Honda EU2200i vs GENMAX GM2200i vs Predator 2000

Great channel! I made a few comments to Todd about some tests I'd love to see. Seems many are asking him to review the Champion and Firman dual fuel generators.

i will still stick to the real deal honda

Me too... if I won the lottery.

There's zero doubt that the Honda is the best-engineered model in the lot, hands down.

Personally, I will likely consider a pair of the cheaper ones (for parallel and as backup) in place of one Honda, and still save a bunch of cash.

I sold my 23 year old Honda for 2/3 the original price. Purchase price is only part of the equation, besides quality and after sales service/parts. Honda/Yamaha…..Priceless 😉

OrlyP said:

Project Farm recently made a video comparison of these three 2kW inverter generators. If you're in the market for such, it's a good watch.

I would've wanted a more comprehensive talk about the used oil analysis (UOA) and maybe even a 2nd round of tests after the break-in.

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The Honda has the larger engine which accounts for the higher oil capacity, shorter run time, and better current stability. Clearly Honda is not minimalist in it's construction. But it's it 3X more costly to produce? I doubt it.

No it doesn’t cost 3 times more, but it’s the reliability that is also factored into the price. Our whole society is based on what the market will bare, and folks that “know” the reliability will be willing to pay the price….the value of which will still be high 10, 15, 20 years later. Not everyone shops based on price alone 😉

OrlyP said:

Me too... if I won the lottery.

There's zero doubt that the Honda is the best-engineered model in the lot, hands down.

Personally, I will likely consider a pair of the cheaper ones (for parallel and as backup) in place of one Honda, and still save a bunch of cash.

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I agree with that assessment. The Honda seems to own the quality build award...maybe Yamaha is second.

The problem with the Honda is the price. If you are only going to run the gen only occasionally for an outage (and I think that is the case for the majority of owners), then the Honda doesn't make economic sense. If an owner needs to run the gen quite often, then the Honda reliability may be worth it.

For example, a Honda EU7000ISNAN can be bought for $4,500 right now. However, a Champion 100719 8500W gen can be bought for $2,250. So, that means that you literally could buy two Champions for the price of one Honda. I just picked that Champion as an example...there are other similar alternatives.

When I bought my Honda generator, how often I might need it (very rarely) didn’t factor into what I was willing to pay for it. I never think about the extra money I spent to purchase my Honda generator. I do however, still think about what it was like living in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina… not to mention several other storms during my life.

There's no debate on which is the best and most reliable machine. But there's also merits in having a great deal of options available in the market to choose from... which is always good for everyone. It gives relatively low-income people who have to otherwise ride through an outage without backup power, still get into owning a generator at a lower cost. It all comes down to value and how you define it.

By not choosing a Honda doesn't automatically mean I despise the brand or sneer at people who bought one. If you own a Honda, good for you! I'm green with envy. I owned a Honda sedan years back and loved the car. Very reliable and doesn't require much attention in the maintenance department. But I had to trade it up for a bigger Toyota (equally reliable) when the kids got older. I like Honda as a company but they do put a premium on everything they sell and oftentimes, it puts a damper on an individual or family's buying power.... diminishing returns, so to speak.

OrlyP said:

There's no debate on which is the best and most reliable machine.

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Honda makes excellent automobiles too. But they do not cost the price of 3 Kias. Would I be willing to pay more for a Honda? Yes. But only up to 30% more as that is my estimate of the additional costs to provide Honda quality.

Nowadays everything is about money, so not even well branded generators are as good as they were 10-30yrs ago.. So Im amazed that my cheap, non branded generator hasnt had any probs since buying it just over 4yrs ago.. But saying that it hasnt done any serious hard work, and Im guessing it would fall apart if I made it work non stop for a few days

It would be a hard pill to swallow if I had to contemplate purchasing a Honda generator not made in Japan.

Colt Carson said:

It would be a hard pill to swallow if I had to contemplate purchasing a Honda generator not made in Japan.

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They are making them in many countries now. For example the EU7000 is made in India.

Maintenance is still king and a great equalizer of sorts, IMO. You can have the most expensive and reliable equipment money can buy or the cheapest runt from the back of an unmarked white van. However, neither won't last if you thrash it and ignore maintenance chores.

Sure, the cheaper ones would have faster-wearing or less reliable parts in them and will likely need more TLC, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're going to be absolutely terrible. Just don't expect $5,000 quality from an $800 purchase.

Seems like I read a post here a while back where someone said the fuel line on their less expensive generator (which was only a few years old) was already cracked and leaking. Seems like a serious fire hazard. The fuel hose on my 13 year old Honda still looks like new, on the outside anyway 😆

Colt Carson said:

Seems like I read a post here a while back where someone said the fuel line on their less expensive generator (which was only a few years old) was already cracked and leaking. Seems like a serious fire hazard. The fuel hose on my 13 year old Honda still looks like new, on the outside anyway 😆

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Incidents which are less likely to occur if you do regular maintenance (ie. exercise, ocular inspections, etc.) As I've said, you will have to do it more often than usual on cheaper products. That's just the way it is. lol

Anyway, the root cause can be a combination of a lot of things, from quality issues to how the generator was stored. Hardly anyone leave their expensive Hondas outdoors and exposed to the elements. But you'd likely don't care about that if you have a cheap Chinese generator.

OrlyP said:

Hardly anyone leave their expensive Hondas outdoors and exposed to the elements. But you'd likely don't care about that if you have a cheap Chinese generator.

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Yup. Storage can make or break a generator for sure. My 15-year-old champion still has all the original hoses and so forth on it. But it has always been stored in a shed and with no fuel in it.

OrlyP said:

Maintenance is still king and a great equalizer of sorts, IMO. You can have the most expensive and reliable equipment money can buy or the cheapest runt from the back of an unmarked white van. However, neither won't last if you thrash it and ignore maintenance chores.

Sure, the cheaper ones would have faster-wearing or less reliable parts in them and will likely need more TLC, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're going to be absolutely terrible. Just don't expect $5,000 quality from an $800 purchase.

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Im hoping with doing the basic maintenance on my cheap gen and with it not needing todo much work, it should last a fair few yrs..

Colt Carson said:

Seems like I read a post here a while back where someone said the fuel line on their less expensive generator (which was only a few years old) was already cracked and leaking. Seems like a serious fire hazard. The fuel hose on my 13 year old Honda still looks like new, on the outside anyway 😆

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This may of been me as I had to replace the hose about 8-9months ago as it split after about 3yrs of having the gen.. I have replaced it with a heavy duty thick hose, so doubt that will need to be replaced again.