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Old 06-13-2009, 08:41 PM   #1
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Knockoff Inverter Generators like the EU2000i

After luggin around my 20,000 lb chinese 8k watt generator more times than I would have liked to, I thought that Honda sure would be nice. I have only used my 8k a handful of times, it puked oil all over my garage one day and then gasoline one night before I had ever used it and swore up and down to never buy anything chinese again (havent been to walmart in about 8 years either). Unfortunately certain expenses are had to justify in my simple mind so being as cheap as I am, spending $900-$1000 on the EU2000i is a tough pill to swallow.

I have found some 2k and 3k inverter generators on ebay, my guess is they are chinese copies of the Honda. Has anyone bought one or used one? I really dont know if I can bring myself to get one considering the one I have now sounds like it is going to chuck a rod the entire time it is running (although it is still running). The prices are very hard to ignore considering I will only use it for a few hours every saturday during football season. Any thoughts?

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Old 06-13-2009, 09:38 PM   #2
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Re: Knockoff Inverter Generators like the EU2000i

i played with a kippor? generator. it was pretty much an exact clone of a honda eu2000i. It seemed every bit as light and as quiet as my honda. not sure about fuel efficiency or longevity.

i am a huge fan of the honda's. you can get them for just under $900 bucks delivered. it is a lot of money, but then you have a unit that is hassle free, starts every time, is super quiet, and crazy fuel efficient.

how much cheaper are the knockoff's? i think it's worth at least 200 bucks in frustration to buy the honda instead. maybe the chinese genny will turn out to be every bit as good as the honda, who knows?
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Old 06-14-2009, 07:54 AM   #3
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Re: Knockoff Inverter Generators like the EU2000i

honda is '' the standard'' that everything is compared to, but I think that the yamaha gennys are high quality pieces as well, it might be worth a price comparison.
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Old 06-14-2009, 08:15 AM   #4
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Re: Knockoff Inverter Generators like the EU2000i

I would definately consider the yamaha as well but the price point would be about the same. I'm watching a 3k clone now on ebay that is up to $255 and another mcculloch
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0341522031
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0430350345
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 3DWatching
As auctions go, the real truth will be in the last 5 mins but I I dont think Id pay more than $400. For more than that Id suck it up and get the Honda
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Old 06-14-2009, 08:40 AM   #5
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Re: Knockoff Inverter Generators like the EU2000i

For a more conventional genny that is relatively quiet, has good power and seems reliable, look at the Champion 3500/4000w peak generator. They are usually available at Kragen's or other Auto parts stores. Wait 'til they're on sale, usually $100 off, sometimes as a rebate. Cabela's sells them , and has 122 reviews
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templ ... tid=522130
I read the 75 reviews that were available when I bought mine last year. Seems most issues relate to being unable to run an A/C. My impression is that these yahoo's tried to run high draw items off the 10A 110 volt receptacle, not the RV 30A one. 10A won't cut it for a 15A appliance! It's not a Honda eu2000i, but for those on a budget this is probably the best bang for the buck out there, based on cost, power and reliability factors.
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Old 06-14-2009, 10:55 AM   #6
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Re: Knockoff Inverter Generators like the EU2000i

Thanks for the info on the genny. It looks just like the one I have now but smaller and lighter. I could have picked up this same one (different branding) for $100 brand new last year from my work (stale inventory), bad move not to take it but who would have known Id buy a stupid bus. Seems like you have been pretty happy with it as were most others that bought it which is a good sign that maybe mine will actually last longer than what I had anticipated. Originally I bought the 8k for hurricane season at the house, had to jump on that bandwagon a few years ago and never had a use for it until now, its just too loud and heavy for tailgating.
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Old 06-14-2009, 05:41 PM   #7
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Re: Knockoff Inverter Generators like the EU2000i

you can take your 8k genny to the muffler shop and have them weld an elbow to the stock muffler and then install a car muffler to quiet it down, once you get the exhaust quiet it'w amazing how much noise the intake and valves make.
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Old 06-14-2009, 07:16 PM   #8
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Re: Knockoff Inverter Generators like the EU2000i

I thought about the muffler thing. Is it a substantial noise reduction or is the mechanical noise pretty much as loud as the exhaust?
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Old 06-15-2009, 06:02 AM   #9
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Re: Knockoff Inverter Generators like the EU2000i

Just FYI the Champion genset looks like another chinese genset. It may be slightly overrated in wattage, there's been a glut of "3000 watt" chinese gensets over the last few years with ratings from 2800 to 4000 which all are basically the same thing as far as I can tell, there are some webpages dedicated to them or used to be anyways. I got one for $200 (others have paid as low as $150) and the handful of times i've used it it's worked flawlessly so far, surprisingly quiet. (much quieter than my lawnmower for instance) Theyre actually fairly decent and being half what i've seen Hondas and such for i'm not complaining. The one quirk if I remember right (been awhile since I pulled it out) is that you dont get 2800 watts sustained out of one outlet, rather 1400 watts each outlet meaning you cant say draw an 1800 watt hair dryer or somesuch. It can surge that high but it doesn't like staying that high. It also has a built in 12vdc battery charger. Whether it will last on and on like a Honda who knows but for the price I could have gotten a 2nd one.


I dont know of chinese inverter super portables yet but unless one was half the price like around $400 i'd be leery until they were on the market longer. Saving $200 and risking catastrophic early failure isn't saving money. Remember that air cooled 3600rpm gas gensets need replacement after some 500-1500hrs normally.


Some people were talking about getting a pair of EU2000 type generators - for those prices youre nearing $2000, and it probably makes more sense to go with an 1800rpm diesel genset which will last literally 10 times as long and then after an overhaul will last another 10 times as long, they are also often made for prime power use. They are heavy though.
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Old 06-15-2009, 09:06 AM   #10
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Re: Knockoff Inverter Generators like the EU2000i

The Champion 3500/4000 watt generator is a bit different than the 2 outlet, 1400 + 1400 = 2800 watt generators. It has an RV 30 amp outlet that gets the full output. It does have a single 110v standard outlet that is only rated at 10 amps. As I stated before, I presume the few bad reviews it has gotten stem from people expecting full 30 amp output from a 10 amp outlet. The 10 amp outlet is clearly labeled as such. I believe it's Chinese, but it is of vastly greater quality than most "cheapie" Chinese stuff I've seen. It IS NOT a knock off of the honda Eu2000, but more of a standard full size generator. Not whisper quiet and efficient like the eu2000, but still a respectable performer and relatively quiet for it's class.

The GX-3000 that kamoo linked has some really bad reviews, both for the generator and the seller.
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Old 08-04-2009, 09:09 PM   #11
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Re: Knockoff Inverter Generators like the EU2000i

Home Depot has the Honeywell 2000w inverter gennies on closeout sale for $299. Couldnt pass it up. It starts easy, is very quiet and seems to be of decent quality, not a Honda but for that price I could buy a spare and still have $$$ in my pocket. The manual says that you cant parallel them but that is ok for me.
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Old 08-04-2009, 10:25 PM   #12
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Just my opinion

I'm an old electrician. Most gen sets are not great for any RV. Most engines are old technology and usually cannot support their rated wattage. Honda is the best in small gen sets but nothing beats a good diesel gen set. Adding any exhaust piping and muffler will destroy a gen set. To quiet a gen set is to strangle a gen set. The exhaust usually is carefully designed by engineers. There are several gen set makers who build great generators with not great engines. Both Kohler and Onan build great electrics with very old design engines called flatheads. Modern engines use either overhead valve or overhead cam design. My last gen set is a super nice unit with a Kubota diesel engine, and makes 8KW at 1800 rpm. The unit uses the bus fuel supply and is water cooler with a seperate radiator. I'm thinking of connecting an air compressor with a clutch. My previous gen set was a Kohler that made 7KW, air cooler, gas unit. I have installed a few Kawasaki and yamaha gas gen sets, but they did not last as long and Honda. Honda makes lots of good everything. Frank
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Old 08-04-2009, 10:47 PM   #13
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Ebay gen sets give away units

http://business.shop.ebay.com/items/Gen ... catZ106437
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Old 08-04-2009, 10:56 PM   #14
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Diesel gen set cheap

http://cgi.ebay.com/7kw-Diesel-Generato ... 286.c0.m14
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Old 08-05-2009, 08:34 PM   #15
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Re: Knockoff Inverter Generators like the EU2000i

Used the HW generator yesterday about 4 hours and today about 3 before it ran out of the 1/2 tank of gas I put in it. Runs good and is quiet. I will ony use the bus on a limited basis so spending $1000+ on an inverter generator or a diesel unit didnt make a whole lot of sense when itll only get 40 hours a year on it. Also regular generators are a too loud considering Ill be packed into a parking lot and hanging outside of the bus most of the time. Its not too hard to find a deal on a normal genset for around 200-400, the inverter type at that price seem to be few and far between. It wont fire up the A/C compressor so I ordered a larger hard start capacitor today, maybe that will do the trick? Just hope it lasts for a couple of years.
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