Quiet Generators

[floyd]

I bought a Coleman 1850W (non inverter type) generator from Home Depot about a dozen years ago. I used it a couple of time for camping, then found I didn't need it much for that purpose so I quit lugging it around. It was a reconditioned return for which I paid less than $150.
I have used it extensively for our frequent power outages and it has performed flawlessly as designed.
I did have to repair the recoil starter, It fell off after 12 years of starting and cost me the price of three pop rivets to fix it.

If I were to buy a new one I would prefer an inverter type, but alas It appears that this cheap thing is going to last forever.

[EugeneFlorida]

I got one to use with my 13 Scamp (when I get it.)
Where I go, there is no hook-ups. Have never been to a Camp Ground.

I got the Champion 3100 Watts -Inverter Model 75531i
the reasons: Price, "Quiet", and I can run my AC.

[Anita]

Originally Posted by Borrego Dave

Can't help you with the model you mention. The Honda 2000 is probably the best on the market for our eggs and being quite. The generator question can be a hot topic here . I run my 2000 in the bed of the p/u with the tailgate closed for about 10-15 minutes a day so most of the noise goes up and not to the side. Never had anyone say anything but I rarely camp in camp ground sites, YMMV.

I believe we will be spending most night out of campsites as well. But don't want to be run off on those times we are in a community of campers. But most people agree with you on the 2000 watt Honda. Our local dealer recommended the same. If they are anything like the motorcycles the little beast should last us a life time. 😀

[Anita]

Originally Posted by David B.

Anita, we have the 2000i Yamaha inverter generator, and am very happy with it's ability to run our Lil Snoozy (air conditioner, water heater, microwave, battery charger). Two reasons that I purchased the Yamaha rather than the Honda (both were offered for the same price at that time) were: 1) Yamaha has a gas shut off, so I just shut it off and let the generator run out of gas, so no gas stays in the carb., and 2) The Yamaha engine has a steel cylinder sleeve, which gives 3 times the run hours that a Honda will deliver before the engine will need rebuilding (at least that is what I read). I do not know if the generator that you are considering is an inverter generator, so I don't know if it is a good deal.
Dave & Paula

Good to know about the shut off. Less to stress makes a camper happier.

[Ian G.]

Originally Posted by redbarron55

There is a mod to make it a little quieter since the most objectionable noise actually comes from the intake. It involves adding some baffle tubes to the air cleaner.

I want to highlight this comment because it is right on the mark. Engine noise comes from both the exhaust, which mufflers can control. But a large amount of noise comes from the intake which often is not addresses. A substantial reduction in noise levels can be achieved by baffling the intake side of an engine.

[Timber Wolf]

Originally Posted by floyd

I bought a Coleman 1850W (non inverter type) generator from Home Depot about a dozen years ago. I used it a couple of time for camping, then found I didn't need it much for that purpose so I quit lugging it around. It was a reconditioned return for which I paid less than $150.
I have used it extensively for our frequent power outages and it has performed flawlessly as designed.
I did have to repair the recoil starter, It fell off after 12 years of starting and cost me the price of three pop rivets to fix it.

If I were to buy a new one I would prefer an inverter type, but alas It appears that this cheap thing is going to last forever.

I happen to have a perfectly good Coleman 2500W genny in the shed. Starts well (since the shop put a new crab on it) but is noisy. I am going to sell it one of these days just to cut down on the number of gas engines sitting around not being run.

[Anita]

Originally Posted by redbarron55

We have run our generators fairly hard during planned power outages at work and so far there is no difference in the operation of the three Honda (2 - 2000 watt and 1 3000 watt) and the 2500 watt HF unit.
We have broken them in (all of them ) and changed the oil to synthetic.
We ran each of them with a load equal to their max continuous rating (and in the case of the HF unit the max surge) for at least a tank of fuel.
The HF unit may well crap out the next time it is used, but there is no evidence of it in oil usage, noise, or anything else SO FAR.
Several of my maintenance people have bought these for emergency use at home (we are in the hurricane belt here in Mobile, AL.)
I think you won't go wrong with the Hondas, but at the same time the HF unit seems to be well made and 40% of the price.
I have not taken one apart and don't plan to either, but if one does quit then it is a possibility. The main problem area with most of these Chinese generators is the low quality spark plugs used, but again so far there has been no problem with these. The replacement is a NGK CR7HSA.
The main problem with generators is that they are not operated enough and the fuel tends to varnish and the Alcohol blend tends to cause prolems as well. Probably you should use Sta-Bil fuel treatment in all of the generators.
We run our generators every month, loaded, for at least an hour to help insure that they will run and we have two available where these things are critical for backup.
I have to admit that I bought the Harbor Freight Predator inverter generator as a test to compare to the Hondas and I have expected it to give trouble, but so far it has run just as good as the Hondas. The testing has not yet run for a year, but we are working on it.
We let the guys borrow the generators for camping etc. just to keep them running more (see above), but they tend to borrow the Hondas and not the HF unit.
We have also had one generator stolen and again it was one of the Hondas and not the HF. If you are going to steal something you might as well compromise your ethics for the perceived higher quality and value!
I do wish the HF unit was lighter and I am going to try side by side testing for the intake silencer (mine) vs. the Hondas and the unmodified HF generator here to see what the difference really is on noise.
When we checked the noise with the same load and idling with the admitted (perhaps) lower quality dB meter APP on my phone they measured the same at the same distance, but the HF unit sounded to the ear a little "rappier" and that was from that intake noise discussed above.
I talked with the guys at break this morning and we decided to run some more tests since it is about time for the monthly PM.
We are going to compare the gensets again with a Kill-a-Watt hooked up and borrow a good dB meter from the safety department. We will take a 5' rope with a hook on it and measure from the handles on the top.
We will load them all the same and as close to their max rating as well to compare at idle, 1500 watt load, and max.
We know that the HF unit uses less gas than the book says when loaded with two 1500 watt heaters for 8 hours. This time we will try it with measured output.
Also we think that we can parallel two of the HF units and we will try this as well. Since the inverter electronics are pretty standard and the Hondas and others just tie the outputs together it might play (or not).
Either it will work or we will have two crispy units.
Also since these inverters are pretty common and the pinout are pretty much the same the unused terminals on the inverter might just give the eco mode if hooked up.
Experiment time! ( will report when the smoke clears)
If possible we will try to do a video, but that is a fairly low priority for us.

So basically if you take care of it , it will take care of you?

[redbarron55]

Pretty much.

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Fiberglass RV mobile app

[Perry J]

Well said Steve.
John

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Timber Wolf

I happen to have a perfectly good Coleman 2500W genny in the shed. Starts well (since the shop put a new crab on it) but is noisy. I am going to sell it one of these days just to cut down on the number of gas engines sitting around not being run.

Mine's about as quiet as the Honda under a load, but it doesn't idle down(get quiet) like the Honda does when the load drops.


I also have a 5500 Watt genset which is not campground aproved.

Honda makes a fine genset, but it is overpriced...
The problem with the Honda's overpricing is not the generator, it is the customer.
Excessive brand loyalty can cause a loss of competition, several companies now make competitive gensets, so I think Honda will soon be losing its grip on price fixing... making it available to the more frugal amongst us.
The same thing happened to MayTag a few years ago.

[Borrego Dave]

Originally Posted by floyd

Honda makes a fine genset, but it is overpriced...
The problem with the Honda's overpricing is not the generator, it is the customer.
Excessive brand loyalty can cause a loss of competition, several companies now make competitive gensets, so I think Honda will soon be losing its grip on price fixing... making it available to the more frugal amongst us.
The same thing happened to MayTag a few years ago.

Have to agree with you Floyd, other companies are making nice gensets that may take over some of Hondas sales. Just as a side note of competition, it reminds me of the early video recording machines. Sony had the Beta system and wouldn't let other companies use that format. VHS was developed and was offered to other brands to use. By the time Sony saw they were losing out on sales....the handwriting was already on the wall. Kind of apples and oranges comparison, Honda isn't going anywhere but the competition is getting better and that's good.

[redbarron55]

OK we ran the generators in our monthly test and the results......
With the APP on my note 2 phone all of the generators (1 Honda and 2 HF Predators) are with in 1 dB of each other and the sound bounces around a couple of points so the meter reading is a draw.
With no load the modified HF unit is the quietest including the Honda.
While the meter reads very close to the same the tone of the modified HF unit seems quieter than the Honda and a lot quieter than the unmodified HF unit.
The load was a 1500 watt portable heater for all units.
This put the Honda at 94% of it's continuous rated limit and the HF at 68% of it's rated continuous limit.
Always a question of how long will it last and I can't determine that, but at 50% of the cost it is worth finding out.
Either generator would irritate others if it were the only one running.
As one of our guys who does professional barbecue contests says yours can be as quiet as a mouse, but when someone fires up one of the old generators nearby then yours no longer matters!

[Timber Wolf]

Originally Posted by floyd

Mine's about as quiet as the Honda under a load, but it doesn't idle down(get quiet) like the Honda does when the load drops.


I also have a 5500 Watt genset which is not campground aproved.

Honda makes a fine genset, but it is overpriced...
The problem with the Honda's overpricing is not the generator, it is the customer.
Excessive brand loyalty can cause a loss of competition, several companies now make competitive gensets, so I think Honda will soon be losing its grip on price fixing... making it available to the more frugal amongst us.
The same thing happened to MayTag a few years ago.

That is a much different genset than mine. My Coleman uses a vertical shaft lawnmower engine, and it sounds just like a lawnmower. The LAST thing I want to be reminded of when camping is cutting the grass!

[Bill Nolen]

Originally Posted by Borrego Dave

Have to agree with you Floyd, other companies are making nice gensets that may take over some of Hondas sales. Just as a side note of competition, it reminds me of the early video recording machines. Sony had the Beta system and wouldn't let other companies use that format. VHS was developed and was offered to other brands to use. By the time Sony saw they were losing out on sales....the handwriting was already on the wall. Kind of apples and oranges comparison, Honda isn't going anywhere but the competition is getting better and that's good.

I just happen to agree with Floyd and Borrego Dave about their comments. I also own several HF tools, and for the most part have had good service from them.

HOWEVER, when I'm spending from $500 to $1,000 on a item I don't wish to experiment with the purchase of a item from a unknown (to me) company. I go with the company that I have had good service in the past. Sure, I pay more in most cases, but, to me it's worth it. I have name brand tools in my workshop that are over 30 years old, and are still working fine. I've always had excellence service from Honda products, so you could count me a loyal customer for sure.

Now, should a trusted friend have had actual experience with the unknown item/company, and recommend the item, I may decide to go with the less costly item. Maybe! It would depend how much money I would save!

By the way, I have owned Onan, Kohler, GenSet, and Honda generators in past years. I've learned that the noise levels depend a great deal on the model number of each companies generators. Some Onan generators are much more quite than other Onan models, for example.

Bill

[Glenn Baglo]

Parts and Service.

[redbarron55]

At $399 it is less than that $500 mark.
Parts are available from HF and they are listed in the owner's manual.
I think the secret in this case is to break it in and change the oil to a synthetic and always fuel with Sta-bil preferably non-alcohol "pure gas".
This would apply to any generator or other gasoline powered tool.
I understand the reticence to invest in a Harbor Freight generator so I took the chance and tried one for work and I am pleased so far.
You must make your own decision and perhaps buy the extended warranty (still cheaper than many others). 2 year warranty on emissions equipment and 90 days for materials and workmanship.
You pays your money and takes your chances.

[Borrego Dave]

I got my flyer from HF the other day and it had the 25(8?)00W genset on the front page. Just FYI, that model isn't sold in Calif for emissions. All the larger units shown were OK.

[Richandtd]

I bought my Honda 2000 back in 2003 when I was driving an 18 wheeler needless to say for many years it had a rough life in an aluminum box mounted on the back of my truck. We used it a lot on the road and sold my truck 4 years ago still have the Honda and it still runs been thinking of synthetic oil but I've just been using whatever oil that was available. Bottom line simple sometimes you do get what you paid for. This has held up well for me in a tough lived environment. Now it's for a backup for my truck camper and I even top it off with fuel while running. During a power outage at my house it ran a week nonstop powering 2 refrigerators and a freezer my direct tv a fan and a few lights. I love my Honda.

[BrendaLeeFree]

Originally Posted by tractors1

Wrong. My Honda 2000i ran the A/C fine in my Casita and works just as well in my Escape 21.

How long did it run your A/C Tractors1?

[LyleB]

Anyone have any experience with "Brute" brand of generators? Briggs and Stratton engine, inverter generator, 2000 peak/1600 running watts. On sale at Menards for $399.61.