Is it possible to buy a generator not from China?

[unite for individuality]

Good information about product sourcing is hard to find.
The most convenient place I have found is
https://generatorbible.com/blog/top-brands/
   26 BEST BRANDS OF PORTABLE GENERATORS
It's the best source of info I've been able to find,
but it's still pretty incomplete.
It has a paragraph about each of the 26 brands listed.

Most of the companies are based in the USA,
but have their products manufactured in China or other places.

It looks like the most reliable brand to provide American made generators is Generac.
Their products are larger, more expensive, standby generators
that automatically turn on in case of an outage.

When shopping for a generator, other factors to consider are
how noisy is the unit,
what outputs the unit provides,
if it's gasoline only or multi fuel,
whether it's an inverter or traditional type generator, etc.
(Inverter generators produce smoother power,
better suited for powering electronic devices.)

I would avoid Briggs & Stratton because
their engines are designed to have a very limited life.

Below is a listing of the 26 brands,
and where each one is manufactured, according to the article.
Some brands of generators are manufactured by another company on the list.
For example, Predator (sold by Harbor Freight) is made by Lifan.

   A-iPower                   China
   Briggs & Stratton      global
   Caterpillar Inc.,          China
   Champion Power Equipment   ?
   Cummins                  ?
   Dewalt                     ?
   DuroMax                  overseas
   DuroStar                  China
   Echo                        USA
   Energizer                  overseas
   Firman Power Equipment   China
   Ford                        Asia
   Generac                  USA
   Honda                     Asia
   Kohler                     USA, China
   Lifan                        China
   Powerhorse               China
   Powermate               USA ?
   Predator                  China
   Pulsar                     Asia
   Rainier                     ?
   Ryobi                        global
   Sportsman Series      ?
   Wen                        Asia
   Westinghouse         China
   Yamaha                  China, Japan

If you want to connect a generator to your house electric system,
you should first turn off the main breaker switch
(or pull out the main fuses, if your system is that old)
to disconnect your house from the power line.

You will also need to rig an "extension cord"
with plugs at BOTH ends
to plug the generator into a house socket.
(A standard "plug to socket" cord will not do.)
The parts to do that can be found at any hardware store.

It's always good to have some three to two prong adapters around.
There's a good chance you'll need a couple of them
to connect a generator to your house wiring.

And of course, DO NOT run a gasoline engine indoors!
The carbon monoxide will kill you!
Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning include:
headache, nausea.

[Hoodat]

Only one I could find.

Briggs & Stratton  -  https://www.briggsandstratton.com/na/en_us/products/home-generators.html

The rest are made in China (including Champion, Echo, and Generac)

[Elderberry]

I was out of power for just under 2 weeks after hurricane Ike. I had an ancient 2.5kw Onan Marine 1800 rpm gen that got me thru. I ran it on propane for the first week off a 100 lb propane tank. Then when it was half full,  I looked for where I could get it refilled, I had to drive abt 40 miles before I found where I could get it filled. While there I just picked up a 60lb tank and tapped the gen into my nat gas supply the next day. It was very quiet running @ 1800rpm and I ran a long exhaust pipe to a truck muffler exhausting to a hole in the ground.  During that time, the gas stations that were open had many people filling up 5 gal gas cans for generators. I have since replaced it with a 5kw 3600 rpm gen that's much louder.

I have a project in work, to build an inverter generator. So far I have a 12 hp Kohler pullyed to a 24v alternator so that at 1800 rpm, the alt is turning 5,000 rpm to power 4 6v 220ah batteries in series. I currently have a small 24v inverter, but once I rig up a governor, I'll pick up a much larger inverter. I'll also add a small solar panel to keep those bats topped off.

[240B]

Many years ago was in a Target Store. After one thing after another all 'Made in China'.
Just by luck I accosted a manager. Asked him if there is anything in this store not made in China?
He said NO. It's all China. So I said so Target is the China outlet store?
Walked away. No answer, and the no answer was the correct answer.

[Elderberry]

I always wanted to build a Listeroid Generator



One home-built Listeroid-powered 7.5 kilowatt generator with water-tank cooler.

https://kk.org/cooltools/listeroid-diese/

From 1930 to 1987 the Lister company made diesel motors for pumps, generators, and general-purpose use, using mostly the same design of big, slow-speed, heavy flywheels and simple, easily-repaired parts. The Lister company then sold the designs. Today there are many Indian and Chinese companies that produce Lister copies (aka: “Listeroids”) for export. These are fairly faithful to the original design — with varying quality. The price for these engines *per kilowatt* is cheap, when compared to the more commonly found gasoline-powered generators, though they are not very portable. What is truly amazing is the efficiency of the Lister: one user reports an average of 8000 watts and 0.3 gallons of diesel per hour. They can be made nearly silent with cheap car mufflers or a water muffler. They run fairly cool, and home-built radiators (water tanks, house radiators, car radiators) seem to work well. These slow-rotating workhorse machines are good for nearly 100% duty cycle if properly maintained. (A 100% duty cycle means running 24/7, with no down time due to heat and lubrication needs). The Listers can run all the time, and there are even some people who have figured out how to do oil changes while the motor is still running, thus removing even the lubrication issues. Their efficiency and raw power makes them perfectly suited for electrical generation for long-term use versus “emergency-only” generators which have an extremely short lifespan. They are also works of mechanical art, and will keep a mechanically-minded hacker occupied for weeks, experimenting and tuning. I’m sure that vegetable oil or waste motor oil would work as fuel in these engines as well, but more research is needed.

[Hoodat]

This one is made in Germany.  Very heavy duty.

[ironhorsedriver]

I have the big 9000 Predator from Harbor Freight. Yea, Chinese, but she's a beast. I'm happy with it.

[Elderberry]

I have the big 9000 Predator from Harbor Freight. Yea, Chinese, but she's a beast. I'm happy with it.

If you haven't yet, look into upgrading it to dual or tri fuel to run it on propane and natural gas.

[roamer_1]

I have a project in work, to build an inverter generator. So far I have a 12 hp Kohler pullyed to a 24v alternator so that at 1800 rpm, the alt is turning 5,000 rpm to power 4 6v 220ah batteries in series. I currently have a small 24v inverter, but once I rig up a governor, I'll pick up a much larger inverter. I'll also add a small solar panel to keep those bats topped off.

I have two LIron batteries already... Another two this year. I will continue to introduce them in a staggered fashion, across several years so they don't all go bad at the same time, when they finally do. Unfortunately, the solar side is not quite done... and the jenny I have is the 8500W contractor  generator I have had for years. It does not have the sensing to turn on when the batteries holler for it, but I have rigged it to turn off when the batteries are charged (I can send signal to a switch that uses the natural grounding wire that normally shuts it off).

So right now I have to manually start it, and no option but to watch the fuel - But it's better than nothing.

With four batteries I should be pretty set - with 6 for sure. Now I am just waiting for a failover jenny to come down the river, and figure to get the 4 solar panels I have mounted up next spring.

You might get a kick out of what I am doing with the panels - Petal style... Automatically deploy from protected storage like the petals of a flower - And retract at night or during storms... Don't have that part all the way figured out... I want it to deploy when there is enough light to make it worthwhile, and otherwise default to stored and shut off. Six positions, one being the storage box...

Also want it to track the sun - That would matter here in the winter. Both vertical and horizontal axis. BUT, that wound up scrap. I was using an antenna rotor (from my big Moonraker beam antenna) and it just didn't have the poop. So for now I just dummied a bushing in where it goes so I can finish what I am doing... But I have no idea what the rotor will be now, and have not even begun working on the logic for automating (though probably Raspberry Pi).

[unite for individuality]

I posted the same original post on another forum,
and got a reply over there that I think is good enough to be worth sharing here.

He mentioned his Kubota generator
(a brand that wasn't included on the webpage I referenced in the original post)
Here's his reply:

--------------

Kohler is a good gas gen. But Onan/Cummins makes a great cheap diesel for RV's but it's quiet enough to have a conversation next to it without yelling.
Two things. One, Generac makes a great engine, but they have serious issues with their control boards, have for the last decade (made in Chiner). Secondly, if you are only looking for a standby genset, go with propane only, gas today does not hold up all that well, even when you add Stabil.

Neighbors Generac just went out when the power failed, and since it usually doesn't just go off.
His went off, then came back on twice, and the third time was so fast that it fried his board and he had nothing for two weeks.

But most importantly, go with a diesel, it will last 10 times that of a gas engine.
I highly recommend Kubota Lowboy 7000, made in Japan, extremely reliable, remote start and quieter than any gas engine out there.

I bought mine almost 20 years ago, rolled the 10.000 hr meter over and have another 5 thousand on that, and it still runs like new.
Loved it so much, I bought another just for backup.

Thing is, this will probably be the only genset you'll ever buy, so why waste money replacing crap.
Oh, and red dye diesel is cheaper than gas.

Believe me, this is what I did for a living.

Kubota GL7000 – 7000 Watt Lowboy II Series Industrial Diesel Generator



$6,149.00