Looking for a generator for a race trailer, in the 3500-4000 watt size range. Obviously I'd be using it intermittently.
Cheapos from Harbor Freight and Champion can be had for $300-400.
Hondas are literally 5x as much at $1500-1700. Generacs are somewhere in the middle: $750 or so.
At $300, I'm inclined to just buy a HF generator and if it dies in a year, get another one, etc.
Is there some kind of magic pixie dust in a Honda generator that makes it worth this kind of premium?
Teggsan wrote: Is there some kind of magic pixie dust in a Honda generator that makes it worth this kind of premium?
a lot less noise.
Noise. Honda generators are well known for being quieter than most. You can say, "so?" but after the hurricane, listening to the rattle of a portable generator wears on you.
Oh... And when looking at db ratings, remember db is measured on a log scale, so a few points can make a big difference.
Teggsan wrote: Is there some kind of magic pixie dust in a Honda generator that makes it worth this kind of premium?
Yes
After Katrina, everyone had theirs outside. Made the quiet neighborhood noisy.
moxnix wrote:Teggsan wrote: Is there some kind of magic pixie dust in a Honda generator that makes it worth this kind of premium?a lot less noise.
This. Even my miserly dad is forced to admit that his new Honda is words apart from the ancient Briggs & Stratton that it replaced. He had the fortuitous timing to buy the new generator before Sandy hit. Saved my mom's sanity during their week-long outage 
They are amazingly different and better. They literally are whisper quiet which allows you to use them in places and times you'd normally not.
They also don't seem to have the power surge that happens when a load is put on a generator. Or if it does you don't notice it.
I'm told it's the one to have if you are running any kind of electronic equipment.
the chattering of generators after the derecho drove me to my wits end by the end of that ordeal
Honda has generators with inverter technology so instead of just blasting away all the time it only runs based on the current load. I think that is what it is called. My father in law rents generators to the TV/Movie industry and the only small/portable generators he buys are honda
hondas also produce a true clean sine wave
I'd stay away from the generac
The Honda EU series generators are also inverters so they will provide a constant power source and will be able to run delicate electronics if you need. After having a cheapo noisy one and now a nice Honda there is no way I would ever go back to a cheapo.
Cheapos from HF can be had for under $100. Look at you needs, and size accordingly. I know many folk who have and use the tiny 2-stroke HF generator. The things will run forever, and burn almost no gas. That's why you see them so often at weekend swap meets and the like. Yup, they're small. If you don't need more, they work great. I've seen them flogged hard, as in run continuously for over a week. Nope, you can't run a refrigerator off one, but you can run the furnace fan and the well pump (probably not at the same time though). If that's all you need, it's fine.
I happen to have a larger generator I got from Tractor Supply (who is cheaper than HF when it comes to generators). I have a $300 Champion. My neighbors Honda generator is quite a bit louder. My Champion does not violate the laws of physics as some of this thread have claimed it must.
Figure your power needs (and wants), and size the generator too the application. And I'd suggest factor in fuel supply to that equation. A few days of fuel for a sipper is a lot easier to manage than for a guzzler.
most people buy too small of a generator. they do not take a lot of things in to consideration and just work it to death. i have seen people move their gens 200' away from them and then run some cheap cord that distance. i wouldnt buy anything under 5000 watt. i own 2 older 10,000 watt hondas over time generators output will decrease. do not go by peak output. if you look around you can find good deals on Honda or other top name gensets. just make sure it has low oil shutdown, temp shutdown and GFCI receptacles
I got a Yamaha Inverter EF6300iSDE. Yes I spent some $$ but its quiet, in the summer i can run my big 15,000BTU A/C (normal a/c is 13,000) in my toy hauler and in the winter when storms hit i can not worry that I'll burn it up nor hear the neighbors complain of the noise. I got the remote start too. It was just under $3800 but I'll never have to buy another unit. Inverter power is clean and will not damage tv's or computers etc.
Another magazine about Motorsports with the word "Vintage" in the title just published an article on generators. Good basic information.
This past weekend I was tailgating about three spaces down from some folks running a Honda generator. I couldn't hear it over the other noise. It sold me on the Honda tax.
I can vouch for the noise of the Champion. Mine is outside of the house, under a side deck. It is surrounded by firewood and a cement wall to help dull the sound that reaches the house and the neighbors. I sleep on the opposite side of the house from it. It sounds like a unmuffled ProStock '69 Camaro is idling in my bedroom. (OK, maybe no that bad, but it is a constant din that you DO notice)
For the occasional emergency use, it's OK. If I had less room between houses or had to have it right outside the bedroom, I would invest in a Honda.
My trailer generator is a off brand inverter generator. Northern used to sell them for $300. It's 1800 watts and pretty quiet. It could be a little bigger. I think they have jumped the price to $700 in the last year or so. I have another 6000 watt that I built using a head off a blown up Generac and a 2cyl military engine I picked up off Ebay. Quiet isn't a word I would use to describe it.
My house generator is a trailer mounted and enclosed 10kw diesel. Not being able to afford one of those, I built it using a Kubota 3cyl engine and a HF 10kw belt drive generator head. With the generator turning 3600 rpm, the engine is turning 2150. It's quiet.
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