another forum has peeked my interest in a low cost inverter generator in the 2000w range...top end Honda EU2000i is around $900 to $1000...

does anyone have any personal experience with the middle price range units... particular emphasis on the Chicom models that may have Japanese engines from Honda, Hyundai, Subaru, Yamaha

eg... Champion, Lifan, Powerhorse, or the Hyundai model (does it have Japanese inverter)

thanks

I have up close and personal experience with two gas generators.

My CERT owns a Honda EU2000i. It's very small, relatively light (you can pick it up and carry it one-handed with some effort), fuel-efficient, very quiet, doesn't seem to burn any oil, and apparently lasts forever. Because it's an inverter-based generator it puts out true sine wave AC and can be used for sensitive electronics.

Personally, I own a Champion 3500W (4000 peak) model. It's about three or four times the size of the Honda. Don't even think about buying it without the wheel kit. It's fairly quiet but much louder than the EU2000i. Observed fuel-efficiency has been very good, and it doesn't seem to burn any oil. I haven't used it very much so I can't give you a sense as to its long-term reliability other than to say that it always has started easily and seems to be built to last. Mine is not an inverter model, so it's not recommended for sensitive electronics.

If you have the money and your load is less than 2000W, the Honda cannot be beat. If you're cheap (like me) or have a larger load to be concerned about (also like me) I have no qualms about recommending Champion.

I'm not affiliated with either company other than as a customer.

Interesting question. I guess the answer depends on what you're planning for, and what results you expect. In particular: reliability.

I've noticed quite a lot of these mish-mash units for a very attractive price.

If you're, say, a tradesman doing work in a new housing development, these are great. They will probably work out of the box and keep your tools rocking. You will drive them until they die. And if they fail, you take them back. No problem.

But if you're planning for unpredictable power outages due to blizzard or heat wave or major storm, where keeping the heat/cooling on, and the water pumping, and the fridges and freezers from trashing half a side of beef, not to mention cooling somebody's life-saving med's, you may prefer a unit where somebody has signed off on the engineering.

My 2c.

I know what forum you're speaking of

Saw you posted your thread about the fan on it. Good idea someone had about using a second fan as the counter weight (btw, pics up on this forum)

I've been discussing generators and solar panels w/ the wife. She's on board, once we get our own place and stop renting. I'll be keeping an eye here.

Been using a Kipor 2000 watt honda clone for about ....... must be 7 years or so. No problems. I don't use it a lot, mostly when I need to power something that my solar system will not handle like an air conditioner (small), large saw or compressor.

I paid less than $400 shipped. But then again that was a long time ago. I do routine maint. which means change the oil, and clean the spark plug.

I need to put a new pull rope on it this year. The rubber feet broke off, but that was because it was bouncing around in the back of my 4x4.

It is a bit louder than my neighbors new honda 2k, but mine was pretty quiet when I bought it.

I would do it again.

Nomad

I'm not sure if this is exactly what you're looking for, but I've used the Yamaha EF1000iS 1,000 Watt 50cc for 3 years and it has performed flawlessly. I assume the 2,000 watt version will hold up as well.

I have used it for camping for 4-6 hours a day every day for a month, then not used it all for 10 or 11 months and then used it again for 4-6 hours a day for a month.

I do start it every 2 or 3 months just to check on it.

It almost always starts on first pull. One nice feature is that after it warms up, it powers down to a quiet mode and only ramps up as needed.

I also owned a Kipor 2000W inverter-based generator and was very happy with it for the price paid ($400 delivered, via eBay). However, it did take more than one pull to get started, I chalk that up to always shutting off the fuel supply and letting it run dry before storing. There is no primer bulb so I had to do quite a bit of pulling to get the fuel to flow and start running. But once it was going it ran just fine.

I used mine for about 4 hours/day while camping several times, probably a total of 80 hours. I also used it at home to provide power to essentials during electrical outages. This past fall I ran it 24x7 for 5 days, only shutting it off to add fuel, and once to change the oil after 4 days.

I'd change the oil and clean/gap the spark plug after extensive use and at least once a year, always added fuel stabilizer and ran the carb dry before storage. Aside from being cranky at start-up, never a problem.

I sold it a month ago with my camper and have been looking for a replacement. Even though I have a larger generator for power outages, this kind is so quiet I get no complaints if I leave it running overnight, and is powerful enough to keep the refrigerator and furnace going in the winter, or fridge and some fans in the summer.

i use a Honda EU2000i as back-up to our solar system. had it many years, always starts fast & easy. very efficient. quiet. great unit. would buy it again if i needed a replacement.