Honda v's Kipor genny

AIDY

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Okay... I've done a bit of research on genorators for the boat. and came down to honda or kipor.

If you don't know Kipor used to make the Honda genny until honda pulled the plug on it because kipor made an exact copy and started selling them at a lower price.

Kipor don't make the genny any more but you can still buy the 2Kw version for about £350 new which is about a third of the price of a new honda. and from what i've read actually produces a better sine wave.

Does anyone have any experience of the kipor.... are the parts still available and do they interchange with the honda parts....

TIA
 
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steve6367

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I have been very pleased we my Kipor. I am having some problems however as parts seem hard to get hold of.

Mind you I've had it for 5 years and could just buy another and still have spent less than 1 Honda.

Steve
 

rosssavage

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Another 5 year kipor owner. Seems to be lots of bits on flea bay, but, again, nothing has gone wrong with it. Ok - that's a bit of a White lie - numpty here accidentally put my outboard 2 stroke petrol in once. It gamely soldiered on for about two hours then quit. Drained the fuel and new spark plug (obtained from my local lawn mower shop) and good as new again.

Interestingly, I had a friend who spent three times as much on a Honda - guess who's got stolen?!
 

Sy-Revolution

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I have had two Hondas and one Kipor, used on our market stall for many years (every day during winter, average 5 hours per day). The Hondas lasted around 6 years each (the second of the two is still going to my knowledge), the Kipor packed in after 3 months.

I reckon you get what you pay for......

C.
 

Sy-Revolution

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I have had two Honda's and one Kipor, used on our market stall for many years (every day during winter, average 5 hours per day). The Hondas lasted around 6 years each (the second of the two is still going to my knowledge), the Kipor packed in after 3 months.

I reckon you get what you pay for......

C.
 

TopDonkey

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I bought a Kipor IG2000 about 5 years ago, and it ran perfectly for 18 months till the inverter board packed in, this part was almost as expensive as the whole generator so i got rid of it and bought myself a honda EU20I, this has performed perfectly since i got it and is slightly quieter too
 

PeppaPig

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We have a IG200 Kipor and the 1 KW Honda. The kipor is noisier, and has done well for the past 3 years and cost less than the 1kw Honda. However, when we first had it, it leaked petrol - eek, but a local service centre (pumps, compressors etc.) got the fairly standard fittings and sorted it. Fine ever since. Kipor were absolute rubbish at responding to any queries or anything other than flogging you something.
 

Ripster

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Similar story to others. I went for the Kipor as it was third of the cost of the equal Honda. Its abit noisier (my neighbour has a Honda equal) and not as well made. But to date its been fine and always fires up even after sometimes months of not being run. For the best one - get the Honda, they are better quality. But... the Kips are very good value for the low price and do an ample job for the occasional user.
 

mikehibb

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Not had a Kipor, and our old Honda is the old type, now 11 years old.
It worked pretty hard for first 5 to 6 years, then had a rest for a few years without any preservation in the back of a cupboard. Recommissioned it late last year, well, changed oil and new fuel, worked fine, changed oil again after a few hours to be safe. Used it a couple of times in anger this year at home and runs just as good as ever.
I think that you will always get longivity out of the Honda.
Depends on your budget at the end of the day, for some things I will go for a cheaper option, for a small petrol genny I would always go honda. I see them on all building sites in Georgia. In Turkey you can get a couple of local makes of genny, the more expensve ones are "powered by Honda" and they are the ones that I see in use the most over here too.
 

stav

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I have a kipor and have found it good for the last couple of years. When I bought it the person who was selling it said they are good little sets but have no circuit protection for connecting too large a load and this would break the circuit board. So I live with that warning and for the dozen or so times a year I use it I think it represent good value for money.
 

philip_stevens

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When I bought it the person who was selling it said they are good little sets but have no circuit protection for connecting too large a load and this would break the circuit board.

I don't think he is quite correct in that statement. I have the Kipor 1000, and when I tried to run my pressure washer, that is 1200W, the motor just stopped on overload.

No problem in running my other power tools (drills, sander, etc.,) though, and charging the batteries at the same time.
 

stav

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I don't think he is quite correct in that statement. I have the Kipor 1000, and when I tried to run my pressure washer, that is 1200W, the motor just stopped on overload.

No problem in running my other power tools (drills, sander, etc.,) though, and charging the batteries at the same time.

That great to know, I will load up the generator a little more now then. Thanks.
 

chrisbailey

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I have a honda and a Kipor both 1000w. the honda is definitely quieter and probably better quality.
I had the fuel tap fall apart on the Kipor but replaced it with a Honda fuel tap which was identical in dimensions but better constructed.
The overload does work on the Kipor as I found out recently when cutting some chain with an angle grinder and was putting too much preasure on the cutting and making the grinder work harder.
It is really a matter of price versus quality.
 

EugeneR

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I do not think that Kipor intentionally shuts down the engine on overload. I say this because of reported cases where Kipor refused to replace the circuit board under warranty because, according to them, the failure was caused by overloading the device. If it was meant to shut down automatically, then such a failure would have been covered under warranty as the shut down did not work as it should.

Instead, I believe it is a matter of luck whether your engine stops and/or whether a component fails when you draw excessive load and the inverter struggles to maintain a sine wave output.

Knowing that Kipor does not provide the same level and/or availability of support as Honda would make me think twice before doing anything that could require their support.

In other words, I would continue to avoid an overload situation :)
 

rosssavage

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Had two boats connected to my kipor IG2000 two years ago. We both managed to use our immersion heaters at the same time (repeatedly!). All that happened is the red overload led illuminated and the output tripped. The engine did not stop. You do have to stop and restart it to reset the trip though.

Overload protection, therefore, tried and tested!
 
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