A while back our Honda 2000i became something less than a happy camper and while he still purred like a kitten, there was no power on the electrical side... Bummer!
Getting the parts to repair the Honda was some kind of problematic down here in the Caribbean and as we needed power in a hurry, we made the decision to get a replacement now and sort out fixing the Honda later. Looking at what was available and what we could get shipped down quickly, the choice appeared to be another Honda, A Kipor (Honda clone) or the Honeywell (which I guess you'd term a Honda wannabe).
The price of generators being what it is on island even if we used it for a couple of months we'd be able to resell it if needful for about the same money it cost us. So, when we added up all the various pros and cons, the Honeywell looked hard to beat. So we bought it and a couple of weeks later it arrived and we were the proud owners of a brand new unused broken Honeywell generator as the carb had been broken off at some point in time and needed an elbow replacement... Since it was easier to have a fifteen dollar part mailed to us than to to spend a couple of hundred dollars to ship the generator back to the states it was sort of a no-brainer.
Once we had the part in hand, fixing the generator was a five minute job and hey presto we are back in the power business!
My impressions after a week are of the happy camper variety. Yes, the Honeywell is a kiss louder than the Honda though not so much that you'd actually notice at a distance. For Honda folk the real difference in sound level is not so much volume but more in tone. It has a bit more bass and as such resonates a kiss more so instead of the Honda "purr" it's a bit more of a "growl". That said, after a day you don't notice it at all. It is also a little bigger, but again, not problematic as it pretty much has the same footprint (though a bit taller) so for most of us boat folk it will fit into the same space we kept the Honda in.
The user manual on the Honeywell is head and shoulders better than the poor useless excuse for a manual that comes with the Honda. Even better, is that the Honeywell comes stock with a oil pour tube which is something that you will have to get from a third party... So there really has been some thought behind how people actually use and maintain the unit. Color me impressed!
The plan was to use the Honeywell till we got the Honda fixed but plans change and the new order is to fix and sell the Honda and go with the Honeywell as dollar for dollar it is a much better bit of kit. Keeping in mind that the Honeywell is half the price, easier for us DIY/frugal folks to repair if needed and if we can't, cheaper than most any sort of repair one would run into on the Honda...
Listening to Mr Lennon
So it goes...
