# Generator recommendations



## bplust (Mar 16, 2021)

Hi all,

I'm in the market for a 4000watt +/- generator with at least one 220 outlet.

I have no issue with spending accordingly for a good tool, but have recently noticed a lot of young Honda's & Generac's failing catastrophically, and not because of user error/lack of maintenance.

Who is making a respectable generator nowadays? If they're all on the same level, I might as well go to Harbor Freight, but I don't mind paying Honda prices as long as I get my money's worth. I just feel like Honda, Briggs, and many other small engines aren't what they used to be, but am more than welcome to being corrected on this matter; as I spend most of my time with saws, not generators.

Thanks in advance for any replies,

Bryan


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## CentaurG2 (Mar 16, 2021)

The Honda EU7000is is the machine you want. I own the previous model (EU6500) and it has been dead stock reliable. It is both mouse fart quite and very fuel efficient as it has some tech called an “eco throttle” that allows the engine to adjust the throttle to the power demand. Only downside is the cost. Honda is very proud of this machine. Also, if you live in a high crime area, they can sprout feet and run-away during outages.

Honda EU7000iS Super Quiet Inverter Generator | Honda Generators



BTW, Nice ride! 1973 220d??


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## bplust (Mar 16, 2021)

Hello fellow New Englander,

Thank you for the recommendation, there's a Honda dealer nearby, I'll take a look at it.

Regarding reliability, do you feel similarly about Honda's closer to the 4000w range? 7000w is more than I'll need, and yes, I'll admit that I'm balking a bit at price. But your testimonial might overcome my cold feet.

Yup, 1972 220D. That car is long sold (it was my only W114/115), and I'm pairing down my W123 inventory after being hooked on them for 10 years. My vehicular enthusiasm has shifted towards 4th & 5th gen Toyota pickups, here's my 1988 (22re, standard, 4wd of course) with a flatbed. I threw a set of the world's smallest air bags under it, and while it won't win any races, it's been a good little truck:

Thanks again for the reply!


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## cuinrearview (Mar 16, 2021)

I like my north star


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## bplust (Mar 16, 2021)

Any thoughts on the "EB" series Honda's? There's a bunch of them (used) in my general area.


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## grizz55chev (Mar 16, 2021)

Yanmar diesel powered gen, 5500 , $4250.00. Diesel is WAY cheaper to run than gas.


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## CentaurG2 (Mar 16, 2021)

bplust said:


> Hello fellow New Englander,
> 
> Thank you for the recommendation, there's a Honda dealer nearby, I'll take a look at it.
> 
> ...


I owned a 240D (w115) for many years. I put A LOT of miles on that car. Switched to Toyota Camrys and never looked back. Now running Honda accords as they were the only sedan left with a manual tranny. They are done now too. Not much left but the Civic type R.

If you need the 220V plug you are out of luck with the EU series. The 7000is is the only option. I own a Honda EU2000 and a 2200. They are perfect for anything 110v but you cannot configure them for 220. No clue about the other Hondas generators. Noise, eco throttle and a decent sine wave are the key selling points of the EU series. If you don’t need them anything will probably do. Best of luck with your search.



Good looking barn!!


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## ChoppyChoppy (Mar 16, 2021)

What are you trying to power with 220 volts?

Most things in the US run on 240 or 120v


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## bplust (Mar 16, 2021)

Yup, 240v; thanks for the correction. The generator's for my garage, and the only thing in there running 240 is my lift.

CentaurG2: We run a pair of 2000i's at work, they're as reliable as a woodstove. Dang, too bad Honda doesn't offer 240 in a smaller unit. I'll do some homework on the EB series, and will check out the 7000 you recommended. And thank you for the kind words on the barn... at the rate I'm going, I hope to have it finished before the century's half over, lol.

I drove a 1984 240D five-speed (import car) for a few years, great mileage (for a heavy sedan), but finally got tired of how gutless it was. Although compared to that 220D in my profile pic, it felt fast, lol.


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## southpaw (Mar 17, 2021)

Check out Campion generators .....got one the other year and it's been a flawless piece of equipment 
It's a a cheap unit that may be overlooked because of the price but man this thing is solid
It's a 4500 watt unit and was under $300 a couple year ago , one of those great finds


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## holeycow (Mar 17, 2021)

Do you mean Champion?

yamaha makes good stuff. Imo, it's always been better than Honda from a durability standpoint.

I have an 11250 watt Champion generator. It's had very few hours in the couple of years I've had it, but seems surprisingly well built for the 950cad I paid for it at Costco. No way in hell I'd pay current new prices for Japanese Generators.
I had a 4000watt Honda for about 30 years. It was built to last. Now Honda has 2 different grades of equipment. Neither one worth the premium, imo. Not when you can get several good brands of Chinese ones for 1/4 of the price.

my champion is too loud. So was the Honda. The only thing I miss about the Honda is the "power-on-demand" feature, which means the machine would idle until you needed power, then it would seemlessly rev up and supply power. Unfortunately the Champion just runs at full speed constantly.

anyway, good luck with your search! Hope I helped just a little

PS, I had an '88 Toyota from '88 to about '93 or so. Other than being a rust-bucket waiting to happen, it was one tough little pickup. I used it for work as a survey hack, as we called them...On the highway, loaded, against the wind, the floorboard got in the way of the gas pedal. Lol. But they were a helluva unit. Good to see you've got some reasonable wheels/tires on yours. They are on the edge of being too wide, but good.


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## cookies (Mar 17, 2021)

Lots of folks around here run the "cat" caterpillar generators like this https://www.lowes.com/pd/Cat-RP6500...-Generator-with-Caterpillar-Engine/1000988222 , their pretty darn reliable and not terribly loud. Hondas are the cadillac of generators being super reliable, fuel efficient and quiet and they make cleaner power for sensitive electronics . I run a coleman 5500 from the 80's thats a absolute tank...loud as hell and drinks gas like its free but never stops working. Yamaha is another i would highly suggest being very fuel efficient, pretty quiet and long lived. Just change their oil every 24-36 hrs of continuous use because they only hold a quart or so and most will last a good long time unless you leave it loaded up when you shut it off or over work it.


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## holeycow (Mar 17, 2021)

I think I may have just realized you are talking about using a generator for an only power source for a garage??

it would get expensive running almost any gasoline-powered generator for many, many days.

A friend of mine is very happy with his Champion 9000w dual fuel unit (gas or propane). 

oh ya, if you buy a Chinese one, get rid of the Chinese spark-plug.


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## bplust (Mar 17, 2021)

It's just as a backup source. I'm on the grid, and my power provider is very reliable, but do want some kind of backup just in case.


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## holeycow (Mar 17, 2021)

Well then, I'd go straight to Costco and pick up a Champion 9000watt dual fuel unit. That way it could probably run a welder too. Especially if you happen to have an old Forney laying about..




. I should have bought the dual fuel jobby...

unless you want to spend more than twice what the machine is really worth by buying Japanese..

I see you have a bostitch nailer and a milwaukee planer and a damn fine ladder there. You might be a candidate for an expensive generator cause you like good stuff. But as a backup, seriously how many hours are you really going to use that generator?


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## ATpro (Mar 18, 2021)

I run a "cat" caterpillar generator 12,000 watt in an emergence and have no complaints at all. The good thing is, you can obtain any parts you need in the future from a Cat dealer with out the problems of being obsolete a year or two down the road.


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## southpaw (Mar 18, 2021)

holeycow said:


> Do you mean Champion?
> 
> Yes I have a Lisp


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## grizz55chev (Mar 18, 2021)

That's eathy for you to thay!


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## jetsam (Mar 19, 2021)

bplust said:


> It's just as a backup source. I'm on the grid, and my power provider is very reliable, but do want some kind of backup just in case.


Get something that runs on propane (you can convert a gas generator for a $100-$200, or just get a dual fuel one).

First major outage, you have gas supply issues.

Then you get additional generator gas storage and now you have to rotate the damn cans, so every few months the cans go in the vehicles and you haul them out for a refill. And then the gas in the generator is bad too....

Pain in the ass, not worth it. Propane never goes bad, costs similar. It derates the generator ~20%, so get more running watts to compensate.

(Diesel is just as bad or worse than gas as far as storing it on site.)

If you already have a big propane tank for the house, you can either run a line to the generator or fill 20# BBQ tanks off of it. If not, buy some tanks and fill them. They don't go bad.


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## sb47 (Mar 19, 2021)

I have 2 Honda EU3000is gens. One is 15 years old and the other is about 5. I used the older one when I was racing and camping at the track. Both have been solid as a rock and are very quiet and great on fuel millage. They are only 110 but the bigger models can run 220. Mine hold 3 gallons and can run at full speed for 14 hours or more. They can run over 20 hours on echo mode. They are expencive but I have had great luck with them.


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## sb47 (Mar 19, 2021)

I was talking to a guy that picked up wood yesterday and he said he had to order a genny from HD and the salsman said they had over 4500 orders for them after the artic storm a few weeks ago.


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## jetsam (Mar 19, 2021)

sb47 said:


> I have 2 Honda EU3000is gens. One is 15 years old and the other is about 5. I used the older one when I was racing and camping at the track. Both have been solid as a rock and are very quiet and great on fuel millage. They are only 110 but the bigger models can run 220. Mine hold 3 gallons and can run at full speed for 14 hours or more. They can run over 20 hours on echo mode. They are expencive but I have had great luck with them.



Some of those little Honda inverter generators have a phase sync feature (I'm sure it has a trade name from the marketing department but I don't remember it) where you can connect two of them to generate what the US calls 220 and 240. Our "220" or "240" is really just two phases of 120v 180° out from each other (so it would runs from 0v to 240v if you measured between hots with an oscilloscope, but between 0 and 120 if you measured between either hot and ground).

We also use 110 and 120 interchangeably. One house might have 122v at the service entry, another one is down a dirt road with a long aluminum wire to an old transformer and has 115v at the service entry. Seeing 118v or whatever at the outlet is normal, feel free to call that 110vac or 120 vac and people will get your meaning.


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## sb47 (Mar 19, 2021)

jetsam said:


> Some of those little Honda inverter generators have a phase sync feature (I'm sure it has a trade name from the marketing department but I don't remember it) where you can connect two of them to generate what the US calls 220 and 240. Our "220" or "240" is really just two phases of 120v 180° out from each other (so it would runs from 0v to 240v if you measured between hots with an oscilloscope, but between 0 and 120 if you measured between either hot and ground).
> 
> We also use 110 and 120 interchangeably. One house might have 122v at the service entry, another one is down a dirt road with a long aluminum wire to an old transformer and has 115v at the service entry. Seeing 118v or whatever at the outlet is normal, feel free to call that 110vac or 120 vac and people will get your meaning.


I have several power ups for my PC and security system and some of my power strips for my PA system have a voltage meter as well. I get 120to 122 volts at all my outlets. I have thought about linking my hondas to get two legs of 110/120. I'm not sure it it would be out of phase though. The only thing I really need 220 for is my water well. I can live without the stove, close dryer.


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## OM617YOTA (Mar 26, 2021)

Parallel running Honda's gets you twice the wattage at 120v, not 240v. That feature is pretty much only for running a big AC in a travel trailer while having each individual generator be lighter and easier to move than a larger generator. If you can handle the bigger generator, a single EU3000 will cost less, burn less fuel, and make less noise than two 2200's running parallel.

Depending on your lift, maybe you can rewire the motor for 120v, which opens up lots of options.

Love my Honda 2200. There's a reason it's the bar that all the others are compared to, I don't regret paying the premium at all.

I also have a thing for Mercedes diesels and Toyota pickups.


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## CUCV (Mar 26, 2021)

I picked up a road side light tower that is powered by a Kubota diesel, $1500 with 1600 hours that I use as a generator. It's reliable , has it's own enclosure, holds a ton of fuel, portable and has multiple uses.


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## OM617YOTA (Mar 26, 2021)

CUCV said:


> I picked up a road side light tower that is powered by a Kubota diesel, $1500 with 1600 hours that I use as a generator. It's reliable , has it's own enclosure, holds a ton of fuel, portable and has multiple uses.


That's the deal I keep looking for!

All I'm seeing are $4k+ and 6k+ hours.


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## Mad Professor (Apr 4, 2021)

Have you considered refurb MEP002A (5kW) or MEP003A (10kW) military generators?


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## OM617YOTA (Apr 16, 2021)

All the military generators I've seen are rusted hulks for stupid money, and parts might as well be rocking horse poo.

Looking at a 6kw Kubota powered light tower this weekend. Guy says it cranks and spins, but won't start. Not sure I want to pay what he's asking for a non runner, but will make a fair offer. Will check compression, hopefully some fuel filters or a lift pump is all it needs to get it to light off.


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## jetsam (Apr 16, 2021)

OM617YOTA said:


> All the military generators I've seen are rusted hulks for stupid money, and parts might as well be rocking horse poo.
> 
> Looking at a 6kw Kubota powered light tower this weekend. Guy says it cranks and spins, but won't start. Not sure I want to pay what he's asking for a non runner, but will make a fair offer. Will check compression, hopefully some fuel filters or a lift pump is all it needs to get it to light off.



Having used the military generators in the field more times than I can remember, I won't be shopping for a used one for my personal use any time soon. 

"milspec" means it costs 100-1000x the civilian price for the same item, not that it actually works. (If you ever see me pointing and laughing at your paramilitary gear, this is part of the reason.)


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## OM617YOTA (Apr 19, 2021)

I passed on the light tower. Too much wrong with it, was going to be too much time to make it a runner. There was a reason it'd been for sale for so long.


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