Inverter Generators – What to buy, Chinese or Japanese?

In this article, we look at 2 kva inverter generators and the different options available. Honda has been in this market for many years and is the market leader. Their 2kva model sells in Australia for around $2000, making it quite expensive, which has led other people to look for alternatives.

Yamaha is a newcomer to this market and its 2kva model has been very popular with our customers. Is the Yamaha better than the Honda? The Yamaha is also around $2,000, so the two may fight each other, but what many want to know is that the $500 to $700 Chinese units are worth the risk. In my experience I would have to say no at this stage. Even $500 is a lot of money if the generator doesn’t do the job you need it for. We have tried a few different Chinese brands and found that they have significant quality control issues. Many of the problems can be overcome by doing a good quality control check (if you have the skills), but we have also seen many other problems such as seized motors and faulty inverters. These generators also tend to have a lot of little problems that might not be that big of a deal, but most Chinese generator importers don’t carry spare parts, making them nearly impossible to repair. If you still want to see a Chinese brand, I suggest looking for ones that have been acquired by major generating companies. In these cases, the good companies test the generators and check them before going out to sell parts. However, you will pay much more than an eBay seller.

We have been selling Kipor generators for about 5 years. Kipor is a Chinese company that is much more professional than many and although they had their share of problems in the beginning, they seem to be doing much better now. We assume that around 95% of our customers are satisfied with their Kipor, saving around $800 on the price of a Honda or Yamaha.

So should you pay the extra $800 or go for the Kipor? That’s the big question we get asked a lot. My answer is always this: if you are only going to use the generator occasionally and if generator failure doesn’t cause you too much trouble, then the Kipor is a good option and will save you $800. But if you are going to rely on your generator (eg to run an RV air conditioner on a trip) or intend to get a lot of use out of it, I’d still go for a Yamaha or a Honda. In our experience, its reliability is still much higher than the Kipor, so we think it’s worth the extra money if you can justify it.

So are these your only options? No, we have a new option on the market designed to sit between the Japanese and Chinese brands. Our new Kulkyne 2kva inverter generator has been built using the genuine Yamaha engine and other high quality components to match the quality of the Japanese brands without having the price of the big Japanese brands. If you want to see our range of inverter generators or Kulkyne inverter generators, check out the links.