Thread: Generator Honda Or Yamaha?

So, after the recent events here in South Australia, I am also now looking at buying a generator. I had settled on the Honda EU70is, as it gets great write ups. I've seen and listened to them working in the flesh, and it fits my future requirements of being in the rear of my Overland Truck when we are away, but sat in the corner of the workshop with the ability to power the house when the power fails, gets blown over, flooded, stolen or whatever! I did a search and it threw this thread up and this post caught my eye.. Curious to know if there is a larger 7kva Subaru option, and if so what sort of coin...? Also curious to hear people's opinions of the 7kva Honda... Are they worth the money, will they run a small house when the powers off etc etc. I know it'll do the truck as there will only be AC (occasionally), kettles, microwave maybe, and lights etc.. If you're reading Gav, I also value your opinion. Cheers all!

Originally Posted by drivesafe

Hi Andrew and I can offer you a third generator option.

The 1650w Subaru R1700i generator for $1699. These have service agents throughout Australia.

My price for the Subaru R1700i includes the new SAFELEC RVD electrical protection gear, pre-installed in the Subaru ( $200 saving )

The RVD makes the Subaru the safest generator on the market, which is a big safety factor if you have children.

having just been up and down both sides of the Malay Archipelago including Thailand and Indonesia , I noted that almost every outboard motor seen was a Yamaha.

If anyone has been in those waters recently they will know what I mean......thousands and thousands of small boats , all Yamaha powered.

I don't know if that reflects on the reliability of other products such as generators but on that basis I'd consider Yamaha strongly.

I have the 2kva Yamaha.
Did a lot of searching and reading and there wasn't much in it really.
Iirc the reasonI went with the Yamaha was fuel gauge and also a knob on front of the unit that cuts the fuel so you can run the carb dry.

Paul

I have a 5 kVA Kohler. A bit big for camping, but we used to use it on work fishing trips when we also took one or more chest freezers on a trailer (kept the beverages cold on the way down, and the fish frozen on the way back.
A reliable and bullet-proof old banger, but way behind modern technology (and not easy to find parts for).

Has also saved us (and the next door neighbour) a couple of times over the years during prolonged power outages.

I'm currently looking for something smaller for bush trips. Have been thinking about either the Honda or the Yamaha - no preference for either - will probably come down to availability and price. I have noted that Kulkyne sell their own "branded" Yamaha - but I had some other dealings with them a while back and was not impressed with their service - will not be a repeat customer.

That Subaru looks interesting Tim .................. will have to keep an eye out to see if anyone around here has them on offer.

I nearly bought a Yamaha 2400. We may have a need for aircon in the future if we start heading north in Summer with our newfy. Anyway i sidelined it for the time being.
I found out the 2000s are just too small for aircon units and you would need to link 2 Honda 2000s to make one run. Or you could just get one Yamaha 2400.

Food for thought if you ever plan on having a caravan with aircon.

Originally Posted by Sitec

So, after the recent events here in South Australia, I am also now looking at buying a generator. I had settled on the Honda EU70is, as it gets great write ups. I've seen and listened to them working in the flesh, and it fits my future requirements of being in the rear of my Overland Truck when we are away, but sat in the corner of the workshop with the ability to power the house when the power fails, gets blown over, flooded, stolen or whatever! I did a search and it threw this thread up and this post caught my eye.. Curious to know if there is a larger 7kva Subaru option, and if so what sort of coin...? Also curious to hear people's opinions of the 7kva Honda... Are they worth the money, will they run a small house when the powers off etc etc. I know it'll do the truck as there will only be AC (occasionally), kettles, microwave maybe, and lights etc.. If you're reading Gav, I also value your opinion. Cheers all!

Always watching Wazowski, always watching...

They are very good units mate, we have hundreds of them and there's a reason we keep buying the Honda product. We have almost no issues at all with them in our fleet compared to most other brands. We have had Yamaha inverters but they proved problematic long term and they have all been replaced with Hondas. the other unit we have plenty of is the Subaru units - they are getting a bit old now, but that shows they've stood the test of time which is not easy to do in a hire fleet.

7KVA won't run a small house - it will run a large house! You will have nearly 30 amps on hand. Now that may not sound like a lot, but think about how you use your house - worst case scenario. Stinking hot day, so you've got the AC running full tilt - there's half of it gone depending on the AC you have, but even when you add the fridge and freezer, beer fridge, TV and flick the kettle on - you've still got some left up your sleeve. I have run my place from a 5KVA - and left the spa on and not had issues.

When we run large areas on gensets (while towns, etc) the calculation is 2KVA per household during the day, it will peak at double that at tea time and again at 11pm when the hot water service reheats kick in, but during the day, you don't actually use that much power.

If your going to al this trouble, get a change over switch put in your switchboard so you can plug the genset into your house to run everything when the need arises. I can give you more details on that if you want.

If it's within your means then go for it, it will give you a lot of flexibility - it will run a small welder, compressor etc so worth the dollars IMO.

The Honda EU series can also be paralleled believe it or not - with other EU series gensets. You can buy a lead from Honda that allows them to sync their output.

We have a 6.5kVA Gentech generator with a Honda motor for running the house during blackouts and fire management (run pumps during fire scenario). It will run the house, including reverse cycle heating, with ease.

Originally Posted by Homestar

Always watching Wazowski, always watching...

They are very good units mate, we have hundreds of them and there's a reason we keep buying the Honda product. We have almost no issues at all with them in our fleet compared to most other brands. We have had Yamaha inverters but they proved problematic long term and they have all been replaced with Hondas. the other unit we have plenty of is the Subaru units - they are getting a bit old now, but that shows they've stood the test of time which is not easy to do in a hire fleet.

7KVA won't run a small house - it will run a large house! You will have nearly 30 amps on hand. Now that may not sound like a lot, but think about how you use your house - worst case scenario. Stinking hot day, so you've got the AC running full tilt - there's half of it gone depending on the AC you have, but even when you add the fridge and freezer, beer fridge, TV and flick the kettle on - you've still got some left up your sleeve. I have run my place from a 5KVA - and left the spa on and not had issues.

When we run large areas on gensets (while towns, etc) the calculation is 2KVA per household during the day, it will peak at double that at tea time and again at 11pm when the hot water service reheats kick in, but during the day, you don't actually use that much power.

If your going to al this trouble, get a change over switch put in your switchboard so you can plug the genset into your house to run everything when the need arises. I can give you more details on that if you want.

If it's within your means then go for it, it will give you a lot of flexibility - it will run a small welder, compressor etc so worth the dollars IMO.

The Honda EU series can also be paralleled believe it or not - with other EU series gensets. You can buy a lead from Honda that allows them to sync their output.

Excellent. You've confirmed what I was hoping/thinking. It'll b huge overkill for the truck, but we have the space, and it'll run the house and shed ok, and will run just the house fine!! Change over switch already in the pipeline.. Plan to do that when the generator arrives.. (Once house and shed are up and finished), but will chat to you when I get to that point. Also plan to change the two standard sockets on the generator for one large one that will plug straight into the truck, or straight into the change over point. Looking forward to being the only glow when SA has its next blackout!! . Cheers again!