I used my obnoxiously loud coleman at a cookoff once and there were several folks there who would probably slice my throat if I tried to do it a second time. That was my first and only cookoff to use that generator.
I would much rather pay for electricity. The last time I ran my generator utilizing my A/C, I think I put 20 gallons (that is about $75 now days) in it for the weekend. That margarita machine last year at traders village consumed massive amounts of electricity too.
So following that cookoff I purchased a Kipor 3500Ti (3KW) on advice from some folks here on the forum. I like it a lot. It is quiet and can handle my A/C unit on my travel trailer.
If I could have one more feature on the Kipor, I would take a larger fuel tank. While running my A/C which we do quite often here in TX, I can only get about 6 hours running time.
I purchased it online through Amazon for $999 which included shipping. The best part about the generator isnt that it is so quiet, I like the fact that it provides such clean power. Not only did my coleman make load noise, it fried my daughters computer too. Thank goodness for warranties. It looks like the price is about $1500 now.
I cut and pasted this from the Amazon website:
This is the new Kipor model IG3000. This model also was called the KGE3000Ti and KGE3500Ti before. It is covered by Kipor North America for a 2 years national warranty available in many service dealers across US and Canada. It can start a 15,000 BTU rooftop RV air conditioner. Built-in 30 AMP twist lock receptacle (l5-30R) on this generator; Industrial steel metal chassis; Rated Frequency (Hz): 60; Rated Voltage (V): 120; Rated Current (A): 23.3; Rated Rotation Speed (rpm): 3600; Rated Output Power (W): 2800; Max. Output Power (W): 3000; DC Output: 12V-8.3A; Phase Numbers: Single phase; Fuel Tank Capacity: 3.5 gallons; Engine Type: Single cylinder, 4-stroke, overhead valve gasoline engine; Rated Power [kW (PS)/rpm] 4.0(5.5)/3600; Rated Rotation Speed (rpm): 3600; Starting System: Electric with pull start backup; Fuel Type: Unleaded gasoline; Fuel Consumption (g/kW.h): 395; Low Oil Warning: Engine stops automatically when oil runs low; Noise level(dB(A))/ 20 feet: 56 (no load), 57 (1/4 load), 62 (full load); EPA Certified Engine - 200cc OHC ,single cylinder, 4-stroke, air-cooled, low emission. Kipor Sinemaster digital inverter generators have a built-in computer monitoring the voltage and load constantly. They are a type of "Smart Generator". The voltage is constantly adjusted to maintain 120V by the computer inverter module. Kipor can automatically regulate the engine speed according to the load, so the fuel consumption of digital generator sets is 20%-40% lower than traditional sets, so the running time is therefore much longer as well. The noise level is further reduced at lower running speeds. Sinemaster digital inverter generators have a new two-tiered noise dampening system, so the noise emitted by these generators is 6-9 dB less than traditional generators. This translates to 4 to 8 times quieter than conventional generators. This meets the new noise ordinances that some state and national parks have adopted.
