toprudder

Hondas are nice and they are the benchmark, no doubt. If I wanted to go the Honda inverter route to power my camper, the most common way is to get 2 of the EU2000 and the parallel cable set which would set me back about $2000. I have a Champion 3500 that I paid $300, and then the small Sportsman 2000w that I paid $150, depending on whether I need to run my AC or not. I've not had the first glitch with either. Downside is they are heavier (the smaller one is no problem lifting, but the 3500 is HEAVY compared to the Honda). The other is noise, but niether is bad. In fact, they are always quieter than most of the generators running where I camp, and I always try to be courteous to others by not running them all night, and I camp away from others when possible. But, my point is, my experience is that I have saved a LOT of money over the Honda route.

I did a lot of research on generators before I bought the Champion. I followed a thread on RV.NET that started out talking about Chinese generators. When the Champion came along, it soon became the one of choice since Champion has a good reputation as well as listening to feedback from the RV.NET thread. They were the first (if not the only) to put the 30A RV style plug on the generator, as well as improve the overvoltage protection on the output. They also were one of the first to put a 120/240 switch to make ALL of the power available on a 120v plug (most have the power as 240v divided on two 120V plugs). This was the only way a 3500w generator would be able to reliably run the 15000 BTU air conditioner on a camper.

But, to each their own. I'm not going to call anyone crazy for buying a Honda. They are probably the most reliable make out there and are very popular due to their size, weight, and noise level. For the original question that was asked, "How big of a generator do I need" it has been answered that less than 1000w would easily suffice. That said, a Honda EU1000 would be sufficient, and they run about $700 new. Still way more than I have spent.

mithrandir

My Feedback: (2)

my $300.00 Champion Generator was a freshly squeezed Steamer...

though it always started... the voltage coming out of it was soo poor it wouldn't operate my AC and it killed a battery charger and blows fuses
in PA Systems.....

I dumped it

toprudder

Did you call Champion?

motomike

My Feedback: (4)

TopRudder
Wow. A more careful reading on my part would have made that clear. I had jumped to a conclusion not really supported by the postings. Thanks for setting me straight. I know some of my ham friends like the Hondas and Yamahas. that is owed in large part to powering expensive high zoot radio systems where really clean power is preferred. I know lots of these chargers we use are pretty smart, so it is probably not a bad idea to seek out clean power for them.

Mike

RByrd

My Feedback: (3)

This is the generator I bought right before the NATS. Ran 4 chargers for three days with no issues all day long for practice.

http://www.homedepot.com/Outdoors-Ou...atalogId=10053