New generator and why it's important where you buy

[wincrasher]

I've had an interesting past few days dealing with a portable generator.

I bought a cheap chinese generator that was highly reviewed on a major online retailer. Supposedly as quiet as the Hondas and Yamahas. The brand is Lifan. They have a US prescence, but the generators are made in China. It appeared to be a nice unit - electric start, remote start, 3600 watts, 25 amps. Half the price of the competition and great reviews. Especially the comments on the sound level.

Well I had it shipped to the house and it arrived OK. Got it unpacked, filled the oil, hooked up and charged the battery, filled the fuel. Got is started, no problem, but then the fun began. Loud would be an understatement. It roared at full throttle and would not idle in eco mode. If you plugged something in, no power. Oil all over the floor and spraying out the back. And smoke, lots of smoke!

So I sent an email to the online retailer. Instead of the run-around, they said they'd credit my money back and I could dispose of the unit. They cannot take it back according to DOT regs! That was a surprise! I won't mention the retailer, as this solution is supposedly an exception based on how good a regular customer I am. But I do appreciate it, that is for sure!

So I went into town this morning to the lawn equipment supplier where I bought my John Deere lawn tractor and purchased a Honda EU3000is. They had the same discounted price as everybody else and would get it prepped and show me it runs correctly before I left the store. This generator is amazing. Very quiet in eco mode. Quiet under full load. More than enough power for my trailer's AC.

So always buy quality. And think about where you are buying it from.

[Pete1985]

You cant beat a Honda.

[al2ride]

+1...

[jablair]

Yep, it has always worked for me!

[wincrasher]

I think some of the online reviews are from company shills. Buyer beware.

[Us3Here]

That Honda is quite a generator. We have ours about 8 years and bought it mainly for power outages. It got used one or twice a year.

Superstorm Sandy changed that. We ran that generator for 261 hours straight, only shutting it down to refill the gasoline and change the oil. Since I wired a transfer switch in, we had power for the furnace, refrigerator, freezer and lights at the house. My unit sipped gasoline at 4.5 gallons per 21 hours. I had an outdoor stockpile of fuel available.

I removed the satellite receiver from the motorhome and brought it inside to provide news coverage and entertainment as our cable TV line was out of service too.

My relatives stayed over and also my elderly neighbor, as they too were withhold power for 11 days

So quiet, that you could not tell there was a generator in use in the yard.

Well worth the money, for use. Yamaha is another great quiet generator

Originally Posted by wincrasher

I've had an interesting past few days dealing with a portable generator.

I bought a cheap chinese generator that was highly reviewed on a major online retailer. Supposedly as quiet as the Hondas and Yamahas. The brand is Lifan. They have a US prescence, but the generators are made in C

[Jayco23FB]

You get what you pay for. I have given my opinon on generators several times all of those who didn't buy the blue or red have regreted thier purchase. Either too loud or just plain failed to run correctly.

[jjm22]

Honda is excellent !!

[vsheetz]

Honda gets their premium price for a reason. Great generators.

[pivotdoc]

The only caveat to any gas-powered genset is the ethanol-blend gasoline. The Honda does not like it and I assume the others don't either. Either try to buy ethanol-free gas or use an additive..............the fuel system will thank you for it....... JB

[cpaulsen]

Bought my Champion.....it is just a backup power source if needed. For 273.00 it was cheap....standard 30 amp rv plug on it. Could not justify the Honda for what I use.

[LeeRevell]

Got a Champion (IIRC) with a Suburu engine, 1850/2250W rated. I crank and test run it every month or so, always works fine. I use only NON-ethanol gas! I also keep the gas treated with Stabil Marine.
Have not had to use it for an extended power outage yet. No worries.
If I ever go FT in an RV, I'd likely splurge for the Honda, but just can't justify the cost yet.

[Superslif]

Thinking about getting a Honda 2000 to use for a future trip to AK. What have others paid in the last year or two for a Honda 2000? Saw some advertised in my Trailer Life magazine for $950. I don't know if that included tax or shipping.

[donandmax]

Originally Posted by cpaulsen

Bought my Champion.....it is just a backup power source if needed. For 273.00 it was cheap....standard 30 amp rv plug on it. Could not justify the Honda for what I use.

X2 Champion runs perfect..