What is the best quiet small engine generator?

Bruce372
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Bruce372
Edited Date/Time 9/1/2019 6:24pm
Dont know how much the Honda one is, Costco have a Yamaha, home depot a ryobi and probably harbor freight lol.

What is the best? What is the best value?

Thanks!
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agn5009
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agn5009 8/18/2019 11:16pm
8/18/2019 11:16pm
I have the predator 3500 inverter generator from Harbor Freight. I use it mainly to power my toy hauler. I love it. Haven’t had a single issue with it what so ever. It’ll run over 10 hours on a full tank with the A/C on full blast in the camper. I couldn’t justify spending $3000+ on a generator for camping when most places these days have hook ups. Most of the time I only use it at races.
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snackfedbear
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snackfedbear 8/18/2019 11:19pm
8/18/2019 11:19pm
agn5009 wrote:
I have the predator 3500 inverter generator from Harbor Freight. I use it mainly to power my toy hauler. I love it. Haven’t had a single...
I have the predator 3500 inverter generator from Harbor Freight. I use it mainly to power my toy hauler. I love it. Haven’t had a single issue with it what so ever. It’ll run over 10 hours on a full tank with the A/C on full blast in the camper. I couldn’t justify spending $3000+ on a generator for camping when most places these days have hook ups. Most of the time I only use it at races.
How much did that one cost ya?
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agn5009
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agn5009 8/18/2019 11:24pm
8/18/2019 11:24pm
agn5009 wrote:
I have the predator 3500 inverter generator from Harbor Freight. I use it mainly to power my toy hauler. I love it. Haven’t had a single...
I have the predator 3500 inverter generator from Harbor Freight. I use it mainly to power my toy hauler. I love it. Haven’t had a single issue with it what so ever. It’ll run over 10 hours on a full tank with the A/C on full blast in the camper. I couldn’t justify spending $3000+ on a generator for camping when most places these days have hook ups. Most of the time I only use it at races.
snackfedbear wrote:
How much did that one cost ya?
I got it during one of their sales. Black Friday or Christmas sale or something. I think it was around $650 or so. I believe they’re normally right around $800. What do you plan on using it for? By all means, honda is a great product. But for a guy like me, only needing it 7-10 times per year I couldn’t justify the price difference.
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agn5009
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agn5009 8/18/2019 11:25pm
8/18/2019 11:25pm
I just checked online. They have a coupon currently for $699.
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snackfedbear
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snackfedbear 8/19/2019 12:14am
8/19/2019 12:14am
agn5009 wrote:
I just checked online. They have a coupon currently for $699.
Would mostly be for the same use as you do. Maybe an “oh shit” item for when it hits the fan, and for small lighting in off the grid photo shoots.
Is it fairly quiet?
tylermx967
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tylermx967 8/19/2019 12:40am
8/19/2019 12:40am
I THINK THAT IT REAL IMPORTANT TO GET A QUIET GENERATER WE SEED A FITE IN THE PITS ONE TIME BECASE A GUY GETTED HOT AIR BLOWED ON HIM ALL DAY FROM THE GUY IN THE NEXT PIT AND HE GOED OVER AND TURNED IT OFF AND TELL THE OTHER GUY HE IS SWETING LIKE A PIG. THE OTEHER GUY SAY THAT U SMELL LIKE ONE TOO AND HE BURP IN HIS FACE AND THROWED A BEER CAN AT HIS TRAILER AND THEY GET INTO A BIG FITE AND THE HOLE PITS TRY AND BRAKE THEM UP
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chump6784
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chump6784 8/19/2019 1:57am
8/19/2019 1:57am
tylermx967 wrote:
I THINK THAT IT REAL IMPORTANT TO GET A QUIET GENERATER WE SEED A FITE IN THE PITS ONE TIME BECASE A GUY GETTED HOT AIR...
I THINK THAT IT REAL IMPORTANT TO GET A QUIET GENERATER WE SEED A FITE IN THE PITS ONE TIME BECASE A GUY GETTED HOT AIR BLOWED ON HIM ALL DAY FROM THE GUY IN THE NEXT PIT AND HE GOED OVER AND TURNED IT OFF AND TELL THE OTHER GUY HE IS SWETING LIKE A PIG. THE OTEHER GUY SAY THAT U SMELL LIKE ONE TOO AND HE BURP IN HIS FACE AND THROWED A BEER CAN AT HIS TRAILER AND THEY GET INTO A BIG FITE AND THE HOLE PITS TRY AND BRAKE THEM UP
That's one of my favorite tyler stories
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agn5009
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agn5009 8/19/2019 2:24am
8/19/2019 2:24am
agn5009 wrote:
I just checked online. They have a coupon currently for $699.
snackfedbear wrote:
Would mostly be for the same use as you do. Maybe an “oh shit” item for when it hits the fan, and for small lighting in...
Would mostly be for the same use as you do. Maybe an “oh shit” item for when it hits the fan, and for small lighting in off the grid photo shoots.
Is it fairly quiet?
Yes, very quiet. When I use it I put it right by the camper and can still have regular tone conversations while sitting under the awning. Even when the AC is on in the camper it doesn’t get much louder. The tone gets deeper but honestly not much louder. It’s pretty impressive how far these inverter generators have come.
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JFerry
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JFerry 8/19/2019 3:12am
8/19/2019 3:12am Edited Date/Time 8/19/2019 3:13am
tylermx967 wrote:
I THINK THAT IT REAL IMPORTANT TO GET A QUIET GENERATER WE SEED A FITE IN THE PITS ONE TIME BECASE A GUY GETTED HOT AIR...
I THINK THAT IT REAL IMPORTANT TO GET A QUIET GENERATER WE SEED A FITE IN THE PITS ONE TIME BECASE A GUY GETTED HOT AIR BLOWED ON HIM ALL DAY FROM THE GUY IN THE NEXT PIT AND HE GOED OVER AND TURNED IT OFF AND TELL THE OTHER GUY HE IS SWETING LIKE A PIG. THE OTEHER GUY SAY THAT U SMELL LIKE ONE TOO AND HE BURP IN HIS FACE AND THROWED A BEER CAN AT HIS TRAILER AND THEY GET INTO A BIG FITE AND THE HOLE PITS TRY AND BRAKE THEM UP
Ha, ha, ha,
Generator and quietness don't match. you are not making friends. Make your maths, calculate your needs and buy solar panels.
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MudPup545
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MudPup545 8/19/2019 3:38am
8/19/2019 3:38am
I have a Yamaha 3000 watt inverter that is rated about 2 decibels below the comparable Honda model. Very quiet. As in you can stand next it and hold a conversation and not even notice it’s running. Used it many times for field camping with no hookups and it’ll purr right along for days without a hiccup.
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YAMATHUMP1
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YAMATHUMP1 8/19/2019 4:36am
8/19/2019 4:36am
agn5009 wrote:
I just checked online. They have a coupon currently for $699.
snackfedbear wrote:
Would mostly be for the same use as you do. Maybe an “oh shit” item for when it hits the fan, and for small lighting in...
Would mostly be for the same use as you do. Maybe an “oh shit” item for when it hits the fan, and for small lighting in off the grid photo shoots.
Is it fairly quiet?
agn5009 wrote:
Yes, very quiet. When I use it I put it right by the camper and can still have regular tone conversations while sitting under the awning...
Yes, very quiet. When I use it I put it right by the camper and can still have regular tone conversations while sitting under the awning. Even when the AC is on in the camper it doesn’t get much louder. The tone gets deeper but honestly not much louder. It’s pretty impressive how far these inverter generators have come.
I have one of these also, seems to be pretty solid so far. I use it for a small camper also and it runs all day in the Texas heat with no problem. It is very quiet also.
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Indy mxer
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Indy mxer 8/19/2019 4:45am
8/19/2019 4:45am
MudPup545 wrote:
I have a Yamaha 3000 watt inverter that is rated about 2 decibels below the comparable Honda model. Very quiet. As in you can stand next...
I have a Yamaha 3000 watt inverter that is rated about 2 decibels below the comparable Honda model. Very quiet. As in you can stand next it and hold a conversation and not even notice it’s running. Used it many times for field camping with no hookups and it’ll purr right along for days without a hiccup.
Yes. My brother has a Yamaha for his toy hauler. I was amazed at how quiet it was. You can hardly hear it running.
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ga_pike
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ga_pike 8/19/2019 4:56am
8/19/2019 4:56am
I have the Predator and it's been great. 3 years with zero issues. As long as you follow the maintenance schedule, use non-ethanol fuel OR ethanol treatment (as directed), and run the gas out of the carb each use by shutting off the fuel petcock and letting it run out, you should have no issues.
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MxKing809
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MxKing809 8/19/2019 4:58am
8/19/2019 4:58am
agn5009 wrote:
I have the predator 3500 inverter generator from Harbor Freight. I use it mainly to power my toy hauler. I love it. Haven’t had a single...
I have the predator 3500 inverter generator from Harbor Freight. I use it mainly to power my toy hauler. I love it. Haven’t had a single issue with it what so ever. It’ll run over 10 hours on a full tank with the A/C on full blast in the camper. I couldn’t justify spending $3000+ on a generator for camping when most places these days have hook ups. Most of the time I only use it at races.
snackfedbear wrote:
How much did that one cost ya?
agn5009 wrote:
I got it during one of their sales. Black Friday or Christmas sale or something. I think it was around $650 or so. I believe they’re...
I got it during one of their sales. Black Friday or Christmas sale or something. I think it was around $650 or so. I believe they’re normally right around $800. What do you plan on using it for? By all means, honda is a great product. But for a guy like me, only needing it 7-10 times per year I couldn’t justify the price difference.
I have the same Predator. Got it for $599 during a Harbor Freight parking lot sale. Thing is bad ass. As quiet as a Honda absolutely. They also have a 1 year, no questions asked warranty. A person I know tapes his receipt in a ziplock bag to the generator, then every 11 months has “something go wrong”
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Markee
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Markee 8/19/2019 5:08am
8/19/2019 5:08am
MxKing809 wrote:
I have the same Predator. Got it for $599 during a Harbor Freight parking lot sale. Thing is bad ass. As quiet as a Honda absolutely...
I have the same Predator. Got it for $599 during a Harbor Freight parking lot sale. Thing is bad ass. As quiet as a Honda absolutely. They also have a 1 year, no questions asked warranty. A person I know tapes his receipt in a ziplock bag to the generator, then every 11 months has “something go wrong”
Thats kinda jacked up don't you think?
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zippytech
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zippytech 8/19/2019 6:29am
8/19/2019 6:29am
I have a Honda 3000.. got new , ran great then after about a month it started to turn off when ever it felt like it. after a year of dealing with that and taking it back to the shop and them say , it never turned off for them. I traded it in on another new honda 3000 for a $500.00 difference. 6 months later the second general would just shut off when ever it felt like it.

Finally after some digging I took the oil sensor out of the circuit and I have not used it much but so far so good.

I won't buy another.
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bh84
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bh84 8/19/2019 6:37am
8/19/2019 6:37am
Yamaha and Honda are the go-to ones. You can get a 5500W Yamaha for $1399 thats suitable to run a trailer or be a backup for your house. My advice, get the pull start model. They have the odd electric start issue.

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Dirty Points 8/19/2019 6:41am
8/19/2019 6:41am Edited Date/Time 8/19/2019 7:50am
Costco doesn't have Yamaha generators. They have AiPower generators that have Yamaha engines (and stamp "Yamaha powered" more prominently than the actual branding). They are probably a good generator, but not to be confused with an actual Yamaha branded gennie, which are excellent.
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JM485
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JM485 8/19/2019 6:42am
8/19/2019 6:42am
From what I've seen I wouldn't bother with anything but the Hondas, they're hard to beat. I've never seen anyone have issues with them and they're very quiet, which is pretty much a necessity as far as I'm concerned.
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three9zero
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three9zero 8/19/2019 6:49am
8/19/2019 6:49am
The newer Honda Eu2200 models are sweet. The fuel shut off feature is sweet if you only have ethanol fuel available.
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zippytech
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zippytech 8/19/2019 8:35am
8/19/2019 8:35am
JM485 wrote:
From what I've seen I wouldn't bother with anything but the Hondas, they're hard to beat. I've never seen anyone have issues with them and they're...
From what I've seen I wouldn't bother with anything but the Hondas, they're hard to beat. I've never seen anyone have issues with them and they're very quiet, which is pretty much a necessity as far as I'm concerned.
Unfortunately I have had 2 3000's that both had problem with random shutdowns
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MudRider1
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MudRider1 8/19/2019 8:54am
8/19/2019 8:54am
Any of the above.
For the price the Predator and Costco airpower are great.

I have some of all going on 10 years with daily running.
What I do is run dino oil for a few hours and dump it. Run dino for a few hours again and dump it and switch to synth.

Get the magnet dip sticks.
crashnburn11 8/19/2019 9:57am
8/19/2019 9:57am
I habe two of the yamahas from costco that tether together to give my rv a 30 amp plig. They work great, no issues, amd quiet. Can run 8+ hours on a 1 gal tank too.
MxKing809
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MxKing809 8/19/2019 10:01am
8/19/2019 10:01am Edited Date/Time 8/19/2019 10:03am
MxKing809 wrote:
I have the same Predator. Got it for $599 during a Harbor Freight parking lot sale. Thing is bad ass. As quiet as a Honda absolutely...
I have the same Predator. Got it for $599 during a Harbor Freight parking lot sale. Thing is bad ass. As quiet as a Honda absolutely. They also have a 1 year, no questions asked warranty. A person I know tapes his receipt in a ziplock bag to the generator, then every 11 months has “something go wrong”
Markee wrote:
Thats kinda jacked up don't you think?
I 100% think it wrong.

By saying a person I know, that wasn’t a thinly veiled attempt to say I do that or condone it. Just stating that they warranty anything, even some jackass saying it keeps shutting off every 11 months.
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benjmopar
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benjmopar 8/20/2019 5:16pm
8/20/2019 5:16pm
I bought a new Honda 3000 a few years back to replace a loud and aging Briggs and Stratton powered one just for less noise but unfortunately I've had to return it to the shop twice for random shutdowns and drag out 'ol noisy. Kind of thought for what I paid it would have held up better. I heard through the very unverified grapevine that predator's are knockoff's of honda's but not sure about that.
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NATEP231
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NATEP231 8/20/2019 5:42pm
8/20/2019 5:42pm
Only issue I’ve had with my predator is being drunk while filling it in a rain storm and getting water in the gas and I’ve had the exhaust carbon up and the overload light come on. Cleaned that all out and she’s running back to normal again. Other then that I recommend the predator 3500 invertor 100%. I’ve also had the wife accidentally turn the microwave on while the A/C was running, it bogged down but powered through it.
moto314
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moto314 8/20/2019 6:37pm
8/20/2019 6:37pm
I have the CRAFTSMAN CMXGIAC3000 3000-Watt Gasoline Portable Generator, super quiet, powers one AC unit no problem, has 30 amp plug, runs the AC 7-8 hours on 1 gallon tank.
IceMan446
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IceMan446 8/20/2019 6:37pm
8/20/2019 6:37pm
JM485 wrote:
From what I've seen I wouldn't bother with anything but the Hondas, they're hard to beat. I've never seen anyone have issues with them and they're...
From what I've seen I wouldn't bother with anything but the Hondas, they're hard to beat. I've never seen anyone have issues with them and they're very quiet, which is pretty much a necessity as far as I'm concerned.
zippytech wrote:
Unfortunately I have had 2 3000's that both had problem with random shutdowns
My buddy had one quite on him also. Honda wouldn’t warranty it but amazon did thankfully.

Yamaha’s all the way IMO

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