Congrats and welcome to ECN!
My foreman had an old unit that IIRC was a secondary power unit for a bucket truck. I don't recall what brand it was (homelite?), it was pretty much a generator mounted on an motor with a 1/2 gal fuel tank.
The ones I have the most experience with are Hondas... we've got the portables "quick realase mounted" on our Fire Engines, and we've only had one problem with one that wasn't set up correctly. It now works fine. I have yet to have to pull the cord on any of them more than three times to get it fired up. (Of course, 12vdc key start is a lot easier...)
My other FD has hard mounted Onan diesels. They run OK, but you can't dismount them for away from the truck work... it's all cords.
I prefer American bikes and cars, but I'll hand them the award for small engines on a silver platter.
BTW -
Hole Hawg 13A @120v = 1560W
Circular Saw (Worm-Drive or Inline)15A @120v = 1800W
Radio (small 'boom box") = 50W
So you're probably looking at one of the following:
Honda EU2000i super quiet @46.3 Lbs. MSRP $1079.95
Honda EN2500 ("economy homeowner"), @71 Lbs. MSRP $665.95
Honda EG2500 ("economy commercial") @ 87 Lbs. MSRP $1028.95
Another option in your search is to check with your local power tool / heavy equipment rental/dealer, and see if he's got any "trade in" units for folks than needed a bigger one. Many times you can get them with the balance of the factory warantee, or at least a refund guarantee if the unit's been regularly serviced by the dealer.
