http://www.hondapowerequipment.com/products/modeldetail.aspx?page=modeldetail§ion=P2GG&modelname=EU2000i&modelid=EU2000IAN
Me and my Mom went for a drive the other day and we stopped at a roadside BBQ cart. They were running the Honda EU2000i. It sounded like a large aquarium aerator. I've never heard a generator that was so quiet (or have I?).
The price is steep, but 15 hour run-time on 1 gallon of gas...sheesh. Stick it behind the house and the only time you'd notice it is when it ran-out of gas.
I need one. :)
I own one. They are exceptionally quiet. I have owned many different generators in my life but this one will never be sold. It's efficient, quiet, and powerful. Love it.
We were camping in Colorado this past week, and due to overcast skies, a few of us were having a challenge keeping our batteries topped off via PV panels. Someone mentioned these generators and how quiet they are. I think they said that you can also run two in parallel to get 4kV out of them.
A bit pricey though... I wonder who makes a cheaper unit that is quiet?
I have this Briggs and Stratton but it has a Mitsubishi engine - $599 - not inverter but is pretty quiet.
I use it at near capacity for about 5 to 6 hours on a tank of gas - a bit over a gallon I think. It usually starts first pull.
http://www.everygenerator.com/Briggs-and-Stratton-30239-BAS1001.html
I have a Honda 1000eu. My needs are pretty small and it can run 9 hours on .6 of a gallon. I really like it because it will run my house and a rather extensive electric fence with no problems...and the neighbors can't hear it. You can run 2 1000's in parallel just like the 2000's. Just haven't had the need, yet.
It cost as much as the 5550 watt gen I also have, but I use the Honda much more often.
It's the inverter technology that makes them quiet for the most part. All of the EU's can be linked to a identical partner to double the power. Yamaha also makes an inverter generator. I used my 2000 on my little cabin before we were building the main house. It would run about 18-24 hours on 1 gallon. We weren't using a lot of power though so it was idled down a lot.
Quote from: NM_Shooter on July 05, 2009, 11:00:26 PM
A bit pricey though... I wonder who makes a cheaper unit that is quiet?
None I know of. I have a Yamaha 2800i. It was less costly than the Hondas, but does not idle down as low as the Hondas under zero or low load. It is louder than the Hondas at any speed. I did not buy a Honda only because we needed at least 2500 watts and had severe space limitations where it was to be mounted and the Honda or larger 3000 watt Yamaha would not fit. Two Honda 2000's would have been nice but there was definitely no room for two. $$ were also a consideration.
I have seen some Chinese inverter generators and have read good / bad thin gs about them.
We bought a generator that looks identical to this one but with a different name on it.
We have only 3 hours on it but so far so good. It is very quiet ( much quieter than our 6500 Honda gas genny)
I started it up last weekend -- first start in over a year-- it cranked up and started after about 2 seconds on the starter
it was running out by the barn about 40 yards away and it was difficult to hear it in the house
they send new bearings and rings and other spare parts
It very heavy -- about 350 pounds
(http://images.channeladvisor.com/Sell/SSProfiles/23000010/Images/12/DG6LNRab.jpg)
Well instead of starting a new thread, I thought I would resurrect this one :)
Got a new genny a couple weeks ago. It's a Champion 2000i inverter genny. I was intrigued by it's reported quietness (53 db 1/4 load) and fuel economy that seems to be similar to te Honda EU 2000 series. It is Chinese in lineage but at $499 and option to parellel two units I thought I would give it a whirl. Just got back from the cabin and got 14 hours run time(light loads) on one US gallon of gas. I have so far nothing to complain about. We will see what kind of longevity time will brings us.
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31AEmwlHzRL.jpg)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPRahcYB4yQ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPRahcYB4yQ)