Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

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854
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ranked #14,017 most helpful out of 571,544,897 reviews
★★★★★
Extremely Satisfied, Exceeded Expectations
For those looking for the quick bottom line review: I am extremely happy with this generator. It has more than enough power to keep my family of 6, with 4 tech dependent children, relatively calm and comfortable for days without power. It is also reasonable sound level wise to run through the night, living in a housing community with neighbors very close. No, I would not attempt to power an air conditioner. Power output: 5/5 Noise: 5/5 Portability: 4/5 Easy of use: 5/5 Easy of care/maintenance: 5/5 Overall look: 5/5 The only 2 cons I can come up with: - It's heavy - I can lift it myself to get it into my SUV, but I could not carry it far. It does however have wheels and a pull out handle to make rolling it around quite easy. - after using for about a day an a half, it began leaking a VERY small amount of oil from around the oil drainage tube. No noticeable amount when checking the dipstick --------------------------------------------------------- For those looking for an in-depth review with details (like I was) to help make a purchase decision... here ya go.. Background: I am a mid thirties computer programmer, living with my girlfriend and our 4 kids (ages 8-17). We live in a townhouse that's part of a very stereotypical upper middle class housing community. Our 4 kids are very technology and internet dependent, spreading across streaming services, gaming, and social media. Additionally, I work from home and am dependent on my full setup (monitors, laptop, switches, etc..) for my job. I purchased this generator after losing power for 5 days as a result of a bad thunderstorm with lots of downed trees (and wires) in the area. At the time, I didn't have one at all, but borrowed an uncle's 3400 watt portable generator for the last few days. It was a typical, cheap, "camping" style generator with an open caged design. It was incredibly loud, resulting in countless mean looks and nasty comments from neighbors. It also produced "dirty" power, so we were only able to use it for the freezers and fridge, not any of the electronics. It was also notably lacking in information output, like power consumption, fuel level, etc.. After that experience, I did a bunch of research and landed on this Wen Inverter Generator. I purchased in mid May 2020, and got my first full usage in July 2020 when another storm knocked out power for 3 days. Used the generator basically non-stop for 3 days without issue. Power: Most importantly, this produces "clean" power that is safe to use for whatever, electronics or other. While using this generator, I never used even 50% of its available output. Much of the time using less than 25%, depending on freezer/fridge compressors being on/off. With that, I was able to power the following (at least): 2 deep chest freezers, a standard refrigerator/freezer combo, sump pump, dehumidifier, cable modem, 3 routers, several laptops, a 24" monitor, 8 large stand/box fans, 6 lamps, as many as 10 phones/tablets, plus a toaster and coffee pot as needed. I also successfully ran a 65" TV without issue, but did not keep that on, just because. Overall, plenty of power. Noise: This is the big one everyone is worried about. Being honest, I was rather shocked and pleased at how quietly this runs. To be clear, this is not silent! It's a generator. If you're expecting no noise, or similar to a small fan, you're kidding yourself. However, my general assessment from walking around my neighborhood in the evenings (something I do regularly, power or no) is that it produces slightly less noise than a typical outdoor central air unit. Standing directly next to it, you can hold a conversation without yelling. At 15+ ft away, it's background noise and overall "not irritating". Standing about 10ft away from it, I could hear my neighbor's generator (about 100 ft away) overtop of my own. At one point when coming back from a walk, I was convinced it had shut off for some reason because I couldn't hear it until I was quite close. I had no reservations about noise level when running this all night. Fuel Consumption: The tank is admittedly smaller than I was thinking I'd like when I bought it. However, it has turned out to not be an issue. I was refueling about every 12 hours, without ever running out. I expect (with the load noted above) it would last about 14-15 hrs on a full tank. And a 5 gallon gas can is perfect for two fillings (plus a little extra). Look/Feel: This generator looks gorgeous (as far a generators are concerned). It's has a modern, clean look, especially compared to it's competitors. It feels very solid, sturdy, and well built. It also feels very intelligently designed, with easy of use/care in mind. It has a fuel level and power consumption gauge, presented as LED bars at 25% intervals. Doesn't give exact values in the display, but enough to be helpful, and more than many others. Starting: Since this generator contains a battery, after the first start (once the battery has power), it will start electronically by simply turning the dial. On the first start, the pull cord starts it with ease, requiring very little pulling effort/energy. It is NOT like starting a lawn mower or weed wacker that takes a very quick, strong pull. Care/Maintenance: This is where I was quite pleasantly surprised. This generator is clearly built with ease of maintenance in mind. Which stands out compared to other generators I have interacted with. Most notably, when you are done using your generator and ready to store it longer term, you need to drain the gasoline from it to keep it in good working order. I have taken screenshots of me doing this process to showcase just how easy it is. Remove 2 screws to take the side panel off. Pull the pre-attached tube out to the side and direct towards gasoline container. Loosen a single screw and let drain. Then turn the starting dial to "run" and let drain again. That's it... The oil dipstick and access is not fantastic, but equal to any others I've seen. I also note that there is an easy drainage tube for the oil as well, when changing the oil is necessary. There is also easy access to change a sparkplug. Also worth noting that I purchased a 10 gauge RV cord (pictured) that converts to a 3-way standard 3 prong plug. I also purchased several long 12 gauge three way extension cords to plug into that RV cord. That is how I connected everything. No cords were even warm to the touch. Overall, I would strongly recommend this generator to anyone, including my own family (which I have already done). I would definitely buy another one myself, if I needed it for some reason. Hope this proves informative to someone else.
September 2020 · Patio Lawn and Garden · verified purchase
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