it's a bit late to help with this storm but I have just a couple basic questions.

I'd like to buy one for two specific reasons. One is for my folks to use at their house if the power goes out. Basically running a fridge, maybe their upright freezer, a light or two and the wood burning stove. I have no idea how much power I would need for the above. The other application would be to take camping with me on the rare occasion I actually need some power or if I end up buying a camper one of these days.

So, would a 2000 watt deliver enough power for the parents needs or do I need to go with a lot more than that? The 3000 watt weighs about 130# and the smaller weighs less than 50#. I like the portability of the smaller generator but don't want to be underpowered. I'll take a wild guess at this and say 3000 might be the minimum I'd want to go with if it's to be used with a couple major home appliances....

Any thoughts on a good all around compromise?

the 2000 watt Honda will do everything you mentioned and more. i recommend a Honda because of weight and very quiet, i have a Honda 1000 that will run my fridge, gas fireplace fan, TV and dish network and some lights. also can not go wrong with Honda. will run for many hours on a tank of gas.

The nice thing about the Honda EU series generators is you can gang two together. So if you have 2 2000 watt generators you can run them in parallel to get 4000 watts, with the adapter kit that you can buy from Honda, of course.

You want to remember to derate the power capacity. They're really only good for about 80% of the power rating. So a 2,000 watt would deliver about 1,600 watts continuously. You can get more out of them, short term, but, if you want them to last, only use them at 80%. This is common advice from many experienced RV'ers.

Sam

The Honda inverter series of generators are nice because they won't fry the electronics in your fridge, computer, etc. Nice clean sine wave output and they're quiet. You'll likely need more than 3kw to run a hot water tank if you want showers. Should also consider one around 5kw with an electric start if your wife is home alone.

I just went through this process and had an electrician put an interlock plate over my panel with a full phase 120/240V plug outside. No need to run extension cords through doors or windows in winter time. After a couple months of watching, I scored a great deal on ebay for a new Honda 7kw inverter. We went 8 days without power after the big blow a couple years ago and lost frozen items that I couldn't fit into my folk's freezer. Didn't want a repeat. Hope this helps....

+1

Two Honda 2000i's are cheaper, easier to carry and put out more power than the 3000i. And with the paralell cables you get a 30Amp plug.

I spent a couple of days without power a few years back. We use well water, so after four flushes (two toilets), I was packing water up from the creek to flush with. I said, "Never again!" Pipes froze, cooking with a coleman stove, freezing my arse off....dandy stuff.

I got an electric/manual start 6KW Briggs Industrial grade generator on a wheeled cart and had a switch over panel installed. The generator sits in a shed built between the switch over panel and the house. When the power goes out, I switch off the breakers that power the water heater, stove, dryer, and furnace. Everything else, including the 220v well pump are left on line. The power source is "dirty" power, but hasn't given me any problems and I use the TV and theater system without a second thought. That's what surge protectors are for.

I've been using this set up for at least five years now and love it. I can get up and running when the power goes out in no more than five minutes and use the microwave and electric coffee maker with a grin. The noise from the generator is not an issue since it is outside in it's shed.

I also have loaded up the generator in my lawn cart and drug it around the five acres here to use power tools and my AC/DC welder.

The whole thing minus the switch over panel and installation cost me about $1000 including a 25ft heavy duty four prong power cable.

For my uses, I need at least 5KW....1000Watts is good enough for a camp trailer where you have propane for most everything, but remember that 1KW is peaked out with 10 100 watt light bulbs.....not much.

But then any generator is better than no generator when everything goes black. Good Luck.

Look at Yamaha's line of inverter generators. I've got a 2400 for my fifth wheel. Its fairly light,IIRC its about 65lbs.

Just as quiet as a Honda 2000 while putting out a bit more power.

You can also get a parallel the Yamahas.