I have been doing some shopping for a generator and figured I would go for a pair of Honda EU200i's with the parallel cable set up for my Travel Trailor (with air conditioning).
On another forum, I found another choice that left me stammering. Has anyone heard of Kipor Generators? They appear to be priced very low and all of the customer testimonials seemed positive.
Does anyone know, would a Honda be worth the added expence? Or is Kipor a viable competitor, putting pressure on Honda's good reputation with a lower price?
I'm leaning toward the Honda due to their long standing reputation, but would like to stay open minded to a possibly more sensible choice before slapping the bucks down on the table.
Any input based on knowledge is greatly appreciated. Thanks, Tim

 

man all honda's got is a name, they're like the sony of automotive, trying to make everything. I think that the Kipor is gonna be just fine. I've also heard of generators that use your truck's engine for energy. If I remember correctly they were powerful enough to run a welder. I can't remember how they worked or who made them though.

 

Hondas are supposed to be pretty good but very expensive. I do not have real life experience with the Honda or Kipor brands so if you need that info stop reading now, I am wasting your time.

The noname brands seem OK and are dirt cheap in comparison to Hondas. The problem, I think, I do not know, with the nonames is that parts might be difficult to find if they ever break down. In my mind they are almost disposable since they are so cheap.

I have an old Nissan 1000W generator I bought about 14 years ago and it has done fine. Never had any trouble other than gas gumming up the carb which was easily cleaned. It has a small Kawasaki engine in it that is loud as heck, looks and sounds like a regular old Briggs and Stratton.

I just bought a noname, PowerPro? 3500W generator at Pep Boys for my travel trailer. Gotta be able to run the AC and Microwave while roughing it. Used it last weekend and it was a pretty nice generator. Not terribly loud but something you could notice in a quiet campground. It ran for about 5-6 hours total and did not use up more than maybe 2-3 G of gas.

Only complaint I think is that maybe it might run just a little low on current output under load. Wild guess is maybe they are using wire that is marginal for the rated output, this has been my experience with Chinese electrical parts, barely adequate wiring. My son's Backup Powersupply and filter for his PC would squawk at us whenever we ran the microwave, this indicated that the voltage was a little low, but I am not sure how accurate that backup supply is. It also seemed like the microwave and AC didn't run as fast as I expected but could just be my imagination.

I checked the power with a cheapie voltmeter and it was right at 120V and didn't dip a lot when I turned on appliances. It did run the AC with Microwave and electric water heater all at the same time. I plan to put an Oscope on the line soon to see how clean the power is.

It cost something like $329 and is a Chinese make. The engine said Wen on it. I have seen various noname Chinese specials and they all look the same so I would assume they are. This generator is pretty heavy with 4 G of gas in it. It does not have a 12VDC outlet which I like but don't really need.

I don't have enough time with this generator to say what it will do over time, but so far I am happy with it and if it does blow up, it is cheap enough to throw away. Don't know how easy the parts are to find but the manual has a long list of parts and where to buy them.

So just my experience with two "nonames". BTW, the Nissan still runs great, just too small to run all the trailer appliances while we rough it. Guess we'll use that while tent camping, har.

Jim Henderson

 

If you really like the honda rep, then try looking for a mid priced generator with a honda engine. Onan (spelling?) comes to mind.

While I dont think that the honda engine is the be all end all of everything they sure do run quiet when compared to a brigs of the same size.

 

Most hondas on the market use a Briggs and Stratton Engine. Onan is actually a generator manufacturer. Most Onan gensets use cummins diesel engines, and honda or even briggs in thier smaller sets.

I have worked in the generator field for almost 10 years in the Air Force. I have never heard of Kipor. If it were me, I would compare things like desired performace, mainteance costs, and warranties. When we purchase gensets for the Air Force, those are the kind of things we look at. If a generator is cheaper to buy, but more expensive to maintain, or the warranty sucks, then we go with the better. Remeber, as with almost anything else...you get what you pay for!

 

A friend of mine has a 2000i that we use at the Hunting camp.
It starts every time, runs quietly, and puts out very clean power because it's a DC generator with an inverter to get AC. The only thing is that for some reason you can't draw off AC and DC at the same time. It was expensive, but it will probably last him a lifetime.

 

I've got a Hodna 3000. They are pricy but VERY quiet and dependable. Mine starts in the cold or heat easily. When I was shopping for them, Honda was by far the quietest...Good Luck.

 

I have a honda at work that we use occasionally. It has only been in the shop once in over 15 years. It cranks on about the second pull everytime we use it even if it has not been used in a couple of months. I would'nt even consider another brand.

 

Great stuff. Thanks for the replies.
T

 

The Kipor seem to be generating lots of interest over at the RV forum these days.
The main problem that I see with them is service. They are mostly all mail order as far as I know.
I bought a Yamaha generator which is popular also and then found out when it had a problem under warranty that the nearest place that would work on it was 75 miles away.

 

Hmmm, had my PowerPro from Pepboys for about 2-3 weeks now and it has sat under my travel trailer since the beginning of the month. It has rained a bit and I guess some splashing took place. There are already some rust spots in the paint of the frame, mostly at the welds. I have owned my Nissan brand gen for 14 years and used it in pouring rain and still have no rust.

Guess this is my evidence that the Chinese make pretty things but the finish durability isn't there yet.

Hmm, I need to see how well it runs. Hopefully it will be years before I can complain about more than rust spots.

Jim Henderson

 

An update.
I kind of swayed away from the Kipor and was left deciding between the Honda 2000i and Yamaha 2400i. Both can be run in parallel but I thought that the Yammi might just suit my needs with only one genni. I ended up buying a Honda EU2000i at Wisesales. They are on the internet and have great prices. There were a few internet sites with good prices but this one I found the best deal of $860 (no tax and no shipping) for a Honda EU2000i, including a 10' battery charger cable. I had to ask for Ed and say I read about it on "The Hull Truth" forum to take advantage of the sale, which ends at the end of March.
I will buy another EU2000i later on when I can afford another one to run in parallel.

Thanks everyone for your replies. Happy Trails, Tim

 

Please post back how you plan on wiring these two seperate generators together in a parallel output. I'd be interested in how you do it, as I'd think without exactly matching voltage outputs exactly while under all load conditions, you'd burn em up. Equal voltage outputs require the generators rotor rpm's be equal, and if one engine coughs just a bit--kaboom! instant smoke!!

I never heard of hooking two seperate generators together in parallel without some kind of load sensing/balancing trip outs.

 

You will be very happy with the Honda. I have the 3000 and it supper quiet and ran my whoe trailer this past weekend on 1 tank of gas.

The Honda's are actually designed to be run in parallel using their parallel wiring kit. Beyond the fact that you can do it I do not physically know how it works.

http://froogle.google.com/froogle_cl...ring=mrd&hl=en

 

Yup, when I can afford another genni, I'll buy that cross over Parallel kit. You don't get 4000 watts, but I think it comes to 3400 or so. Enough, anyway, to run my Air conditioner and a margarita blender this summer in my travel trailor!!!
Whooo hoo