mlts22 wrote:
There are three brands of generators to consider: Red, blue, and yellow. In that order. I'd place Honda a notch over Yamaha because of parts/service availability, but both are quite reliable. Nothing wrong with Champion models, although they tend to be somewhat louder than the red/blue ones.
I'd avoid the no-name brands like the plague, just because a Champion isn't that more expensive, and Champions have decent voltage regulation.
After quite a bit of personal trial and error, I have to agree with you.
A couple of years ago, I purchased one of the HF 3000/3500 watt generators. Although a bargain at $250 and distinctly quieter than the Briggs & Stratton variety, discovered very quickly it was just too loud for peaceful, co-habitation at any RV park. So, on to plan B, the Champion 3100/2800 watt inverter generator for almost 4 times the money. It seemed to be the most reliable, refined, Made-in-China, generator I'd seen to date. Picked one up thinking its 58db sound rating (at 25 or 50% load???) would be the ticket to peaceful, co-habitation. Well, after camping with it a few times I discovered it was a hit-or-miss affair. As long as the exhaust side wasn't pointed directly at a fellow camper, life was good. If it was, it wasn't long before you could see the irritation on their face. After much deliberation I moved on to plan C--red or blue. Very briefly considered the technical pros & cons of red vs. blue, but let that go quickly and just went with the popular majority--red. Recouped the loss selling the Champion when I got a great deal on a new, never used Honda EU2000 on Craiglist. Purchased a EU2000 companion online. Yup, both cost me twice the money of the Champion, but now I don't need to flinch or hesitate when I power up. In my estimation, the two EU2000's together are only about 3-4 db quieter than the Champion under the same load, but I have to admit in the realworld it makes all the difference.
FWIW, the Champion 3100/2800 watt inverter generator is obviously designed to compete (both cosmetically and specification-wise) with the Honda 3000 watt "Handi" generator. I believe the Honda "Handi" is the loudest, consumer-type, inverter generator that Honda sells. It's rated at 65 db at full load. So, it's not a slam against the Champion that I consider it too loud. I could have spent $2300 on the Honda "Handi" and had the same problem.
