Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

In June of 2015, I bought a small toy hauler/camper and planned to boon-dock some when traveling and/or hunting. I started looking at generator options. I’d never owned a generator, so as I began researching, a list of desired features began to form. I wanted a generator that's user friendly, quiet, fuel efficient, durable, easily maintained and with access to maintenance, repair and replacement parts. I wanted clean, stable power for my computer and other electronics, so I looked only at inverter generators. I read and watched countless reviews on sites and message boards and talked to others who owned generators. I settled on Honda as a brand and was considering one of two options: a pair EU2000i's with a parallel kit or a single EU3000is. The money is about the same with either choice. There are advantages and disadvantages to both, but I won't get into those details here.
 In short, I settled on the EU3000is.
 Pros: -It cranks up quickly and easily with electric start. (It also has a manual pull-start and after 2-1/2 years, still cranks easily on the first pull.) -It powers everything on and in my 30amp camper as long as I don’t simultaneously fire up the AC and microwave. -It puts out enough amps to simultaneously power the essential 120V circuits in my home. (aka: lights, refrigerator, freezer, TV, Satellite, fan, portable AC for the bedroom.) I used it during a Spring power outage and it performed flawlessly for 3 days. -It’s quiet and fuel efficient. I can stand next to it while carrying on a comfortable conversation, even with eco mode turned off and while powering the 13,500 BTU rooftop AC unit on my camper. (With eco mode turned on and with a light load, I'd characterize the sound level as similar to that of a car at idle.) When boon-dock camping at our hunting club, my Honda is by-far the quietest generator there, and by-far the most fuel efficient. -Fuel efficiency: I had some concerns about getting through a summer night on one tank of gas since specs say that it’ll run for only 7 hours at full rated capacity. (or 20 hr run time at 1/4 rated capacity) On a trip to Kentucky in August of 2017 for the solar eclipse, daytime temps were in the 90’s with plenty of humidity. I knew that my AC would be running hard, so I topped off the fuel tank at bedtime, set the thermostat on 68 and hit the sack. I don’t recall the exact length of time it ran before I shut it down in the late morning, but I’d guess well over 10 consecutive hours. It needed under 3 gallons to refill the 3-1/2 gallon tank. Cons: -At north of $2000, it’s expensive and there are some basic necessities/accessories that should have been included. I had to purchase those separately and they were not inexpensive. A couple of them annoyed me and one completely defies any logic. From the category, “Face-palm”: -The maintenance schedule is in hours based on run-time, but for some highly illogical reason, the EU3000is doesn’t come with a factory installed hour meter. I’m diligent about maintenance, so I purchased an aftermarket hour meter and figured out how to wire and install it. Stuff that annoyed me: -There’s no external connection for an external battery maintainer. I purchased an aftermarket battery tender/float charger and installed the included leads with generic 2-wire plug. I keep it plugged into the battery tender when stored so that the on-board battery stays charged and in good shape. -The Honda doesn’t come with the dust cover or 12v charger cable (for charging external batteries). Honda gets a premium for those two items and they should be included at the price point of a premium gen-set. -No in-line fuel filter. There is a fuel strainer under the fuel cap, but I’m all about redundancy when it comes to filtering fuel. There’s a good chance that you’ll be filling your generator from a portable can and those are notorious for collecting debris and contaminants. An inline filter simply makes good sense on a device that needs to work every time you need it. In my opinion, Honda shows very poor form for not including all or most of the above items and features. Mostly neutral observations: -The EU3000is has a manual choke. This one cuts two ways. On one hand, it’s straight-forward and easy to use, plus a manual choke is unlikely to malfunction and you have complete control over the choke setting. On the other hand, an auto choke is transparent to the user, so you never have wonder whether or not to choke during starting. In addition, if you’re looking to add an aftermarket remote start, you’ll need to install an auto-choke. --Oil capacity is 18 oz of 10W-30. That’s not a lot of oil, so I change it regularly and keep the generator level when it’s running. (Note that it has an automatic low oil shutoff although I've never dared test it.) -The 30 amp power outlet on the Honda comes with an L5-30 locking receptacle. My RV has a 30 amp TT30 (or RV30) plug, so I had to purchase an adapter. (I’m ok with this one as the L5-30 twist lock is actually a more secure connection and not everyone is going to use it to power an RV.) -For my use, I added a wheels kit. It’s not really a necessity, but the EU3000is is pretty heavy and can be a chunk to move around without help. The wheels make that much easier. Even though I had to spend some extra money to correct some omissions by Honda and to set it up like I wanted, I’m 2-1/2 years in and very happy with my EU3000is. It’s quiet, economical, easy to operate and has proved to be reliable and simple to maintain. You can buy generators that are much less expensive per KW, but I wouldn’t trade mine for any that I’ve seen.