Does anybody have the HarborFreight 2500 Inverter Gen?

otrfun wrote:

gmctoyman wrote:
The original question ... Remains unanswered !

FWIW, I posted a quote of an online HF review in which the reviewer commented that he was not able to run a rooftop a/c with his HF inverter generator. Post date/time: 03/26/14 05:28pm.

My roof air draws 1680 watts and I was unable to get a peak start up draw due to my watt meter not being fast enough. However my Honda 2000i will run it and the Harbor Freight 2200i will not. I believe this is caused by the harbor freight generator having nearly a modified sine wave inverter. In the attached pics you can see the Honda is nearly a pure sine wave and Harbor Freight is nearly modified with only a slight wave form. The Honda is slightly quieter. Overall decent generator. I did test it to a 1900 watt load with no issue.

stevekk wrote:
Thanks to both of you for input.
Good idea on the gas.
So what kind of gas?
Should I just Look for pumps w/o the ethanol sticker?
Or, Just buy the most expensive gas at the pump?
Any particular brands. Like Shell, etc?

In Western states, I will seek out Conoco, Unocal, 76, Phillips, and Sinclair brand fuels, for gas and diesel. Chevron is pretty good too, when you buy the Premium with Techron additive to clean out the fuel system, from time to time. Finding fuel without the Ethanol would be a blessing, but it's just damn hard to find anymore. I try to buy fuel away from any big cities with stiff air pollution regulations, rural areas seem to be more relaxed for clean air fuel requirements, a non issue with a small generator.

Or just use some Sea Foam with your gas, when you are burning quite a bit, and Stabil in your fuel, with a dose of it, then run the motor for 10 minutes to get it in the whole fuel system and carb, then put away in storage for a year. Or run your generator 1x a month under a heavy load ( I use a 1500w hair dryer for 20-30 minutes, or I turn on the electric portion of the water heater on my trailer) to keep things from stagnating.

Of course, cooking with the microwave a couple times a week while camping does a fine job also.

Thanks to both of you for input.
Good idea on the gas.
So what kind of gas?
Should I just Look for pumps w/o the ethanol sticker?
Or, Just buy the most expensive gas at the pump?
Any particular brands. Like Shell, etc?

Two EU2000I's will grunt a bit in Eco mode starting up a 13.5k A/C unit, and bark a little loud, but once up and running, both of them paired will just putt along at 3000 rpm's under very little load, since the load is split among the two generators.

I prefer to just have both generators in regular mode and warmed up to start the A/C unit, then once the A/C unit is running, I turn the inside temp down pretty cold, and then switch both generators to run quietly in Eco mode. It will be a long time before the AC unit shuts off and cycles back on again. And both generators will be running quietly for quite some time at 3000 rpm in Eco mode.

Seems hard to believe, but has to be heard and seen before one gets converted to the idea of it. I'm a believer.

BTW, crappy 10% ethanol gas will really put the hurt on the load capabilities of these generators. I am not making this up, it is very much for real. Cut fuel will cut your capacity near full load on these motors and generators. Get good fuel if you can, and make it easier on the motors to do their job and make the power necessary to pull the load.

stevekk wrote:
Thanks for input. Good 2 cents. And everyone else.
I still tend towards the Honda 3000.
Electric start. It will be permanently mounted on my rear hitch.
I only have to lift it once. I know it is heavy.
But I have something to think about.
Vs the 2 each Honda 2000.
I just want the quietest I can find.

I have a Yamaha 2800 and it starts my 13.5 AC just fine.
So assume the Honda 3000is will to.

No doubt, the EU3000iS has a lot going for it--it's very quiet overall and does have electric start--two big positives. It was a tough decision for me, and I'm sure for others.

My local Honda dealer has demo versions of the EU2000's and EU3000 in their showroom. We hooked up two hair-dryers (one on high--1875 watts, one on low 950 watts) for a total load of 2825 watts (23.5 amps) via a 120 volt to L5 adapter to access the 30 amp connector. That's slightly over the maximum 2800 watt rating of the EU3000iS's; however, 375 watts under the EU2000i's paralleled maximum rating of 3200 watts.

For my ears, and others in attendance during the test, if there was a difference, it was barely noticeable. It was interesting to note, by moving the two EU2000's end-to-end, with the exhausts facing away from each other it seemed to reduce the sound level just slightly.

IMO, In terms of overall sound level this test may have worked (albeit slightly) in favor of the two EU2000's. Reason being, the EU3000iS was max'd out (presumably putting out 58 db), whereas the two EU2000i's were not max'd out and, again, presumably putting out slightly less than their maximum rated sound level of 59 db each. Whether the two EU2000i's extra headroom results in realworld sound reduction vs. the EU3000iS (for the same load) is definitely debatable. However, IMO it is something worth considering.

Again, it's a very tough choice. Good luck!

Thanks for input. Good 2 cents. And everyone else.
I still tend towards the Honda 3000.
Electric start. It will be permanently mounted on my rear hitch.
I only have to lift it once. I know it is heavy.
But I have something to think about.
Vs the 2 each Honda 2000.
I just want the quietest I can find.

I have a Yamaha 2800 and it starts my 13.5 AC just fine.
So assume the Honda 3000is will to.

stevekk wrote:
Thanks.... guess thats what I will try next, dues to its quietness.
The Honda eu3000is. A little over $2000.
Kind of heavy. Anyway to lighten it up?
It will mounted permanently on the rear bumper/ hitch.

Does everyone agree, this is the quietest Gen available?

I get the impression you're on the same journey that I started about 8 months ago. I was also looking for a generator that would power my 13,500 BTU a/c, quietly, at a reasonable cost.

From a value and reliability perspective, the Yamaha EF2400iSHC ($1350) and Champion 3100/2800 ($900) inverter generators were quickly on my radar. Yamaha says the EF2400iSHC can power "most" eco-friendly 13,500 BTU a/c's. The Champion 3100/2800 has a very good reputation for powering nearly all 13,500 and 15,000 BTU a/c's, regardless whether they have a hard-start kit or not. The Yamaha EF2400iSHC has a sound level rating of 53-60 db, whereas the Champion, by all accounts, is rated similar to the Honda "Handi" which has a db spread of 57-65 db. Sure, I'd prefer a quieter generator, but the $1350 chance the EF2400iSHC may not power my current or future 13,500 BTU a/c was too much of a risk. I purchased the Champion 3100.

I used the Champion 3100 a number of times in various RV parks and had a chance to compare it in the realworld next to the Hondas and Yamahas. Long story short I finally came to the conclusion 60 db is the magic threshold when most folks start sensing something is transitioning from "background" noise to more "in-your-face" noise.

Sold the Champion 3100. Relunctantly came to the conclusion I was gonna have to spend an extra $1000 to get exactly what I needed and wanted. So, I set my sights on the Honda EU2000i's (paralleled, $2100) and EU3000iS ($1999). My first priority was much the same as you--the need for quiet. The EU3000iS is rated at 58 db at full load (a mind boggling 49 db at 25% load). Two EU2000i's (rated individually at 59 db at full load) would probably be closer to 60-61 db at full load. It was a difficult choice. After asking for advice here on RV.NET and talking to my local Honda dealer, I decided to go for paralleling two EU2000i's vs. one EU3000iS for a number of reasons. One, according to my local Honda dealer who sells a number of these units every month, it wasn't uncommon to have a customer not be able to power their 13,500 BTU a/c with the EU3000iS. To their knowledge no one had ever had problems powering their 13,500 BTU a/c with paralleled EU2000i's (two EU2000i's have an extra 1000 watts of headroom vs. one EU3000iS). Two, was the portability issue. I can easily carry both EU2000i's at the same time. No way could I lift the EU3000iS into the bed of my truck by myself without potentially hurting myself. Three, redundancy--one EU2000i fails, you have a backup.

My two cents . . . YMMV . . . Good Luck!

Mr.Beebo wrote:

JiminDenver wrote:
The Champion 2000i is listed at 53 db at 23 ft but that doesn't say at what load. I'm wondering what two of them sound like running a 13,5 AC unit.

They don't sound like they are working hard. They surged briefly the first time I kicked the ac on and then went back to work sounding the same as they did in the garage with no load and off econo mode.
I've noted several times in previous threads, in response to posters stating that the Champions are louder than the Hondas; the red, blue and yellow generators all have their own sound signature. I owned a Honda, and the Champion wasn't louder, it simply had a different tone.

Thank you.

Mr.Beebo wrote:

JiminDenver wrote:
The Champion 2000i is listed at 53 db at 23 ft but that doesn't say at what load. I'm wondering what two of them sound like running a 13,5 AC unit.

They don't sound like they are working hard. They surged briefly the first time I kicked the ac on and then went back to work sounding the same as they did in the garage with no load and off econo mode.
I've noted several times in previous threads, in response to posters stating that the Champions are louder than the Hondas; the red, blue and yellow generators all have their own sound signature. I owned a Honda, and the Champion wasn't louder, it simply had a different tone.

I'll agree loudness and tone is subjective. No doubt there are others, like yourself, that feel the Champion 2000's are no louder than the Hondas. At low power levels I agree.

However, Honda specifies db sound levels from 25% to full load at 23 feet for most of their inverter generators. Champion, typically, only specifies sound level at 25% load. Gotta wonder why. IMO, if the Champion was truly competitive with the Honda (at or near full load), I can't imagine why they wouldn't simply say so. They have everything to gain.

Thanks.... guess thats what I will try next, dues to its quietness.
The Honda eu3000is. A little over $2000.
Kind of heavy. Anyway to lighten it up?
It will mounted permanently on the rear bumper/ hitch.

Does everyone agree, this is the quietest Gen available?