Gas Generator Recommendations

[DUMF]

The old Craftsman genset that we build the place in 2000 with is slowly giving up-- well on, PC dies.
We're looking at a Honda inverter gen @ 7000 surge watts : EU7000iS. It's pricey at $4000. BUT fuel efficient, safe for electronics, quiet, batt start, etc....
What do you have ?

 

[Wooden Head]

The old Craftsman genset that we build the place in 2000 with is slowly giving up-- well on, PC dies.
We're looking at a Honda inverter gen @ 7000 surge watts : EU7000iS. It's pricey at $4000. BUT fuel efficient, safe for electronics, quiet, batt start, etc....
What do you have ?

I have 2 generators. A Honda EU3000IS and a Ridgid 7000/8500 w/Yamaha engine. The Honda is only 110V but is quite. I use it for running Things that do not have Motors (furnace, dryer, microwave, 220V Well Pump & Air conditioner). I hook up the Rigid to run the motor operated/220V devices when needed. The Ridgid is loud and will only run about 7hrs on an 8 gallon tank of gas. The Honda is very quite and will run 12 hrs. on 5 gallons of gas.

The Honda EU7000iS is an great generator. It is quite, good gas consumption and clean power. Should run all of your household.

 

[DougA]

I got a Honda eu2000i after going through 3 other makes. Been working well for 3 years.
I prefer the smaller units that I can carry around if needed. Unless we have a war or long term power grid failure, the longest I can see needing it to run is 4 to 5 days after a bad storm.
The biggest concern I would have is availability of fuel during a long term power outage. You want a unit that sips fuel, not guzzles it. What good is a whole house generator if there is no fuel to run it?

 

[DUMF]

You know how you go over all a product's reviews: Amazon, eBay, online sites. All, I mean all, of the genset brands had many negative reviews
for reliability, steady state power, safe power, fuel consumption, noise, etc... Name it: Yamaha, Ridgid, Generac, TroyBuilt, others. Only the Honda EU7000iS had no negatives....except price. I looked. There was a recall for a frame defect in 2014. That's it.
Worth the $$$$ ($4000. ) ?
The standbys come in around $6000. net with some problems of their own. Thx for the input.

 

[BrotherBart]

I have run this joint for five days to two weeks with a couple of 3,200 watt Chinese gennys for years. Computers, big screens, DVR unit etc. didn't die. Well, the refrigerator died last year. After 29 years. Must have been the generator's fault. And they just sip gas. I only fire the 5,500 watt one I have owned for years once a month so the carb doesn't crap up. Never use it anymore.

 

[DougA]

Chinese gennys

That's what is used to say too but my opinion changed 4 years ago when I needed the power desperately and the Chinese would not start. Pulled apart the carb, cleaned it out and still nothing. My son came over, gave it a yank and the rope snapped off. Then I bought Hyundai and had similar hard start problems. Last big power outage, I bought the Honda.
Each to their own opinion but when I've got a thousand dollars in the freezer, I want something I can count on.
I've bought way more than my share of Chinese stuff in the last few decades and the quality is getting worse every time.
I'm glad yours is working fine and I'm glad I took my to the scrap yard.

 

[BrotherBart]

The reason I have four generators.

 

[Village Idiot]

I have two generators myself. One is a Harbor Freight "portable outlet" 800/900 watt unit and the other is a Champion 8000 watt Costco special. I have a socket on the outside of the house for the big generator that connects to a generator switch in the main panel. The HF unit can connect to a special transfer switch at the panel to run just my fireplace blower via an extension cord. I mentioned my setup in this post a few years ago.

This will also let me hook the sump pump to it as well. The sump challenges the HF unit, but in an emergency, it is an $90 gamble I am willing to take.

 

[Wooden Head]

You know how you go over all a product's reviews: Amazon, eBay, online sites. All, I mean all, of the genset brands had many negative reviews
for reliability, steady state power, safe power, fuel consumption, noise, etc... Name it: Yamaha, Ridgid, Generac, TroyBuilt, others. Only the Honda EU7000iS had no negatives....except price. I looked. There was a recall for a frame defect in 2014. That's it.
Worth the $$$$ ($4000. ) ?
The standbys come in around $6000. net with some problems of their own. Thx for the input.

You are correct the Honda is an outstanding generator.

 

[KB007]

I use a briggs and stratton 8kw for major outages, mainly for the 220v needed for my well pump. Also have a ryobi. 2000w inverter that works when I just need to run the fridge or other smller loads.

 

[Highbeam]

So you plan to run the whole house with this genset right? Good. Can we assume you will be using a full panel interlock transfer switch setup? It is the smartest. Good.

The best thing about the Honda 7000 is that it is 240 volts and inverter powered. Clean power, idles down to match load, low fuel consumption as a result of the idle down, and very quiet. The trouble with it is that it is obviously very expensive but also the thing is enormous. It has a battery and though miserly it will still consume a lot of gasoline over several days of use. Also, when you actually use a lot of power you will use a lot of gasoline.

I don't know of any other inverter 240V gensets and you need 240 to backfeed the panel in the conventional way with your interlock.

Don't worry about the long term outages. Worry about having enough fuel on hand for the expected outages, the ones that happen frequently. You can't plan for the worst or else you would never get anything done. An asteroid might hit you after all!

Myself, I'm a fan of the Champion Power Equipment company. They are the best of the Chinese generator family but are actually based in the US. Like just about anything including the computer you are looking at, there is international content. My current genset is a 3200 watt inverter genset. It only makes 120 volt power but I can send 3200 watts to any breaker or combination of breakers. With my old 240 volt 4000 watt noninverter genset I could only send 2000 watts to each side of the panel. Since I am willing to give up 240 volt devices during a power outage I made an adapter to power the whole main panel with 120 volt power.

 

[Highbeam]

So you plan to run the whole house with this genset right? Good. Can we assume you will be using a full panel interlock transfer switch setup? It is the smartest. Good.

The best thing about the Honda 7000 is that it is 240 volts and inverter powered. Clean power, idles down to match load, low fuel consumption as a result of the idle down, and very quiet. The trouble with it is that it is obviously very expensive but also the thing is enormous. It has a battery and though miserly it will still consume a lot of gasoline over several days of use. Also, when you actually use a lot of power you will use a lot of gasoline.

I don't know of any other inverter 240V gensets and you need 240 to backfeed the panel in the conventional way with your interlock.

Don't worry about the long term outages. Worry about having enough fuel on hand for the expected outages, the ones that happen frequently. You can't plan for the worst or else you would never get anything done. An asteroid might hit you after all!

Myself, I'm a fan of the Champion Power Equipment company. They are the best of the Chinese generator family but are actually based in the US. Like just about anything including the computer you are looking at, there is international content. My current genset is a 3200 watt inverter genset. It only makes 120 volt power but I can send 3200 watts to any breaker or combination of breakers. With my old 240 volt 4000 watt noninverter genset I could only send 2000 watts to each side of the panel. Since I am willing to give up 240 volt devices during a power outage I made an adapter to power the whole main panel with 120 volt power.

 

[DUMF]

So you plan to run the whole house with this genset right? Good. Can we assume you will be using a full panel interlock transfer switch setup? It is the smartest. Good.

The best thing about the Honda 7000 is that it is 240 volts and inverter powered. Clean power, idles down to match load, low fuel consumption as a result of the idle down, and very quiet. The trouble with it is that it is obviously very expensive but also the thing is enormous. It has a battery and though miserly it will still consume a lot of gasoline over several days of use. Also, when you actually use a lot of power you will use a lot of gasoline.

I don't know of any other inverter 240V gensets and you need 240 to backfeed the panel in the conventional way with your interlock.

Don't worry about the long term outages. Worry about having enough fuel on hand for the expected outages, the ones that happen frequently. You can't plan for the worst or else you would never get anything done. An asteroid might hit you after all!

Myself, I'm a fan of the Champion Power Equipment company. They are the best of the Chinese generator family but are actually based in the US. Like just about anything including the computer you are looking at, there is international content. My current genset is a 3200 watt inverter genset. It only makes 120 volt power but I can send 3200 watts to any breaker or combination of breakers. With my old 240 volt 4000 watt noninverter genset I could only send 2000 watts to each side of the panel. Since I am willing to give up 240 volt devices during a power outage I made an adapter to power the whole main panel with 120 volt power.

Nice post, informative.
Just installed a 10 circuit transfer switch, enough to run this small place. The Honda is our choice though $$$$.

 

[moey]

I think if I was spending 4k I would just spend a bit more and get a standby system that runs on propane/nat gas.

I have a 2000w champion invertor that powers my pellet stove if there was a power outage in the winter and some lights. I have a 3500w champion gas guzzler that I use to power the well pump when my tank runs dry during a power outage. I have 120v transfer switch and 5 circuits wired in. Whole setup was probably $800ish. I thought about getting a standby generator but I was not confident they would handle the surge from my heat pump on startup so I figured whats the point in spending all the money.

 

[DUMF]

I think if I was spending 4k I would just spend a bit more and get a standby system that runs on propane/nat gas.

Did complete quotes on both systems, but chose the Honda high end portable with a new 10 circuit transfer switch.
Reasons:
1. The standby Kohler and Generac are complex electronic systems that often have problems with unit software.
2. Propane delivery can be tough in serious storms with roads blocked.
3. Gas is common to many tools, and vehicles that are used often; can siphon gas in extreme cases.
4. The standby generator has to be clear of snow to vent and run safely (snow fence recommended)
5. Since there is an auto startup weekly, propane use can be high and expensive. And they have high oil consumption.
6. There have been no negative reviews or complaints about the Honda inverter generators.
7. This Honda EU700iS is fuel injected, no carb to worry about.
8. The standbys' warranty mandates yearly authorized maintenance of $170./year.

Only complaint: the Honda is expensive. We're still able to pull the unit out, push the starter, plug it in, switch the circuits.

 

[BrotherBart]

Sounds like a plan.

 

[Wooden Head]

Did complete quotes on both systems, but chose the Honda high end portable with a new 10 circuit transfer switch.
Reasons:
1. The standby Kohler and Generac are complex electronic systems that often have problems with unit software.
2. Propane delivery can be tough in serious storms with roads blocked.
3. Gas is common to many tools, and vehicles that are used often; can siphon gas in extreme cases.
4. The standby generator has to be clear of snow to vent and run safely (snow fence recommended)
5. Since there is an auto startup weekly, propane use can be high and expensive. And they have high oil consumption.
6. There have been no negative reviews or complaints about the Honda inverter generators.
7. This Honda EU700iS is fuel injected, no carb to worry about.
8. The standbys' warranty mandates yearly authorized maintenance of $170./year.

Only complaint: the Honda is expensive. We're still able to pull the unit out, push the starter, plug it in, switch the circuits.

Great Decision.

 

[maple1]

First thing to do would be to assess how much juice you REALLY need in a power outage. Most people either don't do that, or do it wrong.

We used to have a 5500/8500 Craftsman - it worked great, but sucked gas like nobodys business. Last thing I want to be doing in a long outage or storm is lugging jugs every day. And if it's a long outage, good chance the gas station can't pump gas either. And fuel is expensive.

Sold that & got a 3kw inverter. It does everything we need and burns very little gas. I might even get a 2000w inverter for some redundancy, it would do everything we need except for the well pump. And we only really need to run the well pump maybe a couple times a day to keep us in water. Could get by a day or two with no well pump, between what's in the cushion tank & what's in the toilet tanks when the power goes out. A consideration for some might also be adding a second cushion tank or getting a bigger one - gives you more water reserve when the power goes out & might take the 'big genny' factor out of the genny decision. Or at least give a lot more flexibility.

If we still had an oil tank, I might consider a small diesel that I could run off the oil tank. If I had a LP tank, I would consider an LP generator - most small gennies can be converted to run off LP. Either way, how hard it is to keep it in fuel is pretty well a bigger consideration than how much electricity it can make. For us. Most have way more genny than they need.

 

[velvetfoot]

With a 275 gallon oil tank already in the basement, I've toyed with the idea of a diesel generator. That being said, I've got a little Honda 2000 and a bigger Generac portable for the well pump. If I can anticipate a storm, I can fill up the bathtubs and be good for a couple of days before starting the big one. I rigged up an inlet plug for the little one so that it feeds both legs and thus power any non-240 v. appliance through the interlock. Works for me.

 

[DougA]

"Most have way more genny than they need."
Agree completely. If there is a month long grid outage as many predict, the goal is survival, not lifestyle.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/ted-koppel-exposes-cyberattack-threat-on-u-s-power-grid-in-lights-out/
The malware is already inside the computers in small utility companies. If one goes down, it takes one of the four national systems down. The last big north east power outage was caused by trees falling on a power line in Ohio. That's all it takes to black out a huge part of two nations.

I read a great story about how people survived the riots in Egypt a few years ago. Rich people with walled mansions were no match for rioting crowds of hundreds. Wealthy people living in modest homes were much luckier. When there is a power outage in our area, I can hear the big generacs half a mile away. Their house is lit up like a lighthouse. It's an advertisement saying,' " I've got power "

My little Honda is silent from 60 ft. I only have a few candles burning, the wood stove keeping us warm and the little Honda keeping the fridge and freezer going.

Just my way of doing things. Sorry, a little bit of a rant but people need more research than they are doing.

 

[Bad Wolf]

I'll second the 2000 watt Champion Inverter. Great little generator, well engineered and sips gas. Like a lot of others here I favour the two generator set up. Little one for critical systems, but clean and runs a long time. Big one to run wells, washing machines, and the whole house for short periods of time.
In reality you will rarely need your set up so to spend lots of money is not necessary. In the 30 years I've been in this house I've only had two times where the powers been out for more than 12 hours. Irene (6 days) and Sandy (5 days). The routine was fire up the big genny in the morning and evening for a few hours and run the small one the rest of the time.
As much as I like having "toys" I can't see spending 4g's not even for an automatic natural gas whole house set up.
Now when I'm 90 it might be a different story but now I don't mind having to flip switches or run an extension cord.

 

[Redbarn]

That being said, I've got a little Honda 2000 and a bigger Generac portable for the well pump.

Me too. I have a Yamaha 2000kwh and a 5500kwh gas guzzler for the well pump.
This is a very usable and flexible combo.
Either genny can also be used throughout the year for all manner of other jobs too.
Much better than a fixed installation or a single big genny.

 

[DUMF]

Me too. I have a Yamaha 2000kwh and a 5500kwh gas guzzler for the well pump.
This is a very usable and flexible combo.
Either genny can also be used throughout the year for all manner of other jobs too.
Much better than a fixed installation or a single big genny.

Off topic, but: how do you like your electric ramsplitter ? Any problems, concerns, downtime ?

 

[Redbarn]

Off topic, but: how do you like your electric ramsplitter ? Any problems, concerns, downtime ?

It's been good. I use it both indoors & outdoors.
Great for use inside the barn in the winter. Starts up everytime !
If I need to split in the woods, I take my bigger genny along to power it.
It's a very versatile and usable tool.
I've had no issues to date apart from a small fluid leak in one of the hose fittings.
I just put more fluid in and haven't got around to fixing it yet.
I have only been defeated by some big pieces (> 20" dia) of elm, otherwise it has split everything I've used it for.

 

[DUMF]

Nice responses...thanks.
Part of the choice was that the genset only runs intermittently, never at night and then 2x/day for a couple of hours each time.
Also, reliability, quiet, low fuel consumption, low maintenance ( e.g. fuel injection), inverter, excellent monitoring panel..
Since I didn't marry an heiress (yet), the yearly costs of standbys and potential problems were deal breakers.