Lets talk generators!

With the possibility of another northeast storm coming, I got my Genny out of storage and brought it to the shop for a once over.. I'm glad I did.. The thing won't run more than 5 minutes.. Anyways it's a 15 year old noisy genny.. So perfect time to get a new one. I got my eyes on the Honda 2000i.. Tomorrow I'm going to pull the trigger... Pros/cons? Should I just bite the bullet and get the companion?

The Honda's are great, but you might want to save some $$....take a look at post # 9 in this thread:

www.hearth.com/talk/threads/post-your-ups-and-its-run-time.92104/#post-1219674

Just picked up a EU2000i a few weeks ago from wisesales.com. It will run my kitchen fridge, pellet stove, LCD TV and cable box at same time - just purrs away super quiet and sips gas. Love it! Don't wait or you won't find one.

Parallel it with the companion and you get the full 4K watts with a 30 amp plug.

Ive got a honda eu2000i also and it is great. I have it powering just my downstairs and my fridge upstairs. Its quiet and sips fuel. I read the link to the hyandai and that may be one to look at if money is tight. I said it in the other posts to stay away from the chinese knockoffs. If you want a good comparison that shows what they actually do then youtube is full of videos showing the hondas and yamahas starting up power tools and the chinese ones with the same ratings shutting down on the same equipment. This is one of those situations like buying harbor freight tools. You can say that it does the job and can see that there are better out there you didnt spend as much money on it. To me thats not a compliment to the equipment at all. Just buy the real thing and spend a few hundred bucks more. Im not going to cheap out when it 20 degrees out and i need heat. Besides where exactly are you going to get parts for these other generators.

We have one of the Honda's at our camp up north in the woods. We don't run much off it, a bunch of lights and a fridge, occasionally a freezer during moose season. Run it in the eco mode and it will run 12+ hours on a tank of gas.

I would check to see what SAMs club has. I bought one there about 12 years ago and this thing always started. Just ran it bone dry before I put it away every time. Started on the third pull no matter when I tried. Kept it up until I got a whole house generator last November. I used to lose power every week, the sun could be shining and birds chirping and I would lose power. Got the whole house generator install the propane tank underground hired the electrician and after 4 months from the time I ordered it until completion I haven't lost power yet. Go figure. The neighbors should all chip in and pay me for keeping there lights on!

I'd pick it up fast, cause the stores are going to be empty come saturday afternoon.

How about the Yamaha 2000Ie?

I dont have any personal experience but on many sites it rates as high as the Honda and some even higher. RVworld.com is usually the best place to get a portable generator. They occasionally have specials where its 850 shipped and there was a 10% off coupon floating around a couple months ago when i was looking at adding the companion.

I have a Yamaha EF2000iS 2,000 Watt Inverter Generator. Runs very quietly and just sips fuel.
Has a 1 gall tank and runs for hours.
Chose it over it the Honda Eu2000i because it has a fuel gage (so easier for the wife to use) and is a little lighter (2 pounds).

My old B+S uses 1 gall/hour but it can run the well pump, so we use the B+S in the mornings for showers etc, then use the Yamaha for the rest of the day. Can run the house in comfort on 2-3 galls fuel a day. Always have 20 galls of fuel around so can last a week easily.

I have a Generac 7KW whole house propane generator with automatic transfer switch.

Runs 2 pellet stoves, fridge, well pump, oil furnace (for hot water), 2 tv's with boxes, and a bunch of lights, and outlets.

100 Gallon propane tank.

My Honda EU3000 powers the pellet stove, lights, fridge, 60" tv, 2 laptops, modems, etc. If you want to be able to access your power company's website to see in how many days they will get the power back on at your house you will need a generator that won't fry sensitive electronics such as the top line Hondas.

HONDA - the only way to go for generators.

I ended up getting dual Yamahas EF2000is ... They are comparable to the Honda, great quality, very quiet, I like the ability to shut off gas to the carb.. The fuel gauge is a nice option but not required for me. I ordered the parallel cables and should get them Tuesday (the day the storm might hit) ... I can still use the gens separately for what I need, but it still would be nice to have both connected to each other. Does anyone have the extended fuel tanks, if so do you find it's worth $170 plus shipping for it?

I use a Honda 6500 watt, runs the pellet stove, fridge and the TV's.
I won't say it sips fuel but I get about 11 hours off a tank full (7 gal.)

I also have one of the Honda 2000 units running a propane setup. I got the conversion kit including the modified carb from generatorsalesdotcom. Easy conversion and you send back your carb for core. The setup allows gas, propane or ng. Mine has never seen pump gas and get 17 hours loaded on a 20 pounder

I have had an EU2000i Honda for a few years. It has about 600 hours on it. I use it for camping/hunting, doing yard work with my e-power tools and as a back-up power supply. It is always easy to start. It always runs fine. It is fuel efficient. It is very easy to maintain and work on (e.g., it takes me less than 5 minutes to change the oil and without a mess). And I have plugged computers into it without any worry.

I did a good deal of research on before I made a decision.

It has been a very good investment even though it was $940 on sale.

Generac 5kw for house. ETQ 1800 for furnace, pellet stove.

Just picked up a Honda EU6500, so far, (only 15 mins on the Hobbs), it seems like a awesome machine.

I'm jealous. Nice machine!

Generac 12kw whole house on Propane (100 Gal tank). Runs pretty much anything I want, except maybe the electric range.

Just picked up a holland something or other 9000 watt, chinese knock off of a honda...will do for now had to drive 80 miles northwest to get it

Basically any generator with a Honda motor will be a quiet runner. We have the Multiquip line at the shop that we rent out. VERY few problems with that line, 99% of them are operator error.
I have an old Wisconsin/Robyn 6kw that I start every year or so to make sure it still runs, Haven't needed it if about 5 years.

I found a 'mechanic special' 1990 Homelite 4400w with a 8hp cast iron sleeved Briggs for 75.00. It would run but only with a shot of carb cleaner ever now and then. I took it home and replaced the factory homelite red spark plug, replaced a 3.00 float bowl gasket and reset the needles that were all messed up. I dumped the old fuel and added new and it fired right up on the second pull. I think I spent an hour at the most fixing a little fuel leak and getting the carb set right. I would like to eventually get into the 7500-10k watt range but I can't beat what I have at the moment.

Transfer/interlock setup is next on the menu and I will be set.

champian 4000/3500 runs freezer, fridge ,tv ,4 ceiling fans ,coffee pot, micro,; satalite, boxes, pellet stove , garage door and lights just fine. 12 hours on 5 gals.... just noisy as all get out when the power is out and its quiet.