curt12914 wrote:
Professor, Have you tried the 2000 watt Honda and Yamaha generators? How do their inverters compare for output?
The Yamaha 2000 I was loaned for study and evaluation by a local equipment rental store was essentially identical to the CPE in power and performance. But, it did not fault as quickly with a current surge. I can't give you specific times on the fault delay of the Yamaha as I had no accurate way of measuring other than observation.
The 2000 watt Honda and 2000 watt Kipor are darn near identical in performance. (Honda owners will hate that statement). Both the Honda and Kipor have a significantly greater (observable) surge current capability compared to the Champion. But, when attached to a resistive load that is gradually increased, both begin to fade at about the same point - 1725 watts. My resistive load consisted of an electric heater drawing 1325 measured watts and a parallel arrangement of incandescent light bulbs of 100, 100, 100, 60 and 40 watts that could be switched in independently.
Bottom line - all of the 2,000 advertised watt inverters (Honda, Kipor, Yamaha and Champion) reliably operated up to 1,500 watts of continuous load. NONE were capable of operating at a continuous load of 2,000 watts.
The Honda and Kipor provided more surge current. The Yamaha and CPE would NOT start a 6,000 BTU window air conditioner used as a test device. The Honda and Kipor would start the device. The Yamaha and CPE would NOT start a 12 amp circular saw. The Kipor and Honda would.
The Honda and Kipor are 100cc engines. The Champion and Yamaha have 80cc engines.
This is in no way a statement that implies the Champion and Yamaha are inferior to the Kipor and Honda. But, if your needs are for higher surge or starting currents, the larger displacement engine models do appear to have an advantage.
BTW - the two Champion 2,000i units in parallel started and ran anything I plugged in with no problems. 15K BTU A/C, microwave, hair dryer, saws, grinders, sanders, etc.
One thing I did not get to try and most likely will not until it gets warm again is starting the 15K roof A/C with two CPE units, locking in the compressor and shutting down one of the two units to see if I could keep the A/C running. I think it will work, but have not had an opportunity to try it yet.
