Generator lowdown?

[DRH1175]

Looking at buying a generator for hunting and fishing. It will power my camper when power is not available. A hunting shack that has no power and when I get one a ice house in the winter. Obviously everyone heard of Honda. I am looking at the 2000i. But looking at northern they have others that have much more power for less money. What is the lowdown from someone that knows generators. What about yamaha as well? Thanks

[fishmon]

I have been a contractor for twenty five years and have owned many brands of generators, my generators run non-stop for 8 to 10 hours a day 5 to 6 days a week. Buy a Honda or save a few dollars and be sorry when you really depend on it.

[elkrivermn]

Buy a Onan , American owened Company

Buy American for America!!!

[badfisherman]

the honda is super quiet. I use mine ice fishing. it always runs great. The only thing is it doesn't have a ton of power. we can barely use a toaster and an electric frying pan at the same time Oh I have the 2000i. Shop around for prices. I think they really mark them up alot and you can find a good deal on them, some places will even hagle a little bit.

[weld1]

I have a honda 2000i and its a awsome unit, quiet, and i can run the camper air off of it if need be but it pushes the limit for sure, but for camping and ice fishing its the way to go, most of the time the person next to you dont even know its running! just saw a price of 839.00 in the outdoor.......paper that comes every thursday

[broken_line]

i had a honda 2500 ez something with 5 hp and i messed with the throttle so it only ran like 60% since i only needed it to run a small tv, would go through a gallon in 4 hours.. himo cheaper than driving out to the shack sometimes lol

[Fishing Junky]

Yamaha just came out with a 2000 this year. Might be worth checking out. I run a Yamaha ef2400 and ef1000 at my summer campsite. I run the 2400 when using air, coffee pot, microwave, and switch over to the 1000 when just battery charging, or the wife watching tv. The honda 2000 is also a nice unit. The cheaper generators are too loud for my liking. Good luck, Junky...

[CJH]

I have used the Yammy 1000w suitcase style generator and was impressed with it. I would favorably compare it to the Honda. Might want to comparison shop them to get leverage/bargaining power against whichever you chose.

[McGurk]

One thing about using appliances in a camper/fishhouse environment: Stagger usage of high wattage items. A TV uses next to nothing compared to what a small generator is capable of outputting, but the TV is on constantly. A toaster will use a tremendous amount of wattage, but for a short time. You can save yourself alot of money by getting a smaller generator and only using high wattage devices one at a time, and for short periods of time. Most people don't know that you can run 5 large CRT TVs all at the same time for the same wattage that a toaster or a hot plate, or even a hairdryer requires.

So, I wouldn't recommend toasting some bread at the same time you are frying eggs on a hot plate and making a pot of coffee if you are running a 2,000 watt generator of ANY make. Stagger your usage, or get a larger generator.

Here's a chart w/ typical wattage requirements:

Wattage of Common Household Appliances/Tools:

(Appliances/ Resistive Load/ Reactive Load)

Blender 375 watts 500 watts

Clock Radio 5 watts ---

Coffee Maker 1,700 watts --- (!!!!!!!!!)

Computer - PC 300 watts ---

Cuisinart 450 watts 650 watts

Deep Fryer 1,800 watts ---

Electric Blanket 400 watts ---

Electric Curlers 300 watts ---

Frying Pan (Hot Plate)1,250 watts --- (!!!!!!!!)

Hair Dryer 1,875 watts ---

Iron 1,200 watts ---

Light Bulbs (see marking on bulb)

Microwave 1,050-2,500 watts ---

Toaster 1,800 watts --- (!!!!!!!!!)

Washing Machine 1,150 watts 2,200 watts

Water Heater 4,000 watts ---

TV - Color 300 watts ---

Common Tools Resistive Load Reactive Load

Air Compressor (1hp) 1,500 watts 4,500 watts

Cultivator 700 watts 1,400 watts

Freezer 800 watts 2,100 watts

Furnace Fan 875-1,200 watts 2,200 watts

Garage Door Opener (1/4 hp) 550 watts 1,000 watts

Grinder, Bench 1,400 watts 2,450 watts

Heater, Kerosene (90,000 BTU) 500 watts 725 watts

Sump Pump (1/3 hp) 800 watts 1,250 watts

Well Pump (1/2 hp) 150 watts 1,950 watts

Saw, Band 1,100 watts 1,350 watts

Table Saw (10 inch) 1,750 watts 4,250 watts

[DRH1175]

Thanks,

I was doing some research last night and it is between the honda and yamaha. After doing some reading the yamahas seem to actually be a bit quieter at 51db. I am now between the Yammy 2000ie and 2400ie. The 2400ie is big enough to run the ac in a camper where as the 2000 is a tad better on gas. Hmm... I would say 90% of the time a 2000 or 1000 would be big enough. But do you spend another $300 and get the bigger one for more versatility?

[weld1]

you cant go wrong with a yamaha either, if i didnt have a honda now i would for sure look at the yamaha, what is the price roughly on the 2400ie yama? thanks

[Whoaru99]

If there is any question, go bigger.

I'm looking at the Honda EU3000iS. Yes, it's bigger, heavier, costs lots more, than the "suitcase" generators. But, it's big enough to run two or three larger things at once. And, it's also the quietest of the Hondas.

How frequently do you actually carry it vs load it in the back of the pickup and drive to campsite, drive to fishouse, etc?

Be wary of the cheaper generators because many have "optimistic" power output specs. Consumer Reports did some tests a while back and found the Hondas pretty much spot on, many others tested considerably lower than their advertised output.

Also, (assuming the same test process) 10dB difference in noise level sounds twice (or half) as loud. In other words 60dB sounds twice as loud as 50dB, and vice versa...50dB sounds only half as loud as 60dB.

[grpd]

One thing nice about the 2000i is if you had another one or someone else had one you can buy an adapter to hook them together to have a 4000. Also as you i am sure aware of n the honda it has the eco deal, if running tv or lights battery charger etc you can put on eco or whatever it is called and save a ton on gas, if using for frig or skill saw take off the eco, uses more gas but still very reasonable

[bearslayer]

I have the Honda 3000 and love it. Can run everything in camper, including ref., furnace, and 500 watt flood light at once. Has eco mode to use less gas, can get about 20 hours on a tank (3-4 gallons I believe). Can set it 10 ft outside camper and don't even know it's on. They are a bit spendy, think I paid about $1800, but worth every penny.