Just commenting on the generator part of the conversation as I have never had any solar. You are all correct in your points about parts and rebuilding as well as new carburetors. Any one who's had a generator for some time will need a new carb and that's after the first couple of rebuilds. The bottom line is you get what you pay for. Honda has parts readily available but at a premium price, the parts for my two small generators come directly from china with no dealer reps other than Home depot and they send for the parts from china but that was clearly my trade off as I purchased two of them for the price of one Honda. Is the Honda a superior unit? In my opinion you bet it is. With that said I understand they too are no longer made in Japan but China.
