NEWBIE QUESTION! What generator(s) to get???

rugersdad wrote:
Thanks for the explanation on the EPA rating. Since the Honda has a plastic camshaft as well as a non cast iron sleeve and the Yamaha has a cast iron sleeve as well as a metal camshaft I was thinking the Yamaha would last longer.They are both good generators.

Actually, all Honda generators have a cast-iron cylinder sleeve. The sole exception is the smallest model, the EU1000i, which is 100% aluminum.

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I work for Honda, but the preceding is my opinion alone.
Robert@Honda

Thanks for the explanation on the EPA rating. Since the Honda has a plastic camshaft as well as a non cast iron sleeve and the Yamaha has a cast iron sleeve as well as a metal camshaft I was thinking the Yamaha would last longer.They are both good generators.

rugersdad wrote:
FYI the Honda engine life is rated at 250 hours and the Yamaha engine is rated at 500 hours. It made my decision easy.

Actually, the "250" and "500" hour rating is not engine life, but part of a legally required statement of emissions durability. All small gas engine manufacturers must indicate how long the engine can expect to maintain emissions performance. For example, Yamaha says their engine will maintain compliant emissions/exhaust levels for up to 500 hours, while Honda says their engine will be compliant for up to 250 hours.

This is not an indicator, or warranty, of actual engine life. Neither Honda nor Yamaha have any kind of engine life warranty. All engine warranties are based on age of the unit, not hours of use.

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I work for Honda, but the preceding is my opinion alone.
Robert@Honda

What about those new Generac 2000 inverter gennies I saw an add for that said they were quieter then the honda's. I dont know what the cost is on them but another one to consider.

I thought that seemed strange. Thanks for bringing that t my attention. I was going to say at that rate you would be better off with a solar array on the roof lol

FYI the Honda engine life is rated at 250 hours and the Yamaha engine is rated at 500 hours. It made my decision easy.

This is one of the most mangled and misused statistics around, and it has absolutely NOTHING to do with engine life. These numbers are the EPA "Emissions Compliance Period", which represents the amount of testing the manufacturer did to convince the EPA that the emissions of the engine would be in compliance after the specified number of hours. The largest rating that is given out is 500 hours. With Honda's 250 hour rating you don't know if they couldn't achieve the higher rating, or just chose to not spend the money going for it. If either of these generators had a 500 hour engine life I think they would have been run out of the market by now.

Another model to consider is the Yamaha 2400is. Mine runs my newer 15k dometic ac. Ymmv.

DrtEMaxChvy wrote:
The Yamaha units sound lifespan wise a great unit. I really want something quiet.

No real difference in noise between the Yamaha and Honda.

Rusty

Interesting to see the life is half of that of the Yamaha. I wonder if that is 24/7/365 runtime. I am sure if limited use they would be lasting quite a while, however I could be wrong. It seems like an awful a lot of money to have such (in my eyes) a limited run time. That being said we are looking at dry camping occasionally. Based on our travel record it would be essentially 50% of the time dry camping will be a reality. Also for around the house or whenever you may need a generator it's nice to have a couple around to use. The Yamaha units sound lifespan wise a great unit. I really want something quiet. Nothing is more irritating that have the generators droning out what would be a peaceful experience. That being said I can always turn them off and open the windows :).

rugersdad wrote:
FYI the Honda engine life is rated at 250 hours and the Yamaha engine is rated at 500 hours. It made my decision easy.

Interesting. I hadn't seen that as I recall.

Rusty