Greengear vs Honda, Champion & GearGB: Dedicated LPG vs Dual-Fuel Generators for Mobile Catering (2026)
Last updated: June 2026
In 30 seconds:
- Greengear is the only brand selling dedicated, factory-built LPG/propane generators in UK retail — every other “LPG generator” is a petrol engine with a dual-fuel kit.
- Dual-fuel models from Champion, GearGB and Honda-engined ranges make sense if you genuinely need a petrol fallback.
- Budget guide: Champion 92001i-DF from £529 (2.2 kW) · Greengear from £649 (3 kW) · GearGB GCE8000B from £1,849 (8 kW).
- All of them run on propane. Never butane — it stops vaporising below about 2°C, so it fails in UK winter trading.
Not sure what size you need before you pick a brand? Try our LPG generator sizing calculator. It takes 2 minutes and saves you buying the wrong generator twice.
What does “dedicated LPG” mean?
The engine is built at the factory to burn propane and nothing else. In the UK retail market, Greengear is widely regarded as the only manufacturer offering this — its generators are never a kit and never a conversion.
What does “dual-fuel” mean?
A petrol engine with an LPG system added, usually at the factory. You can switch between the two fuels. It works well — but the engine is a petrol engine first.
The honest summary
The biggest mistake we see traders make is paying extra for a petrol fallback they never use. Your trailer already carries propane for cooking. One fuel is simpler to store, cleaner to burn, and cheaper to run.
Quick verdict
| Model | Power | Fuel | Best for | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greengear GE-3000UK | 2.8 kW rated | Dedicated LPG | Coffee trailers, low-draw pitches | from £649 |
| Greengear GE-5000UK | 5.0 kW rated | Dedicated LPG | Most food vans — the all-rounder | from £949 |
| Greengear GE-7000UK | 7.0 kW rated | Dedicated LPG | Heavy multi-appliance setups | from £1,249 |
| Champion 92001i-DF | 2.2 kW max | Dual-fuel inverter | Lights, tills and small kit, with petrol fallback | from £529 |
| GearGB GCE8000B | 6.2 kW continuous | Dual-fuel | Big setups that want petrol backup | from £1,849 |
How we compared them
We sell both camps, so this isn’t a hit piece on dual-fuel. Every spec below comes from the manufacturer manuals and spec sheets we hold on file — not from marketing copy.
Prices were checked live in June 2026. Where a manufacturer doesn’t publish a figure, we say “not published” rather than guessing.
Greengear — the dedicated LPG range
Greengear generators are built in Brescia, Italy. The brand sits within the Cavagna Group — described on Greengear’s own site as the world’s leading manufacturer of equipment and components for compressed gas control.
That heritage matters. The ENERKIT carburetion system inside every Greengear was engineered jointly with Cavagna to burn propane properly — not to tolerate it as a second fuel. The UK range is rated for ambient temperatures from −10°C to +40°C, so it covers year-round UK trading. For a model-by-model deep dive, see our Greengear range comparison.
GE-3000UK — for coffee trailers and low-draw setups
Quick specs
- Power: 2.8 kW continuous · 3.1 kW peak
- Engine: GG3GN, 212cc, single-cylinder OHV
- Weight: 49 kg — one-person lift
- Noise: ~64 dB at 7 m
- Fuel use: ~441 g of propane per kWh
- Price: from £649 · view the GE-3000UK product page →
Best for
Coffee trailers running a dual-fuel espresso machine on its LPG setting, market stalls, and anyone powering lights, a fridge and a card terminal.
Don’t buy it for
- Electric fryers or griddles
- Espresso machines running in full electric mode
- Anything with a big heating element
GE-5000UK — the all-rounder for most food vans
Quick specs
- Power: 5.0 kW continuous · 5.5 kW peak
- Engine: GG4GN, 389cc, single-cylinder OHV
- Weight: 93 kg — two-person lift
- Noise: ~72 dB at 7 m
- Fuel use: ~398 g of propane per kWh
- Price: from £949 · view the GE-5000UK product page →
Best for
Multi-appliance food vans — a fryer, a griddle, lights, ventilation and a fridge running together. This is the unit we point most traders to.
Don’t buy it for
- Setups drawing more than 5 kW at once
- Equipment with big start-up surges — electric motors need 3 to 5 times their running wattage to start
GE-7000UK — for heavy daily use
Quick specs
- Power: 7.0 kW continuous · 7.5 kW peak
- Engine: GG6GN, 420cc, single-cylinder OHV
- Weight: 96 kg — two-person lift
- Noise: ~72 dB at 7 m
- Fuel use: ~318 g of propane per kWh — the most efficient of the three
- Price: from £1,249 · view the GE-7000UK product page →
Best for
Hog roast and pizza trailers, busy festival pitches, and full commercial fit-outs with refrigeration and ventilation on top of cooking kit.
Don’t buy it for
- Small setups — running a big engine at 10% load wastes propane
- Anyone who needs a one-person lift
The dual-fuel options — Champion, GearGB and Honda power
These are petrol engines with an LPG system added. That’s not a criticism — it’s a design choice. You get a fallback fuel; you give up the ground-up propane engineering.
Champion 92001i-DF — small, quiet, with petrol fallback
Quick specs
- Power: 2.2 kW max, dual-fuel inverter
- Noise: 61 dBA — quiet enough for residential pitches
- Emissions: EU Stage V, EPA III and CARB certified
- Warranty: 3 years
- Price: from £529 · view the Champion 92001i-DF product page →
Best for
Tills, lighting, phone and card-machine charging, and quiet pitches where noise rules bite. The inverter output is clean enough for sensitive electronics.
Don’t buy it for
- Fryers, griddles or water boilers
- An espresso machine in full electric mode — that draw alone beats its 2.2 kW peak
GearGB GCE8000B — the big dual-fuel
Quick specs
- Power: 8 kW max · 6.2 kW continuous
- Engine: Briggs & Stratton XR2100, electric start
- Noise: 70 dB at 7 m (96 LWA labelled)
- Warranty: 2 years on the engine
- Origin: designed and made in the UK by GearGB
- Price: from £1,849 · view the GCE8000B product page →
Best for
Heavy setups that want the reassurance of a second fuel — big event rigs where you’d rather switch to petrol than stop trading.
Don’t buy it for
- Traders who only ever run propane — you’re paying for a fuel system you won’t use
- Small pitches where 70 dB at 7 m is too loud
What about Honda?
Honda doesn’t sell a dedicated LPG generator in the UK. Units sold as “Honda LPG” are Honda petrol engines with a dual-fuel conversion.
If you want Honda reliability with LPG capability, we stock the Honda-engined GearGB GCE6000H 6.5 kW (electric start, from £2,099). Same dual-fuel trade-off applies.
Side-by-side comparison
| Model | Output | Fuel | Noise | Warranty | Weight | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GE-3000UK | 2.8 kW | LPG only | ~64 dB at 7 m | Manufacturer, back-to-base | 49 kg | from £649 |
| GE-5000UK | 5.0 kW | LPG only | ~72 dB at 7 m | Manufacturer, back-to-base | 93 kg | from £949 |
| GE-7000UK | 7.0 kW | LPG only | ~72 dB at 7 m | Manufacturer, back-to-base | 96 kg | from £1,249 |
| Champion 92001i-DF | 2.2 kW max | Petrol/LPG | 61 dBA | 3 years | Not published | from £529 |
| GearGB GCE8000B | 6.2 kW continuous | Petrol/LPG | 70 dB at 7 m | 2 years (engine) | Not published | from £1,849 |
“Not published” means the figure isn’t in the manufacturer documents we hold. We’d rather leave a gap than guess.
Which one should you buy?
- Coffee trailer with propane already on board: Greengear GE-3000UK.
- Most food vans: Greengear GE-5000UK — the safest all-round pick.
- Hog roast, pizza or busy festival pitch: Greengear GE-7000UK.
- Just lights, till and charging — and you want a petrol option: Champion 92001i-DF.
- Heavy load and you want petrol backup: GearGB GCE8000B.
- Still unsure on size? Run your appliance list through our generator sizing calculator first.
What about running costs?
Propane typically saves around 40% on fuel compared with petrol — that’s Greengear’s own figure, and it tracks with what traders tell us. It also burns cleaner, so there’s less carbon build-up and less maintenance.
For the per-hour maths, see our LPG generator running-cost guide. Weighing LPG against diesel for a bigger rig? Read LPG vs diesel generators for mobile catering. And for how long a cylinder lasts, our LPG cylinder sizes guide covers 19 kg vs 47 kg.
Buying a Greengear from MobCater
We’re a UK distributor for the Greengear UK range and we keep spares in UK stock — air filters, spark plugs, recoil starters, regulators and ENERKIT carburettors.
Before you buy, we’ll size the generator against your actual appliance list, pair the right propane cylinder, and point you to a qualified mobile gas engineer for CP44 commercial gas certification. Browse the full LPG generator range.
Frequently asked questions
Is Greengear the only dedicated LPG generator brand in the UK?
Yes — in UK retail. Every other unit sold here as an LPG generator is a petrol engine with a dual-fuel conversion, including the Champion, GearGB and Honda-engined models. Greengear units are factory-built for propane from the ground up by a brand within the Cavagna Group.
What is the difference between dedicated LPG and dual-fuel?
A dedicated LPG generator burns propane only — the engine and carburetion are designed around it. A dual-fuel generator is a petrol engine with an LPG kit added, so it runs on either fuel. Dedicated units burn cleaner and carry one fuel; dual-fuel gives you a petrol fallback.
Can the Champion 92001i-DF power a coffee machine?
Not in full electric mode. The Champion peaks at 2.2 kW, and a 2-group espresso machine drawing mains power needs around 2.85 kW. Run a dual-fuel machine such as the Fracino CON2ELPG on its LPG setting instead — its electrics then draw only 350 W, which the Champion handles easily.
Are dual-fuel generators quieter than dedicated LPG generators?
Not as a rule — size matters more than fuel. The small Champion 92001i-DF inverter is rated at 61 dBA, while the 8 kW GearGB GCE8000B runs at 70 dB at 7 m. Greengear units sit in the same band: around 64 dB at 7 m for the 3 kW and 72 dB at 7 m for the 5 kW and 7 kW.
Do LPG generators cost less to run than petrol?
Typically yes — Greengear quotes fuel savings of around 40% compared with petrol. Propane also burns cleaner, so the engine needs less upkeep and lasts longer. Your real cost depends on the load you run; our running-cost guide works it out per hour and per trading day.
Can I run a Greengear generator on butane?
No. Greengear UK generators are propane-only. Butane stops vaporising below about 2°C, so it fails on cold UK mornings and is unusable for winter trading. Use propane cylinders year-round — 19 kg or 47 kg depending on how long you need to run between swaps.
What warranty do these generators come with?
The Champion 92001i-DF carries a 3-year warranty and the GearGB GCE8000B a 2-year engine warranty. Greengear warranty work is back-to-base and the units are reliable, with good Greengear support in the first year. If the fault is with the unit, collection and re-delivery are free. If the fault is user damage, you pay the carriage — or use a service centre local to you.
What size generator does a food van need?
Add up the running wattage of everything you switch on at once, then size for the biggest start-up surge — electric motors need 3 to 5 times their running wattage to start. Coffee trailers usually land under 2.8 kW; most multi-appliance food vans sit around 5 kW.