Carefully consider warranty and parts support when choosing a generator. IMO, Champion and Honda offer some of the best in the industry.
Harbor Freight's "warranty" looks good at first glance: free replacement for 90 days (or 1-2 yr, one-time free replacement for additional cost). However, after that you're completely on your own. HF offers zero/no repair capability (only total replacement under warranty) and very little to no parts availability.
Others require you to ship or transport the generator to their nearest repair facility hundreds/thousands of miles away. I'd venture to say many would simply settle for a paper-weight than deal with the cost/hassles of packing, insuring, shipping, and/or transporting a 50-100 lb. generator these kinds of distances.
