Yamaha EF1000iS Inverter Generator.

[Henry W]

Now it's time to write about the last one I picked up:

The Yamaha EF1000iS
It's a 1000 watt unit.
It's made in Japan
Weighs 27 lbs.
It's quiet.    Noise Level 1/4 Load/ Full Load     47 dBA / 57dBA

After thinking about what it's being used for I decided to go lighter since it's going to be used for cooling my daughter and I during the hot days at the track meets. It's much easier to carry around.
I'm still breaking it in. But the unit handles loading very well. After running it for a couple hours I decided to see if it would start the house refrigerator. It would not. But, the controller did what it was so posed to do. I took the unit off econo mode and once the refrig. Tried starting the engine ramped up to full speed, the overload light came on and it disconnected.

I can live with this unit. I bought it with intentions of just using it during track meets and practice during hot days.
Even though the generator is only 1000 watts it is a very nice refined unit. The bottom line is it looks like you get what you pay for.
$799.00 is a lot of money. But it's cheaper than an emergency visit at the hospital for heat exhaustion. Plus the cooler my daughter can stay the less fatigued she will be before her events.

I'm still running it with varied loads and there are no glitches. I am trying to get 4 hours on it before tonight. It will be used all day Saturday.

[Henry W]

Just got a call from Cabelas roughly an hour and a half ago. It was the customer service manager I spoke to yesterday about the box which the Yamaha was packaged in. His concern was that everything was ok because the box was damaged badly. In turn he ask when I can come over so he can give me a 15% discount on the purchase I made. I just received $128.10   I guess I was at the right place at the right time. So the total cost of the generator is $679.99

Just registered the generator on line and found out Yamaha has a promotion and is giving an extra year warrantee until june 5th. So the generator is covered for 4 years.

[Henry W]

Thanks for your honesty...good to know...I have a Honda EU3000i and it will run the mig welder in a pinch but I prefer the CCK Onan for that appliance. The Honda is going on 4 years old now and the only issue has been the fraying starting cord. It was $1800 new though.

I suppose, down the road, these less expensive generators' quality will improve. Who wants to be the guinea pig though?

The Honda EU3000i is one nice piece. It would be my #1 choice for a 2800 watt inverter generator.

[Henry W]

Ya, too bad - esp after they made such a point about the Yamaha engine being used!  And USB to boot!  (Err, wait honey, need to charge the phone!)   

Hey, FWIW:  I was able to use our Honda brand 2000i generator to run an old 1/2HP craftsman table saw.  Did need to disable to smart speed mode, but it worked Ok spinning things up and would power through even thick purple heart wood.  No idea the real 'watts' being asked from it.

-al-

It is too bad, there was nothing wrong with the engine. That was fine. I looked at the Yamaha EF2000iS and the Smarter Tools and I do know the engines are the same. I don't know about the alternator, inverter and other components.

[Henry W]

The cold inrush current for a heating type appliance is likely to be substantially above the rated current draw.  The specs for the inverter are likely overly optimistic (marketing BS) with no head room for even a minor start surge. 

It seems 2000 watts is referred to as headroom for surge startups. After talking to the manufacture I got the impression that if it's over 1600 watts the inverter will have problems on startup or running equipment.

Since I went with the Yamaha EF1000iS I found out that it's rated as 1000 watts startup. But from what I was told the little unit will run at 1000 watts for 20 minutes. The unit has a true 900 Watt continuous output. I did test the continuous rating and it is a true 900 watt continuous output. It seems like it would for done 1000 watts for a brief time. It seems like the little Yamaha has true ratings.

[M61hops]

The Honda or Yamaha inverter generators are hard to beat if you want to pay the admission fee.  You do seem to get what you pay for.  I read that there is a yamaha inverter gen of about 3000 watts with electric start that will dip into the starting battery for an extra surge of power when needed.  If I was in need of a generator for an RV I would consider that one and just grit my teeth when I pull out my wallet    !

[Henry W]

I believe I did get what I paid for. $679.99 is a lot of money for a 1000 watt inverter generator. But that little generator did everything that the manufacture claimed. Yesterday was a great day for testing it out.we got at the track by 7:00 am and the generator was running by 7:20 am. There was a family that set up about six feet from the generator. Later in the day I apolagized about the noise. The parents started asking questions about the generator. They were surprised how quiet it is. The husband said he already went on line and checked it out. So many people stopped and showed interest about the Yamaha and the noise level was the #1 topic.



Here is a log on the runtime:

Fuel capacity:   .66 gallons

Started 7:20 am

Checked fuel at noon.

At 3:43 pm The engine started surging from lack of fuel. Shut down, refilled and restarted.

At 9:13 pm all equipment was disconnected and let generator run with fuel turned off.

Total run time: 13 hours, 53 minutes

The generator load was pretty much a continuous 500 watts throughout the day.



I did read about a generator that uses a battery for higher surge starting capability. I believe your talking about the Yamaha EF3000ISEB 2800 watt inverter generator.  I think it has a surge rating of 3500 watts. It's a nice generator.

Overall I feel  you do get higher quality generators when you pay more and this is why Honda and Yamaha inverter generators are costly. I also feel other manufactures will be catching up. But as of this time I feel it's best to stay with Honda or Yamaha. They have proven to be very reliable.

[Henry W]

Did the second oil change and there was less iron on the magnet. The unit is ready for this weekend. It will probably see at least another 10 hours.

[buickanddeere]

    Neighbor who spring,summer fall camps  on the old family estate used a Yamaha 1000 inverter most of the time and a pair of Champion 2000/1600 to operate the air conditioner. Both setups carried the respective loads.
     Any brand "X" generator is would consider 1/2 to 2/3 of rated load as max. A real brand name Yamaha or Honda, 80% continuous of rated load is lots.   

[Carlb]

here is  a link to a harborfreight inverter generator it is supposed to have 2200 running watts but some report testing with calibrated test equipment and only getting around 1800 or 1900 watts, still not bad for 499.  The reviews are pretty good on the website and I think you can get an extended warranty that will take it out to three years but I don't know the cost of the extended warranty.  just food for thought.

http://www.harborfreight.com/2500-peak2200-running-watts-47-hp-125cc-portable-inverter-generator-61171.html

[Henry W]

     Any brand "X" generator is would consider 1/2 to 2/3 of rated load as max. A real brand name Yamaha or Honda, 80% continuous of rated load is lots.   

This is what I experienced with brand X units. The Yamaha EF1000iS does run it listed ratings.

[Henry W]

here is  a link to a harborfreight inverter generator it is supposed to have 2200 running watts but some report testing with calibrated test equipment and only getting around 1800 or 1900 watts, still not bad for 499.  The reviews are pretty good on the website and I think you can get an extended warranty that will take it out to three years but I don't know the cost of the extended warranty.  just food for thought.

http://www.harborfreight.com/2500-peak2200-running-watts-47-hp-125cc-portable-inverter-generator-61171.html

Not bad for the money,

Drawbacks:
64dB, that's loud.
Heavy, not one I would want to carry around.

Over time brand X generators will get more refined and should be able to compete with Honda and Yamaha. 

[Henry W]

The Yamaha has been working very well. Just did the 3rd oil change yesterday afternoon. This past Saturday the four fans ran at full output and they kept us comfortable. The setup is worth every cent that's been invested.

[Henry W]

Just put another 14 hours on the Yamaha. I checked the oil and the magnet had just a touch of fillings. I would say it's just about broken in. I found an original Yamaha hour/tach meter from the 15 hp outboard I had. Never installed it. Thinking of installing it inside the case. Some time I need to take some pictures.

[DanG]

Visiting with folks living on the front range of the Rockies beyond the electric grid I've heard first hand stories of Eu3000 units going 3500-5000 hours run time, and the Eu2000's making 2000 hours before the bottom end cranks loosened up and let go.

Amazing.

A bunch of years ago I went with Kipor Inverter generators to have as emergency units, I got a 3000 and a 2600 unit shipped for less than the cost of one Eu3000. The deal then was Kipors were made under license from Honda with 98% interchangeable parts; just cruder moldings and controls, etc. They are big in Europe and Australia-asia but there is a Nort American division, never needed to know if these were grey-market units.  Anyhow, they've worked the once or twice a year they were need for the last 12 years. Prices have crept up about 50% from what I paid.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=kipor&mfe=search