Thanks for the info. To clarify, I would like something that could be used on the boat if need be. Not really looking for a whole house type generator because of the simple fact that I am only 8 feet above sea level and will be evacuating for most hurricanes that come off the Gulf. This is another reason portability is important, I may want to pick up my generator and take it 20 miles inland to my father's house for example. If I did want a total house generator, I would consider getting one that runs on propane since I always have 70-90 gallons of LP available in a tank at the side of my house.
I would probably just be interested in running an 8000 Btu window A/C and keeping my 26 cu foot fridge/freezer cold (and probably a little TV and computer which should be pretty trivial loads). I'm pretty sure one of these 2000 watt jobs could run either of the big loads by themselves, but maybe it wouldn't handle both compressors on at the same time in which case I would need to alternate the loads...which is feasible.
I can certainly see the advantage of a long run tank for a house unit, plus I suppose that the noise factor isn't quite as critical as in close quarters with a boat. Another advantage the Honda has is that you can hook two together to get a 4000 watt generator, of course, this is a pretty expensive one when you can get something like that at Home Depot (I think they carry the Coleman ones) for like under 20 percent of what it would cost for 2 Honda's. But at least there is an expansion path.
The Kipor 2000ti model which has the load sensing runs about $730 on Ebay so presuming Mayberry's still has the $875 deal going on Honda, then there is about a 150 buck difference. Looking at the specs, it seems that the Kipor may have a slightly smaller motor, so that may mean that it is a bit louder than the Honda. It sure looks like a knockoff though, pretty much identical dimensions, etc. The Kipor apparently does not allow hooking two up in parallel and of course, Honda has the stellar reliability which takes decades to establish.
I have now found some more reading at the
rv.net forums so I can hopefully find some user opinions on these specific models (looks like people may in fact be saying the Kipor is louder than Honda). Apparently, Kipor is well used in Europe for many years but is only more recently entering the U.S. market.
Craig, are all your "Chinese" generators of the Kipor brand (or rebranded Kipor) or are there other manufacturers that should be looked at? If I remember correctly, the Yamaha only competes in the 1000 and 3000 watt categories, not 2000. Although you could probably get a 3500 watt "portable" Kipor for a couple hundred bucks more than a Honda 2000, these things weigh more than twice as much as the 2000 so their portability is in question. I can handle 50 lbs, but trying to single handedly monkey around with a 132 lb generator on a boat would be near impossible I'm pretty sure.
