Portable Generators Reviews

Portable generators provide electricity off the grid -- for camping, boating, RV use, building sites and for household electricity during power outages. Permanently installed standby generators are the fastest growing market segment -- with sales growing five-fold between 2000 and 2005. However, portable generators cost less and provide more flexibility for multiple uses. You can run a blender at a tail-gating party one day or run your home refrigerator when your power is down the next day.

We found the best review of portable generators at Consumer Reports, where editors rank eleven models (along with four stationary generators) based on objective testing. This review is one of the few that grades generators not only for ease of use and runtime per tank of gasoline, but also for the quality of the electricity produced -- that is, the consistency of the voltage. Reviews say that consistent voltage is important not only for running a computer, but also for other household electronic devices such as ranges and even fluorescent light bulbs.

Reviews in both Camping Life and Field & Stream magazines compare small portable generators -- light enough to hand carry to a campsite or tailgate. These generators can also power a few appliances for household backup, and the best can be daisy chained together for higher wattage. Reviews at Popular Mechanics and Black Enterprise magazines include bigger portable generators for emergency electricity, but neither magazine documents any testing. Neither do editors at ElectricGeneratorsDirect.com, but the site does recommend portable generator models as "good, better and best" in four different size ranges -- based on editors' judgments of quality, features and price; the ratings are supplemented by customer feedback.

More expensive standby generators are more convenient and last about 15 years, while budget portable generators last an average of seven years. However, experts say that most homeowners use a generator only about 20 hours a year, so an inexpensive portable generator, if well maintained, may be just fine. We found dozens of owner-written reviews praising inexpensive portable generators for getting them through natural disasters and power outages without a hitch.  ... Continued

Our Consensus Report shows how many times products are top-ranked by reviewers included in our
All The Reviews Reviewed chart.

Portable generators at both size extremes get the most recommendations in reviews. The Honda EU and Yamaha EFi generators use "smart throttles" and inverter technology for fuel economy, quiet performance and very consistent voltage. The 15,000-watt Generac Guardian 04582 is the most recommended model in its size range. Among mid-sized portable generators, Briggs & Stratton takes the lead, with Troy-Bilt and Coleman as budget picks.