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Best Portable Generators?

Ol Thumper said:
I’ve tried the ones from Harbor Freight as well as several other cheaper ones like the Dewalt and Champions and they work ok for a while but they don’t last and when they do break down and you need parts you can’t get them. I currently have 12 generators and I went back to all Honda’s for the parts issue I always ran Into. My suggestion is find a used Honda if your looking to save money and roll on. It will be running 20 years from now and you can get parts if you need them. I know this isnt what you asked about but that’s my recommendation,
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This is exactly what my cousin the small engine mechanic told me. They work well till they break and then go buy another. I understand the buy three for the price of one but when will it break and let you down. If you need a generator chances are you don't have time to go buy another one.
 
jghoghunter said:
This is exactly what my cousin the small engine mechanic told me. They work well till they break and then go buy another. I understand the buy three for the price of one but when will it break and let you down. If you need a generator chances are you don't have time to go buy another one.
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That’s the problem, they always break down right when you need them the most LOL Ive never had a Honda go down but then again their not cheap.
 
I have 2 generators I got from COSTCO…they are POWER brand with a Yamaha engine. Bought 2 for less than 1 Honda. Very quite and run great.
 
Thumbs down on Generac. Bought a XTF8500EFI last year. Comes with electric start or pull cord. Instructions said to connect the battery charging power supply to the unit once every 3 months, over night.. First time we lost power, the unit would not start, only had it a week. Of course pulling the pull cord did not help as the engine is fuel injected and the fuel pump would not work (no power from the battery)
Turns out the internal batteries in the generator are the same type that are used in an UPS power supply and will not hold a charge for any length of time. (so much for only charging in once every 3 months).
Only found out about this problem by going on line, it is wide spread !! Called Generac tech support, "was news to rhem"
The quick fix was to hook up a floating 12VDC charger full time to the battery. Eventually will replace it
with a motorcycle battery.
 
Sniper338 said:
Generac is best. The more you pay the better they get. The portable GT8000E is what Im looking at getting.

Lots depends on what you need to run too. A 2000 watt generator isnt going to run a lot of things.

8000 and up will run any size RV, duel AC units etc...

I had a built in generac in a 44ft toy hauler rv i had once upon a time, it was a beast.

My dad has one out in the pasture thats 20+ years old, still running a water well.
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I have one in my toy hauler,I think it is a 3500. Thing is noisy ,I wonder if there is a way to tone it down a bit?
 
Depending on what type of stuff you are interested in… I know 4 people with predators .. ranging from small to large… all are very happy…

I will add a friend that is a big camping person did some hunting around and found a 3000 watt diesel gen off of an over the road truck that will run for ever on a tank of fuel and has less in it then a new predator… just depends what your interested in….
 
MrBarrel said:
Besides Honda generators what other brands have you had success with?

Portable units and it will be used for camping purposes only.

Thanks for youre input.
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Yamaha. 6500 watt. Have had it over 30 years and it runs as good today as when new. Had the carb replaced once and a new fuel shutoff valve. That’s it. I run it on 100LL aviation gas. Never fails to start. I change the fuel out once a year and burn it in a riding mower.
 
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I have a Champion dual fuel (gas/propane) inverter generator - love it. I run it on propane, so I don't worry about gas going bad in it. It's very quiet and very portable, weighs around 100 pounds so I can pick it up and put in pickup etc.
 
The Harbor Freight generators are a great value. I didn’t want to like them when we first got one at work. After running them for 3 years I don’t know how Honda is still selling generators at 3x the price. The predator runs just as good and you can buy the replacement warranty with it. Their warranty is no questions asked and they replace the unit. There’s no need to worry about replacement and obsolete parts. We had one swapped out for new because we broke the selector switch on the front to turn it off and on.
 
I also have the Champion dual fuel and like not having to worry about gas. It is very quiet and will run everything @ 4K watts. It is heavy though @ 100 lbs
 
My mechanic calls the predator engine a Ronda, just like a Honda but not as tough. He used to buy the predators to get parts to repair Hondas. He says If i need a gas tank for one and a carburetor for another the predator is paid for and i still have a bunch of parts. They are not near as durable as a Honda, I don't know if they still do, but they used to have a plastic cam shaft that failed regularly. All that said they are a pretty good motor
 
I haven't been able to kill my Yamaha, and the year we had all the storms in Florida we were without power 3 different times for over 45 days. Our area has such a bad record for power outages that our provider FPL is in my neighborhood right now with several crews running all the services underground. They have 3 boring machines and several other crews that use another type of boring that works well with shorter runs that uses a compressor.
 
I have new respect for B&S engines, my friend let me use his John Deere mower while we were building a motor for my dixie chopper. It ran like a clock and always started easy. B&S engines in the 80s made you think that Honda was the only choice. If I knew then what i know now I would not have built a Kohler for the chopper, I would have bought one of several B&S engines I could have had for $100 each
 
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