What’s a good portable generator brand?

Honda.

Honda for gas, Yanmar for Diesel.

Honda or Yamaha. Both are excellent, the Yamaha has a little larger fuel capacity to allow a little more running time and it has also been determined to be a bit more quiet.

A few months ago my wife was freaked out about the grid going down.


Honda is the easy answer for a small generator. Or I guess Yamaha.
(We have a 5 year old never been used Honda 5000 in the garage)



But I got to thinking about a big boy generator/welder combo. Wife moved onto the food shortage worry and instead of a generator I bought a bunch of guns.....lol

Lincoln

Depends on your needs.
Ryobi makes a really nice little generator.
I use mine to power my bee vac.
We also have an older Onan that we use for power outages.
The little Ryobi won't start my air compressor. The old Onan has a 240V circuit OR two 120V circuits.
We can run lights, A/C's, TV's, 'fridge, freezer AND some lights.
I can pick up the Ryobi and load it in my pickup.
It takes me and the wife and ramps to load that Onan! It's a hoss! LOL!

Ford

Only other option - Honda

The standard is the Honda eu2000i

its a buy once cry once thing

the inverter generators allow you to run electronics and appliances with circuit boards without worrying about frying them. They have <5% THD. By comparison I was looking at a open frame generator at Costco that wasn't an inverter and the specs were up to 25% THD

for me personally I chose not to spend the money on a Honda, I went with a Champion, significantly cheaper, sold at few big box stores and has a large community of users. I'm hoping with regular maintenance and following the long term storage directions, It will never fail me.

I have the Ryobi. Home Depot had a pallet of them several years back in the store for $459. It still in the box. Its like insurance. Since I've bought it we've never had a power outage of more than a couple of hours.

Prior to buying it, we went without power in an ice storm for more than a week and had two other occasions where we went several days.

My fault, and I will admit it…

We had a major storm around here Saturday. Lots of power outages in some areas, some will be out for week or more.

I personally lost power for about 2 hours Sunday morning, no big deal. In the afternoon I went to start my champion generator (4000). I couldn’t get that fuqking thing started for the life of me. The last time I ran it, about a year ago, I shut the gas off and let it run dry. The only gas l use is premium.

So now I have to take the carb off and clean it up, or at least I think that’s the problem. The next time I get it running I will set a reminder in my phone and start that biotch up at least once a month. Letting those engines set is a death sentence. This modern gas is just trash.. I’m thinking dual fuel is the way to go.

I am thinking having another generator around is good insurance anyway.

Thanks KFWA, for shedding light on the inverters. Good to know.

Generac is a solid brand. Mine is an older one. USA built with 12v electric start. Would probably opt for a dual fuel setup if buying new & considering updating mine with a dual fuel carburetor.

Honda, expensive but I took advantage of HD 0% financing for 12 months. You can buy another later if need be and run them in parallel.

I've also used my neighbors yamaha, very good and quiet. The honda is really quiet in eco mode.

Honda.....Yamaha........HF Predator on a dare............

Yes..........Inverter

Not some loud construction generator

I concur, unless you need to weld also...

I push the yamaha 2400ishc because it will start loads with 30 plus amp draws at startup and 15-20 running amps due to the capacitor pack. It's quiet, efficient and yamaha quality.

For 15 amp loads.....I'd go honda 2000eu.

Loud construction generators have feelers...ya know!

My old 4400 Homelite starts first pull even after sitting for 3-4 years.

Never has E gas touched her lips
And I always shut the gas off and run until dry.

Speaking of Honda: Pulled the little pressure washer out last weekend, SOB wouldn't start[never E gas].

Fed up I pushed it aside[out of the wifes way so she could continue washing vehicles].

Half hour later I was walking by it and decided to tug the rope, SOB started on one pull and ran fine the rest of the day.

Wife was able to get all 4 vehicles and SXS squeaky clean.

93 octane Ethanol Free fuel in everything I own (that isn't used weekly (i.e. lawn mowers etc.)).

I borrowed a Champion wood splitter last fall (brand new machine... maybe 1 hour of use) for a huge oak's demise. Took 30 minutes to fix, start and get running. Pathetically weak. I am not fond of Champion.

I own three diesel (MEP-002a (two of them) and one Onan diesel (in a trailer), and three gas machine (OLD Sears, Onan and a Mil gas.).

Honda.....Yamaha........HF Predator... will be their replacements when they get sold.

Ethonal free is 88 here

We have one place here that only has 88

And a Pure station that has all 3 grades of E Free.

The station that only has 88 is where I always get mine.

That makes sense at your altitude...

Here we can get... 87, 89, 93 and 100 (Av-Gas).

I read somewhere once that ONE point of octane is lost per month of storage. Not sure if 100% true, but it does make sense. Ethanol is the real killer for most.

Southern States sells 50 Cetane diesel at 40 Cetane prices... It runs better in my rigs, but SS is a long haul... so not a purest there.

This is a privatly run website and is NOT always accurate... but can be helpful some.

https://www.pure-gas.org/

Viking,

The idea that running schit dry (my dad still does this and it drives me fugking nuts) will benefit cold start up in the future, is a myth. If you have unstabilized/schit gas sitting in there, and it's allowed to dry, it will still corrode and clog jets. Conversely, if you have unstabilized/schit gas and it is left at capacity, you are going to have problems because it's going to break down and be worthless to you.

I highly recommend to everyone that if you have an emergency only generator, fill it with the store bought uber-fugking-duber schit. Yeah it might cost you $8.00 per half gallon but it will relieve you of the worry of having to start it every few weeks and make sure it still runs.

When time comes that you have to keep it churning for a few days, I've found it doesn't matter what you feed it. The higher the octane the better (mostly) but it should still always have Stabil in it. Always and forever.

When you shut it down and top it off for storage, fill it up with the premium schit again.

The higher the moisture content of your area, the more this is a concern. The dryer it is, the less you will ever have to worry about it.

Honda and Yamahas are great, but put that fuel and carb in a high moisture environment and they will go to fugk just like the rest of them. Same for giving them broken down fuel. They will not start.

Of course this pertains to carbs that aren't seeing daily use.

Clean your existing fuel system and give it a try. I bet it runs forever.

FWIW, I've read that the older Onan have really low THD and are in heavy demand by people.

I can't confirm that, but when I was researching which one I wanted to buy, there were multiple people saying if you had an older Onan you didn't need to buy an inverter - and this was for running whole house in the larger wattage sizes.

The first generator I bought years ago has a 6.5hp jiangdong motor.

It must be a honda clone because you can put a honda carburetor on it. At any rate, the thing is a champ. To test my transfer switch, I pulled it out, blew out all of the mouse nest and bird seed from it sitting in the garage untouched for 6 years, put some fresh gas in it and it started on the 4th pull. Was cleaning it up this weekend, started on the first pull.

All I've ever done is put sea foam in the tank, and run it with the gas off until the carb emptied before storing it.

I bought a new battery for the electric start. Not sure if that still works or not.

The only thing I have against it is the electricity is so "dirty" that I'm pretty sure it fried some capacitor type part on my fridge when I used it during the first extended power outage

Non ethanol fuel only. I have 30ish carburetors in my fleet and do not/will not put anything but clean fuel in them.

I run them dry. Fill, pop the bowl drain for a second to clear anything that dried up.....then start.

If I have a engine that is temperamental to starting cold, I flood it with propane from a weed burning torch.

If that doesn't start it, you have compression, ignition or timing problems.

If you don't want to spend too much, I've had good luck with Champion Brand. You can buy 2 or 3 for the price of a Honda. There are several less expensive options, just look at reviews and you'll see some rise to the top. Some units are less complex, but make more noise, which is fine for emergencies if you don't live in a tightly packed town, and some are "inverter type" which are quieter, but usually more expensive. I have even heard good things about the Predator brand at Harbor Freight. If you aren't going to run them for a living, a cheaper Chinese clone will do fine. I have a Westinghouse clone that I like pretty well. It's the easiest starting one I've seen...usually first pull if it's not super cold, and then usually only two pulls.

Ps, I have chainsaws with 5 year old non ethanol fuel in them that will light off in a few rips.

I just bought a Power Smart. 1/3 the cost of a Honda and just as quiet. 2200 watt peak,1900 watt running. A fellow on here put me on to one on Ebay. I payed $345 for it and it was priced at $500 on Amazon. Honda,you are paying for the brand, not the quality. Before you pay $1000 plus look at these and consider how much you will be running one. For a little more,you can get one that runs on gas or propane

https://www.amazon.com/PowerSmart-Portable-Generator-Inverter-Compliant/dp/B09QW8GW36/ref=sr_1_4?crid=39XL2PPIZ3D2H&keywords=powersmart+2200&qid=1650979616&sprefix=powe+smart+2%2Caps%2C197&sr=8-4

Here it is on Ebay.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fr...&_nkw=Power+Smart+2200+&_sacat=0

I have Predator type that is like the ones Harbor Freight sells,but it is 2 stroke and 800 watts running.For $120 it works.I also have a 9000 W Champion I bought from Costco on sale for about $650.It runs then entire house. Shop around before you spend money on a Honda.

As others have stated,only run Ethanol free gas in any small engine, with maybe a little Stable in it

Our new Honda 2200i texts us periodically for maintenance.
It operates on Bluetooth. We named him Lenny and we get semi creepy texts from the basement, him demanding attention.

I have a 3500w Champion. I rarely use it but start it every month or so, especially in the winter. Sometimes when it's been sitting, it needs a tiny shot of starting fluid but then it takes right off. It gets non-al gas only. It's a little heavy to be called really portable but it's on wheels so I can drag it around.

Hahahaha!

Does it put the lotion on its skin?

Nothing wrong with the way gas stores as long as it is ethanol free

For sure. My riding mower, push mower, big snow blower, chainsaws, weed whacker, leaf blower, and big generator all have ethanol free in them . Never have problem

had a gas station open up about 1/2 mile from my house last fall and it has ethanol free 90 octane. I've filled up my gas cans with it, so no everything small motor I run is using ethanol free. Its cost almost as much as premium though which kinda sucks

would gas companies even put ethanol in their gas if they weren't pushed to do by the government?

Since much of annual corn production in the U.S. is sold for ethanol distillation, my guess is it's probably a pretty big benefit for grain farmers and no doubt has been a farm saver for some.

I wish we could get non-al here as cheap as premium. There are only a couple stations here that sell non-al and they price it like liquid bitcoin.

Is it your opinion that ethanol mandates imposed by .GOV were intended to help small farmers?

Not being a dick in that question... only curious on your thoughts. Thanks

My f150 makes 7.2 kwatts. I'm not sure how it works because I haven't used it yet but my main panel is set up to run a generator through it. I need to get the electrician out to put another part In the panel. I thought I'd paid when I built to have it set up and ready but surprise! I need a fee parts put in the panel still.

I'm not sure when it comes to portables what's different about the investor style but I know they are more expensive. I know you can daisy chain some smaller ones together too which seems like a good option.

Bb

I buy ethanol free for all my small engines and add a bit of stable to the cans. I try to circulate it at least once a year even if that means pouring a few cans in the old hunting truck.

Bb

I guess I should consider myself lucky then.

Up until last fall the closest station to me was 27 miles. I'm happy to pay for the convenience

Will a Honda 2200 run a chest freezer?

Of course

We've got 2 Honda's for our cabin, a E2000Ui and a E3000Ui, a Champion 4500 for running our log splitter and other powered tools for building, plus we have a Firman 4700 inverter gen for the house for when we lose power. The Honda's are super quiet and if you're running them inside a structure (vented of course) remove the spark arrestor or it will become clogged with soot and your generator will run like dog dookie.

Wife says I have a generator fetish.

I have a 6000 watt Honda. One of the quiet 600o watt inverter Hondas. A 3000 watt Yamaha. A 2400 watt yamaha. And an old 3500 watt Honda that is heavy as schit but built well. I try and fire it up once a year.

Crew was running a blower this weekend off the 6000 watt inverter and the blower blew up, so to speak. Wondering if there is a simple way to run that generator and test the output voltage over a period of time to make sure there wasn't a problem with the output? Wife said after the blower burnt up, the generator showed an overload light on.

Bought my first & only generator back in '93 or '94. 4400W (can't recall the manfacturer). During the early years meticulously used seafoam and/or stabil, changed oil every fall, worked like a champ! After 10 years, I stopped the meticulous maintenance. When I need it for power outage (every 2-3 years), I run it on pump gas (with ethanol) and seafoam. If trouble starting after 4-5 yanks, a quick ether shot gets her fired up quickly! I always have SAE-30 on hand to change after she's done her job, add stabil, run her dry, and she's ready for another 2-3 year slumber. She's seen alot of action over the decades (including loaning to friends). Older generators are more robust and capable than these newer ones from China.

tag

Just stay away from General, they are a POS company that does not stand behind there product. Cost me over 3500 dollars to find that out.

That should read Generac

You can monitor a multitude of things with one of these.

all day long, thats nothing for it.

Honda EU7000is and call it a day.

I've had the Honda EU2000i for 15 years or so. It's been flawless, the only gripe is the smallish gas tank. I should get an external tank but I haven't.

Apparently they don't make that model, or the 2800 like tikkanut's, anymore. At least I can't find them.

I have a Wen 2000 inverter that runs good.

I sold my Honda eu2000i generator with my Ice Castle fish house. I regretted it so I bought a like new one used for almost half the price of new. It runs well and is very quiet.

Actually have a 2nd Yamaha 2800I........

Did sell #1 locally FTF.......$795

Have #2 same machine/same hours or less for $795

Fresh oil & plug too.......

What I got ....