[Montana Man]

Originally Posted by mlh

My Honda generator isn’t running so I have it tore down to find the problem. It’s been a truly great generator for 20 years so this isn’t Honda bashing. I’ve been looking to see why it’s more expensive and heavier than my Harbor Freight unit.
I think I have several reasons for both. First the case is heavy gage steel where the HF unit is aluminum castings and thin molded plastic. An example, the handles on the Honda are steel with 4 blots each holding them on heavy steel frames. The HR handles are aluminum with the ends stuck back in a light weight aluminum casting. The ends of the Honda are heavy molded plastic again the HF ends are light weight molded plastic. When you take the ends off the Honda you find molded fiber sound deadening caps not found on the HF.
All this adds up to a heavy expensive generator. If you are going to rough one up get the Honda. It will hold up to much rougher use.
These are a few of the differences that make the Honda more expensive and heavier.
Lynwood

I've had mine for who knows how many years. I generally care for my stuff but this Honda has been treated like a red headed stepchild. Which, is why I have so much respect for the brand. This thing runs, period. I've had off brand equipment with small engines and they just can't keep up. Engine components such as valves and carburation are not of equivalent quality. The unseen components are where corners are cut to achieve such low costs. I will admit that I have a few HF hand tools and some are held together with duct tape, but my mission critical equipment doesn't come from there.