Squaring the petrol versus diesel debate has never been easier. For all of the advantages the best petrol generator might have over its best diesel counterpart, there are as many disadvantages, and vice versa.
This can make the purchase of a generator tricky, regardless of whether you think diesel or petrol might work best for your needs. That's why our team has prepared this overview of the best and most reliable cheap petrol generator units.
While it is not a good idea to have cost and asking price as the primary factors governing your choice of any product, price is certainly important. The best generator appliances may simply be far beyond the budget of some customers.
Therefore, our team has prepped this overview of the best cheap petrol units with an eye more to value for money than price per se.
Thanks to innovations in manufacture and power generation technology, many of the appliances in the cheap petrol generator class are actually rich in a variety of features that might have been beyond your budgetary expectations.
Our team assessed petrol generators not just from the perspective of price, but also of value for money and return on investment. This group of units gets their thumbs-up as the most reliable and best cheap petrol generator units. The table below lists the best value units.
Our list of the best value cheap petrol generators is headed up by this great little unit, the Sportsman GEN2000. Available on Amazon for just over $200, this is an incredible value petrol generator. It's also extremely versatile and can cope with anything.
It's safe enough to power the smallest and most delicate handheld tech items, right up to the most robust of power tools. With a relatively low dBA you'll be able to get use of it either around the house or on a camping trip. It really is ideal for any situation.
If a reliable and powerful cheap petrol generator is what you're after, why not take a look at what the WEN 56180 has to offer.
Available in the same $200 price range as the Sportsman GEN2000, this is another incredible value deal if you make frequent use of a petrol generator. It's one of the most compact generators available and, weighing in at just 50lbs, will present noone with any difficulties in moving it to locations where it might be needed most.
It's not the highest powered generator but works like a dream if, during an outage, you would required it to power only the essentials rather than the entire house. This, and its relatively low dBA level of 63 also makes it ideal for outdoor use on camp sites.
Any roundup of the best value cheap petrol generator machines would not be complete without the DuroStar DS4000S.
Available in the $270-280 price range, this is an affordable generator that will not let you down when you are looking for reliable backup, whether during a power outage in the home or office, or during a camping trip in the Great Outdoors.
It's powerful, and has some great features such as a low oil automatic shut-off, meaning you'll never have to worry about overheating if the appliance runs low on oil.
When it comes to value, Westinghouse has a major contender for the best value petrol generator on the market with its WGen3600V unit.
True, it's a little more expensive than the models above, tending to sell in the $330-380 price range, but it has the advantage of duel fuel, as well as being an absolute powerhouse of an appliance, that can run for up to 12 hours on a 50 percent load.
This generator comes with a large four-gallon fuel tank, and it is easy to use and set up. It also has a three-year warranty, and the benefit of a nationwide customer support network.
DuroStar is one of the mainstays of the generator market and its DS4400 unit is one of the best value cheap petrol generators you could hope for. It is not as quiet as some of the other machines we have reviewed, and so might not be an ideal choice for the home.
However, if the 69dBA noise level does not bother you, you will have total peace of mind in the event of an emergency outage.
There are few more reliable power generator brands than DuroStar and this unit is no exception to the rule. It's about as reliable and cost-effective a power backup source as you could hope for.
It's tough to come by a better value petrol generator than this 3800W model from Champion Power Equipment.
This generator will also run on propane, giving it even greater flexibility than other generators in this class, and in terms of bang for your buck performance power, this unit can product 4750 starting watts and 3800 running watts, up to nine hours running time on a full tank of petrol (and up to just over 10 hours on a 20lb propane tank).
This appliance is versatile enough to handle a huge range of appliances, and it's very portable too, meaning that you'll have no difficulty moving it to where you need it most.
Available in the $455 range, this unit is covered by a three-year limited warranty, as well as free lifetime technical support.
The WEN 56200i - last but by no means least in our list of the best value petrol generators on the market - retails at $600, and although this makes it the most expensive unit on our list, there is no doubting the sheer range of features and advantages that the extra investment will bring you.
Definitely the quietest petrol power generator on the market, it is arguably also the most efficient and nuisance free. It's compact enough to be used anywhere, whether that's at home during an emergency, to a remote building site, or on a camping trip with your family.
This generator can safely provide power backup to just about any electronic device.