Export thread

I Got these 2 Generators from the same Person to repair ..He owns a small salvage yard and uses them for his grinds ,sawsals etc ...Both needed carb and fuel tank flushes ..The red one had water in it there is a sight glass in the top that will let water in if u leave it outside in the rain or snow ..I used Seal-all to seal it so it wont let water in ..The yellow one had dirt and crap in it blew it out sealed it also and it worked great ...I am not a big fan of these off shore units ..Sure there cheap and all but they don't last ..I had one and it died with in 2 years ..whats your thoughts

There worth the money. I had one for 2 years then sold it. Parts very inexpensive. Electrical parts are cheaper to replace than other brands such as Honda, Troy Built etc. I"d buy another one or recommend them to someone to buy. Only downfall that can 2 weeks to parts for them.

davbell22602 said:

There worth the money. I had one for 2 years then sold it. Parts very inexpensive. Electrical parts are cheaper to replace than other brands such as Honda, Troy Built etc. I"d buy another one or recommend them to someone to buy. Only downfall that can 2 weeks to parts for them.

Click to expand...

yes that is true my Honda cost me allot in parts when it messed up ..my dad has a cheap one also he loves it

I am going to take a guess and say you get what you pay for. My two generator are a Honda and Kubota. As I recall they weren't cheap to buy. I now see new generators for a lot less money then what I paid for mine. There has to be a reason??? I have repaired some of the cheaper generators for bad gas in them and when I get then running they seem do what they were made to do.

reynoldston said:

I am going to take a guess and say you get what you pay for. My two generator are a Honda and Kubota. As I recall they weren't cheap to buy. I now see new generators for a lot less money then what I paid for mine. There has to be a reason??? I have repaired some of the cheaper generators for bad gas in them and when I get then running they seem do what they were made to do.

Click to expand...

Yes i do agree i love my Honda it stays at the house in-case we have a black out i also have a cheap one i use when i go Racing it powers the saw and stuff in case i have to make mods lol

I talked to a gas station pipefitter last summer. They run the Champion generators, air compressors and pumps. He said once they were off warranty and they failed to start or do the task they are supposed to do they just park it and buy a new unit. A discount store buys them for a set amount and gets them running, then resells. The fence crews will not buy them because it is to hard to find parts local and no one wants to do warranty work. Most of the construction outfits here in town last year used Honda.

possum said:

I talked to a gas station pipefitter last summer. They run the Champion generators, air compressors and pumps. He said once they were off warranty and they failed to start or do the task they are supposed to do they just park it and buy a new unit. A discount store buys them for a set amount and gets them running, then resells. The fence crews will not buy them because it is to hard to find parts local and no one wants to do warranty work. Most of the construction outfits here in town last year used Honda.

Click to expand...

Yes this true ....They are a pain to get parts for ...But people want to buy the cheap stuff to save a buck ....I find most times its a carb related issue IE old gas dirt and crud in bowl or tank ...I haven't had one come in with a bad mag yet lol..Now that I said that I will ....We have a cheap one that I use at the track don want to use my Honda there or take the chance someone might borrow it and not bring it back ...If u guys have any info feel free to post it ...GOOD OR BAD lol

I bought my Kubota in the mid 80's. Don't remember what I paid for it but it was well over 1,000 dollars. At the time I had a camp in the mountains and it ran 24hrs a day. I would put a 5 gallon can of gas through it in 24 hrs. I have never had any repairs on this generator other then maintenance. I now see new generators for sale that are the same size for around 400 dollars now. I was looking at Honda generators this AM in a catalog and for their small portable generator they are asking almost a thousand dollars. Harbor Freight you can buy the same size generator for less then 100 dollars. For that much price different there has to be a reason? Why, would it be quality, brand name, or where it was made???

reynoldston said:

I bought my Kubota in the mid 80's. Don't remember what I paid for it but it was well over 1,000 dollars. At the time I had a camp in the mountains and it ran 24hrs a day. I would put a 5 gallon can of gas through it in 24 hrs. I have never had any repairs on this generator other then maintenance. I now see new generators for sale that are the same size for around 400 dollars now. I was looking at Honda generators this AM in a catalog and for their small portable generator they are asking almost a thousand dollars. Harbor Freight you can buy the same size generator for less then 100 dollars. For that much price different there has to be a reason? Why, would it be quality, brand name, or where it was made???

Click to expand...

It would be all of the above. Honda's are better for all those reasons plus reliability and noise level is less. I know as I have a friend who has a Honda that I have used with him. Whether or not they are worth 5 to10 times the cost is debatable.
I bought a 900 watt generator from Harbor Freight a couple years ago, on sale for less than a Franklin. It was the same as below except mine has a blue tank and I believe was branded as Chicago Electric. I use it frequently camping. I love it for it is small (about the size of a breadbox) and easy to transport and inexpensive. It will run on 1 gallon of fuel for over 12 hours. It is a two stroke/cycle engine. I also have a 6500 watt generator that I bought from Harbor Freight about 8 or 9 years ago for less than $400. It came within a tube frame that I mounted on rubber tires. It is heavy and has a 10 gallon poly fuel tank mounted in the frame above the engine.. I found I did not need that much power, as I mainly used it for lights, etc. at night, so I started using the 900 watt which was so much quieter but still not as quiet as a Honda. The 6500 watt was also made by Chicago Electric but the noise level was very loud and annoying even when set up over 100' away. So now the 6500 stays at home in case of power failures and I carry the 900 watt with me camping and to my unimproved property in Alabama. Both generators have not had any issues mechanically. It is all in how much do you want to spend.

This is what mine looks like. I do remember replacing the cheap china spark plug with a Champion.

Also here is a review on the HF mini generator.

reynoldston said:

I bought my Kubota in the mid 80's. Don't remember what I paid for it but it was well over 1,000 dollars. At the time I had a camp in the mountains and it ran 24hrs a day. I would put a 5 gallon can of gas through it in 24 hrs. I have never had any repairs on this generator other then maintenance. I now see new generators for sale that are the same size for around 400 dollars now. I was looking at Honda generators this AM in a catalog and for their small portable generator they are asking almost a thousand dollars. Harbor Freight you can buy the same size generator for less then 100 dollars. For that much price different there has to be a reason? Why, would it be quality, brand name, or where it was made???

Click to expand...

Kubota are good units I have had a few come to repair ..But nothing major..Mostly tune ups and carb cleanings..


here in Canada we what u call Power-fist they are sold by princess auto ( are version of HF) but we also have TSC here ...The power-fist is a Honda clone ....Some parts will interchange with them ...Honda sold off some of the old stuff like the tooling and stuff to make some of the old engines and they are mass made the specks are off and so on they are made very cheap ..People buy them and put them on snow blowers generator's.. Roof cutter and so on ....When they go on sale u can buy 6.5hp for 99.95 plus tax as a Honda will cost 400 to 800 plus depending ..I love Honda they are great built well and not hard to work on at all ...I will post some of the links to TSC Canada and princess auto


I think home depot sells the champion generators so dose COSCO and a few others ...I like them better then the weed eater brand there junk

midnite rider said:

This is what mine looks like. I do remember replacing the cheap china spark plug with a Champion.

Also here is a review on the HF mini generator.

Click to expand...

I worked for over 20 years for a family owned mill in the pulp and paper industry. The people I actually were second generation. I never will forget one day the guy was talking to us and he said that his father had always sai he would rather buy 100 $1 watches than he had to buy a $100 watch. The thought was the $1 watch would tell time and he could keep the $99 to do something else with. The average person will get as much running out of the generator he spends $90 for as he will out of the one he spends several times that much for.

jekjr said:

I worked for over 20 years for a family owned mill in the pulp and paper industry. The people I actually were second generation. I never will forget one day the guy was talking to us and he said that his father had always sai he would rather buy 100 $1 watches than he had to buy a $100 watch. The thought was the $1 watch would tell time and he could keep the $99 to do something else with. The average person will get as much running out of the generator he spends $90 for as he will out of the one he spends several times that much for.

Click to expand...

I had a few that I killed they were the cheap ones ..I use them at the track and around the shop or out on service calls ...But I have a Honda that I use at home in case the power go's out its a big one ....My dad has a big Briggs with electric start for his house ....I don't mind the cheap ones for something's but I want a good one for my house to run my fridge,stove and all that stuff

we had one when I worked at the shop a customers unit,coleman pocket generator is what I call em,with a robin engine,the bowl gasket and inlet needle cost as much as a new carb

tybilly said:

we had one when I worked at the shop a customers unit,coleman pocket generator is what I call em,with a robin engine,the bowl gasket and inlet needle cost as much as a new carb

Click to expand...

Yes some of the kits are high priced eh ...Most times i buy a new carb its easier to throw a carb on and go

briggs said:

I Got these 2 Generators from the same Person to repair ..He owns a small salvage yard and uses them for his grinds ,sawsals etc ...Both needed carb and fuel tank flushes ..The red one had water in it there is a sight glass in the top that will let water in if u leave it outside in the rain or snow ..I used Seal-all to seal it so it wont let water in ..The yellow one had dirt and crap in it blew it out sealed it also and it worked great ...I am not a big fan of these off shore units ..Sure there cheap and all but they don't last ..I had one and it died with in 2 years ..whats your thoughts

Click to expand...

Being a Champion distributor I may be biased but I had one mounted to the back of my service body for eight years and I can't praise it enough.

Although a Honda clone it's never failed me. I firmly believe it saved my life on one occasion on the desert in Nevada. Nuff said.

Terry CleanFuel said:

Being a Champion distributor I may be biased but I had one mounted to the back of my service body for eight years and I can't praise it enough.

Although a Honda clone it's never failed me. I firmly believe it saved my life on one occasion on the desert in Nevada. Nuff said.

Click to expand...

i have 2 myself i use them at the track when i race and stuff but my good one at home is a Honda.....They are hard to get parts for and if u find them they cost allot ...But they work ok for what they are ...There is allot of people that love them ...To be honest i see so-many brands i hate them all lol

briggs said:

i have 2 myself i use them at the track when i race and stuff but my good one at home is a Honda.....They are hard to get parts for and if u find them they cost allot ...But they work ok for what they are ...There is allot of people that love them ...To be honest i see so-many brands i hate them all lol

Click to expand...

I bought mine because I'm cheap. We'd all love to have Hondas but they're pretty proud of them.

I have no complaints and all the small engine places are familiar with them.

Terry CleanFuel said:

I bought mine because I'm cheap. We'd all love to have Hondas but they're pretty proud of them.

I have no complaints and all the small engine places are familiar with them.

Click to expand...

thats why i have 2 cheap ones for track use or i use them when i do a service calls so if they brake i don't have much invested ...I am cheap too lol but i got my Honda for a great deal :thumbsup:

Terry CleanFuel said:

I bought mine because I'm cheap. We'd all love to have Hondas but they're pretty proud of them.

Click to expand...

Naah - everything Honda does (cars, generators, engines, etc) is pretty much mediocre and high priced. You can keep all of them.

itguy08 said:

Naah - everything Honda does (cars, generators, engines, etc) is pretty much mediocre and high priced. You can keep all of them.

Click to expand...

They're all highly rated and have great resale value.

Honda's small engines are some of the best on the market IMHO and most consumers would choose them- all things being equal.

As a mechanic I find the difference between a cheap made engine and a higher priced engine is how the make them. The lower priced engines they will just bore out the aluminum and use that as a bearing and a good quality made engine they will use a bearing of some sort. There is a reason they can cut the prices on the cheap generators, you get what you pay for. Will one last longer the next, No I don't think so if cared for. I find the difference in the two is the cheap generator is a throw away generator and the well made generator can be rebuilt when worn out.

reynoldston said:

As a mechanic I find the difference between a cheap made engine and a higher priced engine is how the make them. The lower priced engines they will just bore out the aluminum and use that as a bearing and a good quality made engine they will use a bearing of some sort. There is a reason they can cut the prices on the cheap generators, you get what you pay for. Will one last longer the next, No I don't think so if cared for. I find the difference in the two is the cheap generator is a throw away generator and the well made generator can be rebuilt when worn out.

Click to expand...

Champion seems to be doing a good job with their equipment. Champion is a CA company who owns the manufacturing plant in China. The techs at one of my Small Engine dealers says the Champion gens they service have the same problems any small engine has. No more, no less.

Here's a neat link I found on generators. The guy seems to know his stuff:

Home generator installation

Terry CleanFuel said:

They're all highly rated and have great resale value.

Honda's small engines are some of the best on the market IMHO and most consumers would choose them- all things being equal.

Click to expand...

Well, I don't share your opinion they are some of the best on the market. I certainly would not buy one - my Briggs' have never let me down after all these years. Honda has issues just like everyone else. And they duck their responsibility just like everyone else. Nothing great about anything they do.

Just because people think something is great (or buy it in large quantities) doesn't make it great...
The #1 beer in America is Bud Light, #2 is Coors Light, and #3 is Budweiser. Are all 3 of them great beers? Nope.
Wal-Mart is the #1 retailer in America - is it the best? Far From It!
McDonalts is the #1 food retailer in America - is it the best? Not on your life!

itguy08 said:

Well, I don't share your opinion they are some of the best on the market. I certainly would not buy one - my Briggs' have never let me down after all these years. Honda has issues just like everyone else. And they duck their responsibility just like everyone else. Nothing great about anything they do.

Just because people think something is great (or buy it in large quantities) doesn't make it great...
The #1 beer in America is Bud Light, #2 is Coors Light, and #3 is Budweiser. Are all 3 of them great beers? Nope.
Wal-Mart is the #1 retailer in America - is it the best? Far From It!
McDonalts is the #1 food retailer in America - is it the best? Not on your life!

Click to expand...

Not only my opinion. Consumer Reports rates them high also.

Are they the best? Take away consumer confidence, dependability, sales, fit, finish, end user satisfaction, brand loyalty and reputation probably not.

Your mileage may very.

itguy08 said:

Well, I don't share your opinion they are some of the best on the market. I certainly would not buy one - my Briggs' have never let me down after all these years. Honda has issues just like everyone else. And they duck their responsibility just like everyone else. Nothing great about anything they do.

Just because people think something is great (or buy it in large quantities) doesn't make it great...
The #1 beer in America is Bud Light, #2 is Coors Light, and #3 is Budweiser. Are all 3 of them great beers? Nope.
Wal-Mart is the #1 retailer in America - is it the best? Far From It!
McDonalts is the #1 food retailer in America - is it the best? Not on your life!

Click to expand...

I love honda they work great and are very dependable if u take care of them ...But yes they are very high priced

briggs said:

I love honda they work great and are very dependable if u take care of them ...But yes they are very high priced

Click to expand...

You're right Mike! If you ask people to choose a genset to accompany them for three months at the South Pole and cost was not an issue, Honda would be the choice 99.9% of the time. Engine-wise anyway.

I can fault their price but not their product. They've done an outstanding job for the last thirty years.

I bought my Honda generator used over 20 years ago so I don't how old it is. When we or anybody else has a need for a generator its the first to be used. Its light weight and starts right up. In my 20+ years of owning this Honda generator the only thing I have ever had problems with is every so often I have to clean the brushes in the generator and replaced the fuel hoses once. Its had a lot of 24 hrs. days of running so I would say its got a lot of hours running on it but no idea of how many. It looks to be about the same size and output of the 89 dollar generator from Harbor Freight.

Terry CleanFuel said:

Not only my opinion. Consumer Reports rates them high also.

Are they the best? Take away consumer confidence, dependability, sales, fit, finish, end user satisfaction, brand loyalty and reputation probably not.

Your mileage may very.

Click to expand...

I wouldn't use Consumer Reports to wipe my butt. Seriously I don't trust them at all. They have just as many biases as the next guy and try to sell magazines and promote their name to further their business just like any other company. Like any news organization they prey on fear, uncertainty and doubt and then say "We have the answers".

Not to mention they were fought a few years ago giving free passes to Honda and Toyota cars just because they were Honda and Toyota. Not a company I'd trust.

Guess I'll stay the minority - Honda is vastly overrated in all they do.

I'll put my well maintained Briggs vs a Honda any day. Briggs has been engines far longer than Honda.
I'll put my well maintained Ford vs a Honda car any day. Statistically they are the same - Honda "quality" is not top of the heap.

itguy08 said:

I wouldn't use Consumer Reports to wipe my butt. Seriously I don't trust them at all. They have just as many biases as the next guy and try to sell magazines and promote their name to further their business just like any other company. Like any news organization they prey on fear, uncertainty and doubt and then say "We have the answers".

Not to mention they were fought a few years ago giving free passes to Honda and Toyota cars just because they were Honda and Toyota. Not a company I'd trust.

Guess I'll stay the minority - Honda is vastly overrated in all they do.

I'll put my well maintained Briggs vs a Honda any day. Briggs has been engines far longer than Honda.
I'll put my well maintained Ford vs a Honda car any day. Statistically they are the same - Honda "quality" is not top of the heap.

Click to expand...

I'll take Champion over Honda generator any day because of the price and cost of replacement parts. I'll take Honda engine over Briggs any day. Honda replacement parts are cheaper than briggs. Honda GCV160 recoil starter assy $10 and GCV160 carbs are $15-18 in cost to replace. Briggs 6.5hp carb is $40-50 and recoil starters are $30-40.

But I agree I'll take Ford or Chevy over Honda any day.

we have some good points here ........I don't like Honda cars to small not a ford man had two never again ...GM or dodge ..My dad has a Briggs its a monster i got pics on my phone i will upload the photos when i get then on the comp ...I like my cheap ones for the track ..My Honda i didn't pay much for i did some work for a guy and he gave to me i tuned it up and its been 6 years and he had for 6 so its 12 now ..I like it for the house and its not very loud i like that too

itguy08 said:

I wouldn't use Consumer Reports to wipe my butt. Seriously I don't trust them at all. They have just as many biases as the next guy and try to sell magazines and promote their name to further their business just like any other company. Like any news organization they prey on fear, uncertainty and doubt and then say "We have the answers".

Not to mention they were fought a few years ago giving free passes to Honda and Toyota cars just because they were Honda and Toyota. Not a company I'd trust.

Guess I'll stay the minority - Honda is vastly overrated in all they do.

I'll put my well maintained Briggs vs a Honda any day. Briggs has been engines far longer than Honda.
I'll put my well maintained Ford vs a Honda car any day. Statistically they are the same - Honda "quality" is not top of the heap.

Click to expand...

Different strokes for different folks I guess. I've had excellent luck trusting CR and I won't make a purchase without consulting them.

You make mention of "well-maintained" vs. Honda. I assume the Honda you cite as being less than "well-maintained". You could make that argument about anything, no?

I'm old enough to remember when "made in Japan" was a BAD thing...

The only thing I can compare Honda with is motorcycles. My Honda motorcycle never really gave me much mechanical problems but it had a lot of plastic body parts which would become brittle when it was older and would crack and break. My Harley Davidson has no plastic body parts but likes to leak oil.

Terry CleanFuel said:

Different strokes for different folks I guess. I've had excellent luck trusting CR and I won't make a purchase without consulting them.

You make mention of "well-maintained" vs. Honda. I assume the Honda you cite as being less than "well-maintained". You could make that argument about anything, no?

I'm old enough to remember when "made in Japan" was a BAD thing...

Click to expand...

Yeah, variety is the spice of life!

Just never really agreed with CR's ratings or even testing. Bought some things that were supposed to be "poor" from CR and had great service as well as the opposite. I also thing their "car ratings" are bunk. They got caught in 2010 or so giving Honda and Toyota a "free pass" for cars because they were Honda and Toyota. They completely ignored Honda's automatic debacle in 2002-2010, Toyota's sledging engines, etc. but would kill Ford or GM for lesser offenses. They may have no bias because of advertisers but they whore out their name to any news organization that they want. They want to make $$ just like anyone else.

And of course it would be a well maintained Honda vs a well maintained Briggs. I think if you bought new, maintained them the same, and ran them the same hours there would be minima differences.

here is dads briggs love it works great

briggs said:

here is dads briggs love it works great

Click to expand...

Is it OHV? I can't tell from the pics.

Terry CleanFuel said:

Is it OHV? I can't tell from the pics.

Click to expand...

yes its under the bench i will pull it out and get better pic of it its on wheels cant remember the hp tho lol