3000 Watt Generators, Which Brand, Why?

[kenvb]

Good Day All,

I'm shopping for a 3000 watt generator. I want electric start for sure, remote start would be handy, wheels on it of course, and yes I know most of them are heavy as you know who.

Both Yamaha and Honda 3000 Watt are about the same price, Honda boasts a "cold start technology" and has no remote start option. Honda also now has a 3200 Watt Suitcase but it doesn't appear to have remote start, it has bluetooth capability for remote shut off, for fuel level monitoring (I believe) and for load monitoring.

Which one do you all run and why? How is access to the battery if for whatever reason you need to boost or charge it? How is it for changing the oil? Do any of them have hour meters on them?

I have a 2000 Watt Honda now (which is giving me some grief) but want a 3000 watt for our cabin in the woods.

if u are using regular gas and never used Stabilizer.. your carb has that green dryed up ethenol in it..i have cleaned and or replaced about 20 Carbs in Generators,,ATVs, i last few yrs,,you can try dumping the old gas out,,put jug of carb cleaner and fill with Premium highest octane,, if it doesnt start on itw own.remove air box and spray some new gas i carb.might have ti keep spraying to keep it running.put Honda on high idle.. 50% of time that works for me..if that doesnt work..remove carb and try to clean, or just order new carb from Amazon..have bought 28 new carbs from Amazon..sure there made in China..what isnt..this new Chit gas is wrecking small motor carbs..we have to use Stabilizer or carb cleaner in every tank now.

 

[TylerG]

if u are using regular gas and never used Stabilizer.. your carb has that green dryed up ethenol in it..i have cleaned and or replaced about 20 Carbs in Generators,,ATVs, i last few yrs,,you can try dumping the old gas out,,put jug of carb cleaner and fill with Premium highest octane,, if it doesnt start on itw own.remove air box and spray some new gas i carb.might have ti keep spraying to keep it running.put Honda on high idle.. 50% of time that works for me..if that doesnt work..remove carb and try to clean, or just order new carb from Amazon..have bought 28 new carbs from Amazon..sure there made in China..what isnt..this new Chit gas is wrecking small motor carbs..we have to use Stabilizer or carb cleaner in every tank now.

It's got a new carb now, compression is testing low. I'll take it all apart and rebuild it. For now it's been replaced by a Cummins Onan P4500i

 

[ZRrrr]

Thought I would share my experience with a generator we purchased recently. Wanted low noise, decent power output, electric start (requested by the ladies in the family) compact size, lower weight and portability. Remote start would be a bonus. After reading through the feedback in this thread, experiencing what friends are using, and a ton of research, I opted for the Cummins Onan 4500i. I'll qualify this by saying the Honda 3000 was eliminated for several reasons...cost of a course a big one, weight, power output, size and portability the others. Couple friends have the Honda 3000. I see the 3000 as a big, hefty, expensive unit with relatively low output for the footprint. 3000 peak with 2800 run versus the Cummins 4500 peak and 3700 run. Came to the conclusion that the Honda unit is due for some upgrading compared to others now on the market. I wanted higher peak/run watts as my thought process is if it it can handle higher loads at lower RPM's it will be quieter, last longer, use less fuel and be better for any home power emergencies - can run two units in parallel..

Wanted to hear the Cummins run prior to making a decision. First shop sells them as fast as they come in and can't get back orders filled fast enough. No chance to hear it at this one, but the team was willing to answer my questions. I felt they were being very up front about their experiences. For the number of units they have sold, very few come back with issues. Youtube videos and RV forums were able to corroborate a couple of issues they mentioned. Both are very simple fixes and can be done at home. One is a connection for the electronic choke coming loose during transport. From what I could tell on the RV forums and Youtube vids is that seemed to be more prevalent before 2022. Carb issues was another, but as we all are witness to, that could be as simple as bad/stale gas. Of course the odd one comes back dead, but I find that to be the case for a lot of things these days (made off shore or with off shore parts).

Other retailer I went to was able to run one and let me play it with it for a while. To me they are all noisy, but this one was a lot quieter than I was expecting. Not Honda 3000 quiet, but really/surprisingly quiet none the less. Easily started, remote start/stop worked well, has wheels and a retractable pull handle. Looked and felt well built. It's the little things, like rubber plugs over the screw/bolt holes, rubber covers over the switches and inlets/outlets, solid feeling switches, strong pull handle that tucks away nicely, wheels. Asked about issues at this location as well. They had a couple, but again, not relatively many based on the numbers. While the first shop also performed repairs, this retailer preferred to send them directly to the Cummins shop here in Edmonton, and they were really pleased with the support Cummins has offered. Apparently Cummins responds and repairs quickly. Good to know.

In the box was a little funnel for adding the initial oil. What really made me smile is that it is threaded with a rubber gasket. No mess oil changes!! Worked very well for both initial fill and draining after break in. There is a drain plug, but merely tilting and draining from the fill plug was a painless and messless experience using the funnel. Brilliant!

Camping this weekend was it's initial use. Wife needs her Nespresso and milk steamer in the morning...lol. Two teens with plenty of electronics, along with adult phones and portable speaker all in need of charging. Generator handled the Nespresso and steamer with barely a hiccup. Less than 25% load showing on the excellent communication display. Had the generator in the box of the truck and it was impressively quiet enough for me with those two loads pulling power. Wife even commented on how quiet it was. Day was hot so time to test with the AC unit, 13,000 BTU. Our old 3600 watt peak, 3000 run, would rev way up to start the AC and run higher RPM under the constant load = noisy! Cummins started it without much effort and settled in immediately. Less than 50% load showing on the display and again much quieter than I was expecting. Started adding the phones, electronics, speaker. No change in sound and load stayed below 50%.

Pull handle and wheels came in very handy several times. At 98Lbs I was able to manage it in and out of the truck myself. Fuel display shows time remaining on gas available in tank, at each load change. I found that very informative. Couple fellow campers came by to see what I was running. One had just purchased the Costco Firman duel fuel. Noisy! More so than I thought it would be for a newer model/design. He wasn't even hooked up to the 30 amp outlet, just an extension cord.

Another neat feature is the unit comes with an AC wall wort with cord that connects to an inlet on the generator for keeping the battery charged. No need to access or pull the battery during off season. Again...brilliant!

Nice big gas tank opening. 2 USB charging ports right on the unit. Doesn't feel or look cheap. Nice plastics, robust pull handle, big wheels. Good information center. All in all I am quite impressed with the Cummins and would recommend it. We shall see how it performs long term. Honda has their name behind the 3000, and has been a great performer over time for sure. I feel it's getting dated for the price they ask. For the cost of one Honda I can get two Cummins....higher peak/running watts, lighter, smaller, easier to manage, neat little additions that make life easier, and surprisingly quiet...that makes this guy a happy camper.

There is a dual fuel P4500iDF, but it seems to be really hard to find right now.

 

[TylerG]

Thought I would share my experience with a generator we purchased recently. Wanted low noise, decent power output, electric start (requested by the ladies in the family) compact size, lower weight and portability. Remote start would be a bonus. After reading through the feedback in this thread, experiencing what friends are using, and a ton of research, I opted for the Cummins Onan 4500i. I'll qualify this by saying the Honda 3000 was eliminated for several reasons...cost of a course a big one, weight, power output, size and portability the others. Couple friends have the Honda 3000. I see the 3000 as a big, hefty, expensive unit with relatively low output for the footprint. 3000 peak with 2800 run versus the Cummins 4500 peak and 3700 run. Came to the conclusion that the Honda unit is due for some upgrading compared to others now on the market. I wanted higher peak/run watts as my thought process is if it it can handle higher loads at lower RPM's it will be quieter, last longer, use less fuel and be better for any home power emergencies - can run two units in parallel..

Wanted to hear the Cummins run prior to making a decision. First shop sells them as fast as they come in and can't get back orders filled fast enough. No chance to hear it at this one, but the team was willing to answer my questions. I felt they were being very up front about their experiences. For the number of units they have sold, very few come back with issues. Youtube videos and RV forums were able to corroborate a couple of issues they mentioned. Both are very simple fixes and can be done at home. One is a connection for the electronic choke coming loose during transport. From what I could tell on the RV forums and Youtube vids is that seemed to be more prevalent before 2022. Carb issues was another, but as we all are witness to, that could be as simple as bad/stale gas. Of course the odd one comes back dead, but I find that to be the case for a lot of things these days (made off shore or with off shore parts).

Other retailer I went to was able to run one and let me play it with it for a while. To me they are all noisy, but this one was a lot quieter than I was expecting. Not Honda 3000 quiet, but really/surprisingly quiet none the less. Easily started, remote start/stop worked well, has wheels and a retractable pull handle. Looked and felt well built. It's the little things, like rubber plugs over the screw/bolt holes, rubber covers over the switches and inlets/outlets, solid feeling switches, strong pull handle that tucks away nicely, wheels. Asked about issues at this location as well. They had a couple, but again, not relatively many based on the numbers. While the first shop also performed repairs, this retailer preferred to send them directly to the Cummins shop here in Edmonton, and they were really pleased with the support Cummins has offered. Apparently Cummins responds and repairs quickly. Good to know.

In the box was a little funnel for adding the initial oil. What really made me smile is that it is threaded with a rubber gasket. No mess oil changes!! Worked very well for both initial fill and draining after break in. There is a drain plug, but merely tilting and draining from the fill plug was a painless and messless experience using the funnel. Brilliant!

Camping this weekend was it's initial use. Wife needs her Nespresso and milk steamer in the morning...lol. Two teens with plenty of electronics, along with adult phones and portable speaker all in need of charging. Generator handled the Nespresso and steamer with barely a hiccup. Less than 25% load showing on the excellent communication display. Had the generator in the box of the truck and it was impressively quiet enough for me with those two loads pulling power. Wife even commented on how quiet it was. Day was hot so time to test with the AC unit, 13,000 BTU. Our old 3600 watt peak, 3000 run, would rev way up to start the AC and run higher RPM under the constant load = noisy! Cummins started it without much effort and settled in immediately. Less than 50% load showing on the display and again much quieter than I was expecting. Started adding the phones, electronics, speaker. No change in sound and load stayed below 50%.

Pull handle and wheels came in very handy several times. At 98Lbs I was able to manage it in and out of the truck myself. Fuel display shows time remaining on gas available in tank, at each load change. I found that very informative. Couple fellow campers came by to see what I was running. One had just purchased the Costco Firman duel fuel. Noisy! More so than I thought it would be for a newer model/design. He wasn't even hooked up to the 30 amp outlet, just an extension cord.

Another neat feature is the unit comes with an AC wall wort with cord that connects to an inlet on the generator for keeping the battery charged. No need to access or pull the battery during off season. Again...brilliant!

Nice big gas tank opening. 2 USB charging ports right on the unit. Doesn't feel or look cheap. Nice plastics, robust pull handle, big wheels. Good information center. All in all I am quite impressed with the Cummins and would recommend it. We shall see how it performs long term. Honda has their name behind the 3000, and has been a great performer over time for sure. I feel it's getting dated for the price they ask. For the cost of one Honda I can get two Cummins....higher peak/running watts, lighter, smaller, easier to manage, neat little additions that make life easier, and surprisingly quiet...that makes this guy a happy camper.

There is a dual fuel P4500iDF, but it seems to be really hard to find right now.

I went with the same generator and have been very happy with it so far!

Have not yet tested it with AC but have been running lots of power tools and stuff with it with no issues