Clarke power gennies........any good?

[mrsmelly]

As the title realy. Anyone owned/used one of the suitcase types?

[cereal tiller]

38 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

As the title realy. Anyone owned/used one of the suitcase types?

Tested a Suitcase version, it coughed and died as soon as you fastened the Straps, crazy.

[alan_fincher]

We walked up the tow-path with the dogs about a week back, and I commented on one of the loudest suitcase generators I have ever heard running.  I made a specific point of noting the brand - it was a Clarke.

If you were to buy one, I'd hate you to moor near me - horrible thing it was!

Edited August 30, 2017 by alan_fincher

[Sunflower16]

I also noted the noise when an adjoining motorhome was using one when we were out sometime ago -  it was awful, worse than the Kipors.    Plus Clarke tools are not renowned for their top quality, really - we have had a few over the years and most of the electric /electronic stuff died quite early.    We bought the Honda i20 or whatever its called, never regretted spending the extra, it is extremely quiet and well engineered. 

[DHutch]

Resounding clearly.....   how much is a second-hand Honda? 

[system 4-50]

£700!

[Richard10002]

52 minutes ago, system 4-50 said:

£700!

Thats what I paid for my 2nd hand Eu20i in Nov 2011. It's been used several times a week since, with hardly a hiccup. Not light at 21kg, but powers an 80A charger.

[Chewbacka]

19 minutes ago, Richard10002 said:

Thats what I paid for my 2nd hand Eu20i in Nov 2011. It's been used several times a week since, with hardly a hiccup. Not light at 21kg, but powers an 80A charger.

I fancy a Honda gennie but am reluctant to buy second hand as it is very difficult to know if in it's previous life it was used daily on a building site or a few times a year on holiday.  If they were a couple of hundred quid I would gamble, but at £700 I wont.

[Sunflower16]

I don't think the EU20i was a building site gennie really, But usually easy to spot an ex builders gennie -it will be absolutely filthy, covered in dust/paint/plaster and sonewhat battered- no amount of cleaning could disguise its former life! Ours was around £1000 new about 5 years ago -never regretted the purchase.   

[system 4-50]

8 hours ago, Chewbacka said:

I fancy a Honda gennie but am reluctant to buy second hand as it is very difficult to know if in it's previous life it was used daily on a building site or a few times a year on holiday.  If they were a couple of hundred quid I would gamble, but at £700 I wont.

My £700! with an exclamation mark is because I have had one on sale at this price on this site for many months. Owned from new and little used.

[DHutch]

10 hours ago, Chewbacka said:

I fancy a Honda gennie but am reluctant to buy second hand as it is very difficult to know.... it's previous life...........     If they were a couple of hundred quid I would gamble, but at £700 I wont.

 

1 hour ago, Sunflower16 said:

Ours was around £1000 new about 5 years ago -never regretted the purchase.   

 

i have to admit, while I am a big fan of used quality items over new cheaper units, £700 for a £1000 unit is not a huge saving. I would have expected them to be more like half the new price if tidy looking and less if not.

 

Daniel

[blackrose]

1 hour ago, Sunflower16 said:

I don't think the EU20i was a building site gennie really, But usually easy to spot an ex builders gennie -it will be absolutely filthy, covered in dust/paint/plaster and sonewhat battered- no amount of cleaning could disguise its former life! Ours was around £1000 new about 5 years ago -never regretted the purchase.   

Me too. I paid £1000 for a second hand Honda EU30i. All I did was look inside the service door flap and saw that it was all clean and tidy - the inside parts I could see looked brand new. Got the seller to start it up and it ran fine. 12 years later and it still runs fine. 

2 hours ago, system 4-50 said:

My £700! with an exclamation mark is because I have had one on sale at this price on this site for many months. Owned from new and little used.

Seems like a reputable seller to me... I'd rather buy from someone on this forum than ebay, etc.

[blackrose]

25 minutes ago, DHutch said:

 

 

i have to admit, while I am a big fan of used quality items over new cheaper units, £700 for a £1000 unit is not a huge saving. I would have expected them to be more like half the new price if tidy looking and less if not.

 

Daniel

Well Hondas do hold their value fairly well, but as a buyer I would haggle a bit on a second hand unit.

The EU20i is more like £1,100 new unless there is a cheaper supplier? http://www.justgenerators.co.uk/honda-eu20i-generator.html#.WafWMfOGOt8

Or if money was the issue I'd probably buy the equivalent Kipper as they're supposed to be ok. http://www.sghomeleisure.co.uk/Generators/Leisure-Inverter-Generators/IG2000P-Kipor-Digital-Generator?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIvdW15ZSB1gIVicqyCh2N5wnqEAQYASABEgLuiPD_BwE&zenid=12d23d0461e4nfr3parna13t12

Edited August 31, 2017 by blackrose

[Edders]

13 hours ago, mrsmelly said:

As the title realy. Anyone owned/used one of the suitcase types?

Tim, you really must get a Honda. You know it makes sense!

[cereal tiller]

1 hour ago, Edders said:

Tim, you really must get a Honda. You know it makes sense!

Honda used an Advert for their Step-Thru MotorCycles in the 60's, "you meet the Nicest People on a HONDA".

Tim may remember it and it may be holding him back from an Eu20. Purchase?

Edited August 31, 2017 by cereal tiller

[Machpoint005]

49 minutes ago, Edders said:

Tim, you really must get a Honda. You know it makes sense!

If you mean a CB750 I agree.

[blackrose]

I used to have a CB 750F.

I think anyone contemplating buying a generator should seriously consider spending the extra and getting a Honda or at the very minimum a Kipper. Buying lower quality is just false economy. I don't understand why anyone would even consider a Clarke? Assuming they made them, would you buy a Clarke diesel engine for your boat?

[cuthound]

2 hours ago, cereal tiller said:

Honda used an Advert for their Step-Thru MotorCycles in the 60's, "you meet the Nicest People on a HONDA".

Tim may remember it and it may be holding him back from an Eu20. Purchase?

It will be the "Eu" in the model number that Tim dislikes 

[mrsmelly]

Thanks for all your replies re these and the one re the noise from Alan. I only want an emergency backup for when we set off again ccing soonish but it will not now be one of these.

Thanks all.

[OldGoat]

The Honda and its ilk are nicely designed with an inbuilt inverter so that when the load drop off the engine slows down. Cheaper designs just run full tilt until you switch be blurry thing off.

The former costs more to manufacture

The latter doesn't and gets branded 'Clarke'

[WotEver]

24 minutes ago, OldGoat said:

The latter doesn't and gets branded 'Clarke'

I have to jump in now because that (along with much that's been said to date) is just completely incorrect. Clarke have a brand new range of suitcase generators which are quieter than before, have inverter output, and slow down when the load decreases. No they're not a Honda but they're half the price. Don't compare the current crop of Clarke gennys with the ones they were selling a few years ago. 

I have no particular connection with Clarke other than I have had a play with a couple of their latest range and I was surprised at how much quieter they are than the old ones. As I said though, they're not in the same class as a Honda.

60dBA @ 7m for the Clarke

52dBA @ 7m for the EU20i

[luggsy]

I have one of these starts first pull bomb proof Yamaha engine http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Senci-SC2000i-Inverter-Petrol-Camping-Caravan-Generator-With-Yamaha-Engine-2kw-/253084976068?epid=1431027068&hash=item3aed0a43c4:g:aW4AAOSwjC9ZicfI

[Bazza954]

As long as the engines are better than the current offering for the F1 racing car, I may consider getting one.

 

 

Bazza