As other have commented about your use of time most excellent. Short and straight to the point. A huge respect for your viewers. I know for me I only have a limited amount of time I can budget before demands on my time call me away. If I watch a video that does not get right to the point or has a lot of filler I click off. I just don't have that much time to waste. Many thanks for your format and respect of your viewers time.
So let me get this right if this can run for 7 hours on 1 gallon of gas and it takes a Tesla 20 hours to charge off of 110v. I can go 400 miles on less then 3 gallons of gas? Why are hybrids only getting 50ish miles per gallon? Are Hybrids using more gas then necessary or am I nuts?
I live off-grid and use a Predator 2000... Love it! Cost is not just purchase price. I ran 12.5 hours on one tank (1 gal) charging my computer, recharging my drill battery and running my frig and freezer. The 2000 Generac is 1.2 gals and 10.5 hours at 25% load. I average 8 hours of runtime per day. About 240 gallons per year. The Generac would require at least 40 more gallons, a $120 (@ $3.00 per gal.) or more savings. AND! I started my Predator last winter on second pull at -22 Fahrenhite. My brother and nephew have Honda 2200's that won't start at 30 degrees above. I like my Predator, economical, quiet and dependable.
Very helpful. I'm building my business out of a storage unit while being homeless so I need to be able to cook, light up and charge everything. This sounds perfect
Have owned a predator for 7 years, 8700 watt max power unit, it has performed flawlessly for several ice and snow storms here in Oklahoma. Highly recommend this brand
Harbor Freight has raised their prices significantly over the last 18 months. I live in TX and got the 2000W predator inverter generator in 2020 for $430
I just used my fairly new GP2200i with synthetic oil for a 39+ hour outage, .. it performed flawlessly and had "just the right balance of frugality and power" for comfort .. it powered fridge, all lighting, laptop charger, fan .. an occasional tiny 600w microwave .. and movie night with popcorn during the outage. I feed one 75ft 10-gauge cord split three ways with a 10-gauge splitter to three 25ft 12-gauge lines through the house. One for appliances, one for electronics and the third for a fan and floor lamps. Perfect for a longer outage.
That's awesome to hear. When I first made the review of that people dumped all over it saying it was fake, I was paid. None of that was true, I just saw a lot of good things, and now a year+ late reviews for it are awesome and I am thrilled to see yoru feedback. It's a great generator, especially for that price its unbeatable.
Hi. Do you mind elaborating more on your feed into the house and consumers. So you mentioned one long cord and three smaller. Do you than just hook it up to some stand alone lights or is it somehow tied into the panel to run “all the lighting” like you mentioned in the beginning of your comment. I am trying to figure out the most economical way to run the basics with just enough power. Probably something in the 2200-3500 watts. The smaller the better obviously because it would be easier to haul around and take camping for example.
I needed a unit th-cam.com/users/postUgkxOTeIs0vv4_9B5hsmnLsk9r930uDQLu_Y that I could store in my home when I wasn't running, so it being light and running on propane were key requirements. I can store the propane tank/bottle outside yet store the generator in my home when it's not in use as I will never put any gas in the engine. It is so light, and on echo mode, which I expect is how it will be used most of the time, it is pretty darned quiet (certainly compared to all the generators I hear in my neighborhood after each power outage).Many of the previous reviews had me concerned that it would be difficult to start on propane, but I have to say, I had absolutely no problem at all. I primed it first using the choke...3 pulls, heard the engine want to start, flipped it to propane, and one more pull and she started. I ran it for 2 hours the first time and plugged it in my fridge. And when I was done, I put the propane tank away and carried the generator to my basement for next time.I could not be happier.
One of the few reviewers who does good, data based reviews! Harbor Freight and Northern Tool are making themselves non-competitive with their high pricing. I'm surprised at their prices, I'm finding even Home Depot is beating them in price at times. Vthd....I think it's Volts Total Harmonic Distortion....? THD was something we looked at back in the day of 'stereos'. THD, not THC........
I worked for Sundstrand Aerospace now part of UTC. The main product is aircraft generators. They make both constant speed generators and wild frequency generators with inverters. Both are required to put out a sine wave power. You said this generator is good for powering electronics and showed an accurate and well filtered sine wave. However; you didn't describe the load used. We had to more then double the filtering and make adaptive sine generating software code to deal with a near 100% electronic load. Rectification only draws power in a narrow portion of that sine wave.
I bought a HF 2000 gen. And when it ran, it did a good job. Getting it started was a bear. Even the manual said to pull the rope 20 times with the gas off, then switch gas on and start pulling again. I counted 82 pulls before it finally cranked. I suggest a better quality gen or one with an electric start.
@@mcapps1 I ended up giving the HF to my stepson. He's young and strong so let him yank the starter, lol. I did buy a Honda 2200i and converted it to tri-fuel but use propane most of the time.
@Zzst Z ZZ dude, dont you know I am a generator specialist? About half dozen of us live out in the az desert and solar wont run an ac unit at the needed level. Generators out here get ran hard...not like for camp out or a jobsite..more like 24/ 7 for months...we dont even shut off to add fuel, everybody siphons fuel for safety...shut down for oil change every 100 hrs. Full syn oil, it's the only thing that will handle the heat. What is heat? Air temp average 110* up to 120* it might cool down to 90* at night. Most people run high efficiency window mounts...around 1200 watts...the 2000 watt predator works ok light duty/part time use....out here it's the one to have if you buy 2 to last the summer. Harbor freight is happy to warranty it...one time...I have no doubt they tear down and inspect...that's why the second time warranty is a tough deal...I been a mechanic all my life. I real one...24 years GM service tech including a full year college electrical theory and application...I can fix anything, if I can get parts...motor sticks a valve and bends it because they us crappy valve springs I have to spend the time to find a replacement valve measuments... there is no replacement parts available....can even find a pull start assembly...the pull start rope is junk, no big deal I know how to rewind one...it takes an hour just to get it apart...if something goes sour in the inverter....and the entire electrical systems runs through it, it all goes in the dumpster. The motors are Chinese, they use garbage rings, if they wear out the motor is junk because the cylinder walls wear out of round. I can get it bored, no problem..cant get an oversized piston. They are fine and dandy for light use...2000 watt honda will eat it for lunch...one guy been running one going on 3 years, I've cleaned the carb twice and cleaned out the muff one time...it uses a little oil but it will still run 100 hrs without hitting the low oil cut off....everybody runs inverters because recharging lit ion batteries without inverter is a good way to blow up and burn shit down. We figure the honda has a little over 20,000 hrs....that's equal to 10 predators...I know my shit, and my shit says you are the stupid one running your mouth about something you dont know jack shit about.
The 1200 Generac has the exact same housing as the Harbor Freight 1400. Different face plate, but it's obviously made by Generac. Great video, great information! Thanks!
Great video review. But if you are not looking for a suitcase style inverter generator I went with the WEN GN400i RV-Ready 4000-Watt Open Frame Inverter Generator for $395.00 to my door and that is not a sale price. Has been a solid performer for me.
Own 2 harbor freight generators. The 8750 absolute beast runs my plasma cutter and welder and the 1400 I just bought in an emergency situation for my 2nd property 2 hrs from home. Save my house from freezing ran both my boiler pumps and the oil furnace when a tree took out my power lines. Super quiet no problems and it was -3f ran like a champ.
I employed a 25% off coupon for this purchase. It"s primary function is to quickly power up my ecoflow solar generators. I have larger gas generators for household appliances.
Yet another highly polished, well presented video...But, I'm surprised that you are not recommending the Wen 2,350W/1,900W Inverter Generator (56235i). At $420 to $440, it seems to be an excellent value albeit with very few amenities. But, it seems to be a good value even if I would like a larger engine than 79.9cc's. As long as I'm wishing, a gas gauge, a power meter, an hour meter and a few more plug options would be nice! Low cost, light weight, quiet, robustly built & fuel efficient- I can hardly ask for more for so little?
Wait a minute???? I bought a harbor fright inverter 2500 watt generator almost 20 years ago. It doesn't get much use except occasional run, change fuel and oil. It still works. My wife insisted on a new Honda eu2200i because it was a few lbs lighter and easier for her to start. I'm really happy with my old harbor fright generator.
Thank you. I live in the desert and need something for cooling if the grid goes down in the summer. The Generac is an affordable emergency option until I can get the solar set up I want.
Excellent short video my friend! My brother just paid up for a Honda which is a great machine, but your info is going to save me some money on that Generac!
Great job here ! Even though I detest generators ! Every time I go camping some kermudgion has their generator running that you can hear for miles ! I go camping for the quiet and nature. I leave all the noise that I hate at home ! People spoil everything ! Garbage left behind, screaming children , generators , dogs, and constantly talking loud and their crappy choice in so called "music " !
Have you ever looked into how remarkably similar all these small generators are? Seems like they may be a catalog purchase for these companies, or one manufacturer is licensing these out to the others. The predator and small generac look nearly identical, as do the generac, powermate, wesringhouse, and pulsar 2200-2500 watt inverters.
Build quality is everything with any device like this. the gas engine needs to have a durable cylinder, piston & rod assembly or it will end up like many of the Chinese scooters and motorbikes, with a dead cylinder. and these only have 1. also, the copper windings in the stator are always a concern, that's where a lot of the savings are made as well. same goes with power hand tools. I ended up with a Briggs because of the USA design and the known-for cast iron cylinder sleeve, not aluminum or other alloys which won't last. as long as I want it to anyway. I paid $600 for a 2000W and I know it's a good build. it's been over 10 years, no issues.
I own an AiPower 2300/1800 inverter Gen(Red Case) purchased for $380 before taxes. It powered two refrigerators, 2 t.v.s, 2 pcs, gateway and modem, It we needed to use the coffemaker or microwave, temporarily, I just unplugged the refrigerators, just to play safe and plugged them back in when done making coffee or warming food. Because it is gear driven, not belt driven, it is about 4 to 8 pounds heavier than comparable Hondas and other inverter gens. With the telescopic handle, it is as balanced and easy to move about as airport luggage with wheels. Doing a dead lift into the back of the pick up truck, uuuuh, a slightly different matter. At 50lbs, It may take a two person life, if you have strength or back issues. As mentioned below, the parallel cables will Connect it to another AiPower or easily to any other brand, inverter gen. Unless things have changed it came with a 3 year warranty. AiPower also sells a Yamaha powered inverter gen(Blue Case) which comes with a 2 year warranty. This is not to talk against the Predator brand. The 1400 would be inadequate for my needs. I know of a few people who have the 7500 and larger versions and are happy with them. It would be recommended to get the extended warranty. The cost will save a lot of headaches on the back end. Customers who had to use it, found Harbor Freight easy to work with for exchanges.
The 2000 watt predator will push a 1100 watt window mount ac and a couple led lights around 4 hrs running the ac on medium and the compressor engaged all the time...I believe spec is .26 gal per hour at 50% load..so it runs a bit better than spec. Running basic low volt lights in my mo ho with the refer running on propane and the batteries fully charged it will run over 10 hrs on a tank..full to the top is 1.2 gal. Like I replied to another poster...its an Ok gen for light duty use..just understand that when it breaks nobody has parts. If you buy one remove that stupid screen they put on the end of the exhaust..it will use a little oil while the motor is breaking in and the residue will plug the screen up and unless you know what you are looking at you wont have any fun figuring it out...ya, it will make a little more noise, generators do that and always will until someone figures out how to build one with an electric motor :)
The 100 dollar one my company uses every day for 8-12 hrs for over a year two strokes the only problem with them is it starts to leak gas but we change all that before using them have two never have any problems
That was a great video! And...it got you a new subscriber. Me!!! I bought two of these last year and a coupler that lets me put the two together for more wattage. I haven't used them yet, but plan to keep one on my smaller (Westerly Centaur) sailboat to run a small air-conditioner or freezer-plate type ice-box. I plan to test one out on video soon, using it to operate the blower for a player-piano that I put on a farm wagon to "serenade" the neighbors and cows.
01:13 Not for nothing but regular gasoline is 87 octane in some places. Here in Northern Colorado, it is 85 octane. The CO detector is a real value,. The fact that Harbor Freight is over-priced is amazing and really uncommon but it is what it is. PS: I love your videos and you add enormous value to the DIY outdoor community.
What he don't mention is the warranty. You can beat it to pieces with a hammer and they'll hand you a brand new one. Also you can take it in right before the warranty is up and get a brand new one
Same in Salt Lake City. 85 octane is crap. Costco sells 91 for a lot more money. I bought 89 at a chevron for about 20 cents more, but it gets me about 50 miles farther on a tank of gas. At home i buy maverick 92 octane no alcohol for about a dollar a gallon more. I drain and fill the gas tank when I put it away and every 6 months if i don't use it. . My 20 year old harbor fright inverter generator still runs like new.
Nice review generac makes great items. My sister has them for her backup on her house. Been a solid performer for the past 12 years of it used 7 times.
@@plucky2115 definitely the fridge. Usually when I lose power, it's in the winter time. And I need to run my refrigerator and the fan on my fireplace insert for heat. It has no problem running those two together. I guess it would depend on the size of the AC unit. My advice would be to bump up to the 3000 watt unit which is also extremely quiet. Then you wouldn't have to worry at all.
Thanks for the review. Can you tell me how well corded power tools, with their intermittent power demand, work with inverters? They don’t draw power like a fan or a fridge but are more variable. Is this a problem for either the tools or the inverter? Thanks.
I notice some similarities in the case design of the Preditor and the 1200watt Generac (to the right) in your display there.... 'exactly matching' similarities. Can't vouch for the internals, but id be willing to bet thats not just skin deep.
It's more and more common for one factory in China to make multiple 'brands' but are mostly the same thing - give or take some features like that CO detector.
The reason no oil comes with the machine is to reduce shipping costs, if oil included they would have to pay hazmat fees to ship, so be thankful they are thinking about keeping your cost down.
If you buy in store, they could include a coupon for a small container of oil. That way there wouldn't be any different packaging between online and retail versions. Recently picked up a 3 ton jack from our local store, and it came partially filled with hydraulic oil, but no small container to top it off. The instructions said to top off the oil before first use.
4th - I'm shocked (pun intended) at the price. There will likely be deals and coupons at various times. That's the HF way. Despite the price, it appears to be a solid unit.
That's the tricky part for shoppers. Maybe with a coupon it will be better, but until then we don't know for sure. I really wish they just sold at a regular price all the time.
The price is because of the CO detector - a requirement to get a Consumer Reports recommendation. The "better value" generators mentioned in the video do not have the CO detector. Predator makes the 2000W without a CO detector for about $500.
I bought my AiPower 2000watt/1600 watt Inverter generator about 3 years ago for $389.00...they're still about that price....as good as the Honda that costs $1000.00 or more... and mine came with the "Connect 2 together" already built in...just use the provided cord. I bought a second one because the first one was so Great !
Most likely. Everybody has such brand snobbery but when it comes down to it, the inverter generators all come from one of two factories. And about 80% of them that are 2000watts to 3500 watts are made at the senci factory with the same Yamaha mz80 engine. So go with the cheapest, highest wattage.
I start by looking at small generators like this and progress up the scale to 9500 watt big daddies, do a little dreaming about hooking up my house, and then quit. lol.
I always figured having multiple smaller generators was better than one big one. If one fails, you only need to rethink your power usage, if your big expensive one fails, you're SOL.
I have a 2000 I bought 4 years ago for an off grid cabin. It just passed 6000 hours of trouble free running. Change oil ever 100 hours. It will run over 12 hours on a tank of gas. Had 2 Generacs before. One ran only 800 hours the second 1200 hours before the engine swamped. I will never buy another Gererac, but will highly recommend the Predator 2000. Just understand it limits and service every 100 hours.
I've been running mine for about 7 months with no problems. Running it daily for the last 2 months with no problems and this morning I went out to fire it up and it won't start. Only thing I see is the red overload light comes on for a second and I can hear a short buzz inside. Any ideas? There is nothing plugged in and the gas is full as is the oil... Thanks for any ideas...
It's too much money for the power output.. HF has steadily raised their prices during the past year (more than $100), then they offer periodic discounts.. Several months ago, I purchased the WEN 3800/3500 genny on sale for $650 shipped to the door (now $719)..!! It has more features, higher output (3500 running watts vs 3000watts), is more quiet, easier to service and was $250 less than the HF (now $950)...!!! Although I was going to buy a less expensive WEN (2300/2000 fpr $433) I recognized a good deal and took advantage of it and have not been disappointed.. Good luck, boob toobers, in the coming months/years, you are going to need it...
A lot of stored fuel . Or the gen isn't worth beens. People don't realize how impossible finding fuel and having money to buy is going to buy is in a collapse.
@@tomstulc9143 Try 'beans'........ That'd why I am already stockpiling gas, in addition to solar.. I have already fabricated a fill cap to accept an tank an auxiliary.. The interesting thing is that the larger WEN idles at high output while the smaller gennys must kill themselves to maintain output...!!!
@@pjf7943 I'm planning on putting a propane carb on one of my gens Because propane stores well over time....I'll of course use the Petro while it's available
When they say "pure sine wave power" what is that in opposition to. For one thing, that graph looks closer to a cosine function than a sine function. Is it simply a way to keep your AC power in phase so it is operating at max efficiency?
Some inverters and such will have a modified sine wave, looks like two boxes and others won't be regulated well at all, which doesn't mean it not work but their is a greater chance ion damage in some devices. You can see an example of that in my test on this small gas generator here: th-cam.com/video/ehkIA38Zm2s/w-d-xo.html
Great review but I do have to take issue with the claim that you need a pure sine wave generator to run electronics. That may have been true 10 or 15 years ago but it's the furthest thing from the truth nowadays. Almost all modern electronics including computers and TV sets today utilize high frequency switching power supplies with a wide voltage input range. Just about all electronics today are supplied with switching power supplies that have an input voltage range of between 90 volts and 250 volts and will accept anything from 50 hertz to 60 hertz. You can pretty much feed modern electronics the crappiest dirtiest electricity available and they won't even care. Of course this wasn't always true when electronics utilize transformer style power supplies. Transformers are wound for a specific voltage and anything outside that range can cause problems. Modern electronics use high frequency switching power supplies convert AC to DC and they are very efficient filters so in reality it doesn't matter if you feed them a modified shine wave or a pure sine wave. Now there are devices that modified sine waves can cause problems with for example refrigerator compressors or electric motors with windings in them. The good news is that pure sine wave inverters have become very reasonably priced which wasn't always the case because when they first came out they were extremely expensive. The other problem with inverter generators is that they have an extra stage meaning that they aren't actually as efficient as constant speed generators that use an alternator to generate electricity. Inverter generators are only really practical if you have varying loads and never really need to run them much above 50% load for any extended period of time. Unfortunately if you need to run your inverter generator at 70% of load the majority of time then it will actually burn more gasoline or fuel than a alternator style traditional generator. Again this is because there is an additional stage in the generator known as the inverter and there is significant loss in the inverter sometimes as much as 20% So in general if you have a 2000 w inverter generator and a 2000 watt alternator style generator and you're constantly running them at about 1500 watts the inverter generator will burn about 20% more fuel than the alternator style generator. What that means is that inverter style generators aren't necessarily the best choice if you're planning on using your generator to power your home if the power goes out unless you're very careful on how much you load it down. That explains why generators designed for household backup use are of the alternator style and not inverter generators. With that said the gentleman in the video is correct, generac and Onan pretty much set the standard for generators. I also own the little Onan suitcase generator and it is a very nice generator
I've got a question for you. I have a inverter 2200 w cheap Chinese 80cc generator that was running around 3 amps maximum for six months about eight hours a day. I was running a small appliance & a electric blanket on low. The instruction booklet for the electric blanket come to find out later said do not run with a generator. The generator puts out around 15 amps Max. the generator died the engine Rand and overload like just kept coming on it wouldn't make any power. luckily they replaced my generator at the store but I'm a little skeptical of using another inverter generator. I could hear the generator when it was running on echo idle surging up and down which is hard on it for long periods running the electric blanket and small appliance. I heard that the inverter board burned up in the inverter generator. What do you think?
The predator generators aren't too bad. The best cheap generator though is probably a "Champion"... for 2500w/1850w inverter generator it's like $425 for gas only to $480 for dual fuel. I have the predator 2000w which cost about $100 more than the Champion 2500w and I definitely prefer the Champion. The Champion has a Higher surge rating, uses up fuel a bit better/slower, is a bit quieter, and a tad lighter. Plus, the DC port is a standard car "lighter" socket so I can use more tools in it without needing an adapter... at least, for my purposes, it's better because my tire pump, water pump (for pressure washer), and battery jumper all use a male lighter socket. It doesn't have USB ports, but I have several car adapters laying around to plug into the socket if needed.
I bought one of their "Cheap" tailgating generators a couple years back and used it during a power outage only to find out it wasn't regulated and burned out 3 fans,6 led bulbs and 3 computers when it started surging. Better off waiting to afford one of their larger units for $400 or more. Read carefully before you buy one if it says only good for power tools or if it's actually regulated and can support household items safely, It may cost you way more in replacing damaged items than a bigger unit in the long run.
You ran all that off a 1400w generator? Well no wonder. In a power outage you only need one fan, a mini fridge, one charged phone and that's basically it. Maybe a small AC on a separate generator alone if you got someone in the house that has breathing issues and it's hot out. Everything else theirs no need for. Use candle light at night. I mean I'm from Texas and when we have hurricanes, we never know how long we will be without lights. Went 3 weeks without lights in hurricane Ike. So best use that generator only when you have too for short as time as you have too. Never know how long you may need it.
@@johnfkennedy8281 I never said it was only 1400 watts. I said it wasn't regulated like some of the cheaper Harbor Freight generators are since their mostly made in China and about as dependable as a Republican run Govt. When you put too much faith in it it fails.
@@mlt6322 all generators are regulated in some way. Non inverters use a centrifugal deal on the flywheel that hooks to the carb with a linkage so the motor runs at a specific rpm necessary to make 120 volts and 60 cycles per second Inverter has a stepper motor to control rpm...low load needs less rpm...inverter makes ac voltage, turns it into dc and then back to ac do the 60 cycles per second is made in the electronics...kinda hard to get a non inverter to run at the wrong rpm unless the centrifugal deal is messed up or the linkage to the carb is wrecked or missing
Any chance you’ll be reviewing their new 9500 watt inverter generator it’s supposed to be the Honda eu7000is rival but at only $1799. Not sure if I should go cheap or ball out and pay almost $5000 for the Honda.
depends on your use case. if your planning to use it for more than 5 years then buy the honda. replacement parts will most likely always be available for the honda.
I have a Honda 25 years I just to buy a part it wus a switch Uther than filter or gas hose that's it I used it for 10 days AFTER hurricane it payed for it self time after time buy one's n cry one's If buy a new one i think it be a Honda
Thanks for watching please LIKE & SUBSCRIBE: Generac 2200i & 1200i Generators: amzn.to/2UEsWzs / Harbor Freight: www.harborfreight.com
How much you pay
Heh heh, oil funnel, that's for pissing in a jug while you drive Heh Heh, oil funnel 😜
As other have commented about your use of time most excellent. Short and straight to the point. A huge respect for your viewers. I know for me I only have a limited amount of time I can budget before demands on my time call me away. If I watch a video that does not get right to the point or has a lot of filler I click off. I just don't have that much time to waste. Many thanks for your format and respect of your viewers time.
Nice job..impressive..
So let me get this right if this can run for 7 hours on 1 gallon of gas and it takes a Tesla 20 hours to charge off of 110v. I can go 400 miles on less then 3 gallons of gas? Why are hybrids only getting 50ish miles per gallon? Are Hybrids using more gas then necessary or am I nuts?
No jibber jabber. Straight to business. I love it.
I'm not even looking for a generator but you covered all the curiosities, provided a lot of extra info and completed it in
I live off-grid and use a Predator 2000... Love it! Cost is not just purchase price. I ran 12.5 hours on one tank (1 gal) charging my computer, recharging my drill battery and running my frig and freezer. The 2000 Generac is 1.2 gals and 10.5 hours at 25% load. I average 8 hours of runtime per day. About 240 gallons per year. The Generac would require at least 40 more gallons, a $120 (@ $3.00 per gal.) or more savings. AND! I started my Predator last winter on second pull at -22 Fahrenhite. My brother and nephew have Honda 2200's that won't start at 30 degrees above. I like my Predator, economical, quiet and dependable.
Hell yeah I live off grid too
Can it power enough for a small air conditioner
Power on an ocsilloscope shows its dirty electricity. I wouldnt run a computer with that, good way to wear out your sensitive electronics.
Very helpful. I'm building my business out of a storage unit while being homeless so I need to be able to cook, light up and charge everything. This sounds perfect
Yep. I love mine. I have the 3500. I'm here to look at this one because I'm about to pic that up, too. We use them to power off grid camps.
Have owned a predator for 7 years, 8700 watt max power unit, it has performed flawlessly for several ice and snow storms here in Oklahoma. Highly recommend this brand
That was a very clever way to test the CO detector.
I agree assuming it doesn't fail and has to be bypassed.
Picked up my predator 1400 today, open box brand new just was cut open during pallet removal paid $230! Thanks for the video!
Harbor Freight has raised their prices significantly over the last 18 months. I live in TX and got the 2000W predator inverter generator in 2020 for $430
They stopped sending coupons here. I've got a Menard's few blocks away.
Here in North Georgia too. Emails are the way they do it now. I think
The high prices are partly because idiots buy them, go camping, and bring them back to the store.
OOOOOOOOOF
Biden-Flation strikes again!
I just used my fairly new GP2200i with synthetic oil for a 39+ hour outage, .. it performed flawlessly and had "just the right balance of frugality and power" for comfort .. it powered fridge, all lighting, laptop charger, fan .. an occasional tiny 600w microwave .. and movie night with popcorn during the outage. I feed one 75ft 10-gauge cord split three ways with a 10-gauge splitter to three 25ft 12-gauge lines through the house. One for appliances, one for electronics and the third for a fan and floor lamps. Perfect for a longer outage.
That's awesome to hear. When I first made the review of that people dumped all over it saying it was fake, I was paid. None of that was true, I just saw a lot of good things, and now a year+ late reviews for it are awesome and I am thrilled to see yoru feedback. It's a great generator, especially for that price its unbeatable.
Hi. Do you mind elaborating more on your feed into the house and consumers. So you mentioned one long cord and three smaller. Do you than just hook it up to some stand alone lights or is it somehow tied into the panel to run “all the lighting” like you mentioned in the beginning of your comment. I am trying to figure out the most economical way to run the basics with just enough power. Probably something in the 2200-3500 watts. The smaller the better obviously because it would be easier to haul around and take camping for example.
I love when you post. Keep up the amazing work
I needed a unit th-cam.com/users/postUgkxOTeIs0vv4_9B5hsmnLsk9r930uDQLu_Y that I could store in my home when I wasn't running, so it being light and running on propane were key requirements. I can store the propane tank/bottle outside yet store the generator in my home when it's not in use as I will never put any gas in the engine. It is so light, and on echo mode, which I expect is how it will be used most of the time, it is pretty darned quiet (certainly compared to all the generators I hear in my neighborhood after each power outage).Many of the previous reviews had me concerned that it would be difficult to start on propane, but I have to say, I had absolutely no problem at all. I primed it first using the choke...3 pulls, heard the engine want to start, flipped it to propane, and one more pull and she started. I ran it for 2 hours the first time and plugged it in my fridge. And when I was done, I put the propane tank away and carried the generator to my basement for next time.I could not be happier.
You always offer a wealth of comparison reviews on a variety of equipment. Thanks.
Very nice of you to say thank you I appreciate it
A lot of times I see their 2000w version on sale for $449. I’d buy that instead
Got my eye on that one too
I got a champion 2000 at home depo on sale 400 bucks ,,good little unit
I bought that one and am happy with it. Very quiet when charging my boat. A little louder when I run a small ac .
@@jj-eo7bj I have two champ 2k... I've had issues w both within the first 20hrs
I like how fast you talk as you describe all the details, and the generac price watt compare and contrast at the end.
One of the few reviewers who does good, data based reviews! Harbor Freight and Northern Tool are making themselves non-competitive with their high pricing. I'm surprised at their prices, I'm finding even Home Depot is beating them in price at times.
Vthd....I think it's Volts Total Harmonic Distortion....? THD was something we looked at back in the day of 'stereos'. THD, not THC........
I worked for Sundstrand Aerospace now part of UTC. The main product is aircraft generators. They make both constant speed generators and wild frequency generators with inverters. Both are required to put out a sine wave power. You said this generator is good for powering electronics and showed an accurate and well filtered sine wave. However; you didn't describe the load used. We had to more then double the filtering and make adaptive sine generating software code to deal with a near 100% electronic load. Rectification only draws power in a narrow portion of that sine wave.
I got the 3500, Very impressed, These little Predators are awesome..
You continue to be my best subscription brother!
Not even in the market for a generator, but great information and honesty! Thank you
Glad it was helpful!
I bought a HF 2000 gen. And when it ran, it did a good job. Getting it started was a bear. Even the manual said to pull the rope 20 times with the gas off, then switch gas on and start pulling again. I counted 82 pulls before it finally cranked. I suggest a better quality gen or one with an electric start.
Are you using recreational fuel, ethanol is a death sentence for a generator.
Just spend the extra money and buy a Honda.
@@grominwithrob1339 I buy the ethanol-free gas for my small engines like the gen, lawn mower, weed-eater.
@@mcapps1 I ended up giving the HF to my stepson. He's young and strong so let him yank the starter, lol. I did buy a Honda 2200i and converted it to tri-fuel but use propane most of the time.
I ended up buying a 2200i and I also installed the tri-fuel conversion kit. Propane is the only way to go.
Awesome review without irritating music or long pauses and delays. Thank you!
Scored one today for 180$ used at harbor freight. I think it's great for that price
I’ve had mine now for 4 years starts and runs super good still.
Not this model, its new... 2000 watt? Years dont matter....how many hours?
@Zzst Z BS for what? lol
@Zzst Z damn, caught me another troll and I didnt even have bait on the hook..lol
@Zzst Z ZZ dude, dont you know I am a generator specialist? About half dozen of us live out in the az desert and solar wont run an ac unit at the needed level. Generators out here get ran hard...not like for camp out or a jobsite..more like 24/ 7 for months...we dont even shut off to add fuel, everybody siphons fuel for safety...shut down for oil change every 100 hrs. Full syn oil, it's the only thing that will handle the heat. What is heat? Air temp average 110* up to 120* it might cool down to 90* at night. Most people run high efficiency window mounts...around 1200 watts...the 2000 watt predator works ok light duty/part time use....out here it's the one to have if you buy 2 to last the summer. Harbor freight is happy to warranty it...one time...I have no doubt they tear down and inspect...that's why the second time warranty is a tough deal...I been a mechanic all my life. I real one...24 years GM service tech including a full year college electrical theory and application...I can fix anything, if I can get parts...motor sticks a valve and bends it because they us crappy valve springs I have to spend the time to find a replacement valve measuments... there is no replacement parts available....can even find a pull start assembly...the pull start rope is junk, no big deal I know how to rewind one...it takes an hour just to get it apart...if something goes sour in the inverter....and the entire electrical systems runs through it, it all goes in the dumpster. The motors are Chinese, they use garbage rings, if they wear out the motor is junk because the cylinder walls wear out of round. I can get it bored, no problem..cant get an oversized piston. They are fine and dandy for light use...2000 watt honda will eat it for lunch...one guy been running one going on 3 years, I've cleaned the carb twice and cleaned out the muff one time...it uses a little oil but it will still run 100 hrs without hitting the low oil cut off....everybody runs inverters because recharging lit ion batteries without inverter is a good way to blow up and burn shit down. We figure the honda has a little over 20,000 hrs....that's equal to 10 predators...I know my shit, and my shit says you are the stupid one running your mouth about something you dont know jack shit about.
@@pejoarda772 Ya, i dont know how i hooked hooked him, i wasnt even fishing for trool :}
A crew was using one on a jobsite to run drywall screwguns,I was amazed how quiet it was you could not hear it when our generac was running
I like it. It's been running and it's carrying oil. The start was awsome. Thanks harbor
Own that exact generac for almost a full year, easily 100-200 hours on it. Great machine, very fuel-efficient and quiet.
Where did u buy yours
I got one today at HF on the as is table for $290. Tested it, no issues. Win.
The 1200 Generac has the exact same housing as the Harbor Freight 1400. Different face plate, but it's obviously made by Generac. Great video, great information! Thanks!
Yep its the CALIFORNIA version
Great video review. But if you are not looking for a suitcase style inverter generator I went with the WEN GN400i RV-Ready 4000-Watt Open Frame Inverter Generator for $395.00 to my door and that is not a sale price. Has been a solid performer for me.
Own 2 harbor freight generators. The 8750 absolute beast runs my plasma cutter and welder and the 1400 I just bought in an emergency situation for my 2nd property 2 hrs from home. Save my house from freezing ran both my boiler pumps and the oil furnace when a tree took out my power lines. Super quiet no problems and it was -3f ran like a champ.
I employed a 25% off coupon for this purchase. It"s primary function is to quickly power up my ecoflow solar generators. I have larger gas generators for household appliances.
Yet another highly polished, well presented video...But, I'm surprised that you are not recommending the Wen 2,350W/1,900W Inverter Generator (56235i). At $420 to $440, it seems to be an excellent value albeit with very few amenities. But, it seems to be a good value even if I would like a larger engine than 79.9cc's. As long as I'm wishing, a gas gauge, a power meter, an hour meter and a few more plug options would be nice! Low cost, light weight, quiet, robustly built & fuel efficient- I can hardly ask for more for so little?
I especially like how you went ahead and did the review, but at the end you pointed out a very big flaw in its price and power versus its competition!
Wait a minute????
I bought a harbor fright inverter 2500 watt generator almost 20 years ago. It doesn't get much use except occasional run, change fuel and oil.
It still works.
My wife insisted on a new Honda eu2200i because it was a few lbs lighter and easier for her to start.
I'm really happy with my old harbor fright generator.
Thank you. I live in the desert and need something for cooling if the grid goes down in the summer. The Generac is an affordable emergency option until I can get the solar set up I want.
Thank you for testing the heater. That's what I was wondering about.
Excellent short video my friend! My brother just paid up for a Honda which is a great machine, but your info is going to save me some money on that Generac!
Great video as always. You’re going to hit 1M subscribers soon. 👍
Thank you, very nice of you to say
Great job here ! Even though I detest generators ! Every time I go camping some kermudgion has their generator running that you can hear for miles ! I go camping for the quiet and nature. I leave all the noise that I hate at home ! People spoil everything ! Garbage left behind, screaming children , generators , dogs, and constantly talking loud and their crappy choice in so called "music " !
Because everything in nature is always peace and quiet. Not.
I’ve watched several of your reviews and find them ALL to be very well done and helpful. Thanks !
Never knew General had a 1200. Will be deff looking into one of those
Have you ever looked into how remarkably similar all these small generators are? Seems like they may be a catalog purchase for these companies, or one manufacturer is licensing these out to the others. The predator and small generac look nearly identical, as do the generac, powermate, wesringhouse, and pulsar 2200-2500 watt inverters.
Including the sportsman. They are pretty much identical shaped engines and carburetor. Air filter is the same.
Excellent review. To the point. No wasted time. Great job!
We been using them at work for years. They work well
Build quality is everything with any device like this. the gas engine needs to have a durable cylinder, piston & rod assembly or it will end up like many of the Chinese scooters and motorbikes, with a dead cylinder. and these only have 1. also, the copper windings in the stator are always a concern, that's where a lot of the savings are made as well. same goes with power hand tools. I ended up with a Briggs because of the USA design and the known-for cast iron cylinder sleeve, not aluminum or other alloys which won't last. as long as I want it to anyway. I paid $600 for a 2000W and I know it's a good build. it's been over 10 years, no issues.
Nice review. Seems like a solid product that may be worth it when it hits the tent/clearance sales.
I own an AiPower 2300/1800 inverter Gen(Red Case) purchased for $380 before taxes. It powered two refrigerators, 2 t.v.s, 2 pcs, gateway and modem, It we needed to use the coffemaker or microwave, temporarily, I just unplugged the refrigerators, just to play safe and plugged them back in when done making coffee or warming food. Because it is gear driven, not belt driven, it is about 4 to 8 pounds heavier than comparable Hondas and other inverter gens. With the telescopic handle, it is as balanced and easy to move about as airport luggage with wheels. Doing a dead lift into the back of the pick up truck, uuuuh, a slightly different matter. At 50lbs, It may take a two person life, if you have strength or back issues. As mentioned below, the parallel cables will Connect it to another AiPower or easily to any other brand, inverter gen. Unless things have changed it came with a 3 year warranty. AiPower also sells a Yamaha powered inverter gen(Blue Case) which comes with a 2 year warranty.
This is not to talk against the Predator brand. The 1400 would be inadequate for my needs. I know of a few people who have the 7500 and larger versions and are happy with them. It would be recommended to get the extended warranty. The cost will save a lot of headaches on the back end. Customers who had to use it, found Harbor Freight easy to work with for exchanges.
thanks for taking us along.!! Great video - love your posts.!!
Clear, succinct and objective.
► Thanks for the test. I was planning to buy a predator. Now I have more information to make a better decision.
Glad I could help
The most important thing is how much gas it holds and how much it burns in that 7 hours.
.65 gallons & Up to 7 hrs, both were included in the video also
The 2000 watt predator will push a 1100 watt window mount ac and a couple led lights around 4 hrs running the ac on medium and the compressor engaged all the time...I believe spec is .26 gal per hour at 50% load..so it runs a bit better than spec. Running basic low volt lights in my mo ho with the refer running on propane and the batteries fully charged it will run over 10 hrs on a tank..full to the top is 1.2 gal. Like I replied to another poster...its an Ok gen for light duty use..just understand that when it breaks nobody has parts. If you buy one remove that stupid screen they put on the end of the exhaust..it will use a little oil while the motor is breaking in and the residue will plug the screen up and unless you know what you are looking at you wont have any fun figuring it out...ya, it will make a little more noise, generators do that and always will until someone figures out how to build one with an electric motor :)
@@blackbirdxx928 i was told the predator can use honda parts interchangeably.
The 100 dollar one my company uses every day for 8-12 hrs for over a year two strokes the only problem with them is it starts to leak gas but we change all that before using them have two never have any problems
That was a great video! And...it got you a new subscriber. Me!!! I bought two of these last year and a coupler that lets me put the two together for more wattage. I haven't used them yet, but plan to keep one on my smaller (Westerly Centaur) sailboat to run a small air-conditioner or freezer-plate type ice-box. I plan to test one out on video soon, using it to operate the blower for a player-piano that I put on a farm wagon to "serenade" the neighbors and cows.
I have seen the predator first hand and it is a good generator. It can handle 10 amps continuous.
I have one of these and it is a great unit. I highly recommend this unit.
01:13 Not for nothing but regular gasoline is 87 octane in some places. Here in Northern Colorado, it is 85 octane. The CO detector is a real value,. The fact that Harbor Freight is over-priced is amazing and really uncommon but it is what it is. PS: I love your videos and you add enormous value to the DIY outdoor community.
Naw there not over priced and they have good coupon deals! Buy a Honda generator of this sort and get back with me!
What he don't mention is the warranty. You can beat it to pieces with a hammer and they'll hand you a brand new one. Also you can take it in right before the warranty is up and get a brand new one
Same in Salt Lake City.
85 octane is crap. Costco sells 91 for a lot more money.
I bought 89 at a chevron for about 20 cents more, but it gets me about 50 miles farther on a tank of gas.
At home i buy maverick 92 octane no alcohol for about a dollar a gallon more. I drain and fill the gas tank when I put it away and every 6 months if i don't use it. .
My 20 year old harbor fright inverter generator still runs like new.
Ton of info and well communicated. Awesome work my man. Just subscribed. 👍🏻
Appreciate that
Nice review generac makes great items. My sister has them for her backup on her house. Been a solid performer for the past 12 years of it used 7 times.
can you plug a refrigerator and window AC unit?
that CO2 shut off test was legit!
I appreciate it. I had to do the same test on their big generator, had to improvise that one! th-cam.com/video/TfnMW1jwQEs/w-d-xo.html
We recently purchased one for Beryl. What a great idea 😊
I bought a 2000w one of these 4 years ago. Still works great. Keep up on oil changes, should last a long time.
can you plug a refrigerator and window AC unit if needed?
@@plucky2115 definitely the fridge. Usually when I lose power, it's in the winter time. And I need to run my refrigerator and the fan on my fireplace insert for heat. It has no problem running those two together. I guess it would depend on the size of the AC unit. My advice would be to bump up to the 3000 watt unit which is also extremely quiet. Then you wouldn't have to worry at all.
@@corywilliams1698 thank you 👍 that gives me an idea with a 2000w my AC UNIT shows 450 watt.
Very good review, thanks because I'm considering this purchase, now I'm going to wait.
I have the 2000 and love it ran my ac all Summer with it. I broke one arm and was still able to do the oil change on it.
Thanks for the review. Can you tell me how well corded power tools, with their intermittent power demand, work with inverters? They don’t draw power like a fan or a fridge but are more variable. Is this a problem for either the tools or the inverter? Thanks.
I notice some similarities in the case design of the Preditor and the 1200watt Generac (to the right) in your display there.... 'exactly matching' similarities. Can't vouch for the internals, but id be willing to bet thats not just skin deep.
It's more and more common for one factory in China to make multiple 'brands' but are mostly the same thing - give or take some features like that CO detector.
Snap-On box, Tek scope, damn, I'm jealous. Great video.
Very nice presentation, sir. Professional, good tempo, comprehensive. Super nice job, sir.
Your videos, by far, are the highest quality on TH-cam.
I really appreciate that thank you
I keep one of these for my Amateur Radio station……works perfect!
Ticks a lot of box's especially with that monoxide cut off. Question does the Generac have a monoxide sensor?
Great breakdown as always. 🍻👏👏
Yes it does.
Excellent video. Thank you for all of that information and your suggestions at the end. You helped me to decide.
The reason no oil comes with the machine is to reduce shipping costs, if oil included they would have to pay hazmat fees to ship, so be thankful they are thinking about keeping your cost down.
If you buy in store, they could include a coupon for a small container of oil. That way there wouldn't be any different packaging between online and retail versions. Recently picked up a 3 ton jack from our local store, and it came partially filled with hydraulic oil, but no small container to top it off. The instructions said to top off the oil before first use.
4th - I'm shocked (pun intended) at the price. There will likely be deals and coupons at various times. That's the HF way. Despite the price, it appears to be a solid unit.
That's the tricky part for shoppers. Maybe with a coupon it will be better, but until then we don't know for sure. I really wish they just sold at a regular price all the time.
Just my $.02, but I think it would be wiser to add a few bucks and get the predator 2000w
The price is because of the CO detector - a requirement to get a Consumer Reports recommendation. The "better value" generators mentioned in the video do not have the CO detector. Predator makes the 2000W without a CO detector for about $500.
@@stephenj4937 yep, but that doesn’t mean anything in my world. They can keep it and I’ll take the better value
They don't do coupons, got join club.
I bought my AiPower 2000watt/1600 watt Inverter generator about 3 years ago for $389.00...they're still about that price....as good as the Honda that costs $1000.00 or more... and mine came with the "Connect 2 together" already built in...just use the provided cord. I bought a second one because the first one was so Great !
Where did you buy yours? Looking for an upgrade
@@darrelmartin8261
Amazon..Unfortunately !
I just checked and Lowes has them at $398.00.
@@Snailmailtrucker Beautiful... thank you sir!!
@@darrelmartin8261
No problem...happy to help !
Outstanding review, very in-depth and of high quality. Thank you.
Wow, side-by-side the case looks identical to the Generac 1200. I wonder if they’re made in the same factory.
Most likely. Everybody has such brand snobbery but when it comes down to it, the inverter generators all come from one of two factories. And about 80% of them that are 2000watts to 3500 watts are made at the senci factory with the same Yamaha mz80 engine. So go with the cheapest, highest wattage.
Very good video, informative with no BS. Thanks!
I start by looking at small generators like this and progress up the scale to 9500 watt big daddies, do a little dreaming about hooking up my house, and then quit. lol.
I always figured having multiple smaller generators was better than one big one. If one fails, you only need to rethink your power usage, if your big expensive one fails, you're SOL.
I have a 2000 I bought 4 years ago for an off grid cabin. It just passed 6000 hours of trouble free running. Change oil ever 100 hours. It will run over 12 hours on a tank of gas. Had 2 Generacs before. One ran only 800 hours the second 1200 hours before the engine swamped. I will never buy another Gererac, but will highly recommend the Predator 2000.
Just understand it limits and service every 100 hours.
What kind of load does it push?
Nice, well done, ty. 👍🏽👍🏼👍🏾👍🏻
Great quality video. Amazing review you did things I didn’t think of thanks. Love it
Great review, thanks for it.
The Tek PA1000 is a great power meter for testing generators and inverters.
It should be. They cost nearly $4K.
Absolute professional video. Subscribed.
Great video. I searched for the Generac generators and could not find them at the price you noted. Especially the 1200.
amzn.to/2UEsWzs
I've been running mine for about 7 months with no problems. Running it daily for the last 2 months with no problems and this morning I went out to fire it up and it won't start. Only thing I see is the red overload light comes on for a second and I can hear a short buzz inside.
Any ideas?
There is nothing plugged in and the gas is full as is the oil...
Thanks for any ideas...
It's too much money for the power output.. HF has steadily raised their prices during the past year (more than $100), then they offer periodic discounts.. Several months ago, I purchased the WEN 3800/3500 genny on sale for $650 shipped to the door (now $719)..!! It has more features, higher output (3500 running watts vs 3000watts), is more quiet, easier to service and was $250 less than the HF (now $950)...!!! Although I was going to buy a less expensive WEN (2300/2000 fpr $433) I recognized a good deal and took advantage of it and have not been disappointed.. Good luck, boob toobers, in the coming months/years, you are going to need it...
A lot of stored fuel . Or the gen isn't worth beens. People don't realize how impossible finding fuel and having money to buy is going to buy is in a collapse.
@@tomstulc9143 Try 'beans'........ That'd why I am already stockpiling gas, in addition to solar.. I have already fabricated a fill cap to accept an tank an auxiliary.. The interesting thing is that the larger WEN idles at high output while the smaller gennys must kill themselves to maintain output...!!!
@@pjf7943 I'm planning on putting a propane carb on one of my gens
Because propane stores well over time....I'll of course use the Petro while it's available
When they say "pure sine wave power" what is that in opposition to. For one thing, that graph looks closer to a cosine function than a sine function. Is it simply a way to keep your AC power in phase so it is operating at max efficiency?
Some inverters and such will have a modified sine wave, looks like two boxes and others won't be regulated well at all, which doesn't mean it not work but their is a greater chance ion damage in some devices. You can see an example of that in my test on this small gas generator here: th-cam.com/video/ehkIA38Zm2s/w-d-xo.html
looking for a generator for an outdoor show and this was super helpful thank you! ✨
Very concise and complete.
Oh wow, good review! Is your day job in electronics or something?
I want to know the answer to this too.
I live in a 1room apartment in the city, in an European country with extreme reliable power supply. After watching this clip, maybe i need a generator
Great review but I do have to take issue with the claim that you need a pure sine wave generator to run electronics. That may have been true 10 or 15 years ago but it's the furthest thing from the truth nowadays.
Almost all modern electronics including computers and TV sets today utilize high frequency switching power supplies with a wide voltage input range.
Just about all electronics today are supplied with switching power supplies that have an input voltage range of between 90 volts and 250 volts and will accept anything from 50 hertz to 60 hertz.
You can pretty much feed modern electronics the crappiest dirtiest electricity available and they won't even care.
Of course this wasn't always true when electronics utilize transformer style power supplies.
Transformers are wound for a specific voltage and anything outside that range can cause problems.
Modern electronics use high frequency switching power supplies convert AC to DC and they are very efficient filters so in reality it doesn't matter if you feed them a modified shine wave or a pure sine wave.
Now there are devices that modified sine waves can cause problems with for example refrigerator compressors or electric motors with windings in them.
The good news is that pure sine wave inverters have become very reasonably priced which wasn't always the case because when they first came out they were extremely expensive.
The other problem with inverter generators is that they have an extra stage meaning that they aren't actually as efficient as constant speed generators that use an alternator to generate electricity.
Inverter generators are only really practical if you have varying loads and never really need to run them much above 50% load for any extended period of time.
Unfortunately if you need to run your inverter generator at 70% of load the majority of time then it will actually burn more gasoline or fuel than a alternator style traditional generator.
Again this is because there is an additional stage in the generator known as the inverter and there is significant loss in the inverter sometimes as much as 20%
So in general if you have a 2000 w inverter generator and a 2000 watt alternator style generator and you're constantly running them at about 1500 watts the inverter generator will burn about 20% more fuel than the alternator style generator.
What that means is that inverter style generators aren't necessarily the best choice if you're planning on using your generator to power your home if the power goes out unless you're very careful on how much you load it down.
That explains why generators designed for household backup use are of the alternator style and not inverter generators.
With that said the gentleman in the video is correct, generac and Onan pretty much set the standard for generators. I also own the little Onan suitcase generator and it is a very nice generator
I've got a question for you. I have a inverter 2200 w cheap Chinese 80cc generator that was running around 3 amps maximum for six months about eight hours a day. I was running a small appliance & a electric blanket on low. The instruction booklet for the electric blanket come to find out later said do not run with a generator. The generator puts out around 15 amps Max. the generator died the engine Rand and overload like just kept coming on it wouldn't make any power. luckily they replaced my generator at the store but I'm a little skeptical of using another inverter generator. I could hear the generator when it was running on echo idle surging up and down which is hard on it for long periods running the electric blanket and small appliance. I heard that the inverter board burned up in the inverter generator. What do you think?
The predator generators aren't too bad. The best cheap generator though is probably a "Champion"... for 2500w/1850w inverter generator it's like $425 for gas only to $480 for dual fuel. I have the predator 2000w which cost about $100 more than the Champion 2500w and I definitely prefer the Champion. The Champion has a Higher surge rating, uses up fuel a bit better/slower, is a bit quieter, and a tad lighter. Plus, the DC port is a standard car "lighter" socket so I can use more tools in it without needing an adapter... at least, for my purposes, it's better because my tire pump, water pump (for pressure washer), and battery jumper all use a male lighter socket. It doesn't have USB ports, but I have several car adapters laying around to plug into the socket if needed.
I bought one of their "Cheap" tailgating generators a couple years back and used it during a power outage only to find out it wasn't regulated and burned out 3 fans,6 led bulbs and 3 computers when it started surging. Better off waiting to afford one of their larger units for $400 or more. Read carefully before you buy one if it says only good for power tools or if it's actually regulated and can support household items safely, It may cost you way more in replacing damaged items than a bigger unit in the long run.
Was it an inverter?
You ran all that off a 1400w generator? Well no wonder. In a power outage you only need one fan, a mini fridge, one charged phone and that's basically it. Maybe a small AC on a separate generator alone if you got someone in the house that has breathing issues and it's hot out. Everything else theirs no need for. Use candle light at night. I mean I'm from Texas and when we have hurricanes, we never know how long we will be without lights. Went 3 weeks without lights in hurricane Ike. So best use that generator only when you have too for short as time as you have too. Never know how long you may need it.
Plus not to mention the crazy gas shortages we get in a hurricane.
@@johnfkennedy8281 I never said it was only 1400 watts. I said it wasn't regulated like some of the cheaper Harbor Freight generators are since their mostly made in China and about as dependable as a Republican run Govt. When you put too much faith in it it fails.
@@mlt6322 all generators are regulated in some way. Non inverters use a centrifugal deal on the flywheel that hooks to the carb with a linkage so the motor runs at a specific rpm necessary to make 120 volts and 60 cycles per second
Inverter has a stepper motor to control rpm...low load needs less rpm...inverter makes ac voltage, turns it into dc and then back to ac do the 60 cycles per second is made in the electronics...kinda hard to get a non inverter to run at the wrong rpm unless the centrifugal deal is messed up or the linkage to the carb is wrecked or missing
Thanks for the great review and suggestions.
Should I get this one for mobile detailing or a stronger one?
Great video.can use a window Air conditioning unit wit this generator?
Any chance you’ll be reviewing their new 9500 watt inverter generator it’s supposed to be the Honda eu7000is rival but at only $1799. Not sure if I should go cheap or ball out and pay almost $5000 for the Honda.
Buy the Honda. It will last a lifetime.
depends on your use case. if your planning to use it for more than 5 years then buy the honda. replacement parts will most likely always be available for the honda.
I have a Honda 25 years I just to buy a part it wus a switch
Uther than filter or gas hose that's it
I used it for 10 days AFTER hurricane it payed for it self time after time buy one's n cry one's
If buy a new one i think it be a Honda
well made video, just had pause and say that. awesome