Generac vs Briggs And Stratton--which is better?

[Airchair94]

Hello,

I found this site while searching for comparison information between generac and Briggs and Stratton portable generators. I really am having a hard time deciding which generator is best. I'm looking at either the generac xt8000 or the Briggs and Stratton 8000w model. I also have been having a hard time figuring out how big a generator I need. Basically want to power a home ac unit(30,000BTU) along with a gas water heater and a gas stove and 2 frig's, then just basic lights. I figured I would need around 7,000w constant but maybe not. Any help anyone could give me would be great. I originally thought Briggs and Stratton would have more service centers but there's a generac service dealer within 6 miles of my house(zip 48124). I also thought Briggs and Stratton was the only Us made generator but I'm reading otherwise on this website.Thanks again,
Roger

 

[Wakefield]

I think B & S owns Generac

 

[jd_1138]

B&S used to own them -- not anymore.

 

[sberry]

I have a 10 K BS I would like an owners/installation manual for. Anyone have one?

 

[jd_1138]

I have a 10 K BS I would like an owners/installation manual for. Anyone have one?

https://www.briggsandstratton.com/na/en_us/support/manuals.html

Here's a website where you can plug in the model # off the unit, and then you can view/print the manual. Scroll down -- there are 2 categories -- 1 for standby generators and 1 for portable generators.

 

[jakemac]

I would guess that B&S parts would be easier to source when shopping by price comparison, but I've had a Generac 3250 for 7yrs and have never had an issue with it when it gets used once or twice a year.

 

[cajunfirehawk]

Generac vs Briggs And Stratton which is better:HONDA!

 

[Dan Jacobs]

I'll second the Honda. I have a Generac 10k with a B&S motor on propane. It will run 1.5 days with light load and use so much oil it will shut down. Generac says "normal".

I also have a Honda EU6500 that I use in my work. We run it at close to capacity for weeks straight not even shutting it down to fuel. Never uses one drop.

Did I mention that the Generac makes three times as much noise? Piece of ****. If I had it to do over I'd buy a Honda for my house all day and twice on Sunday

 

[freddyford]

The only Briggs you want today are the Vanguard engines, which is made for them by Daihatsu in Japan. I have an older generator with a Briggs in it that has been great, because it's an older unit. The new stuff today from them is very, very bad. Another example of them losing the plot is their new engine that requires NO oil changes! Ever! WTF

Edit: Forgot to add my vote for Honda as well.

 

[B_Bimmer]

If I was in the market for a new generator I would gladly pay 4× as much for the reliability and long life of a Honda. When I need a generator, I NEED it to run.

 

[Flat-rate]

Another + for Honda

 

[Bluejoe]

I was looking into a whole house generator and someone told me to look into a General Electric model. Not sure if they make portable models.

 

[Kenskip1]

Have you looked at HF generators? I was very skeptical but bought one because a friend had one with nothing but good things to say.Well the one I purchased is the 4K-3500 watt.We had a power outage here last week and it ran for over 7 hours, supplying power to keep the wife happy.TV refrig, freezer satellite, PC, and all associated lights and all else that requires 120 volts..Mind you that I had shut off all 220 volt equipment. I would go to youtube and watch some videos on them.Mine is now three years old and still starts and performs flawlessly.Ken

 

[jd_1138]

Have you looked at HF generators? I was very skeptical but bought one because a friend had one with nothing but good things to say.Well the one I purchased is the 4K-3500 watt.We had a power outage here last week and it ran for over 7 hours, supplying power to keep the wife happy.TV refrig, freezer satellite, PC, and all associated lights and all else that requires 120 volts..Mind you that I had shut off all 220 volt equipment. I would go to youtube and watch some videos on them.Mine is now three years old and still starts and performs flawlessly.Ken

They probably copied a Honda engine for that HF gennie. I wonder how they hold up against a real Honda engine/gennie? But at probably 1/3-1/4 the price, it might be a good experiment.

 

[Chevy-SS]

Good posts so far. Like the OP, I am also looking at generators. You guys are convincing me to go with a Honda.

 

[CJM8515]

Honda or even yamaha. Dont bother with anything else, will just burn tons of oil and leave you unhappy. yes the price they ask for the hondas is worth it.

 

[NOZZLEMAN]

They both ****... bite the bullet and get a Honda. They are worth every penny when you need it and they start on the first or second pull. Oh and use the canned fuel, no pump gas with ethanol, not even with stabilizer or additive. Just my 2C

 

[Backpack Hunter]

My boss has the Generac your looking at. It works well for him.

 

[DetroitDIESEL444]

The Generac OHVI engines are great engines. I have an old echo branded generator that's built by Robin/Subaru with a robin engine. The engine has been great, runs perfectly and very heavy duty. I also have a Yamaha inverter unit that i like very much.
You can get robin/subaru units under the robin/subaru name, Cummins/Onan name, and makita name. Those are just as good as honda units in my opinion. Also, beware of cheap generator heads mounted to good engines.
Other good units are multi-quip, Wacker Neuson, baldor etc. Yamaha used to make good units, and probably still does, but current production is in china with no change in pricing.

 

[GTO]

Honda

 

[theoldwizard1]

They probably copied a Honda engine for that HF gennie. I wonder how they hold up against a real Honda engine/gennie? But at probably 1/3-1/4 the price, it might be a good experiment.

Pretty much all of the single cylinder Chinese engine are direct copies of Hondas ! Many parts will interchange.

The biggest com-plaint about HF engines is the "external" components (starter rewind mechanism, fuel tank, etc) and the spark plug. Buy an NGK or Denso plug as soon as possible !

 

[theoldwizard1]

Hello,

I found this site while searching for comparison information between generac and Briggs and Stratton portable generators. I really am having a hard time deciding which generator is best. I'm looking at either the generac xt8000 or the Briggs and Stratton 8000w model. I also have been having a hard time figuring out how big a generator I need. Basically want to power a home ac unit(30,000BTU) along with a gas water heater and a gas stove and 2 frig's, then just basic lights. I figured I would need around 7,000w constant but maybe not.

Are talking about a permanent installation or a portable ?

In either case, if you want to run an A/C you are going to need 10,000 - 15,000 watts.

If you are thinking portable, a generator of that size will go through more than 20 gallons of fuel in a 24 hour period running your A/C. Do have a place to SAFELY store 30 gallons of fuel ? Also remember, fuel so be "rotated". Use some of it every month so that it is completely restocked in less than 1 year.

 

[Bluejoe]

How about Subaru Robin? My neighbors boss had a predator HF generators. It was new and barely used. It was run during storm Sandy. It lasted several days then stopped. We opened it up and found the piston rod snapped putting a hole in the block.

 

[theoldwizard1]

It lasted several days then stopped. We opened it up and found the piston rod snapped putting a hole in the block.

That failure is frequently caused by lack of oil.

 

[Hilltopmasonry]

My portable honda eu starts every time on the first 1/2 pull. I say 1/2 pull because we use it every day and you barely pull the cord a foot and the engine is running...i love it and would never even consider purchasing anything else besides a honda.. A builder i work with had a cheaper generator similar to my honda and was so impressed with how quiet it was and how easy it was to start he returned his cheap POS and bought a honda..

Spend the extra money and buy it once...i do believe that the hondas have a 3 year warranty on them

 

[jives]

I'm sure Honda is the best, but my B&S (8500 surge Watts) is only run a couple of times a year anymore and never a hiccup. It is 6 years old, got on closeout at HD, for a while used it everyday to run my saws while building a 20 x 20 shed. Since then have used it for power outages (extension cords to fridge, etc), run my electric chainsaw, and more. It sits in the shed getting grimy, may take a few hard pulls to get started, and is loud, but I think it only cost me about $400.

No complaints.

 

[zmotorsports]

The B&S and Generac are pretty much mirror images or copies of each other. I have worked on both and haven't seen anything on either side that would steer me away for the most part. Parts are readily available around here for both as well.

For my home backup I have a Generac 7500 and it has been a decent unit. I bought it as "shipping damaged" and resurrected it about 10 years ago.

Mike.

 

[sberry]

Thanks for the link I am not sure why I found it so hard before and I click on both pages listed as the other one had schematics.

 

[finn]

My portable honda eu starts every time on the first 1/2 pull. I say 1/2 pull because we use it every day and you barely pull the cord a foot and the engine is running...i love it and would never even consider purchasing anything else besides a honda.. A builder i work with had a cheaper generator similar to my honda and was so impressed with how quiet it was and how easy it was to start he returned his cheap POS and bought a honda..

Spend the extra money and buy it once...i do believe that the hondas have a 3 year warranty on them

Were they both inverter generators or are you comparing a Honda inverter generator with some other brand of low cost, open frame conventional generator?

There are a lot of inverter generators out there now that seem to be competitive with the Honda, at half the price

These discussions invariably go awry when people confuse open frame conventional generators with inverters and don't differentiate.

 

[zmotorsports]

Were they both inverter generators or are you comparing a Honda inverter generator with some other brand of low cost, open frame conventional generator?

There are a lot of inverter generators out there now that seem to be competitive with the Honda, at half the price

These discussions invariably go awry when people confuse open frame conventional generators with inverters and don't differentiate.

Good point. We need to make certain we are comparing apples to apples as far as type of genset.

Mike.

 

[TheEquineFencer]

That failure is frequently caused by lack of oil.

LOL... I think they are suppose to be serviced, (OIL CHANGED) every 25-50 hours....

 

[lowrider2]

I have 2 Honda 5K and they run like a fine watch. I was in Cabela's one day and they had Champion generators on sale so I bought a 3.5K for $300 and have fallen in love with it. One pull and it seems to run forever on a tank plus it's really quiet. Yip...it's Chicom made but has treated me right so far and I'm using it to power my camping trailer since it's so quiet. It's not a Honda but it's not a bad machine.

 

[Streetbu]

There is no way a 30k btu a/c, two refrigerators, and some lights, only draw 7k watts. The a/c will draw more than that by itself. I would recheck all of those figures first to make sure you're buying the correct sized unit.

 

[manioso]

I've had a Generac 10kw generator with 18hp Subaru-Robin EH63 for a number of years. It has always worked beautifully for me. Used it for several days during both Irene in 2011 and Sandy in 2012. Also intermittently during the usual three or four hour outages common to PSEG. In my opinion, the Robin engine is comparable to the Honda GX, at least in the larger sizes.

 

[vond]

I am getting quotes on a Stand by All Home Generator. One company recommended a Briggs & Stratton. Everything I've read about Genrac Generators is that they aren't reliable.
I need one that will run the entire house when we have power outages...
Does Honda make a generator that will run an entire house/propane?

 

[CJ7VFR]

...my B&S (8500 surge Watts) is only run a couple of times a year anymore and never a hiccup....have used it for power outages...It sits in the shed getting grimy, may take a few hard pulls to get started, and is loud....

No complaints.

I have the same one I bought after hurricane Irene knocked out our power here in Central New Jersey for 3 days. We lost all the food in two refrigerators, our basement battery powered backup sump pump quit after a day and our basement got water in it, and it got cold enough in the house that we had to go stay at my dads house for one day because my wife said she was "freezing".

Everything here requires electricity to run, so I didn't want to be without a backup portable generator ever again. The B&S was a good price, it had the amount of running watts/starting watts I needed to keep us in the house incase another hurricane came along, and most of all it was one of the only portable generators that would run for 13 hours on 5 gallons of gas to get us thru the night if need be. And yes, it is LOUD. But I don't mind that because it is outside, not sitting in my living room when it is running.

I also bought a power inlet box at the same time, and wired it up along with a manual transfer switch to our main load center in the basement. This way, I would not have to use a bunch of extension cords running all over the place, and it would easier and safer for my wife to use.

Fast forward to the end of October 2012, and hurricane Sandy knocked our power out for 11 days! We used it constantly during that time, shutting it down periodically to change the oil. It had enough power to run our oil furnace so we had heat and hot water, it ran our well, sump pump, two refrigerators, our Fios box, computer room, one bathroom, two kitchen outlets so we could use a toaster oven and a coffee machine (one at a time), our living room TV and my fish tank.

I think any mechanical thing will last if you maintain it. Are the older B&S generators better than the ones today? I can't say. But I do know that the one I have saved us more than it cost us in just the food that didn't go bad in two refrigerators, and in the amount of damage water coming into our basement would have been.

I tell people if you are looking for a portable generator, buy the best one you can afford. Do your homework, and weed out the few reviews of the people who say it *****, and the ones who praise it to all high heaven. Then read the reviews in the middle for the truth.

Jim

 

[mm08822]

nevermind.

 

[TractorJeff]

I have an OLD 1100 watt Penncraft branded that I was told is an EARLY Early early Generac! (one of those he built in his garage era!)
It ran a guys cabin/house in the woods for a year till they got electricity!
He traded it to me, I put a head gasket in it and to this day it runs!
Old Briggs, not this new stuff!
Turned down an older open frame Briggs powered 3500 watt at an Auction recently as I need a 220 volt unit for my well pump. Wife has water, she's happy, I'm happy!