any genset under 3000 watts that costs you under 1000 USD is going to fall under the hot outa china category. I do not care who sells it. its aimed/ price point at the people who are not willing enough to do some real research
Did you mean over 3000W?
FWIW I’m not sure there’s an A/B infinitive appropriate for all products these days. With generators there are some US- or Euro- or Japanese-designed products that are produced in China, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, wherever, that are relatively inexpensive due to production cost savings.
its aimed/ price point at the people who are not willing enough to do some real research
Some of us do real research before we purchase lower-priced products to determine if there is a brand offering good value at the price point being considered. Sometimes that results in buying a higher end product- there is no choice. Sometimes you discover things along the way that lets you make better decisions at any price.
Brands that invest in parts inventory and market-soil customer service can be low-priced but offer real consumer value and longevity. Early on, Harbor Freight had some excellent Central Machinery machinists tools- great value but no long-term commitment to parts or other support. Grizzly on the other hand has been like a 25-year run of excellent value. I bought a Champion inverter generator because I did the same thing I did when I bought my TiG: I found user forums and looked for common denominator complaints, and
I called the company and asked questions.
Are there better brands than Champion? Yup. Sure. But longevity reports and the very decent professional people on the phone with a full command of American English sealed the deal. Finding that I could purchase a bare-bones inverter generator for so little money wasn’t expected. I’m pleased.
FYI Primeweld was what I purchased for a TiG. The welder forums sing it’s praises, I knew a pipe- and pressure-vessel certified welder that bought one over a Miller, Esab, or Lincoln, the two phone calls I made were extraordinary, and the <$800 price point at my time of purchase was extraordinary versus the welding supplier’s $2400 for a similar machine with less flexibility.
buy garbage expect poor results.…any genset under 3000 watts that costs you under 1000 USD is going to fall under the hot outa china category
I totally agree that one shouldn’t buy on price alone. But value these days often is not reflected in price alone. I’ve heard more farmers and builders complain about generac in recent years than even harbor freight generators. And there are a lot of harborfreight generators out there.
It’s 15*F this morning. While there’s ~55hrs on the champion - not much- it’s still impressive to me that it starts running about 1/2-way through the first pull of the cord. While I wish I’d paid $275 for mine, the ~$500 I paid was a smoking value to me at the time. Still is.