Honda EU7000iS vs Kubota GL7000

[SupremePossum]

Odd comparison for sure, however hear me out

I have what I would say is a reliable standby nat gas genset (Generac RG027, 1800 RPM, liquid cooled etc) but of course there are situations I have to turn it off during an outage, like to change the oil. There could also be a situation where there is a natural gas outage (Has pretty much never happened here, though) and the Generac could break, who knows

So, I want to replace my Champion 8750w with something quality. I will keep the Champion to loan out to people during outages

I also want to buy 20+ acres of land, so I will need a genset possibly as primary power for a trailer or something, and then eventually for backup power, etc.

Honda Pro's

• Almost half the price of the Kubota
• Uses Gasoline, which I already have gas cans and a stock of, no change needed.
• Easy to move around
• Possibly quieter

Honda Cons

• Too complicated
• Delicate machine
• Expensive for what it is
• Only 5500w rated
• Small Fuel tank

Kubota Pro's

• Very long OCI's
• EXTREMELY tough, could drop a tree on it
• Much more basic. No inverter, not much electronics to fail. Generally reliable
• Prime Rated @ 6.5kw
• Large Fuel tank
• Hard to steal

Kubota Cons

• Don't have a stock of Diesel or a truck to rotate the old into, would have to figure out all the infrastructure for that
• Very heavy and hard to move
• Expensive

If you were in a buy once cry once situation, which would you get?

Both are clearly great machines and are just very different

 

[dippschtick]

The Honda.
And keep it away from trees.

 

[dnewton3]

This really isn't a compare/contrast of the two specific units as much as it is a decision of which scenario is least objectionable. The brands and sizes of the units just exacerbate the pros and problems. You're asking us, I assume, to help make a decision, but we don't know what's most important to you. You're going to have to make some decisions about the hierarchy of the criteria first, and then see which unit fits the most pros and least cons.


Other things you didn't state, so I'm not sure if they matter to you:
- Honda is inverter; Kubota is not. This may matter if you're trying to run a lot of sensitive electronic equipment, or not. Do you need high-tech capability with modern controls, Bluetooth connection, etc? Or do you need simplicity? Which matters most?
- Honda is air cooled; Kubota is liquid cooled. The Kubota will far outlast the Honda in terms of longevity of the engine, and probably the power-head itself as well. So if you intend to keep and use this a long time, the Kubota will outlast the Honda, for sure. But if you keep it and don't use it much, then longevity isn't an issue.
- Honda runs 16 hrs at 1/4 load (1375 watts); Kubota is 20 hrs at 1/4 load (1625 watts), so the Kubota will not only run longer, but also carry a slightly larger load for the "1/4 load" rating. Do you "need" those extra 4 hours and extra 250 watts? I see this difference as insignificant, but you may not. And, unless you run a very low load, neither would last 24 hours; this means you're fueling up more than once a day. That, too, may or may not matter to you.
- Gas must be treated for storage longer than 1 month, and generally still degrades when it approaches 1 year, so rotation is a must. OTOH, diesel fuel, when properly treated with a biocide and good multi-tier product (anti-gel/cetane/lubricity) can be stored almost indefinitely. You really don't have to "rotate" diesel fuel stock if it's properly stored in a dry place with proper treatments. (This is one reason you see large, remote locations have diesel standby gen-sets.)
- you don't really "need" another portable inverter gen; you already have the Champion. Why buy a near-duplicate? The Honda is not really differentiating itself from what you already have.
- Honda is a tad quieter than the Kubota; if that's important.
- Weight ... 263 lbs for the Honda, 518 for the Kubota. How "portable" do you need this to be? The Honda is "sort-of" portable; Kubota is not. And depending on age and number of hands available, the need for a hoist or tractor with FEL may be your only choice. Does weight matter in how you will use this ?
- In-field trouble-shooting and repairs ... hands down simpler is better in this regard; Kubota over Honda.
- Long term ownership ... Both brands will be around a long time, but it's likely that the Honda design will change more so than the Kubota. Parts availability may play into this over the years.
- Do you have room to store another gen at home, until you get this land elsewhere? And if you do get the land elsewhere, will you live there, or just visit? Because that may make a factor of long-term storage regarding theft at any one particular location?


If this were me, the most important deciding factor would be how much you TRULY believe you'll ACTUALLY put hours on this 3rd generator to own. I realize you intend to buy some land some day in the future, but how realistic is that? You already have a large, 27kw home standby unit. You already have a working portable unit. Now you're looking at a third generator. How realistic is the "need" for a third unit, and how likely will it really be used for significant time?



Also, I looked up the Kubota; nice looking unit. But I found what I believe is a misprint in their literature ...
https://generator.kubota.com/products/60hz/gl_7000.html
Look at the stated oil capacity and coolant capacity ...
Those are incorrect one way or another, because a quart is a tiny bit more than a liter. Impossible for it to be a multiple of liters but a fraction of a quart.
They should read as "L (gal)" ...
I think this happened because most all the other specs for the unit are stated in liters/gallons. It's no big deal; just something to be aware of. For whatever that's worth to you.

 

[Cujet]

Nice detailed response above. However I'm not at all sure the Honda has a shorter lifespan when used regularly. There are Food Truck and commercial examples of Honda EU7000 generators with over 9000 hours on the Hobbs. And not just one example either, there are many.

Speculation goes off into the weeds with higher numbers here:

B

Thread '39,000 Hours on a Honda Generator!'

Feb 19, 2019

I recently got finished talking with a fellow Honda generator owner. He lives in upstate New York and lives off the grid. He claims to have the record for most hours on a Honda generator (to his knowledge).

The owner retired one of his two Honda EU6500is inverter generators with 39,000 hours! The other just short of that figure, before retirement. He has replaced this discontinued model, with two of the current fuel injected, Honda EU7000is models. One of them, now has 22,000 hours on it.

Interesting conversation I had. He always has at least one generator running 24/7. When I asked to...

• Best F100
• Replies: 20
• Forum: Lawn Mower and Small Engine

• 

Diesel engines are well known for long life. However the expectation that a small 2 cylinder diesel such as a 10HP unit, will achieve more than 10,000 hours is generally incorrect. There are scores of examples of agricultural diesels (water pumps for example) that last about this long in regular use. I know of one small diesel engine in use for 35 years, run continuously in a service truck that makes it 12,000 hours between overhauls. Eventually it won't start.

An EU7000 would do the same job, provide power and AC, and last every bit as long.

 

[maineiac]

And this is a lightweight diesel running at 3600 rpm, not 1800 rpm. I've owned both of these exact generators (along with a string of 1800 rpm diesel and 3600 air cooled units including an Eu2000), though I did not run them to failure. If I had to bet, I'd take the Honda for long life.

 

[SupremePossum]

Wow, great replies, thanks guys

This really isn't a compare/contrast of the two specific units as much as it is a decision of which scenario is least objectionable. The brands and sizes of the units just exacerbate the pros and problems. You're asking us, I assume, to help make a decision, but we don't know what's most important to you. You're going to have to make some decisions about the hierarchy of the criteria first, and then see which unit fits the most pros and least cons.

Yeah, its like 2 completely different configurations, both being "good" choices, which makes it very hard

- Honda is inverter; Kubota is not. This may matter if you're trying to run a lot of sensitive electronic equipment, or not. Do you need high-tech capability with modern controls, Bluetooth connection, etc? Or do you need simplicity? Which matters most?

My understanding is that there is enough rotational mass with the Kubota that it would provide stable power, just like a standby genset, but I may be wrong. I do wish I could test it out before spending thousands of dollars, of course we know the Honda will work fine

- Honda is air cooled; Kubota is liquid cooled. The Kubota will far outlast the Honda in terms of longevity of the engine, and probably the power-head itself as well. So if you intend to keep and use this a long time, the Kubota will outlast the Honda, for sure. But if you keep it and don't use it much, then longevity isn't an issue.

My thinking is that the Kubota would also handle the brutal Texas weather much better

- Honda runs 16 hrs at 1/4 load (1375 watts); Kubota is 20 hrs at 1/4 load (1625 watts), so the Kubota will not only run longer, but also carry a slightly larger load for the "1/4 load" rating. Do you "need" those extra 4 hours and extra 250 watts? I see this difference as insignificant, but you may not. And, unless you run a very low load, neither would last 24 hours; this means you're fueling up more than once a day. That, too, may or may not matter to you.

This is not a big deal, as I can attach extended runtime tanks to both

- Gas must be treated for storage longer than 1 month, and generally still degrades when it approaches 1 year, so rotation is a must. OTOH, diesel fuel, when properly treated with a biocide and good multi-tier product (anti-gel/cetane/lubricity) can be stored almost indefinitely. You really don't have to "rotate" diesel fuel stock if it's properly stored in a dry place with proper treatments. (This is one reason you see large, remote locations have diesel standby gen-sets.)

I didn't know Diesel kept quite that long, thats very interesting. Gas I've had good luck with in my Wavian cans. I've stored regular 87 ethanol gas for 2 years, untreated in my sealed cans. Was 100% fine

In general I let the gas go 4-6 months before rotating it into my truck. I keep 82 gallons on hand always rotated

- you don't really "need" another portable inverter gen; you already have the Champion. Why buy a near-duplicate? The Honda is not really differentiating itself from what you already have.

The Champion is kind of junk, I hate to trust it

- Honda is a tad quieter than the Kubota; if that's important.

I think they are both within acceptable levels, but quieter is always better

- Weight ... 263 lbs for the Honda, 518 for the Kubota. How "portable" do you need this to be? The Honda is "sort-of" portable; Kubota is not. And depending on age and number of hands available, the need for a hoist or tractor with FEL may be your only choice. Does weight matter in how you will use this ?

Yeah. the Kubota is HEAVY. I recently got one with a busted engine, and I had to assemble a hoist system to remove it from my truck. The Honda can be lifted with 2 guys into a truck easily

- In-field trouble-shooting and repairs ... hands down simpler is better in this regard; Kubota over Honda.

Yeah, my big worry is that the Honda with throw some random E44545645634 code and you're SOL. I think the Kubota will just keep on trucking

- Long term ownership ... Both brands will be around a long time, but it's likely that the Honda design will change more so than the Kubota. Parts availability may play into this over the years.

I guess while that is true, the Kubota does require more filters etc, so more to source

- Do you have room to store another gen at home, until you get this land elsewhere? And if you do get the land elsewhere, will you live there, or just visit? Because that may make a factor of long-term storage regarding theft at any one particular location?

Either of these, yes. The Champion will get kicked out to somewhere else and the Honda will take its place, or the Kubota will get its own outdoor shelter

If this were me, the most important deciding factor would be how much you TRULY believe you'll ACTUALLY put hours on this 3rd generator to own. I realize you intend to buy some land some day in the future, but how realistic is that? You already have a large, 27kw home standby unit. You already have a working portable unit. Now you're looking at a third generator. How realistic is the "need" for a third unit, and how likely will it really be used for significant time?

Need? Almost zero. Want, very high! I don't want to have to rely on the Champion in a worst case situation. I will have the land within the next 6 years I estimate

Nice detailed response above. However I'm not at all sure the Honda has a shorter lifespan when used regularly. There are Food Truck and commercial examples of Honda EU7000 generators with over 9000 hours on the Hobbs. And not just one example either, there are many.

Speculation goes off into the weeds with higher numbers here:

B

Thread '39,000 Hours on a Honda Generator!'

Feb 19, 2019

I recently got finished talking with a fellow Honda generator owner. He lives in upstate New York and lives off the grid. He claims to have the record for most hours on a Honda generator (to his knowledge).

The owner retired one of his two Honda EU6500is inverter generators with 39,000 hours! The other just short of that figure, before retirement. He has replaced this discontinued model, with two of the current fuel injected, Honda EU7000is models. One of them, now has 22,000 hours on it.

Interesting conversation I had. He always has at least one generator running 24/7. When I asked to...

• Best F100
• Replies: 20
• Forum: Lawn Mower and Small Engine

• 

Diesel engines are well known for long life. However the expectation that a small 2 cylinder diesel such as a 10HP unit, will achieve more than 10,000 hours is generally incorrect. There are scores of examples of agricultural diesels (water pumps for example) that last about this long in regular use. I know of one small diesel engine in use for 35 years, run continuously in a service truck that makes it 12,000 hours between overhauls. Eventually it won't start.

An EU7000 would do the same job, provide power and AC, and last every bit as long.

Very interesting, I would not have assumed it would last that many hours

And this is a lightweight diesel running at 3600 rpm, not 1800 rpm. I've owned both of these exact generators (along with a string of 1800 rpm diesel and 3600 air cooled units including an Eu2000), though I did not run them to failure. If I had to bet, I'd take the Honda for long life.

Interesting, so far I seem to be getting more votes for the EU7000is. Thanks

 

[dlundblad]

The Kubota is my vote too. The engine will last longer and fuel storage will be easier and safer. I would imagine the low end diesel torque would make it a bit better for larger loads too. I was close to getting one of these (or the 11000 model) before getting my stand by. They are definitely expensive and my standby was a lot cheaper for more capacity.

I’ve been considering getting a spare too. Either a Honda EU2000 or a 10kw PTO driven generator. Both are the same price.. the PTO style having more capacity and also makes 240v for my well. The well and maybe the water heater is all is all id have it run though.