re: Has anyone had experience with "Preditor" generators from Harbor Freight?

not sure but I think predator brand is one of the few excluded from the HF 20% off coupons.

I may end up getting one for backup power if we have a hurricane or something. Are you guys buying the regular generator or the inverter generator?

Not sure the benefits other than it being quieter. Fill me in. I basically want to get one to power up the lights, small mini split A/C and possibly a small 12 gallon water heater if at all possible.

Inverter generators are cleaner in the type of power they deliver. Suitable for sensitive electronics like computers and the like. Conventional generators need to run at a constant RPM because that sets the frequency of the AC power and the voltage and they use a throttle governor to maintain that RPM as load increases. Most appliances, power tools, lights, etc don't care if the power coming in is off by a few cycles/second or the voltage fluctuates as load on the generator changes. Computers, small electronics, and clocks do care about that and can be damaged by sudden spikes caused by the generator loading/unloading. Inverter generators condition the power by taking the noisy AC off the alternator, rectifying it to DC and filtering it, then inverting it back to AC. Since they are conditioning the power so much they don't need a fixed RPM and they can run at a lower RPM for noise reduction. This doesn't necessarily mean they are more efficient though, there are losses in the inverter cycle and they can actually be less fuel efficient in powering devices that don't need a clean power supply.

So are preditors inverter generators as good as Honda's?

I have one from a past job and it’s always worked great. I used after Hurricane Matthew a few years ago and it ran for a couple days.

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Hondas are great for putting out "clean" power but I wonder about the preditor. Would suck to hook one up during a outage and it take out your tv, modems, refrigerator display.... anything with sensitive electronics.

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Not clean Power at all. No perfect SIN wave on tester.

Even the Honda, Yamaha, and Subaru generators put out fairly clean power. It's really regulated by the engine speed on a generator. Consistent rpm, consistent power.

The inverters are where it's at. Double or triple the price but worth it. Love my Yamaha 63

Honda is probably a bit quieter. Just not several hundreds bucks worth.

Depends how much you will use it. If sporadically, I would go with cheaper option. If you use it often, Honda may start to make sense.

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Seems like every time I buy something from them that I expect to be a "disposable" item, it lasts forever, but I buy a damn flathead screwdriver and it breaks.

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Same here. Bought a cheap sawzall knockoff for a project at the house 6 years ago. I don’t pull it out often but it always works great when I do. Also bought a cheap cordless drill that still works great. But a cheap set of sockets and the driver broke after a week. The actual sockets are still fine which is why I bought them in the first place. I have several that I can use besides that one so no big deal.

Our new Predator® line has been updated with your convenience and safety in mind. Powered by a reliable Predator® gas engine, this generator is ideal for emergencies, job-sites, food trucks, and outdoor recreation. GFCI outlets, larger fuel tank, longer run time make this generator an unbeatable value. 9000 starting watts and 7250 running watts make this unit capable of powering several home essentials during an outage or providing power on the go. Our new, larger gas tank means you can enjoy run times up to 13 hours @ 50% load.
420cc / 13 HP air-cooled OHV gas engine
Electric start with recoil back up (electric start requires battery, not included)
Runtime up to 13 hours @ 50%
Low oil indicator / low oil shutdown
Heavy duty 1-1/4 in. steel roll cage
UL listed circuit breakers
(4) 120V duplex outlets, 3 prong, (1) 120V twist lock outlet, 3 Prong, (1) 120V/240V twist lock outlet, 4 prong, (1) 12V DC outlet
GFCI outlets


After reading reviews and this thread I’m assuming this is a good generator for $629 ???

Little 4 year bump here. Was in need of a little inverter generator, so yesterday I went pick up a Preditor 1400w from HF because I remembered the OB seemed to have good reviews on them. Now, that was 4 years ago. Any new updates on these? Haven't fired mine up yet, but I'm hoping for the light use it will be used for, it'll be worth it.