I have sold off my MH and toad and we are in the process of purchasing a truck & 5th wheel trailer.

I want to purchase one or two small generators for the times we boondock.

Anybody have an opinion of the Honda 2000i vs the Harbor Freight Predator 2000.

Their specs are very similar.

I've owned the Honda 2000i generators previously, but the $450 each price for the Predator vs $1000

for the Honda 2000i is appealing.

Open to comments and opinions.

Check the decible level!!!!

Honda parts and service are available at many locations.  Honda generators are quiet and reliable with likely the best history of anything similar on the market.  

Later, J

Honda EU series are quiet and reliable.  Parts and service are available nation wide.  On the clones, you pay your money and you take your chances.

Ken

  On 4/30/2018 at 5:08 AM, Phil Saran said:

I have sold off my MH and toad and we are in the process of purchasing a truck & 5th wheel trailer.

I want to purchase one or two small generators for the times we boondock.

Anybody have an opinion of the Honda 2000i vs the Harbor Freight Predator 2000.

Their specs are very similar.

I've owned the Honda 2000i generators previously, but the $450 each price for the Predator vs $1000

for the Honda 2000i is appealing.

Open to comments and opinions.

You always get what you pay for.  HF has made claims about their stuff for years, yet they are still looked at as a BUDGET brand.  There is a reason why.  Honda or Yamaha or even Champion are much better options.  And consider buying a propane kit so you can avoid the dreaded bad gas problems.  The kits are available on line for a few hundred dollars, which is about what a replacement carb is gonna cost you, once.

Cant beat a Honda genset but yes, you are gonna pay for it.  But if you want it work when you need it, then buy quality.  I earn my living with tools and that has served me well.  I never buy HF welders because they dont hold up.  The only tools I buy from there are wrenches and impact sockets and hammers but never electric or air powered tools.  And almost all of those have gone into trucks that dont get used every day.  Tools that work every day come from name brand companies.  Spend more but they work when needed.  Not sure if that is your need but its just my input.

Yamaha's have been rated best in class for multiple years running. Honda's are the most popular and right on par. Honda has the advantage of the number of service centers within a given mile radius and "off the shelf" regular maintainence parts across the nation at most big box HP stores. Yamaha's are no slouch in that department, but Honda clearly has the advantage.

Honda or Yamaha... you'll never go wrong and will outlast the budget brands many times over... so if your usage is long term, you'll likely save money by buying "up" from the get-go.

That being said. If you only go out the occasional long weekend and it's not going to ruin your trip if your genny gives you fits... IOW, a "nice to have" vs. a necessity or emergcency backup... there is certainly nothing wrong with keeping a little extra padding in your wallet.

Just like FH.. sometimes all you really need is that  "one-off" odd ball socket you may never use again. Why pay beyond your need?

I would still "very" much steer clear of the predators though. You'll get better bang for your buck with a champion or similar class.

TXiceman put it best in the mid and budget classes. "you pay your money and you take your chances." They may last for years and suit your needs if your energy demands are modest... or... it might go belly up on use 2.

Usage may also be a consideration. If you're only looking to charge your batteries and run a few lights the demands on your genny will be "modest". If you're looking to run your aircon and other such heavy or extended loads then you might be better served moving up in class.

I bought the 3000 watt Predator from Harbor freight and have put on over 500 hrs on it.  I am very satisfied with it.  For $650.00 it was and is worth the money to me.  How long it will last is anyone's guess.
Whats funny to me is these were the same debates years ago about the Champion gen sets and now they are accepted along with the Hondas.

  On 4/30/2018 at 5:49 PM, dennisvr said:

...now they are accepted along with the Hondas.

Not in the least.  "Apples and oranges". Over time... in the budget to mid class portables they have proven to be more reliable than their counterparts and produces "more" stable/consistent relatively "clean" output from unit to unit... if one choses to go that route.... but saying that they are accepted as comparable to the Honda/Yamaha class just isn't so.

In the "less expensive" sets the advertised sustained output ratings are not always what is printed on the package. Ie., a 2000watt unit with a published rating of 1800 (sustained) could actually be outputing 50-150watts below that and will vary unit to unit. One in particular I am aware of, has repeatedly had production units measuring as low as 1625 on their "1800watt sustained" sets.

There are no industry standards of testing and ratings for those type of gensets. It's strictly a mfg. to mfg. "on your honor" system.

Heck... even if you purchase a "2000watt" genset you don't actually know if that is the peak or surge rating and have no idea how that particular mfg. chose to rate their genset or how long it may be capable of outputing 2000watts under ideal conditions. If it's a surge rating that might only be a momentary "starter" output that lasts 5 seconds before dropping to "peak" or even "sustained" ouput levels.

Given that... Champion is one that has been relatively more consistent unit to unit and "more"... "on their honor" regarding their published output ratings. They also have a bit more in the servicing and support departmet. Not "great", but better than a "throw-away" or a "see if your local lawnmower/small engine repair guy can get'r runnin" type. Not that there is anything wrong with that as long as you know what you're getting yourself into.

That's one of the attractions of the Yamaha/Honda class gensets. The ratings are honest, consistent and maintain frequency and waveform over the range of output (a.k.a. easy on the electronics). They also publish exactly what those ratings are and how long that level of output is sustainable instead of "burying" little details like that from the public. Repair and support is practically world-wide.

One thing that makes me chuckle is the mfg's that advertise they use Honda engines in their gensets. All fine and dandy but it's the govenor, regulator and algorithims that are the guts of a genset... not just the mechanicals themselves making the wheels turn.

That being said. If you only ever really use up to 800watts at any given time... who would know? Not many do and not many would care as long as it does what they need it to do without much fuss. Wear on your electronics... that's another thread. ?

The morale of the story: Don't try and make a product more than it is because of how it is represented or how you wish it to be. Ie., "I bought a genset for 1/3rd the price of a Honda and it's "every" bit as good."  [If I only had a dollar.... ??] It is what it is. You pay your money and you spin the wheel. If it does what you need it to do in a price range you are willing to pay... be happy! Go campin!! ?

Not everyone with a genset uses it to full capacity or as a necessary piece of equipment.

The only caveat I will throw in there... if you are purchasing an inverter portable as an emergency backup, personally, I would reconsider.

Costco has Yamaha A-IPower 1600W Running / 2000W Peak Yamaha Powered Gas Inverter Generator for $499. I have a honda but for that price might of went Yamaha

Haven't heard any recommend the Boliy generators. They looked promising

Edited April 30, 2018 by GlennWest

  On 4/30/2018 at 8:11 PM, mesa said:

Costco has Yamaha A-IPower 

A-I Power genset....  NOT to be confused with a Yamaha inverter generator. They use a Yamaha engine (not the one used in actual Yamaha gensets), but that's as far as the similarities go... no matter how much they want it to look like a Yamaha. ?

  On 4/30/2018 at 7:09 PM, Yarome said:

There are no industry standards of testing and ratings for those type of gensets. It's strictly a mfg. to mfg. "on your honor" system...

That's one of the attractions of the Yamaha/Honda class gensets. The ratings are honest, consistent and maintain frequency and waveform over the range of output (a.k.a. easy on the electronics). They also publish exactly what those ratings are and how long that level of output is sustainable instead of "burying" little details like that from the public. Repair and support is practically world-wide.

This is the key thing to remember. Of all of the portable inverter/generators that I have found ratings for, the most clearly stated and documented specs come from Honda & Yahama. Those two are very competitive and enjoy similar reputations in the power industry and share the top ratings. Consumer Reports rates the Honda sets at the top in all of their categories and Yamaha is not far behind but never quite matches. The Predator isn't all that far behind in most categories, but no testing of the power output was done and ratings were based on manufacturers' claims. The Honda & Yamaha were nearly the same weight with the Predator at 5# more. Since many users never need clean power or they do not recognize the cause when the symptoms appear, it is not easy to find comparisons of the power quality from one generator to the next. If you plan to use things like ham radios on the generator you will need one of the better power supplies and much of the cost difference between the Honda and the lower price generators is in the power controls built into the inverter. One of the best indicators of high-quality electricity is total harmonic distortion or THD. 

 
Quote

“Clean electricity” is considered good with  a THD of less than 6% and often stated or promoted at 5% or less.

For units that measure greater than 6% THD the electrical wave can cause sensitive electrical circuits such as computers or other minor electronics, to lose life. These components may malfunction or operate improperly.

It is common for standard generators to be in the 9% range and some to produce THD as much as 15%.

At over 5% THD you can run heating elements and the vast majority of non-sensitive appliances. The issue you run into is that TV’s may see lines through the picture or noise in the speaker of your radio. Other controllers may not operate properly. You may even get flickering in your lights although most lights can easily handle this amount of distortion.

Generally speaking you can run necessities such as appliances or tools without issue. But if you need to rely on more sensitive equipment you’ll be looking to more expensive standby type generators or inverter power generators.

Thank you all for the responses.  This is what is so good about escapees the people are willing to 

share their knowledge and experiences.

I thought I would throw this in as a add-on to Kirk's post. Consumer Reports top 4 recreational inverter generators:

Score     Price (per CR)     Model

77           $1000                  Honda EU2000iT1A1

76           $480                    Westinghouse iGen2000 

73           $995                    Yamaha EF2000isV2

72           $500                    Predator 62523

As you can see there is the not a huge variation in scores, but there is a huge difference in prices. Second place rather surprised me. 

I know you were comparing the Honda 2000 vs the Predator 2000, but I want to throw my 2 cents in on the Predator 3500. I own a Honda 2000 I bought used and have put many hours on it, but I have several friends that have the Predator 3500 and camping next to them, I gotta say that thing is impressive. The first time I actually heard one from a guy camped next to me, I just assumed it was the larger Honda 3000 from a far. Once I got to looking though, I realized it was the Predator 3500. Amazingly the Predator 3500 is actually quieter than my Honda 2000 at 1/4 load and because it's a larger generator, it doesn't rev up as much for smaller loads which makes it even less intrusive. My microwave makes my Honda 2000 sound like it's about to take off, but the 3500 revs up just a little bit from the microwave, and even running an A/C unit from it, it was still amazingly quiet and non intrusive. My wife has this circuit ez press (basically a 9x9 iron). That thing drives my Honda nuts constantly revving it up and makes it annoying , but the HF handled it beautifully when we tried it on a friend's unit. The Preadator 3500 actually has an hour/amp/watt meter too and electric. Probably about the only thing the 3500 doesn't beat the Honda on is sipping fuel, but it has a bigger tank so you don't have to fill it as often. I've actually been very tempted to pick up a Predator 350t0 because I'm so impressed by them. HF got this one correct.

Now you were comparing the predator 2000 which uses a smaller motor than the Honda 2000) (79cc  I think) and probably doessn't have all the advantages of the Predator 3500. However, if you don't mind the extra size/weight, you can still buy a Predator 3500 cheaper than a Honda 2000. 

I haven't heard a Predator 2000 run or used one to know how well it works, but I wouldn't think twice about buying the 3500 version. 

Edited May 1, 2018 by BlueLghtning