Anybody Have Experience With These Generators

We have owned a Briggs powered no name, a Suzuki and a Honda. I have also used numberous Hondas at the place I used to work.

The Briggs power generators are cheaper but MUCH noisier and much harder on fuel. They quite often give poor power quality (i.e. high voltage, low voltage, or not 60 Hz frequency) which can sometime damage some loads.

The Suzuki was a GREAT generator. It was rated at 1800 watts however would out perform a Honda 2000 with ease. It was very quiet, used very little gas and we never had a repair on it. We regret selling it.

The Hondas vary slightly in build and quality. The construction grade units are not as nice, they have smaller gas tanks and are not as quiet. The fully caged units work very well and are very dependalbe if maintaned. The 3500 Watt is the smallest unit with 240V I think. It is what we own right now. It is kind of heavy to move around by yourself but can be done. I can load it into the back of a pick up by myself however not everyone can. With 3500 W you can run most critical things in your house including your well pump (if in the country) and a tank of gas (approx. 3 gal) will last you 8 hrs. You can go bigger to the 5000 W or even 6500W however I feel these would be overkill for most home owners. If you don't really need 240V I would go with the 2500W it is much easier to handel and will definetly run a fridge or freezer and some lights.

For the price difference I would go with a Japanese manufacturer. I have heard good things about Yamahas as well. Suzuki and Yamaha are slightly cheaper than Honda, but are of equal quality.

Beware of "Honda Powered" no names, they use Honda engines however use a cheaper generator. They have had the gereators burn out and poor power quality and have damaged loads. I would stay clear.

Let us know what you buy and give us a review.

Also have a 2.5 kw Brigg-powered Coleman generator at the cottage. Several years ago it suffered a direct lightning hit. Blew a hole in the generator end bell and fried the circuit breaker, exciter diodes and ouput receptacle. However after replacing the damaged electrical parts it started right up - it continues to work fine today.

My sister in law has a 4 kw Northern unit with a flathead Briggs engine. The generator head looks very much like my Coleman except for the paint - suspect both were made by the same manufacturer.

So from my experience, for emergency use the Coleman units are a good value for the money. Given the choice I'd prefer one with a Briggs OHV or Honda engine however (quieter and more fuel efficient).