I spotted this at a local farm and ranch store. This is the lightest I know of, and while the price is low I'd feel better paying more for a all Honda unit. I wonder if this would last through the first fuel tank? Tempting, but TOO cheap.

On CL around here the Honda 2K watt types go for 750 USED! And I know they go because I call on them and they are already gone. I just bought a 53 pound Coleman Powermate used for $180 and if it makes it through a couple of Summesr I'm ok with that. The Hondas are 48 pounds. The Coleman is also lots louder. I saw a Harbor Freight 2 stroke 650watt selling for $88.95 in recent weeks. I don't know the weight but if those work a couple of years that wouldn't be too bad. I just use mine for charging the batteries for a couple of hours when we run the furnace during the night. I think the Honda would actually run the AC if we wanted to run it for a couple hours before bedtime. The seller of the Coleman said it won't run the AC.

courierguy wrote:Tempting, but TOO cheap.

I agree! Looked into the engines in that thing and they get terrible reviews for the most part. If honda or someone similar would make something this light (what maybe 10 pounds lighter than the Honda eu1000?) I would jump on it.

I have one of these generators and the little thing works like a champ. Zero issues in about 30 hours of use. A little bit noisy, but it's not 1k either. Preheat the plane using a Tanis engine heater and in the cabin, a MyHeat 200 watt heater. I take it on the boat as well for hunting in PWS. Would buy another one without question.

Appreciate the feedback.

Reviews on Amazon are pretty good if you know it will work for you. I like the price of your local store! Beats Amazon soundly: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00P2FOX4C/re ... wxb86YQCN9

I bought the cheap harbor freight 2 smoker a couple years back to preheat 170 it works great with no issues. AV gas and stihl 2stroke oil.


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ping170 wrote:I bought the cheap harbor freight 2 smoker a couple years back to preheat 170 it works great with no issues. AV gas and stihl 2stroke oil.


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That's good to know. How noisy is it?

HF lists their 2-stroke 900W generator at 38lbs. Quite a bit heavier than I expected. I was planning on buying one to preheat the plane once it was finished. This one at Cal-Ranch seems worth a try. 19lbs is really light and that is what makes it tempting.

I know these are quite a bit 'pricier' than the HF ones, but there was a dealer at Oshkosh last year selling the Honda 1000 eis generators for $600. I picked up two of them since that was what they usually sell for used and abused. Already have their 2000 model but it is too heavy to be toting in the RANS. The little Honda gens are very quiet.

Mister701 wrote:

ping170 wrote:I bought the cheap harbor freight 2 smoker a couple years back to preheat 170 it works great with no issues. AV gas and stihl 2stroke oil.


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That's good to know. How noisy is it?

Not sure on the Db rating, not exactly stealth quit but tolerable

WWhunter wrote:I know these are quite a bit 'pricier' than the HF ones, but there was a dealer at Oshkosh last year selling the Honda 1000 eis generators for $600. I picked up two of them since that was what they usually sell for used and abused. Already have their 2000 model but it is too heavy to be toting in the RANS. The little Honda gens are very quiet.

I'd love a little Honda 1000. They are a little heavier at 28lbs but that ten pounds is probly worth the added reliability. I need something super light for the plane and the boat.

I assume it is a two stroke engine and the honda is a 4 stroke so that would explain the weight difference.

But 20 lbs for a gennie? That is awesome. 800w is a little light (no pun intended) for most applications, I wonder if they can be hooked up in parallel?

Ha ha name change fooled me, remembered after posting, you are right they don't carry them anymore. That makes me wonder, as did the country of origin, China. Let's keep an eye out and see if they come back. Still much more power then I'm looking for.

I asked a friend to see if they could find out why CAL stopped carrying them. If I learn anything of interest I’ll share it.

same generator rebadged under a different brand for a slightly lower price on amazon:

https://amzn.to/2Rieiva

I still have my 800w Earthquake that I purchased 3 years ago. Still works like a champ. If the newer version is the same, I would buy if I needed one. The footprint compared to the Honda and Yamaha 1000’s is much smaller. It is not high end and the price reflects that. For less than $250 though it is a great deal IMO.

I think my choice for a lightweight generator would be the Ryobi 900W propane generator. It's a little more expensive, but I like that it's quieter and runs off propane. $329 @ 25lbs.

https://www.ryobitools.com/products/det ... -generator



If weight isn't an object, I would buy the new(er) harbor freight 2000W. I know the engineer behind it and it's a great little machine. Hard to beat at $500. It is however 53lbs. Reviews are nearly 5 stars out of 700+ reviews.

https://www.harborfreight.com/2000-watt ... 62523.html

I just looked and the Ryobi genni is on sale in Canadian Home Depots for $119 Cdn. I'll be gett'in me one of these tomorrow AM

Mapleflt wrote:I just looked and the Ryobi genni is on sale in Canadian Home Depots for $119 Cdn. I'll be gett'in me one of these tomorrow AM

Wow. Buy two and send one my way.

One of those Ryobi gennis would be perfect for my pickup camper. I’d rather have a gas powered one for the plane so I can use gas out of the plane if I had to.