# Which portable generator?



## Dogga85 (Apr 14, 2014)

Hey guys first time poster here 

We had a cyclone come through on the weekend and lost power for 26 hours, while it doesn't sound like long, with a 12 week old baby its a lifetime, it was so hot without fans etc and he wouldn't sleep. So for future outages, I have an electrician coming over to install a generator cut-over point/switch in our power box, I just need to decide on a generator. I am deciding between the Honda EU20i (currently AUD$1695 with vinyl dust cover, 1L oil, security cable, 5yrs warranty and free delivery), Kipor 2.0kVA AUD$1100 or BBT3kVA AUD $780 (https://www.bbta.com.au/products.php?product=BBT-3.5KW-Inverter-Generator#reviews).

At the moment it will mainly be used for power outages to run things in the house like fans, 1 fridge (4yr old Samsung), LED TV and computers if the TV isn't on. But in the future as my son gets older no doubt we will use it for camping etc.

I am tempted to go for either the Kipor or BBT due to price, but a part of me is saying to get the Honda as I will presumably get longer out of it.

Any advice/experience would be much appreciated guys!


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## aandpdan (Oct 8, 2012)

You certainly can't go wrong with the Honda but considering you could buy two of the BBT's for less money I'd probably go that route.

Check with a local small engine dealer and see who can service these models if needed. You don't want to have to ship it out for repairs.


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## Dqalex (Nov 25, 2012)

The absolute smallest I would use is a Honda EU3000. for home backup. To get the best fuel runtime an inverter generator need to run at around 25% load. Its never a good Idea to load a generator up to almost its max. You could also go with two Honda EU2000's and run them in parallel for 4000 max watts. The EU2000 is a great generator for camping. Another A+ about Honda you will always get a good number if you sell it to trade up. If we're lucky we will see a Fuel injected EU3000 next year.


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## Dogga85 (Apr 14, 2014)

Thanks heaps for the feedback guys, so im 98% sure on getting the Honda from all the positive and good things i've read about them, I should get a long reliable run out of it, and in the future I plan on getting a second to run in parallel, so I can have the 2 for the house backup eventually, and when we go camping i only need to take 1 so its light and portable, instead of lugging a 3+kVA around! Plus, weirdly enough here in Aus buying 2x EU20i's to make just under 4KVa is cheaper than buying Honda's EU30i HANDI portable generator.


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## Dqalex (Nov 25, 2012)

Dogga85 said:


> Thanks heaps for the feedback guys, so im 98% sure on getting the Honda from all the positive and good things i've read about them, I should get a long reliable run out of it, and in the future I plan on getting a second to run in parallel, so I can have the 2 for the house backup eventually, and when we go camping i only need to take 1 so its light and portable, instead of lugging a 3+kVA around! Plus, weirdly enough here in Aus buying 2x EU20i's to make just under 4KVa is cheaper than buying Honda's EU30i HANDI portable generator.[/QU
> 
> Good choice. You may also want to look into the extended run fuel tank for the EU2000. Wise Sales sells them.


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## Dogga85 (Apr 14, 2014)

Thanks for the tip! The packing i'm just about to order includes the Anti theft bracket. I understand this will not stop a determined thief but it should help deter one, I just need to decide on a good cable, I'm looking at this one Honda Generator EU20I ETC Kryptonite Security Cable | eBay


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## Dqalex (Nov 25, 2012)

Dogga85 said:


> Thanks for the tip! The packing i'm just about to order includes the Anti theft bracket. I understand this will not stop a determined thief but it should help deter one, I just need to decide on a good cable, I'm looking at this one Honda Generator EU20I ETC Kryptonite Security Cable | eBay


Anything you can do to slow them down is a good thing. I went with the anti theft brackets on both of my Eu2000's. For my other large generator I dug a hole put in a chain with a large eyebolt and washer, than mixed up two 80lb bags of concrete and filled the hole. Make to hard and maybe they will move on to another house.


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## dieselnut (Apr 26, 2014)

I have a Yamaha 2400 that we got mainly for the camper. It is marginal, but does the job after removing the muffler. It will run the 13K a/c unit and some lights or the microwave, not both. It will run my shop a/c 10K, small air compressor, electric chain saw, and small wire feed welder. It was this choice or a bigger Honda, the Yamaha was less $$ and does the job. We've had it since 2007, haven't used it for emergency, but I check it out at least 2 times a year, use Stabil fuel additive and it works great.


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