Anybody got experience with a Homelite HG1800 generator? Saw one at Home Depot and it looked like it might be fine for the camp during the winter when it's cool. About half the price of a Honda and less than half of a Yamaha. It has a little Subaru engine.

I also looked at a 5000 watt (6250 surge) Husky with a Subaru engine. Anybody know about these? We had a Coleman with a Subaru that Gustav got and it was pretty quiet and easy on fuel. Got to replace the summertime generator too.

I have a coleman 1850 and a powermate 5700, both serve there purpose. The 1850 is awsome for my camp, its light weight, easy on fuel and quieter than the 5700. It runs a small 5500 btu ac and all lights including a 500 watt light that is outside.

The 5700 doesn't really leave my garage unless the power goes out at the house which seems to happen alot lately.

I will say that the 1850 is built a little cheap on the parts side but it has held up though, even sat under water for about 2 weeks and after cleaning it up it cranked right up.

Does your little coleman look like this, but with coleman badging? Does it have a 4hp Subaru engine?



If so, how many hours you think its got? What parts are cheap? What kind of problems?

buy a honda and be done with it....you cant hear them either!

thats the same on, the rubber suction cups on the bottom will all fall off, the wires on the switch will break about 10 times till you quit trying to fix it cause the switch is really not neccessary, and the choke is plastic which I see it breaking eventually. The recoil also came apart on mine. THis is all in probably 300 or so hours and a flood that left it under water for about 2 weeks. For the price its a good little generator and does its job. It just won't hold up to the abuse that some of the others can handle.

Make sure you find out ahead of time if it runs computer's and such. Some will not and will fry electrical equipment. If it applies to you. The company I work for trades with Grainger and we really get a big discount from them. I really like their service. Honda's are over-priced for this poor boy. Like Shafer said, they are quiet. If you hook it in-line to your house you will have to have a power disconect at your pole so there is no feed back to the power line indangering a lineman. If your hauling it in your boat for fishing make sure ya don't get shocked running wires into the water to stun fish.. Wait a darn minute. That's illegal. Dumb a$$ country boy. Make sure ya buy it big enough the first time.

Shafer, yea I know Hondas are quiet. I got a buddy with a pair of the 2000s. I also have a buddy with a Yamaha 2400 that is just as quiet. This Homelite is only $400 at Home Depot. The Husky 5000 is $500. Put them together and I still did not spend what one Honda or Yamaha costs. The right way to do it is to drop $10K+ on a natural gas fired rig for my house and $2K on a pair of Honda 2000's for the camp but that aint gonna happen.

Paul, thanks for the info. For 600 bucks less I think I can live with the cheap one.

Silver, thanks for the heads up about electronics. I checked with Homelite and it is not "clean" power. Also, I may not be an electrician but I will NOT be the guy backfeeding the neighborhood and lighting up some poor Entergy guy trying to turn my power back on.


The Husky I looked at is identical to the Powermate we had that got flooded in Gustav. Got to be a rebadged job just like the Homelite.