Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

My wife and I recently started selling at a Market Night and we needed an inverter for lights, and for a fan to circulate air on hot evenings. Other long time vendors were using the Honda 1000i or 2000i. But, when I researched and studied the specs on several inverters, I found this Westinghouse inverter which was 2 dB quieter, 2 lbs lighter and provided 200 watts more surge power than the Honda 2000i, at nearly half the price. The surge power was important to us because we want confidence in operating our refrigerator if power is interrupted for and extended period. We place the inverter at the back of our 10 x 10 ft canopy and, because it is so quiet, we have been asked how we power our lights. 02-11-2016 UPDATE I used this inverter twice per week for 1-4 hours at a time depending on daylight. I was tickled because of how easily it started, how quiet it was and how long it ran on a tank of fuel. I extolled its virtues to several people who asked about it and 2 of them later told me that they purchased one. But, this week, I felt like one I was in a Liberty Mutual commercial. You know the one, a gal researched everything about the car, and found the one. But, after an accident, remarked that she should have done more research about her insurance company. So, it would not start on Monday night. It had always started in one, or at most, two pulls. After 10 or more pulls, experimenting with different settings, I noticed a puddle of fuel under the inverter and an increasingly strong gasoline odor. I removed the access panels to find the cause. I soon observed fuel dripping from the air filter and gasoline gushed to the concrete sidewalk when I removed the cover. The leak continued as nearby vendors, and especially my wife complained about the gasoline smell. Thinking the cause was a stuck carburetor float, I lifted the inverter and set it down with a jolt. Successfully, the leaking stopped. But, this was not as upsetting as what transpired in subsequent days. The warranty reads "Parts and labor will be covered at 100% for a period of one (1) year from the date of purchase. The Emissions Control Warranty reads "This emission control system is warranted for two years. If any emission-related part on your outdoor equipment is defective, the part will be repaired or replaced by Westpro Systems, LLC." The Westpro Power Systems website directs you to a 3rd party warranty company, AWS Global, who is claimed to have a network of Authorized Service Dealers and you are given an 800 number to call for Authorized Service. I called the next morning and the agent told me he would get back with me. By the following afternoon, I had not heard anything and called again. I was then told that they determined the problem to be with the carburetor (I agreed), but the carburetor was not covered by the warranty and they would ship me a carburetor. I called Westpro's Office to seek clarification because the Emissions Warranty specifically and clearly states that the work must be done by a warranty station. I received a return call the following day from Westpro's service organization and was told that the warranty has an exclusionary clause that excludes from warranty, among a list of other things "Failures caused by any contaminated fuels, oils, or lack of proper oil levels." The manual cites that fuel can go bad in 60 days, but my Inverter never went more than a week without being used. Yet, somehow, they exclude carburetors because of bad fuel. I am at least grateful that they are shipping a carburetor at no charge because I have the mechanical ability to sway it out. But, everyone is not so fortunate to have experience with carburetors, especially with this fuel injection generation. I subsequently looked very closely at the exclusions and came to the conclusion that Warranty Service on every part on the inverter can be denied for one reason or another. In conclusion, I still like the product and how it stacks up to the specifications and price of competitive inverters. I had done a lot of research on the product. However, the buyer should proceed with eyes wide open and weigh their ability to address mechanical problems, or pay a service shop for repairs. As I write this, I am assuming that I will successfully replace the carburetor when it arrives.