I suppose a smaller generator may work for you for a short duration. We had a 5500 watt portable with a Honda engine following hurricane Ivan, when we lost power for 3.5 weeks. (I had used it to run saws and compressors while building barns and a house addition and it did great). It was VERY HOT here and although the Honda engine runs like a champ that generator could not provide enough power to keep the freezers and refrigerator cold and a couple of fans running. It just could not overcome the hot climate.
It is not for everybody, but I said never again and installed a 40kw diesel standby generator that runs everything in two houses.

Consumer reports (yes someone will chime in about how bad CR is, paid ads etc) but, they tested the HF vs the Honda.

The winner - Harbor Freights Predator, interesting... at half the price...

Some people just love to knock HF for their ties to China, yet, there's nothing we buy anymore that has a small engine that isn't likely made in China.

https://www.consumerreports.or...nerator-a4476145493/

Let the teeth gnashing and arguments begin!

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:
Consumer reports (yes someone will chime in about how bad CR is, paid ads etc) but, they tested the HF vs the Honda.

The winner - Harbor Freights Predator, interesting... at half the price...

Some people just love to knock HF for their ties to China, yet, there's nothing we buy anymore that has a small engine that isn't likely made in China.

https://www.consumerreports.or...nerator-a4476145493/

Let the teeth gnashing and arguments begin!

Did you read the article you linked because Paul Hope, the classically trained chef who wrote it, had this to say:

"On points and performance, the Honda wins by a narrow margin,"

and this:

"Our advice: If you’re going to use your recreational generator for camping or tailgating, consider buying the Predator. But if you also want to be able to rely on the generator as a source of backup power for your home (to keep the refrigerator and lights on during an outage), the Honda makes more sense and is a worthy investment."

Mostly because the Honda has a three year warranty.

If I were going to get a HF generator, I'd pony up for the 3500 watt one for $900 on sale. The Honda 3000 watt is $2,500.

quote:

Did you read the article you linked b

Yep, basically as you said and they indicated, these are very close on performance the difference is minor, basically as you stated, if the Predator warranty was the same they'd buy it over the Honda based on price alone, all other things being similar.,

The HF is right there with the Honda for half the price.

You can buy an extended warranty at HF for the generator that is basically a swap out if anything goes wrong vs taking it to a service center. Unless the warranty cost is $500 (it isn't) which it would need to be to match the Hondas base price.

Not saying the Honda isn't good, it is, but they are very expensive, and that 3 year warranty is part of the extra cost for the unit.

quote:

If I were going to get a HF generator, I'd pony up for the 3500 watt one for $900 on sale. The Honda 3000 watt is $2,500.

Agree, like a gun safe, always go bigger...

Generator safety is a serious concern. They emit a lot of carbon monoxide and every time we have a major hurricane many folks are overcome by carbon monoxide. Don't run it under eaves or in the garage or carport. That means longer, heavy extension cords that can carry the power inside. Cover outdoor connections for safety of folks who may walk on them. If you connect to the house panel you need an isolation switch so you are not feeding power back into the lines where utility workers can be harmed. Just a couple bits of wisdom from lessons learned in hurricane country.

Duel Fuel Generators

I keep six 20lb bottles in my garage for hurricane season.

I’d highly recommend the inverter style generator. Have the Honda 3000 and used it very successfully. Have used the conventional generators in the past and end up having to replace appliances and electronics shortly after. Dirty power is very real.

For the same price as a single Honda EU2200, I would buy two Harbor Freight Predator Inverter Generators and a parallel kit (wait for a sale).

You have the flexibility of having two generators to use in separate locations, or running them in tandem for larger loads, or simply having one as a redundant spare.

For emergency or occasional use, what's the point of having super reliable build quality? It's just sitting there. What's going to move the needle more in terms of preparedness, build quality or having a completely redundant secondary system on a staggered maintenance interval? A Honda is just as likely to shit itself as anything else due to a missed maintenance interval and running into poorly stabilized fuel, or rotting out due to dampness in the shed, or just getting jacked from outside your house in the middle of the night.

If you used your generator daily to power your food truck, sure, buy quality...but for emergency preparedness, I would take redundancy, compulsive maintenance, and a stock of spare parts any day...

quote:

Originally posted by dpsouthhtr:
I’d highly recommend the inverter style generator. Have the Honda 3000 and used it very successfully. Have used the conventional generators in the past and end up having to replace appliances and electronics shortly after. Dirty power is very real.

Which electronics did you have to replace ?

2yro upright freezer, 5yro Frig, 2 ~5yro Samsung TVs. Pretty much everything that I was running on a 12k portable for 18days after Rita. Running similar stuff on the little Honda with no I’ll effect.

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:
Consumer reports (yes someone will chime in about how bad CR is, paid ads etc) but, they tested the HF vs the Honda.

The winner - Harbor Freights Predator, interesting... at half the price...


Some people just love to knock HF for their ties to China, yet, there's nothing we buy anymore that has a small engine that isn't likely made in China.

https://www.consumerreports.or...nerator-a4476145493/

Let the teeth gnashing and arguments begin!

Did you read the article you linked because Paul Hope, the classically trained chef who wrote it, had this to say:

"On points and performance, the Honda wins by a narrow margin,"

and this:

"Our advice: If you’re going to use your recreational generator for camping or tailgating, consider buying the Predator. But if you also want to be able to rely on the generator as a source of backup power for your home (to keep the refrigerator and lights on during an outage), the Honda makes more sense and is a worthy investment."

Mostly because the Honda has a three year warranty.

If I were going to get a HF generator, I'd pony up for the 3500 watt one for $900 on sale. The Honda 3000 watt is $2,500.

Northern Tool has one even cheaper, no shipping: https://www.northerntool.com/s..._200934247_200934247

https://powerequipment.honda.c...tors/models/eu7000is

I use this generator for testing at work. It has withstood 60 two-day tests, or approximately 2,800 hours of use. If we hadn't taken it apart every test, it would run forever, I think. In time, the tapped holes for the cylinder and head have loosened to the point we can't rebuild it.

A cheaper generator used before this model lasted ten tests.

Honda power equipment is well-engineered and reliable. And expensive.

Price is what you pay.

Value is what you get.
.

quote:

Originally posted by PPinesRon:

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:
If I were going to get a HF generator, I'd pony up for the 3500 watt one for $900 on sale. The Honda 3000 watt is $2,500.

Northern Tool has one even cheaper, no shipping: https://www.northerntool.com/s..._200934247_200934247

That’s not an inverter generator. It’ll produce electricity with a lot of harmonic distortion which will fry many electronic devices. Less than 5% THD is considered safe. Plus, because it runs at 3,600rpm and has no sound deadening cabinet, it will be loud as all get out.

On the other hand, an inverter generator runs at variable speed depending on the load. It produces DC current which is converted to AC current by the inverter. The models we are discussing also have cabinets that help deaden the sound. Even running full speed, these generators are really quiet. Modern electronics in the inverter allow switching so fast that the AC electricity produced looks like a sine wave with very low harmonic distortion.

The whole house generators also produce clean power. I don’t know what is different about them vs. a non-inverter portable generator, but low THD is one of the benefits they specifically claim.

Just to reinforce the point...

I just started up my Predator 2000W Super Quiet Inverter Generator a few minutes ago. It's a slightly older model, without the automatic Carbon Monoxide shutoff.

I had stored it JUL 2021 with a fresh oil change (Mobil 1 5w30) and gasoline stabilized with Sta-bil (2oz Stabil to 5 gal). I had put the generator into "longterm" storage by putting a little oil down the sparkplug hole before closing it up. It lives in a plastic shed out in the back yard.

I gave it 3 or 4 slow pulls to lubricate the internal bits and build some compression and it started right up on the first real pull. Gas seems good and running strong. Put on a space heater and had it pull 800w for 10 minutes then 1500w for 20 minutes.

So, 15ish months of storage didn't seem to phase it.

I'm debating whether I want to put it up again into longterm storage with fresh oil and gas, or go to running it for 30 minutes every 3 months as is sometimes recommended.

Additional note: If you don't already have a handheld label maker, you really aught to get one. (I have this one: https://a.co/d/8u1Uaty). It's really handy in the garage--I label everything now. In this case, I had last oil change and last fuel change labeled right on the side of the generator.

I bought two generators 18 years ago. Started one once and let it run dry. Both were stored in an unheard unair conditioned garage in Florida. The get them running, I changed the oil and poured fresh gas in the tanks. The first one started on 5 pulls because I forgot to turn the key on. The batteries are of course shot after 18 years of sitting and I forgot they had a key. The second one started on the third pull.

These were 11.5HP Briggs and Stratton 5,800 continuous 8,800 starting generators. I didn’t put any oil in the cylinders ever.

My 1983 4-stroke 9.9hp Honda outboard also starts on the first or second pull each year. I do use stabilizer in it because its carb has some really tiny passages that are a bitch to clean.

I got our 1945 Ford GPW that hadn’t been run in 30 years going buy changing the oil, spraying fogging oil in each cylinder and then cranking the motor before reinstalling the spark plugs, and pouring fresh gas in the tank conveniently located under the driver’s seat. I did have to buy a new 6v battery. It was stored in the same garage as the generators. I did change the coolant and brake fluid before I started driving it as well as rebuild the master cylinder and wheel cylinders.

I wouldn’t leave gas in the carbs on anything I’d be storing long term.

I write the dates/miles/hours of fluid changes on the filter.

quote:

Originally posted by Aeteocles:
For the same price as a single Honda EU2200, I would buy two Harbor Freight Predator Inverter Generators and a parallel kit (wait for a sale).

You have the flexibility of having two generators to use in separate locations, or running them in tandem for larger loads, or simply having one as a redundant spare.

For emergency or occasional use, what's the point of having super reliable build quality? It's just sitting there. What's going to move the needle more in terms of preparedness, build quality or having a completely redundant secondary system on a staggered maintenance interval? A Honda is just as likely to shit itself as anything else due to a missed maintenance interval and running into poorly stabilized fuel, or rotting out due to dampness in the shed, or just getting jacked from outside your house in the middle of the night.

If you used your generator daily to power your food truck, sure, buy quality...but for emergency preparedness, I would take redundancy, compulsive maintenance, and a stock of spare parts any day...

I like your approach. Redundancy, capacity on demand, flexibility. Sounds like a winning combination.

I don't put any of my equipment up for long term storage .I run everything for a few minutes at least once a month . It gives me something to do .

OK here's the deal from someone with maybe 15 generators of various sizes. The price of good stuff from people who have history of supporting their products like honda includes the future supply of stuff.
As a small recent story, I used a 20yo Honda generator at my sisters house the last few weeks to support some construction work.
At some point the plastic housing for the generator cooling was run into by someone and it cracked. I called my local Honda dealer and the part will be here in 3-5 days. Try that with your off brand chinese stuff.
If all you want is 3+- years of use. have at it from almost anyone. but if you want long term life buy stuff from people with a supply chain.
And no HF is not that.
In the end the initial price difference won't matter if you keep stuff long term. If you don't it will and go buy Chinese everything.

I'll add another generator to the mix. https://www.electricgenerators...1062cae214aae2e70fc2

I had a Honda Eu2000 and loved it. I sold it because my camper had on onboard generator. When my onboard failed, I wanted a new generator to run the camper while it was out for repairs. I was gonna buy a 2 pack of HOnda's so I could run ac and have some redundancy. A friend who had just bought this generator suggested it. For the price of one Honda, you can get this cummins that will do the job of two.
I have nothing but good things to say about this generator. Plenty of power,quiet,portable,remote electric start,digital fuel level and time remaining based on power level. I would buy again in a heartbeat.