Inverter generators

Mxfarm

Mxfarm

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Marc
Planning on buying an inverter generator before OSH, <2500 watt. Are Honda's really worth the price difference? Any brand you'd stay away from?

Basically keeping devices charged and running a miscellaneous item or two.

marc
 
My understanding is that Hondas are about the quietest generators out there, which is generally a good thing.

depending upon what “miscellaneous items” you might be running, a portable battery and a solar charger (just to make sure it storms the whole time you’re at OSH) may be a good option. My other miscellaneous item is a travel CPAP, and I can get almost three full nights off of this battery without recharging.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Suaoki-S...-150Wh-for-Camping-Travel-Emergency/368973380
 
I have a Honda EU2000i for many years now.
at the time there was no other generator that could be as Quiet as the Honda. Other generators can be more powerful, cheaper, but always louder. The Honda you can set it down at your feet and still have a normal conversation. Honda’s is also nice that you can link two and get (correction) a 30-amp socket.

I don’t know how the market has changed since then, (almost 12 years ago). Yamaha and others making “inverter” generators claim to be as-good, key word “claim to be”.

Whatever you get , make sure you use fuel stabilizer and clean the carburetor out if you don’t run it for months. I saw another generator ruined by leaving old gas in the Carb for a long time.
I use Sea Foam and that helped alot,
but eventually just drained it and preserved it by following the long-term storage instructions.
 
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Would have a couple of laptops, and probably 5 or 6 devices, phones, and tablets.
 
ChopAndDrop said:
Honda’s is also nice that you can link two and get 220v socket.
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How do you do that? I have a parallel kit but I haven't seen a kit giving you 240V with two. Would be interested in one...

OP: I have two Honda generators and think they're great but I would be tempted to pick up the Harbor Freight 1400W inverter...
 
I use something similar to this. I'm buying the solar charger for it this year. But last year I had it fully charged I was able to use my laptop in the evenings keep my cell phone and iPad charged along with a buttload of GoPros I was there four days and it still had juice when I headed home

https://a.co/d/fhbdVwc
 
Mxfarm said:
Planning on buying an inverter generator before OSH, <2500 watt. Are Honda's really worth the price difference? Any brand you'd stay away from?

Basically keeping devices charged and running a miscellaneous item or two.

marc
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I highly recommend a Honda also, you won’t be disappointed. Or a Yamaha.

I have used plenty of generators, please get a Honda. IMO

I ruined 2 TVs years ago from using a brand new generac RV generator in a race car trailer. It was not a inverter generator back in those days. You could see the florescent lights hum. I was told that the 60 hrz was not steady?
 
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I have a 2000W inverter generator I picked up cheap at Aldi a few years ago for a really good price. It has served me well for my intermittent needs, which included a 2 day power outage.

My sense is that Hondas are great. But maybe you’re paying for something with construction site durability, as opposed to something for more casual users.
 
i remember seeing this review a couple years ago...looked promising as a strong alternative to Honda
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
I use something similar to this. I'm buying the solar charger for it this year. But last year I had it fully charged I was able to use my laptop in the evenings keep my cell phone and iPad charged along with a buttload of GoPros I was there four days and it still had juice when I headed home

https://a.co/d/fhbdVwc
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THAT is what I'd look into instead of a genny
 
The Honda 2000 is hugely popular gennie in AK. Yamaha is an equal, just later to join the fray. I have two Hondas and three Yamahas. Great equipment.
 
The Hondas are the standard and from what I've read/seen the consensus online is that the knockoff/clones are nearly as good nowadays. I don't regret buying my Honda2000 and it has served well at home and at Oshkosh in the North 40.
I bought 2 of them for my buddy at Oshkosh a couple years ago as they usually have deals on them. They'll deliver them to your campsite after purchase!
 
If you want REALLY quiet, Yamaha beats Honda (slightly, but still). When it comes to invertor generators, there are only 2 brands, Honda and Yamaha...others are "you get what you pay for".
We camp with a 5th wheel. We will put our Yamaha in the bed of my pickup truck to help even more with the sound (my truck has a bed liner and rubber bed mat, so sound can really only go straight up). You can literally stand right next to my truck, and not hear the generator. Once, at a remote national park, some park rangers came to my campsite to warn me about the sound of my generator, and advise me about the generator permissible hours. I asked them if there was a complaint. They said "no", they were just trying to "get ahead of the problem." I told them, as we stood next to my truck, that my generator was running as we speak. They laughed and they then said I could run it day and night.
 
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I have a generator by son bought me. Not an invertor but a generator. Works fine but loud and not as light as a Honda or Yamaha. I used it mainly to preheat the Beech when I was in a tie down. I wished Matt had asked me before he bought it. I would have paid the difference in price for a Honda or Yamaha.
 
idahoflier said:
How do you do that? I have a parallel kit but I haven't seen a kit giving you 240V with two. Would be interested in one...

OP: I have two Honda generators and think they're great but I would be tempted to pick up the Harbor Freight 1400W inverter...
Click to expand...

For the price those Predator generators from HF are a bargain. I haven't used their generators, but we have used two of the Predator engines to replace one on my pressure washer and one on an edger. Those engines fire up first-pull after sitting for 6 months at a time and run pretty smooth. Not Honda smooth, but close enough for such an infrequently used piece of equipment.
 
I bought this new around 1993 from a motorcycle dealership. It has thousands of hours on it. It is very quiet. 1000 watts. It has been used for many trips. It has run for a week straight 10 years straight at a local jeep/sand race here in town.
I put a smaller pulley on a squirrel cage blower out of old furnace so the generator could start it. It has run that blower for many many hours during camping trips and at the races. WE slept in front of the blower for years with the generator running 15' away. It is quiet. It has been a great value.
I still have it today and use it. I have let a friend borrow it for many years also. It just keeps on going. I exercise it a couple times a year and only store it with ethanol free gas in it. It has burned leaded race gas, unleaded gas from the gas station also.
IMG_54591.jpg
 
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Gary Ward said:
I bought this new around 1993 from a motorcycle dealership. It has thousands of hours on it. It is very quiet. 1000 watts. It has been used for many trips. It has run for a week straight 10 years straight at a local jeep/sand race here in town.
I put a smaller pulley on a squirrel cage blower out of old furnace so the generator could start it. It has run that blower for many many hours during camping trips and at the races. WE slept in front of the blower for years with the generator running 15' away. It is quiet. It has been a great value.
I still have it today and use it. I have let a friend borrow it for many years also. It just keeps on going. I exercise it a couple times a year and only store it with ethanol free gas in it. It has burned leaded race gas, unleaded gas from the gas station also.
IMG_54591.jpg
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I have two of those myself. I can’t wear them out. One’s been submerged for a week in a flood and another couple of days in another flood. Flushed gas an oil and it continues to work great.
 
Honda is the Gold Standard in terms of reliability, resale, parts access, and ability to get serviced anywhere. I have a 2200 and it is awesome...starts on first or second pull every time...but those come at a premium price.

I recently used the Ryobi 2300 for a week and was so impressed I needed a second unit I picked on of those up and thing runs like a champ. Was quieter and got better run time than my Honda at a much better price point. I was a Predator fan for a budget option but now the Ryobi has taken that spot for me. Everything else out there seems to be a crap shoot but have also heard good things about the Yamaha second hand.

Whatever you use pro tip I got from the service center where I got my Honda is to ONLY use premium gas from Chevron, Shell, 76, or Valero. All the other off brands are putting in additives that are gumming up small engine carbs and cause 90% of all small engine issues. Big cars can handle it but the mico parts in small engines are getting destroyed and to flush out or use a stabilizer for anything planned to sit for over a month.
 
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If you live somewhere where you can, get ethanol free gas. If not then use an additive for ethanol gas(often sold for marine use).

My mom inherited an EF-1000, being California/ethanol-land all the hoses and seals and carb ended up needing to be replaced. But after that it works just fine.
 
IMO go to Harbor Freight and grab the Predator version. Less than 1/2 the price and they run like tops.
I have the 3500 watt version and used it to run a dehumidifier for 1000 hours straight without turning it off (added a larger fuel tank before someone calls BS lol), no issues and now at 2000 hours it cranks up first pull.

https://www.harborfreight.com/colle...enerator-with-co-secure-technology-57063.html
 
Shawn said:
Whatever you use pro tip I got from the service center where I got my Honda is to ONLY use premium gas from Chevron, Shell, 76, or Valero. All the other off brands are putting in additives that are gumming up small engine carbs and cause 90% of all small engine issues. Big cars can handle it but the mico parts in small engines are getting destroyed and to flush out or use a stabilizer for anything planned to sit for over a month.
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There’s one gas station near me that claims “ethanol free gas” and I’m always suspicious if it’s just regular gas pulled from the same tank but they are just charging me more. But always used that gas in the Generator, plus SeaFoam, and it’s good for about a month or two between test-runs. Longer than that, and it runs noticeably worse, so really need to drain and do the preservation steps If storing for longer.

https://powerequipment.honda.com/generators/eu-generator-fuel-recommendations

We’re all pilots here so we’ve got access to AvGas, I’ve seeen others use it in lawnmowers and stuff on-field so I guess it will work the same??? I searched thru Honda’s documents and can’t find anything for or against 100LL. I gather it doesnot have a catalytic converter like a car, so it could work in a pinch?

Edit to add: Honda’s user manual specially says “regular unleaded gasoline” in its description.

this is a thread drift, but if you really need a generator for backup purposes that has to sit for a long-time between uses: propane seems to be the ideal fuel for this. Some dual-fuel generators, and fixed-site backup generators do this. Unless the propane physically leaks out, it’s still good for a long time and doesn’t have the problems of gumming-up the carburetor (like old gasoline does).
 
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Easy enough to test the "ethanol free" gas. I test every batch as I run it in my Skyhawk and small engines at home.
Lots of us burn 100LL in our Honda's while at Oshkosh. I know a lot of guys on the Cessna Pilots Society forums that burn 100LL in their Hondas as well. I think I've had my generator for almost 10 years now and no ill effects that I've noticed so far.
 
From being in the fuel business. I would not use the higher octane premium gasoline's at the stations, like 93 octane in your small engines. Because it has more ethanol in it to get it to 93-94 octane. Even though many will say ethanol is not a factor, IMO it is.

It is easy with a little water to test for ethanol in gas.
100LL IMO is great to use in small engines. Not sure about the latest small engines, do they have emissions reduction equipment on them? If so are they affected by lead?

Funny story, years ago we had E check around here where they put a sniffer on your tail pipe and check for pollution or high emissions.
I took a hot street car over there with a giant lopping cam, headers and minimal exhaust system, idling high because of the cam and stinking because of the overlap of the cam timing. I was running straight racing gas loaded with lead. It passed with flying colors, they told me some of my levels were lower than some stock cars! Obviously they were not testing for lead, I think the techs lost a brain cell or 2 that day from standing near my lead saturated exhaust? lol
 
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I purchased a couple of Honda EU2000's in 2005 prior to Hurricane Rita. We lost power for 6 weeks and they ran for over 1000 hours except to refuel and change the oil at 100 hour intervals. Since that time, we used them for two weeks straight for another hurricane and used them camping for for about 24 weeks. I have had to change the air filter and spark plugs a couple of times, but that is it. I have no idea what the planned lifespan are for these, but I have received my money's worth.
 
I use ethanol free 90 in my plane and test every batch before it goes in. As others have noted it's very quick and easy to do. I have this tool in my flight bag:

05-03439.gif

Seven bucks at Aircraft Spruce ...
 
Mxfarm said:
Planning on buying an inverter generator before OSH, <2500 watt. Are Honda's really worth the price difference? Any brand you'd stay away from?

Basically keeping devices charged and running a miscellaneous item or two.

marc
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If you buy a Honda, buy it at the show. They always have a huge tent and good deals.
 
My own Honda 2000 is impossible to start in cold weather when using 100LL. If it runs for a few hours it develops a miss, too. Regular unleaded works much better.
 
ktup-flyer said:
If you buy a Honda, buy it at the show. They always have a huge tent and good deals.
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Went to the Honda tent last year, but they couldn't sell them, had to go the dealer that was set up in the flea market. Wasn't any savings last year.
 
Using the proper fuel works better. Nothing like needing your gennie in -50* temps and it won't start. My Honda starts fine in those temps with unleaded car gas in it.
 
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