Portable power station or gas inverter generator

Output and startup surge

Honda prints 1,800 W rated and 2,200 W max for the EU2200i. Westinghouse lists the iGen2500 at 2,200 W running and 2,500 W peak, and Champion's 201046 at 1,850 W running and 2,500 W starting. Among stations, the EcoFlow DELTA 3 Plus lists 1,800 W continuous with 3,600 W of surge, and the Anker SOLIX C1000 Gen 2 lists 2,000 W with 3,000 W.

Makers use different words for the extra figure and define it for their own product. Champion's manual describes starting wattage as the surge needed to start some electric driven equipment. The gas figures sit 300 W to 650 W above their running ratings, while the DELTA 3 Plus doubles its continuous rating. For a larger step, the BLUETTI AC200L lists 2,400 W with 3,600 W of surge.

Fuel and runtime

A gas generator's runtime is its tank. Honda lists 0.95 gal, good for 3.2 hours at rated load and 8.1 hours at a quarter load. Westinghouse lists 1 gal and 8 hours at 25% load, falling to 6 hours at 50%. Champion lists 1.1 gal and 11.5 hours at 25% load. Champion and Westinghouse both name unleaded gasoline with 10% ethanol or less, and Champion rules out E15 and E85.

A station's runtime is its battery. Divide watt-hours by watts, before conversion losses. A quarter of Honda's 1,800 W rating is 450 W, where a 1,024 Wh station lasts about 2.3 hours and the 2,048 Wh AC200L about 4.5, against Honda's 8.1. At the full 1,800 W the DELTA 3 Plus empties in about 34 minutes, against Honda's 3.2 hours. Refilling needs no fuel: the DELTA 3 Plus lists 1,500 W from a wall outlet and up to 1,000 W of solar input. The runtime calculator does the division for your own loads, and solar generators are ranked by refill time.

Noise as makers print it

Honda lists 62 dB at rated load and 53 dB at a quarter load. Westinghouse lists 52 dBA at 25% load and 59 dBA at 50%, so its generator gets louder as the load rises. Champion lists 53 dBA from 23 ft. BLUETTI prints 50 dB for the BLUETTI Elite 100 V2, as a maximum in its manual, and for the BLUETTI AC200L.

Loads and distances differ between these sheets, so the figures are not a like-for-like contest. The closest pairing is a generator's quarter-load line against a station's printed figure. For stations ranked by weight, AC output and other printed figures, see the best-of lists.

Carbon monoxide and placement

Gas generators produce carbon monoxide. Champion's operator's manual for the 201046 calls the exhaust a colorless, odorless, poisonous gas. It says to run the generator outdoors only, in a well ventilated area, with the exhaust pointed away, and never inside a building, including garages, basements, crawlspaces and sheds. It says not to use one inside a home or garage even with doors and windows open, only outside and far away from windows, doors and vents. It also calls for a battery-operated carbon monoxide detector on each level of any building adjacent to the generator.

Every maker sets its own placement rules, so read the manual for the exact model before the first start. The stations above run from a battery and take no fuel.