Generator, Honda vs Champion and Predator

[Larry C]

I'm sure this has been cussed and discussed before, but I'm looking for a 2KW generator, Honda, and Yamaha, are about twice the price of the Champion and the Predator......

Can anyone give the pros and cons of each? Thanks for the input.....

Larry C

[Bill M.]

I can not. But I know from experience that if you buy the Honda you will be pleased in the long run.

[gypsydad]

Originally Posted by Larry C

I'm sure this has been cussed and discussed before, but I'm looking for a 2KW generator, Honda, and Yamaha, are about twice the price of the Champion and the Predator......

Can anyone give the pros and cons of each? Thanks for the input.....

Larry C

Lots of posts on this subject here on the Forum. The Honda and Yamaha 2000 series work well, they are expensive, and you need to link 2 of any of these generators together to run the AC, unless you install an EasyStart capacitor on your AC from MicroAir.

If you are going to link 2 generators together, then they also can run the AC, but your talking $2K for the Honda/Yamaha set up; Champion, Preditor, and others are half price roughly....they have a Yamaha powered knock off at Costco by the way, that I believe comes with the parallel kit if your looking at getting 2 of these.
The weights and noise level of any of the 4 mentioned is about the same. I have the Champion 2000 that works fine for general use except does not run the AC, even if I had the Easystart. I also purchased the larger Champion DualFuel 3400 with propane use, for running my AC when traveling in southern states. Lots of experience here on the Forum...and of course, "opinions" on which one to get!

[PKI]

I have a Honda and was not as pleased as I thought I would be. They should be quieter and may be. It's difficult to determine from our limited use.

My suggestion - get a Champion dual fuel. If it is not satisfactory, then sell it to a fellow camper and buy the Honda.

Second suggestion - does your camping style allow the use of a suitcase solar pack. If no AC, you may be able to have a quieter time.

Observation - we camped in Colter Bay in their dry sites. Our Honda was not too loud until the coffee pot started up. The neighbors were using their tow vehicle to charge their bank but were not keeping up. Their solar was on top and shaded. You need to be able to place solar in the sun.

The good news is that Honda now sells a 2200. Wish that was available when we pulled the trigger.

Travel safe and smile. Pat

[Mollysdad]

Hey, we made it all the way to Post #3 without mention of Easy Start!

[gypsydad]

Originally Posted by Mollysdad

Hey, we made it all the way to Post #3 without mention of Easy Start!

My bad...sorry!

[PKI]

No, cause I would have had to mention it if you had not. Too bad Easy Start or a similar design can't break into the AC world so they come OEM as low amp start systems. Maybe next year AS will make a deal. They seem to be stepping forward with a lot of upgrade features. Pat

[A W Warn]

I purchase a Honda EU2000i companion 7-8 years ago. We have used it while camping and a few times when power was out at home. There have been zero issues. I have nothing bad to say about it. It is quiet and dependable.

The only negative about the Honda 2000 is that it will not run the air conditioner unless I modify the AC unit. Even then it will not run the full trailer, just selectively run some things OR the air conditioner.

A couple months ago I ran into a bargain I could not pass up, a Predator 3500 inverter generator for $400. Someone purchased it, used it for one weekend, then returned it. There were only a few hours on it. I brought it home, changed the oil, added fuel and it started within seconds, using the electric start. I check the output, confirmed 122v ac. I connected the trailer. There was no issue running the AC, refrigerator, converter, and a toaster oven. Even in eco mode the generator just purrs. It is quieter (I think) than the Honda. Next day I filled the fuel tank and ran it with the AC, refrigerator, and converter until the fuel ran out (6-8 hours-can't remember exact time). The following weekend we used it while camping, without issue. Since then we used it to power appliances and lights (drop cords to all) when we were without power three days during a hurricane. It ran ~50 hours on ~3 gallons of fuel. It was so quiet that the next door neighbor could not hear it running. We let it run on our back deck all night while we slept, without bothering us at all. I am really impressed so far, but long term who knows - ????

[pteck]

How do you intend to use the generator? If just using to top off the battery bank, any of them will do the job.

There is one standout in the 2000 class which is the Honda eu2000 and eu2200i (with the latter being about 10% more powerful). They have headroom beyond the others. True, if comparing to a 3000W genny, it will be outclassed. But in the 2000W class, only the Honda's will be able to run an A/C reliably (without any other 12V electronics on). A feat that no other 2000W class genny has been proven to do yet. Some have shown to be able to use the eu2200i to run a 13.5k A/C without further mods. It can power a 15k A/C with easystart. An easy start is a good modification, to ensure further headroom for the genny to work on very hot days or at higher elevations.

[DKB_SATX]

As one more piece of anecdotal data for you, I have a pair of the Briggs & Stratton 2200w generators, and I'm happy with my purchase. They're not as quiet as my 3kw Yamaha, but I can load them into the truck by myself without a hoist, they start easily and run smoothly.

[OTRA15]

FYI this other new thread has some good info on the new Yamaha 2400 vs. the new Honda 2200:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f448/yamaha-ef2400ishc-188969.html

Paying more for top-shelf tools is often worth it over the long run, as a very small percentage of the significant combined cost of your AS/TV rig IMO.

Good luck,

Peter


FYI and FWIW

[Roadtech]

Originally Posted by PKI

No, cause I would have had to mention it if you had not. Too bad Easy Start or a similar design can't break into the AC world so they come OEM as low amp start systems. Maybe next year AS will make a deal. They seem to be stepping forward with a lot of upgrade features. Pat

Oliver Trailers now offers Easy Start as a factory installed option.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

I'd suggest that Yamaha (the real ones that are made by Yamaha) generators are pretty darn good as well. They have a "2KW" that is very competitive spec wise.

Any gas powered generator will require a bit of care. None of them are dead quiet. Properly cared for, the Honda's and Yamaha's (I own both, but not in the same power range) will last a *long* time. A friend has one of my "cast off" Honda's and it's still running fine 20 years after I bought it.

Bob

[Rocinante]

As a camp host at Glacier NP last year, I beg you and plead with you - please get a quiet generator. Some of the generators people used in that campground were so loud that they literally had campers around them crying because the noise was so extreme.

We couldn't do anything about the noise as long as those horrible things were only used during generator hours. I hated doing rounds during those loops during those hours - pretty sure some of them damaged my hearing. Please, please, if you're gonna use a generator, get a quiet one. Honda and Yamaha-branded generators are the least noisy. Predator, Champion, and others were all noticeably louder.

Oh, and contractor generators have no business in a campground. Ever. When they aren't running you can spot them because they are literally an engine suspended in a metal frame. Please, please, don't be that guy with a contractor generator. Everyone else in the campground will hate you.

[aftermath]

Originally Posted by Rocinante

As a camp host at Glacier NP last year, I beg you and plead with you - please get a quiet generator. Some of the generators people used in that campground were so loud that they literally had campers around them crying because the noise was so extreme....

I have experienced this myself. Went to a very nice Forest Service facility where someone had a large trailer with a very large commercial genny running constantly, day in and day out. Yes, they followed the quiet rules but the rest of the time we couldn't sit outside and visit.


So, that said, I purchased my Honda about 12 years ago. It runs fine, is as quiet as you will find and I have no thoughts of getting a new one. There were NO other quiet options other than the Yamaha when I was looking. As long as it is quiet, you can go in other directions. I do not automatically believe that the more expensive something is the better it will be. Heck, I still use my Equalizer hitch! But, if you read all the posts here, those with Hondas and Yamahas consistently speak of their dependability and durability.

[AirMiles]

I’m in generator “heaven” (cough-cough really the opposite) at a Texas NASCAR race campground this weekend. I survey the generators every time I walk the dog. The quietest one is the Honda 3500 followed closely by the Predator 3500 and other off brand 3500s. Next quietest are the 2000 ish watt generator - any brand. The off brands are just as quiet- the quietest was an A-Power 2300. Really I cannot tell that off brand generator is running over all the open frame generator noise. The loudest is the Ryobi brand of any size.

I have a Champion 3400 dual fuel. I ran it a few hours one rainy day in the back of my truck to top off my batteries. It’s equally quiet as the non-Honda 3500s. I could not hear my generator running over the open frame generator noise.

One more observation. The Honda 1000 is very annoying. I don’t think it’s loud, but the higher pitch of the small engine is more annoying than the deeper pitch of the 3500 class generators.

So in this same campground comparison, I judge them in this order:

Honda 3500
Off-brand 3500 class
Any 2000 class
Loudest in any class: Ryobi

I can’t wait to get my noiseless solar-powered Airstream out of “generator heaven”.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

One of the things that often gets overlooked on a generator is the sort of waveform it puts out. Proper 120V AC should be a nice smooth sine wave. That's what pretty much everything expects to see.

Except for stuff like hair dryers and incandescent bulbs (= pure resistive loads), most common loads will run more efficiently on a pure sine wave. That matters in two ways. First it means the generator is producing less power to get things done. Second, the device ( AC motor, computer ... whatever) does not get as hot when running. Both are in the "really good idea" category.

Generators are not the only devices with this odd issue. UPS power supplies are also known for this problem. The common gotcha is that it's cheaper to produce a "sort of sine wave" than to do it right. Since everybody wants to save money, that matters in the marketplace. It also means that finding out if a device really is pure sine can be tough. They really don't want to tell you that you saved money by getting less ....

What to do? Well, one option is to carefully use your oscilloscope to look at the waveform. Everybody has one of those ... right? The somewhat more practical approach for the other 99% of the population is to dig up a review on YouTube where somebody did that for you.

Lots of fun !!!

Bob

[pteck]

It's probably worthwhile to note that how loud a generator is, is also very dependent on load.

Most any generator, just idling, or in "eco" mode will probably be 2-3x as quiet as it's loudest, full stink powering an A/C mode. Even the Honda's can be loud enough to not exactly be pleasant against a quiet backdrop.

[Rpatrick16]

I believe that what "once was" the superiority of the Honda and Yamaha Genies has been matched by "quality lower priced" units like the Champion. I can't speak for the Predator but the Champion for all intensive purposes matches the quality and performance of the "prior years" best. It comes down to the fact..."pay the premium price and get phony bragging rights". Or, go with a "quality genie at half the price....and get the same results plus a lot of "extra cha Ching" in your pocket to .....travel more!

[AirMiles]

Originally Posted by pteck

It's probably worthwhile to note that how loud a generator is, is also very dependent on load.

Most any generator, just idling, or in "eco" mode will probably be 2-3x as quiet as it's loudest, full stink powering an A/C mode. Even the Honda's can be loud enough to not exactly be pleasant against a quiet backdrop.

Very true and I factored load in as much as possible on my walks.

Earlier this summer, there was only one other camper at a campground where we both had our generators running our Air conditioners. My Champion 3400 Dual fuel vs a pair of Honda 2000s.

I paced off the point where I considered the noise level to be equal. I don’t remember the exact number of paces, but I was 1/3 closer to my generator at equal noise levels. Like 33 paces from my generator and 66 paces from the pair of Honda’s to equalize the noise levels.

Again I prefer the deeper pitch of a larger engine running at lower rpms than a smaller engine at higher RPMs.