# Quality of Chinese generators???



## cwatkin

I have a friend who is looking to pickup a genset around the size of 5000 running watts without breaking the bank. I have heard pretty decent things about the cheapo Chinese models made by JD Tech. It looks like a majority of the China models are made by them and are essentially all the same. The only difference is the color of the paint and the name on the sticker, depending on where it is sold.

A buddy of mine work at Aldi, the grocery, and they sometimes sell generators under their house brand of Kingcraft. He indicates a very low compliant/return rate of these and says that most problems he hears about are user error such as not running it often enough and letting the gas go stale and gum stuff up.

I understand that the engines are essentially copycat Hondas or Chondas (Chinese Hondas) as people like to call them. I picked up a little tiny 1200 watt 4 stroke generator from Aldi and it cost a little over $100. I haven't run it much but was impressed by the clean and quiet operation of the unit. It is overhead valve and claims to have a cast iron cylinder bore, which seems like a good feature for a long life.

One thing I notice about most of these is that the continuous and peak rating are usually pretty close. I have been told that this indicates that the windings in the generator head are not real heavy duty. Many people indicate that the peak should be at least 20% higher than the sustained rating if you plan to use it a lot or consider the sustained rating to be slightly less than the published spec if you plan to run it frequently. Is this true?

My other concern would be getting parts for these units. If something breaks or wears out, are these units repairable? Sure, I can do the work but are parts available?

Conor


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## 89yt12

dont quote me but i think honda parts are direct bolt on


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## stayathome35

*My friend got this one*

He loves it. So far I think its the one I want too. Im looking at all my options.

<a href="http://blog.homesurvival.net">liz</a>


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## RAnst4038

The Chinese build generators to spec like everyone else. You have to deal with a respectable well established company who has there own engineers & quality testing setting the level of quality. Spend days searching the web, reading customer reviews.


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## szyg6h

I bought a Cummins, with an engine that looks like a Honda. Hoewever it has no Honda identifications so I think it is a knockoff. But it works well.


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## Ironmower

Tolerances & poor casting has bin the most common problem I found with the Chinese stuff... But, Their country is growing in leaps and bounds, and (ithink) the quality might too.


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## alexllever

i think it depends on the company/manufacturer u choose. i've been looking for Chinese supplier also for my customers and found this. they are diesel generator set manufacturer, supply cummins and other chinese gensets. 

Diesel Generator Sets, China Diesel Generator Set Supplier, Genset
http://www.dieselgeneratorsets.net

wish it's helpful.


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## E_HILLMAN

Does anyone know about the Ramsond generators? They show they are based out of Michigan but I am pretty sure they are Chinese Generators.

I have been looking at quiet portable generators. I started with the Honda 2000i then figured out it would not start the AC, then I found the Yamaha 2400hc that is setup to start and run AC units like on RVs, campers, and boats.

THEN I see a 3500 Ramsond that looks just like the Honda but a good bit more powerful. THEN! I see the Ramsond 4500 for the same price as the Honda 2000i and figure that would run the atwood 6 gallon hot water heater and the AC at the same time as well as a couple other small items. Then I research and worry about the quality but I see that Home Depot carries it. Surely I think to myself that Home Depot would not carry a total POS. But I am still worried. Do I just go with the less power but still in my price range Yamaha or do you think the Ramsond is ok? It appears to be no louder than the Honda and 1Db louder than the Yamaha. And at the same price... 

On Amazon.com it did get good reviews...

Thanks in advance! (At home I have a large generac)


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## trx680

I'm sure there are quality Chinese generators and junk ones.
If you have $500 worth of food in your fridge and freezer you have to consider if you want to risk having a cheapo generator. And like today, its 100+ degrees on the east coast. Makes for an uncomfortable day with no a/c. And I have well water, so if I lose power I cant flush the toilet. 

But most important to me......... I live in America, I don't know anyone in China, and I rely on the American economy, not the Chinese economy. I'm not concerned with Chinese unemployment ..........So I'm going to BUY AMERICAN !!!!!!


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## E_HILLMAN

trx680, can you tell me of a portable Ultra Quiet made in USA generator? I looked and looked and found none. Some had American brand names on them but were still made in China, Japan, etc.

I too try to buy made in USA whenever I can, in fact ALL of my clothes (shirts, pants, socks, underwear, shoes) are all 100% USA made. I also make bulk orders of T-Shirts for a boating forum I own and they as well as the pennants are all USA made. 

But for the Small Quiet portable generator I ended up going with the Yamaha 2400ISHC as it had the power I needed and was still under 58db at max load. I DO have a USA made 8000watt generator but it is very large, loud and heavy. Not something you would take camping or boating. Luckily it only comes out in emergencies or my neighbors would kill me.


Futher notes for the Ramsond I researched the company further and they have a F- on the BBB's site. The good reviews on Amazon.com I figured out were by people associated with the company. When you see a really good review on one just click to see that person's other reviews and you will see they are all stacked Ramsond products and the stories don't even match up.


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## gatyava

thank a lot.


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## redstargenerator

Yes, I also agree that the quality of the Chinese generator would be the same as other countries. Just make sure that you are buying it from the reputed manufacturer.


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## RonJ

*Chinese Generator*

Parts for most of the Chinese Models are available at Generator Guru. I have used them and they are reputable and prices good. Ron


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## rh.campbell

Champion generators for example are built in China but the big difference is that the American company demands they be built to certain high level standards. This is the difference when companies go to China to source products. The Chinese factories can build them to a low price point (hello Walmart), or build them to specifications given them. So you can end up with junk or a decent product. 
Champion products are decent quality at very competitive prices. Honda products are built in India to Honda specs and quality control, so that to a degree sets the much higher prices. As the saying goes, you pays your money and makes your choices...


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## exmar

FWIW, the first genset I purchased was a Generac, 3750, at that time they were really advertising the "Made in USA," thing. Nice unit, had it for years. Long story short, the engine is a "Chonda" and when I called and asked about that, they said, "Yes, they're made in the US, however the smaller engines, under 6KW have "generic" engines. I just put a new carb and changed filters on a 26HP Briggs, on a Craftsman Garden Tractor, all packaging said "made in China."


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## rh.campbell

cwatkin said:


> My other concern would be getting parts for these units. If something breaks or wears out, are these units repairable? Sure, I can do the work but are parts available?
> 
> Conor


One of the rules of thumb that I use when buying power products of questionable petigree is whether or not there is a specific repair manual available to purchase. If not, that is a definate warning about the wisdom of buying the device in question


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## RonJ

*Chinese Generators*

I recently found a site, cseparts.com, for Chinese generator parts
. Like I said in an earlier post, I have used Generator Guru, with good results.


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## Robert Coats

FYI:

USA market Honda Generators are made in a number of locations, all of them are 100% Honda plants:

Thailand: EU1000i, EU2000i (all versions), EB2000i
China: All EB, EM and EG series (except EB2000i)
Japan: EU3000is, EU3000i Handi
India: EU7000is 

Last year, Honda announced a new generator model would be built at the Swepsonville, NC plant, but no other details have been released. 

The Swepsonville plant currently makes all Honda walk-behind mowers, mini-tillers, string trimmers, single and 2-stage snow blowers, and hundreds of thousands of individual 160cc-190cc engines, which are sold to OEMs that feature Honda engines on their products (lawn mowers, pressure washers, go-karts, construction equipment). The Swepsonville plant has its own foundry, where all the Honda engines are cast, machined, and assembled completely on-site.


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## RonJ

*Honda 2000i Problem*

Thanks for the info Robert. Glad to see you back, hope Fl was warm and dry. Ron


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## nobody

i came across this thread and i would like to share my information because there is alot of misconceptions when it come to " Made in china"

some people buy a 100 usd 1000 watt and expect it to work similar to a 1000 usd one well that's wrong.

my review is from my experience as a construction manager and a person who likes to camp 

i own a 3 different Chinese generators for camping 1000 watt , 3000 watt , 10000 watt

for construction we are using honda and robin .


when it come to a generator or tools you should know your power requirement & duration

if you use the equipment for more than 3 hours per week or 400 per year get an original and make sure its original by buying from the dealer because the knockoffs are worst than the no name brands .

if you use less than 400 hours per year a Chinese generator as long as you know that you will throw it after some time. but it should be a good brand such as einhel or lifan and should come with warranty.

Also make sure all the bolts are thigh you can find alot of info on youtube on how to prepare a Chinese generator for usage .

A good indication of build quality is the exterior parts , take a look at the fuse , electrical sockets , gauges , plastic trim and the paint .

If the paint looks like it was done in a hurry , very low quality sockets or fuses ,very thin plastic just avoid the unit .
for me now i use the electrical socket as a way to tell the build quality of the generator 

if you use the unit rarely then why you want to waste your money get a good Chinese or a second hand original. 

a few things to know also that you wont ever get more than a 1000 hour out of a Chinese generator unless ur lucky .

other thing is that there is to take care of the oil and never store petrol inside the tank when you dont use just empty the tank and let it run until its oil of fuel then spray some wd40 inside.

dont use cheap generators to run high end electronics. 

last thing you should know your power consumption these things dont have the protection circuits the high end models have a 3000 watt Chinese generator means its 1500 watt so if you run it beyond the 1500 watt you further decrease its life 

my first Chinese generator i had was an astra 3000 watt which i bought for 150 usd new the first sign its was rubbish that it came with electrical start!
but the original astra which is made in korea never had an electrical start (btw the real astra is a very good unit).

the first time i started the unit its was ok but loud really loud . 3 days later the key failed after that the fuse failed after 50 hours of use the engine seized .

after i took the engine apart there was to much play .

i replaced the motor with a better clone engine and had a friend tight everything correctly and now i used the engine for 700 hours and its still working.

As for the bigger unit my 10kw single cylinder diesel generator was a mistake . its yanmar L100 clone 
well the fuel economy is great but its huge and since a clone the parts is not interchangeable with the L100 so i have to order parts online.

i would be better off with 2 smaller engines.


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## Handyhiker

I am new here but have a lot of experience with equipment. 

I have 5 generators currently and had 7 but sold 2 Coleman Powermates.
I have 2 Onan generators from the 70s and 3 Champion generatots, one 1400 watt, one 3000 watt, and one 3500 watt. My brother in law also has a Champion 3500 watt. 
I have worked on them and use them. In my opinion, these are very well built and quality sets. The biggest problem with them is people can't read and don't follow the manual. 
Change the oil after a 5 hour break in period of various loads. Adjust the valves after 10 hours. 
I do change oil more often then the 100 hour Max for light duty and 50 hour for heavy duty. I do it about every 25 hours. 
Do stabilize the fuel and run the float bowel dry. I have had fuel in the tanks for over a year with no problems. 
They have excellent customer service and can supply all parts and tech advice. 
In my opinion, these are some of the best budget generators out there. I have no problem recommending them and relying on them.


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