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Portable Generators
- Thread Starter MannyGlocks
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Honda and Yamaha generators are top shelf, you won't go wrong with either.
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Honda have a WELL deserved reputation. As long as the cost does not bother you, Honda. For me a lot is in how often am I going to use the damn thing. It's the same as Harbor Freight tools. I have a lot of stuff I bought from them because its seldom used. It works when I need it. If I used it a lot? I would buy better. Have always kept a Gen. Some years it never gets used at all. When last one died I bought one that uses LP gas. Since damn things just sits never used I got tired of having to keep gas and rotate it. It was around $600 delivered for a 6K rated running watts. Electric start. Not quiet but not so much noise as to be overly annoying when needed. Bought it from Home Depot, they do not carry them, you order it and they send it to the store or your home. When it finally dies I will toss it and buy another. Last power out it ran freezer, fridge, some lights and PC and TV so we were set as we have a gas fireplace. 
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Just as an example I bought a 2500 Watt Gen from Harbor Freight just befor Y2K. It at that time came with a Honda I/C engine. It got used a few times over the years. Few times loaned out to others. I would run it a few times a year and then let it run out of gas. I had soon after bought a larger one, only used the little one to assist. When I moved it was still running fine. Before the move I gave it to a co worker. It still runs. Its VERY loud, made more for the construction site type use but damn, it's 20 years old and still fires right up. Honda motors are made well.I was in the RV Service industry for quite a few years. We sold Honda, Yamaha (for a while), Generac and Champion portables. Onan of course for on-board Gensets.
Honda. All the way.
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- Thread Starter
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Thanks everyone.
The cost of Honda is high, but you know the cliche, 'you get what you for'.
The one I have now, a Black Magic, with a mere 10/12 hours on it (never used, but I use to remember to run it with a load every 3/4 months) has decided not to run properly.
I put Sea Foam in it and it ran for a bit, but now sputters and sputters. Yeah, I yanked the spark plug and did other stuff, but it won't run right and I'm too lazy to bring to some mechanic.
Solution: Buy a new one. Have it delivered.
A few years back we went 2 weeks after a hurricane without electricity. I could bear it, but SWMBO was miserable.
I lived without electricity or indoor plumbing often as a kid and found going back to such discomfort relatively easy...but, yes, a working generator is now...a must.
The current one cost just over a $1000.00 a few years back (a bargain) the Honda under consideration costs $3000 without tax...oh well, cheaper than a Generac and i may still get a bigger wattage Honda.
Again, thanks all.
The cost of Honda is high, but you know the cliche, 'you get what you for'.
The one I have now, a Black Magic, with a mere 10/12 hours on it (never used, but I use to remember to run it with a load every 3/4 months) has decided not to run properly.
I put Sea Foam in it and it ran for a bit, but now sputters and sputters. Yeah, I yanked the spark plug and did other stuff, but it won't run right and I'm too lazy to bring to some mechanic.
Solution: Buy a new one. Have it delivered.
A few years back we went 2 weeks after a hurricane without electricity. I could bear it, but SWMBO was miserable.
I lived without electricity or indoor plumbing often as a kid and found going back to such discomfort relatively easy...but, yes, a working generator is now...a must.
The current one cost just over a $1000.00 a few years back (a bargain) the Honda under consideration costs $3000 without tax...oh well, cheaper than a Generac and i may still get a bigger wattage Honda.
Again, thanks all.
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We all tend to get pretty spoiled. If the power goes out here in an hour I am mad. If it's out for more than 2 I start running cords to fire up the gen. Longest we have been without is 24 hours or so. Seems stupid to get worked up over that but I just don't want to live without power. To me well worth having an emergency source. When one of mine quits working I just buy another.
I bought two Yahaha 2200 gennys for my snowbirding out on the desert after we sold our first 36' 5th that had an Onan propane genny. The Yamahas are both very nice but one seems to have carb problems that I can't figure out and runs a bit rough. But when I took one to elk camp a few years back and had to run it for my CPAP all night, the other residents complained. I didn't think it was very loud until I tried to hear another buddy's new Honda 2000 and couldn't hear it from more than a few feet away.
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Go with the Honda. If I ever replace our portable, that's the one. (We have an auto-on, whole house generator now, so don't use the portable Powermate much anymore beyond occasionally powering tools.)
I was thinking this can't be right. I have a Generac, don't consider it the equal of a Honda. Yet I've had it for 25 years and it will still do the job. We don't have power outages very often these days like we used to. I take it out and check run it about every six months. One time a few years ago, I discovered that a fuel line had gone bad. So I replaced that, plus the fuel shut-off valve just for good measure. It was during this process that I discovered that my machine was old enough now that parts were getting scarce for it.
I store the generator with fuel in it. For it, I use non-ethanol gasoline with a stabilizer added. Same story for all my 2 cycle equipment.
My history with such equipment is to keep it so long as it's functional. If it needs repair that can be done economically, I do that. But sometimes a device gets so old you just want it to go away. Essentially, you're waiting for a significant enough break-down to justify replacement. Much like an old Ford F series truck. But the doggone thing keeps going anyway, defying replacement. That's my situation with the Generac.
About 25 years ago when I bought the Generac, I still had three dependent children living here with a stay-at-home mom. So economy was important and that's why I bought Generac. Today, I'd buy upscale.
Okay, sometimes we pine away for years, wanting to buy the best of some thing or other. Then when that time comes along, as with the Honda, we find that it's no longer made in Japan but now China and corners have been cut. Or like Mercedes-Benz, which used to be expensive and special. Now, not so much.
They quit making on-board generators for RV's and also completely quit making parts for them....leaving LOTS of owners stuck with broken gensets and no way to fix them. Believe me, if you've had to explain to an RV owner that they need a $40 part but it's going to cost them $5000 (new Onan) because the part is non-existent you might understand why I don't recommend Generac.
I think Generac has changed corporate hands a couple of times since I bought mine. They have fallen into the hands of private equity firms and we know how that bodes for products and consumers. When PE buys an orange grove, they try to figure out how to grow a cheaper orange.
Once upon a time, products made for quality discerning consumers garnered good profit margins.
And once upon a time, said products were regularly recommended by professionals.
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I would not either. That is shocking they did that to RV owners. Damn that would be a ruin your day moment, go in and be told its a simple part, no one makes it, so you're SOL, buy a whole new set.That's why i will not recommend them for anything.
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Honda here. I started with the 1000w unit then picked up the 1000w "companion" that will link up with the other and have a true 30amp output. Having two smaller generators make moving them around easily, yet when I need more power and a link the two up.
Remember the #1 Problem with Honda Generators.......... THEFT.
Remember the #1 Problem with Honda Generators.......... THEFT.
Been there brother. Too many times I'm afraid. I also have jumped through MANY hoops, calling across the country looking for "new old stock" trying to keep a customers genset going. Maintenance parts are still available (filters, plugs) but if something internal fails and scouring the internet and country hoping to get lucky and find the part in some dusty warehouse doesn't work the customer is SOL.
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