Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

The DuroMax 4400E is an inexpensive, low-end generator. It is not the world's nicest generator, but it is adequate for my needs and represents a good value for what I paid. Whether it is a good choice for you will depend on your needs. I hope to provide some insight into the generator's capabilities and limitations in this review. The generator starts easily by hand (pulling the recoil starter). It also starts adequately using the battery-powered electric starter, although it has to crank for longer than I would expect in order to do so. The generator is loud, but all generators in its price and power class are going to be loud. The quality of the AC power supplied by this generator is not especially good. However, this is probably true of all generators in this price and power class. Some of my LED lamps flicker and some of my motors make a buzzing sound when running on the generator's power. I examined one of the 120 V legs of the generator's output (while running in 120/240 V mode with a load of approximately 1,200 W) with an oscilloscope and found that there were approximately 22 V (rms) at the 3rd harmonic, 6 V (rms) at the 5th harmonic, 2 V (rms) at the 7th harmonic, and 5 V (rms) at the 9th. A picture of the oscilloscope screen is attached to this review. I don't know how serious the effects of these harmonic distortions will be on household appliances. They will likely cause increased heat production in motors and maybe in switch mode power supplies, but I don't know how much of a problem this will be. I run most of my appliances on the generator, but I do avoid running appliances on it that would be a serious financial burden if they broke and need to be replaced (i.e. central air conditioner, not that this generator is powerful enough to run mine anyway). Be aware that in 120/240 V mode, each leg of the generator output is limited (via circuit breaker) to 13.5 A (1,620 W). This is normal for a split phase generator, but you may need to pay careful attention to balancing your 120 V loads across the legs if you wire this generator to your house (such as through a transfer switch or generator interlock). Depending on the nature of your loads, it is possible that you might not be able to power all your desired 120 V loads in 120/240 V mode even if they do not exceed 3,240 W. The generator has a switch which can select 120 V only mode or 120/240 V mode. In 120 V only mode, the generator's windings are paralleled, and connected both to the 20 A GFCI receptacle and to one leg of the 120/240 V twist-lock receptacle. I haven't personally done a high-load test in 120 V-only mode, but this mode should allow you to pull 27 A of 120 V through the twist-lock receptacle before blowing the generator's breaker. This is convenient if your house only has 120 V loads, or if you want to connect the generator to an RV inlet (although in either of these use cases, you will need a special adapter cable). I have not been able to stall the engine on this generator, even when overloading it. The generator's circuit breaker has always tripped before that happens. I am not an engine expert, but I believe this is a good thing as it seems like stalling an engine due to overload would probably not be good for it. I obviously don't recommend purposely overloading your generator, but, if it happens, this seems like the preferred scenario. The manufacturer recommends changing this generator's oil every 20 hours of use. This will be annoying in an extended power outage, but it is my understanding that most generators in this power and price class also require frequent oil changes due to their splash-type lubrication systems. I only have about 15 hours of run time on this generator, so I can't comment on its longevity. From the comparison shopping I did, it seemed to me that I would have had to spend significantly more money to get a generator of materially higher quality. If that is true, then this generator may still be the better deal even if it only lasts for a 'moderate' lifespan.