Portable Generators are extremely useful to have for power outages, camping, RV’ing,
and general outdoor usage. Lightweight and easy to transport, these devices generate
electricity efficiently and can power up a great deal of appliances both inside or outside
your home and, most importantly, in the heart of nature, when you are going on a camping
trip and you still want to use an electric mini-stove or perhaps charge your smartphone.
There is quite a wide variety of models available both online and in physical stores, so we
tried to bring together a list with 8 of the most reliable and overall best portable generators
that money can buy. We based our list on consumer reviews from a variety of sources, publicly
available information on best sellers, and company reputation. Generators with major
flaws were disqualified.
The WGen is a true behemoth in the world of portable generators, with 7500 rated watts
and 9500 peak watts, this high quality machine is able to power all of your house appliances
and can run for around 16 continuous hours on a 4.4 gallon fuel tank at 25% load. It
features a one-touch push-button electric start with an included remote start key fob
to conveniently get you set up right away, making it the easiest and most comfortable
to use portable generator ever. The Westinghouse has a user friendly and intuitive
control panel, one 30-amp and two 20-amp outlets, this inverter being ideal for powering anything
from a mere laptop that takes 200 running watts to an electric water heater that draws
4000 watts or even a central AC unit of 40,000 BTU that needs 6000 watts and can heat a 2,000
square foot room. The WGen7500 is really incredible! for the price of only $850 delivering more
than any other competing generator on the market!
The Honda EU is a 2200-watt portable generator that is not only extremely efficient and reliable,
but it also is incredibly silent, operating at 48 to 57 decibels, which, when you think
about it, would mean that it’s even quieter than a casual conversation between two people.
It works at 15 amps for household appliances such as Tvs, laptops or driers and at 8.4
amps for charging batteries or small devices like tablets or phones.
This generator was subjected to intense testing and it was the only one to perform almost
perfect, starting at a single pull every time it’s very convenient for people who might
not be that physically strong. The tank can hold 0.95 gallons of fuel, but paired with
the ultra-efficient GXR120 engine, the fuel consumption will be perfectly optimized to
produce a high-quality, consistent delivery of power and to keep the generator working
for 8.1 hours at one quarter load.
Wen is a popular portable generator, in fact being on Amazon’s Choice list for the best
and most reliable devices and having no less than 705 reviews and an average rate of 4.4
out of 5 stars. It has a 2250 watts output and two 15 amp outlets, as well as two 5 volt
USB ports ideal for charging your phone in the woods. The power it produces is both clean
and steady so you can safely charge or plug in laptops, Tvs, tablets or other more pretentious
or expensive devices without risking their destruction from a sudden surge of power.
The Wen 56225i has a one-gallon fuel tank and a half-load run time of 6 hours, operating
at about 53 decibels and maximizing fuel economy if you activate the Eco-Mode. This portable
generator costs around 550 bucks and is the next best thing if you don’t want to spend
about $1000 on the Honda.
Generac is the direct competitor of Honda, this company producing inverter generators
since the 1970s. Their more recent model, the iQ2000 was released only in 2015, so it’s
kind of fresh on the portable generators market. With 2000 starting watts and 1600 running
watts, this gadget has a modern, sleek design and a capacity of 1.06 gallons of fuel, which
makes it quite a bit more dependable than the Honda. The 13.3 amp power capacity is
good enough for small electric devices, but it might stall larger ones, like a circular
saw, for example. On the plus side, the Generac iQ2000 has two
nicely designed meters that show the amount of fuel available in the tank and the watts
that are being drawn by the gadgets that are connected to the portable generator. And even
though it might not be as powerful or as efficient as other devices, the Generac trumps them
in terms of usability, being so intuitive and friendly that it could be operated by
virtually anyone.
For only 600 bucks you get 2300 starting watts (and 1800 running) to power a great deal of
electronic gadgets, the Ryobi RYI2300BTA being a portable, easy to carry generator that offers
a lot of energy for a very low price without skipping on quality in order to cater to a
large audience. With an on-board LCD that displays the fuel level, the runtime remaining
and the load level, this inverter has dual rear wheels that make it extra comfortable
to move wherever you might need it. In comparison to the previous two generators
we talked about, the Ryobi has a generous tank of 1.2 gallons, which makes it even more
convenient to use, but you might find it a little hard to start after leaving it totally
dry. A very useful trait that this contraption has is the dual 20-amp outlets that can power
even the most energy “hungry” and pretentious appliance and together with the two USB outputs
of 2.1 amps, the Ryobi looks like the gift that keeps on giving.
Silent, efficient and extremely compact, the Yamaha EF 2000 iSv 2 is a portable inverter
generator that could easily stand next to the Honda EU2220i. With similar specs and
costing as much as the aforementioned competitor, this gadget that turns fuel into electric
power operates at 1600 to 2000 watts max, being able to power a good number of appliances
at a steady flow, for an extended time. The 16.7 amps at 120 volts output is fit for
devices that draw a great deal of energy, so the Yamaha can be used in all sorts of
situations and not just when the power is out and you need to keep your laptop running.
With a tank that has a capacity of 1.1 gallons, this portable generator has a continuous operation
time of 10 and a half hours at one quarter load. Not bad!
A 2200-watt portable generator, the Briggs & Stratton PowerSmart P2200 has a 1-gallon
fuel tank and can work constantly for about 8 hours at 25 percent load. Besides the two
120 volt, 20 amp outlets dedicated to serious machines like electric power drills or saws,
this inverter also features a 5-amp USB port where you can recharge your smartphone or
tablet. A nice and useful feature is the dedicated parallel connection port that allows you to
connect two PowerSmart generators together for a bigger energy output and one less electrical
cord blocking your wall outlet. The Briggs & Stratton P2200 has a Quiet Power
Technology that can be activated with the flip of a switch and it will automatically
adjust the engine speed to reduce noise, save fuel and even help the generator run for a
longer period of time. In fact, it can go as silent as 59 decibels, which is amazingly
quiet. So quiet in fact, that you won’t even hear it while working.
The Champion 73540i is a great budget option, it costs only $470 and it doesn’t sport
the elegant design of the other, more expensive, portable generators we had the chance to take
a look at, but in terms of performance it’s as good as your 1000 bucks inverter. It can
run for up to nine and a half hours on a single gallon of fuel at 25% load and it won’t
be annoying or disturbing because it operates quietly at 53 decibels. The Champion has two
20 amp outlets that are perfect for powering up the appliances you take with you on a camping
trip, for example. This portable generator features 2000 starting
watts and 1700 running watts, which means that it is able to sustain even the most power-drawing
devices that need a nice and steady flow to work properly. the Champion 73540i is also
perfectly safe to use for powering up your laptop or even more powerful gadgets such
as a vacuum, TV or microwave.
that concludes our list featuring the best portable generators, we hope we gave you a
helpful overview and pointed you in the right direction for your purchase research. All
the products mentioned are linked in the description below. If you found this video helpful, please
let us know in the comments and subscribe, thanks for watching and have a great day