled in a bad way so within reason mostly comfort level wise It is a cost I need to sustain.....
I wish I could go back to the van sometimes just for the simplicity of needs and the lack of footprint and overhead

 

[sl1966]

Thank you very very much everyone for the advice. This helped me a lot and I'm sticking with the Honda Gen.

My use of it is gonna be very extensive since I've not yet invested in a solar power system. Basically I'm avoiding staying at RV parks due to the high cost, but also need to log some boondocking time in. I'm pretty good about taking care of my stuff so that shouldn't be a problem. My rig is a 16' travel trailer. Aside from my xbox, the rest of my electronics have very minimal power needs. The big draws are the AC and microwave. One won't be used until it's hot, and the other I prefer to use minimally as is. I'm mostly going to be firing it up in the afternoon to recharge the house batt and electronics for the night, so maybe 2-3 hours average.

 

[Donedirtcheap]

Thank you very very much everyone for the advice. This helped me a lot and I'm sticking with the Honda Gen.

My use of it is gonna be very extensive since I've not yet invested in a solar power system. Basically I'm avoiding staying at RV parks due to the high cost, but also need to log some boondocking time in. I'm pretty good about taking care of my stuff so that shouldn't be a problem. My rig is a 16' travel trailer. Aside from my xbox, the rest of my electronics have very minimal power needs. The big draws are the AC and microwave. One won't be used until it's hot, and the other I prefer to use minimally as is. I'm mostly going to be firing it up in the afternoon to recharge the house batt and electronics for the night, so maybe 2-3 hours average.

"the big draws are the a/c and microwave"
It depends on your a/c but I don't think a 2000 watt will power most a/c units. I think I have heard people talk about 2800 watts as a minimum.
As far as quality, its Honda. Change the oil, be sure the fuel is drained for long term storage. Dealers and parts are everywhere. I worked for a dealership and the brand we repaired the fewest of was Honda.

 

[Reducto]

I went with a Yamaha because at the time they were cheaper, but the prices seem to fluctuate. Both are very good and will hold their value through many years.

The downside to them being easy to handle and holding their value is they are attractive theft targets, so make sure you also get a nice thick cable lock!

Also from my experience don't even bother with a cheap plastic fuel can. Get a good metal one or just siphon gas from your gas tank. The plastic ones really aren't designed for repeated use and don't have pressure release so they'll blow up like balloons if the sun hits them.

 

[Donedirtcheap]

http://powerequipment.honda.com/generators/generator-how-much-power

http://www.hayesequipment.com/honda_generator_wattage_guide.htm

 

[Blue]

I went with the storm cat from harbor freight, on special with a coupon code 89 bucks its a little bulky, loud, and cheaply made but primarily I only wanted it to charge my house batteries when I wasn't running my engine often or camping, for occasional use it sure beats the 3-400 bucks I would have spent on an equivalent name brand.

 

[sl1966]

It depends on your a/c but I don't think a 2000 watt will power most a/c units.

It will, it's a 5k BTU mini window AC. We tested with a Yamaha 2k Watt gen and, the fridge, and the microwave all worked simultaneously.

The plastic ones really aren't designed for repeated use and don't have pressure release so they'll blow up like balloons if the sun hits them.

Thanks for this one, I wasn't aware that that could happen.

 

[Donedirtcheap]

It will, it's a 5k BTU mini window AC. We tested with a Yamaha 2k Watt gen and, the fridge, and the microwave all worked simultaneously.


Thanks for this one, I wasn't aware that that could happen.

Yes they will run some of the small window units but I think the op is using an RV unit in a 16 foot travel trailer. Most RV a/c wont run on a 2000 watts. I'm just recommending a little more research before they commit to something that may not work. The smaller window units are ideal because of lower draw compared to the conventional RV types. Some lower priced rv's now use through the wall units to cut costs and they will run on a 2000.

When it comes to RV's its the thing everyone is up against. I want to see a 30 pound, 22 decibel, 3000 watt, fuel sipping, low idle Honda that turns into a pit bull when anyone but they owner try to touch it.

 

[Reducto]

Just re-read my statement about plastic gas cans - when I say blow up I mean expand and become round. I've never had one actually pop but I'm sure it could happen over time.

 

[sl1966]

I knew what you meant. I wasn't expecting a Michael Bay like explosion in the least.

 

[Donedirtcheap]

I knew what you meant. I wasn't expecting a Michael Bay like explosion in the least.

OK OK I messed up. I see you did try it already. Sorry

 

[akrvbob]

I can't agree more about getting a metal gas can. I would suggest a Nato gas can because they seal very tight. I carry two of them inside my van and never smell gas.

They are getting harder to find because of the stupid federal rules about gas cans, but they are worth the effort. I've found then in stores in Moab, Utah and Cottonwood, AZ. Otherwise you can search for them on Google as "Nato gas cans"
Bob

 

[sl1966]

I would suggest a Nato gas can because they seal very tight.

Excellent! Thank you Bob. How are you btw, and sorry I missed RTR this year. I had plans to attend but had to cancel due to a cancer scare with my mom which turned out to be benign.

---

OK OK I messed up. I see you did try it already. Sorry

no worries .. forgot the obligatory

 

[arizonatruck]

i'm looking into a 900-2000 watt unit. Maybe one 900 and then a 2k unit. Once I actually start working out of the trailer with lots of power consumption, like a compressor, I will get the 2000 watt one but the 900 should work for the beginning.