Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

So with the occasional outages living in the northeast (Buffalo) I found myself looking for a generator the last 2 days. I was able to find one left, a Westinghouse but decided I wasnt going to drop $1000 on something I didnt know was good or not. So now the storm has pasted and Im going looking for a generator for the next time. I dont know any good brands other than Honda, Yamaha & Honeywell. I see there are generators out there (Powermate/Rigid) that come with a Honda & Yamaha engine. Are those still going to be as good as a normal Honda/Yamaha? Are $800 (5000w) generators just as good as a $1700 (5000w generator)? I dont mid spending the money for something decent, but dont want to wish I bought something different later.

Will be using when power goes out (maybe once or twice a year) maybe.

-fridge
-sump pump
-furnace
-tv
-lights
-blu ray

I see that you are in the same pickle i'm in. I'v done allot of research looking for the ultimate generator for my needs. As for me I do not have allot of money to spend. As far as choices go you can go with the best portable out there inverter or regular. Quiet or regular. Honda beats Yamaha. Yamaha is a good unit, but a Yamaha will not hold its max load as long as a Honda. An electric start Yamaha does not have a pull cord to start it if the battery is dead or starter fails. Yamaha does not have the dealer support that Honda has. Inverter generators are quieter than regular generator but regular generators are much cheaper in cost,and you can buy one with much more power. yes you can buy a 5000-10000 watt generator for 2-3 thousand bucks but they don't last. harbor freight has one for $400 4000 watts. Does it work, yes but reviewers say they have problems keeping it at the required 3600 rpm. many of the cheaper units the generator side of the unit fails or the engine fails. I need mine for an emergency, I don't have time to BS with it to keep it running. I also want a quiet unit. With a 6500 watt unit you can do like you want. Run your-fridge-sump pump-furnace-tv-lights-bluray. Have you herd of a APC transfer switch- they go for about $350 or less. What it does is monitor your loads in your house according to your generator size. It will cut circuits off to keep you from overloading your generator. like if your fridge is running and your furnace is running. and you want to run your microwave. It will cut off your fridge until the microwave is done then turn your fridge ect. There are 2 people sharing there experiences with them . one guy uses 2 Honda EU 2000 together running his house. The other guy is running one. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqPNA2csONE. The other one is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2B4Vvz9Xqw. I have seen a eu2000 as low as $1039. They can run 4+ hours on a gallon of gas. You can get an extended fuel tank if you prefer too. If you run 2 togather you will get 4000 watts max for 30 seconds. 3200 watts sustained, If you go with a Yamaha which is your next best choice you will get 4000 for 2 seconds and 3200 watts sustained as per manual. The Yamaha is cheaper cost wise, but you get less power. A Yamaha can also be hooked up to a APC switch. you can also go with the Honda EM series. For $2000 you can get an inverter generator with 4000 watts for the price of 2 eu2000 generators. A EM4000 will give you a surge to 5000 watts. The EM series do however burn more gas and is louder. I hope this info helps.

Was looking at Honda EU 3000IS or the Yamaha EF4500i SE. Not sure the difference between one that has 120v only and one that has both 120 and 240. I also came across a PowerMate with a Honda 390 engine in it. Is the engine what makes the generator or is it more factors than that?

So its better to spend the $$ now and get a solid reliable one, than buy a $700 crapper and worry down the road?

The Honda eu3000 is a great generator , so is the Yamaha 4500ise.The Yamaha will give you 1000 more watts and 10 more amps. It also costs 1000 dollars more. The units that offer you 120 volts on one side and 120/220 on the other have more power than a generator that does not. The one 120 volt plug is usually for a camper. The 120/ 220 is for home back up to your house to run 220 volt loads. I do not know to much about Powermate generators. I do know about Northstar generators. Go to Northerntool.com there you can get a 13000 watt generator with a Honda v-twin for $2648 . If that is to much you can get a 5500 watt for $1099 with a Honda gx 270 engine. They also offer extended warranty too. You can also check out Ariens , they have a 5500 watt generator for $830.00 with a 3 year warranty with a Subaru ex engine. Their 7500 watt model goes for $1300 with a Honda gx engine. Ariens is the new kid on the block. with a 3 year warranty from them you cant go wrong.If you have access to a Powermate unit check out there warranty. Personally I would go with someone local, that way you can get parts and service if something goes wrong.Follow your heart and your wallet. If you want to chance it , you could go to Harbor Freight, you can get a 4000 watt generator with electric start for less than $400.00 with a Honda clone engine. Get it with an extended 3 year warranty. A lot of folks on u tube love them. If it fails return it.

Ctrlaltelite wrote:

The difference shows up when you try to run something that requires 220. A well pump is the first "must have" that comes to mind.

The engine is only half of it, there's the generator itself. That's the most important part. Most of us can repair or swap an engine out if it goes, but the generator is the less-familiar part, and the whole purpose for having an engine.

My wife went out last Thurs and bought a generator. Itia a Troy Bilt XP series 7 KW 10.5 KW surge. Seems ok. It has 220V or 120 V I need to get my brother (he an electrician by trade) come install a transfer witch so I don't have to run cords. Ran 12 hours straight last storm ran 2 refridgerators, 2 tvs sump pum and computer and modem.

http://www.troybilt-gen-pw.com/generators/model.cfm?id=0cc02aee00bd995072c7839a8d523dac