Just in time for camping season: Amazon currently has a sale on the highly regarded Craftsman 3000i, a 3,000 Watt Portable Inverter Generator for $935.10, a savings of $103.90. This generator has been hard to find for less than $1,200 to $1,300 over the past 2 years and this current sale is the lowest it's been, by quite a bit, since pre-Covid.
The Craftesman 3000i is an extremely light (60 pounds) and quiet 2,300 continuous running watt inverter generator (3,000 starting watts) using a 149cc OHV engine with a 1.04 gallon tank. It is a manual pull start only (very easy and reliable) and has an ECO mode that allows this to run very quietly (51 dB) while providing clean inverter power for sensitive electronics. It comes with two 120V 20A NEMA 5-20R duplex outlets and one 120V 30A NEMA L5-30R twist lock outlet as well as two USB ports for charging smaller electronics and phones. It is often compared well against the far more expensive Honda EU2200I and actually runs a bit quieter.
My family has been using this easy to carry Craftsman 3000i generator to power one of our RVs, a 30A tow behind, for the past few years and it has been easy to start with one pull and reliable every time, even running up to 14 hours per day on hot, rainy days (needs a fuel topup every 4-5 hours). At our campsites you can barely hear this unit when it is on the other side of the RV and one can't hear it at all from neighbouring sites. It has no problems running our 15,000 BTU air conditioner (we installed a soft-start but that's not really required) as well as running all our other high draw equipment, including laptops. It also does duty charging our battery banks when our 600 watts of solar isn't getting enough sun. Inexpensive, quiet, light weight and reliable unit in our experience.
Nearby Amazon.ca locations:
Last edited by Elrondolio on May 14th, 2022 3:48 am, edited 7 times in total.
Bought this unit last year for emergencies at home. Haven't needed it yet. Run it every 2 weeks with a load for about 15 minutes. Starts right up, idles quietly until load applied.
I would have gotten the Costco Firman if it was still on sale for $750.
My use is strictly for Rving and Craftsman seems to be a better fit due to weight and size.
valerka wrote: ↑
I would have gotten the Costco Firman if it was still on sale for $750.
My use is strictly for Rving and Craftsman seems to be a better fit due to weight and size.
The Firman is nice as it's dual fuel and can run off propane directly. Having said that: I also keep the Craftsman (and would buy again) as it is both light weight and small, making it very convenient to move... even my wife can handle getting it off the truck on her own with relative ease. Most important for us, however, it is extremely quiet. I've owned a few different inverter gennies but this Colman is, by far, the quietest one I've ever run across and we value that more than anything else when RV'ing. Not only can we barely hear it when its on the other side of the RV, we can even sleep with this one running 10 feet outside the RV as, with ECO mode engaged, it just purrs at a very low 50ish dBA (I've measured as low as 35 dBA inside). Neighboring campsites can't hear this at all which is very important, of course, and that even allows us to run sometimes when quiet hours forbid them at select sites.
Comparison of the Honda EU2200I (1800W continuous, 2200W surge) and this Craftsman 3000i (2300W continuous, 3000W surge). This review gives a pretty good idea of the sound of both... do note, however, he's basically running this test in an echo chamber as he's measuring from inside his garage, but the results are clear and fair when comparing them in the same environment.
paintballdude05 wrote: ↑
I'd trust the Firman more than this rebrand Craftsman. Plus you're buying from Costco vs. Amazon.
I agree when it comes to Costco vs Amazon. Generac, however, which makes this Craftsman, are highly regarded in the industry and make very good products. The Firman is quite a bit louder, heavier and larger than the Craftsman but being dual fuel with an electric (and coil) start as well as being from Costco makes it a pretty good buy even at it's current price. If only it was quieter.
Elrondolio wrote: ↑
Comparison of the Honda EU2200I (1800W continuous, 2200W surge) and this Craftsman 3000i (2300W continuous, 3000W surge). This review gives a pretty good idea of the sound of both... do note, however, he's basically running this test in an echo chamber as he's measuring from inside his garage, but the results are clear and fair when comparing them in the same environment.
Honda sells like hotcake based on its reliability factor. Not sure if it is just perceived value or any reality to the reliability claim....
what do guys think. I am in market for a Honda eu2200i
Asker123 wrote: ↑
Honda sells like hotcake based on its reliability factor. Not sure if it is just perceived value or any reality to the reliability claim....
what do guys think. I am in market for a Honda eu2200i
I've owned a Honda previously and had no issues with it's reliability over the 4-5 years we had it. Sold it 2.5 years ago and bought this Craftsman. Both have been just as equally reliable during my ownership with no issues and the Craftsman still easily starts up with a single pull after hundreds of hours (regular oil changes, semi-annual spark plug cleaning, use fuel stabilizer during storage, etc). If there were any issues, I'd think the Honda would be easier to service simply due to their ubiquity. Having said that: these are simple engines to service so you could really take them anywhere if you were out of warranty on either.
If you'd use these for RV'ing or any other activity that requires 30 amp service you'll need to buy the EU200i Companion model that includes the 30 amp outlet. That'd run you 50% more, price wise, compared to this Craftsman with the Honda maxing out at 500 watts less continuous, 800 watts less surge and being quite a bit louder. Personally I'd still chose the Craftsman due to how quiet it is, etc but I get why people like the Honda for sure.
Elrondolio wrote: ↑
I've owned a Honda previously and had no issues with it's reliability over the 4-5 years we had it. Sold it 2.5 years ago and bought this Craftsman. Both have been just as equally reliable during my ownership with no issues and the Craftsman still easily starts up with a single pull after hundreds of hours (regular oil changes, semi-annual spark plug cleaning, use fuel stabilizer during storage, etc). If there were any issues, I'd think the Honda would be easier to service simply due to their ubiquity. Having said that: these are simple engines to service so you could really take them anywhere if you were out of warranty on either.
If you'd use these for RV'ing or any other activity that requires 30 amp service you'll need to buy the EU200i Companion model that includes the 30 amp outlet. That'd run you 50% more, price wise, compared to this Craftsman with the Honda maxing out at 500 watts less continuous, 800 watts less surge and being quite a bit louder. Personally I'd still chose the Craftsman due to how quiet it is, etc but I get why people like the Honda for sure.
I know...In my case it is more of an emergency backup power to run some key critical home items while in emergency. Reliability is the only thing I am looking for , everything else is secondary. My size determination is good for 1800 Watts with 2200 Serge seems good enough. I guess I will just pull the trigger on Honda. At least I will sleep better
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