Generators Reviews

This inverter version of Yamaha's 1000 watt generator is great. It is super quiet, super light and seems to run forever on a tank of gas. I don't really understand this "inverter" technology, but it is obviously the future for generators. Apparently this generator has a "brain" and gears up or down to only produce the amount of power called for. It is really cool. I also have Yamaha's bigger inverter model, the 2800 watt. We had 2 screwguns, a 500 watt light and a radio on the 2800 watt and it was barely breaking a sweat. This 1000i is the little brother to that great generator. It's worth the few extra bucks it cost over the traditional 1000 watt generators.

I just received the 4000XL, ordered from Amazon and delivered by UPS. I didn't notice any damage until after assembly and adding oil and gas. Upon trying to start the unit, the recoil starter was difficult and didn't retract. I then noticed the housing was severly bent due to a sharp blow from the bottom in shipping. Amazon clearly states the unit can't be returned, and a good quick email from them provided me with a phone number for spport and a local service center. Unfortunately, I had been trying that number for 2 days, without success. The eService web site given in a recorded message goes to a page that says their registration expired 6/10. I left a voicemail and a day later got a curt call from a lady who explained they (Briggs & Stratton) made the generator and were responsible for everything EXCEPT the engine, which is made by Generac and they couldn't help me with my questions. (Perhaps if the shipping damage had been to the part they did make they would help?) She said Generac in Florida was handled by Dixie Sales and gave me their number. The gentleman at Dixie was the most helpful person so far, but explained they sell parts and don't get involved in warranty or shipping issues. Generac is impossible to get ahold of, and no one - Amazon, B&S, or Generac - seems willing to help with shipping damage claims. The B&S rep told me to get it fixed myself (hauling the 149 lb. unit to a repair center 15 miles away) and file a claim for damages with UPS. The UPS claims form on their website requires shipper information I do not have.

So, with much frustration, I went home and pulled the recoil starter off the side of the generator. I put it on a bench and pounded it out with a hammer to the point where the recoil starter would retract easily. I bolted it back on, and the generator started on the second pull. I am very fortunate the spindle wasn't damaged. I may update this after using the generator for a while, but now I am too frustrated by a lack of support from anyone to ever recommend buying a Generac unit. Any later maintence support will be no better handled, I'm sure.

The unit does come with a spare spark plug and oil filter, as well as a storage cover. The 12 volt outlet is nice to have, and the regulation was good. It is fairly noisy, but not more so than my B&S power washer. We have a hurricane entering the Gulf in a few days. I'm glad to have it running, but hope it isn't needed.

Met all expectations - a terrific value - order and delivery
processed without a hitch - would definitely recommend for
purchase.

This is one of the longest lived generators on the market, having been produced in pretty much the same form for at least 10-12 years, and sold by several other companies with different badging. Good reason. It works very well and it is a great value.

Don't waste your money on the 4000EXL version offered by HD for much more $$$. My manual start version(4000XL) has always started in 2 pulls or less. It is not quiet, but is quieter than most, and far quiteter than all but Honda or Yamaha units costing 3X as much. Unit specs seem to be slightly conservative. I have found this unit to perform equally with 2 other generators I own, both of which are rated at 5000 watts continuous/6800 surge. The Generac has a longer run time than either of them, has much more stable voltage output(!!!), and has automatic idle control. It is the better generator but it cost a lot less. I'm very happy.

I have to wonder about the reviewers that talked about immediate, massive failures. Briggs & Stratton have been making small engines for years and you would be hard pressed to find more proven technology or experience. I have had no problems at all with engine or generator head.

I bought this generator to go camping about two months before Hurricane Ivan. It powered my house and a neighbors, for 167 hours straight, stopping only long enough to add fuel. 2.5 gallons lasts 12-13 hours. This generator is so quiet, we had to go out and check on it! At campgrounds, we always get great comments on out quiet little generator. It powers our AC without any issues. At home, I have charged the batteries in my Jeep and my son's car. It is a trickle charge so it doesn't charge right away, but it has never failed. The only negative I have is, it is heavy. At over 160 pounds, it is difficult to transport it but it does come with wheels that makes it easy to roll around.

I'm extremely satisfied with this generator; it is amazingly quiet to run (we keep it secured in the truck bed and the cord reaches the power connection on our Airstream perfectly; the generator hums away and we're virtually unaware that it's running.) No complaints about what turned out to be a substantial wait for delivery - it's reasonable to expect a delay for a new product in high demand, both due to hurricane recovery needs at the time we ordered it and the fact that it's a great unit.

This generator is state of the art. It is built like a good car or personal watercraft if you know what I mean. It looks good on the outside and when you open the service panels you can tell the quality. It is extremely quiet, clean/steady power and has built-in handles and wheels. The old saying "you get what you pay for" is definitely true here. I was buying the cheap $400-600 generators available everywhere and they would last six to twelve months. Buy this one and you won't be wasting your money as I did before I learned an expensive lesson. Most folks know Yamaha has become one of the names you can trust and this generator is no exception. I've even nicknamed mine "R2D2", pretty lame I know. :)

The generator did sustain some shipping damage (cracked cover for bearing carrier). We bought this through Amazon directly and was shipped by ABF. The unit took a little longer to get here as it was routed to Detroit instead of Florida where we live. The broken cover did not affect operation. Amazon has said it will order and ship a new part. They do not accept returns of generators (or other gas powered products) even when they have not been used, so be sure you want it before you buy it.

After installing the wheel kit and handle (in less than 15 minutes), I filled the oil and gas and started the unit with 1 easy pull. The generator is loud, but no more than others this size. It has a large, easy to fill gas tank on top with an easy to read gas gauge. The oil fill opening is rather small and close to the ground, but a small funnel helped prevent spills.

The only other negatives is that it does not have a throttle control (only one setting "run") and no oil dip stick. You just have to fill the oil fill spout up to the top till almost overflowing.

We bought this for potential power outages after hurricanes. Hopefully, we will not need to use it too much!

I bought the same generator at Costo last year for $529.00. Check it out I am telling you the truth.

This came within 4 days of purchase and ready to go after approx 10 mins of installing the handle,wheels and the rubber vibration feet. Started after about half a pull and runs perfect. I bought it mainly for use in my travel trailer when we go camping and it fits throught the door with wheels on, perfectly with room to spare. For a generator that puts out this much power under a load of a circular saw and powering my travel trailer, with the A/C on it is surprisingly quiter than I would have thought. Actually much quiter than alot of other generators I've heard. Buy it and you'll be happy.

I couldn't wait to give this generator a run. I received it from UPS and followed the instructions to a "T". I added the oil to the manufacture's specification and ran it for about 5 minutes. The oil light fluttered and the unit shut down. (as it is suppose to in a low oil condition). I picked the unit up to see if there was something obvious and there was engine oil all over my driveway.

I called the company I ordered it from and they said the only thing it could be was the oil sensor was possibly loose from the factory. I took the unit apart and the sensor was fine. I went ahead and changed the O ring anyway and ran it again... same problem.

I completely removed the generator and engine from the housing (a job in itself) I added more oil and started the engine to see if I could tell were the oil was comming from.

There are 7 bolts that hold the crank case together and 4 of them were not installed.

Quality control must have had the day off when this unit went through the assembly line.

I took it to the nearest Yamaha dealer for repairs (warranty) however it will be in the shop for 2 weeks to install 4 bolts.

Maybe I will change the rating on this item... If I ever get the chance to use it. For now I'm very disappointed.

A smooth running, quiet and efficient little gem, perfect for dry camping in our Vintage Airstream trailer. I highly recommend it, as well as Amazon being the place to buy it.

Purrs like a kitten. Anyone looking for an emergency generator that won't drive your neighbors nuts, can't go wrong with Yamaha's EF1000. This generator is so easy to start that even my daughter who weighs in at 95lbs has no trouble firing it up.

It's designed to run appliances like TV's, lights etc., so don't expect it to run your microwave (small microwave is O.K.) or washing machine.

Grey Davis, give me your worst, I'm ready!

I have only tested the unit using a very light load but it seems to work very well. The auto idle feature kicks in instantly when a load is presented. The unit does have a tendancy to idle up & down slightly when no load is present but runs smoothly when a given a load. It is very quiet when running (compared to other 5kw generators). I am converting my unit to run tri-fuel ($397 extra from USCarbs.com) since this thing can guzzle gas like an SUV at full load and after Katrina hit, gasoline was being rationed out at $20 a visit. With a 16 gallon tank $20 will only fill it to half a tank. I also opted to interface my generator with a manual transfer switch which allows me a little more flexability than the automatic transfer switch and cheaper installation. There's several electrical outlets and wiring options on the generator panel. I don't give the unit 5 stars since a true Gaurdian phone customer service/tech support doesn't seem to exist. If it needs service you must contact an authorized Generac/Gaurdian dealer in your area for service and 99.9% of the time if you did not buy the unit from them they are reluctant to help. At best you may opt to have an authorized dealer install your transfer switch which may obligate them to help you if your generator requires servicing.

I would reccomend this generator to anyone as it performed flawless for three and a half day of use while I had no power.

Just got this generator today. I bought this unit because of the high surge wattage rating figuring that I could hook my 15A compressor up to it.

Solid unit with easy start engine, 1 pull was all it took after taking it out of the box and filling it with oil and gas. Did some initial testing and set the idle control to ON and plugged in a 3/8 drill and power was immediately there when I pulled the trigger on the drill. Unplugged the drill and plugged in my Porter-Cable 3HP/4Gal double stack 135psi compressor. Turned on the compressor and it tripped the GFCI breaker in about 2 seconds. This compressor NEVER trips the 15A circuit in my house that I usually have it plugged into. However, according to the manual, they recommend turning off the idle control when powering large motors. So I flipped the idle off and turned the compressor back on and away I went with no tripped breaker. So much for getting those 9000 surge watts from idle. Noise from the generator was tolerable.

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Works great for my emergency needs, house power backup. Just be sure you read the instructions. If you are trying to run 1 HP or greater motors from this unit as one reviewer did you may have issues. Honda recommends 5500 W RATED not MAX Power for 1 HP motors much less a 3 HP motor as these type motors require at least three times (3X) greater starting power than they do running power! If you match your LOAD requirements and types of loads e.g. resistive loads (toasters, hot plates, convention ovens, welders), reactive loads (refrigerators, washers, air compressors, well pumps)to manufacturer's instructions you can find the right size generator for your needs and avoid problems. This generator provides good consistant power within the range for which is rated.

purchased a 12 k generator model #4456-3 from amazon on 09/20/05in which I received it in sometime in early October 05 I had done the install myself in mid to late November 05 everything was working fine until mid to late march I notice that the generator was not doing it's self test I did a manual restart in which it started for about 2 seconds and cut out the over speed light came on and it shut down so I called Gen tech . They came out to check the problem and they found out it was the governor gear went bad.so they said they were going to replace it with a new one .To find out that They exchanged it for a remanufactured one. I was a little mad to find this out after all I thought I purchased a new not a remanufactured one for $2,600 dollars it was only used for 2 months and it had only about 1 hours run time. Your warranty does not state in the back of your book that they will exchange it for a remanufactured one not a new one.this is very deceiving to the public it should be stated to let people know what to expect .I thought it would be exchange for a NEW one. So now that they exchange my generator with this remanufactured one on 6/2/06 model # 4456r-3 this one is popping out the carburetor so I called 0n 6/02/06 gentech to find out if this was normal they said no.so I also called Generac to find out that if the popping was normal and two people said it was not.so your department told me to write a
letter to exchange this for a new one. also when I got this remanufactured generator generac say's how they go through them but this one was missing an air filter. as for there warrenty there is none. i spoke with generac on 6 different times they do not call you bacK.

Got it last year & installed professionally. Directions are good enough you can do it yourself on the elect.. If you don't already have gas you'll pay alot extra for install-you'll have to buy tanks (propane) or get nat. gas lines run. Unit comes on weekly to charge its battery. Had a power outage & it came on automatically after 10 sec.- whole house (3 ton AC & all)was running fine. Shut itself down when power came on. Has done this a few times during storms without delay or problems. I'm pleased so far & don't seem to have any problems.

Just to add a few things to the above reviews....This generator is NOT built to be used 24/7 - 365 days a year. But if your power goes out once or twice a year it should save your [...], or in my case about $50K in home theater equipment and maybe another $15K in tools. Like a lot of people, quite often there's no one home at my house when everyone is at work and at school. What do you do if the power goes out? You could have a basement full of water in a matter of minutes during a heavy downpour if your sump and ejector lose power. Sure you have insurance, but do you really want to go throught the hassel of replacing everything in a flooded basement? If you have a decent level of experience you should be able to install this unit yourself. If you're going to use NG (I did) you'll have to run a supply pipe with shut-off out to within a foot of the unit. This, of couse, could involve drilling through the brick on the outside of your house along with some 2" by. Everything is provided to hook the transfer switch to your breaker box but, once again, you will have to mount the box and possibly move the whip etc. All easy enought to do, but you do have to know what you're doing - and it will take the better part of a Saturday. A few more things - you'll have to buy a car battery to start the unit ($60 - $80 depending on the size of your generator), all of the pipe and shut-offs etc. to supply the NG, some sort of gravel/river rock to set the pad on and a breaker for your electrical box. I have the 15K unit so I needed a 70 amp Homeline breaker from Square D to fit my breaker box. Not a very easy size/model to find, but I was able to get one online for about $15. A good Fluke meter will tell you if the voltage and Hertz are within specs.I haven't had to use it, but it does work fine - it 'exercises' every week at 11:30 am - and it is supplying the correct voltage to all of the appliances hooked to it. I consider it cheap insurance for a basement full of 'stuff'.

I bought this model in September 2003 as a back up generator to run through a generator transfer station. After repeated failures, a replacement generator and exceptionally bad warranty service, I think I finally have a generator that works. My first generator would not power anything from half of the outlets and the large outlet used for a generator transfer station (a station equipped with wattage meters and was tested with a neighbor's less powerful generator- his generator was able handle regular and full surge test needs). Unable to get a real person on the Porter-Cable customer service number, I took my generator to the closest listed warranty service shop...after several months of excuses, including no one at Porter-Cable would call the mechanic to tell them how to fix it, and very poor customer service, I attempted to contact a real person at Porter-Cable...next to impossible. I then contacted Amazon by email to see if they could contact Porter-Cable. Instead, Amazon arranged to ship me a new unit and take the old one back, with no charge to me....incredible! Kudos to Amazon! The second generator operated for three hours (during a power outage) and started to die. Two different warranty service shops, another few months and several pick-ups/drop offs later (during the work day, naturally), I am told it will finally run properly. I hope so, as it is now out of warranty. So, in over two years, my generator has been able to run properly for a total of four hours and I was unable to get the attention of Porter-Cable to help fix either of these two poorly-made products. I even took the time to write a letter to the president of Porter-Cable detailing every issue and problem...no answer in two months. I hesitate to write a bad review for any products (and have not done so up to this point), but in this case, I feel I need to share "after sale" issues for anyone who receives a poorly-made generator that they are going to trust to provide power in an emergency situation...with all the service trips and time spent, it would have been cheaper to pay twice as much (I paid $700) and have a generator I could trust (I don't trust this one anymore, not a great feeling to have about an emergency back-up generator). The only shining star in this tale is Amazon, who went well beyond the call of duty to help me.

After waiting weeks for the generator to arrive, I finally have it. Allow around 2 hours to put it together, especially if you're going to put on the wheel kit. You'll have to flip the generator on its side, and sit the motor on a 1X piece of wood ( so you don't damage it ), while you unscrew one of the dampners to attach one of the wheels - it seems very hackish on Porter Cable's part to do it this way (it's really a rebranded Briggs & Straton). Once I had the wheel kit assembled, it was a matter of adding the oil and the gas, and two pulls of the string was all it took to start the generator for the first time. The weekend after assembly, I took the generator out for some use in the field. I was out building a barn with some help. We were both using tools and charging our batteries at the same time, and it was smooth sailing. You will need to change the oil after the first 2 hours of use, which I just did, and then every 50 hours I think. I will update the review with some long term results once I have them, but so far so good. Too bad amazon wont let me change the # of stars I gave this product.

As an engineer, I'm obsessed with numbers and choosing a generator presents the perfect opportunity to play with them. I won't bother you with a lot of technical details, but this is the generator I chose after 4 months of deep, deep researching.

First criteria: my needs. I wanted to power a 3 bedroom home with a finished basement through the harsh winters in Maine. Here are the devices I setup as an absolute necessity to power up during an emergency:
1) Water well pump, 2) Furnace blower, 3) Basement Sump Pump, and 4) Refrigerator. Here are the "good-to-haves": 5) lights in the kitchen and main living room, 6) pellet stove, 7) oven range. And, finally, just the "nice-to-haves": 8) TV, 9) microwave oven, 10) computer. And here's what gets excluded: all the 2nd floor in the house, garage door opener, bedroom lights, everything else not listed above.

By adding the must-haves and nice-to-haves, a 5500 W generator takes care of business. One of my concerns: since I have a lot of electric motors to start (well & sump pumps, refrigerator, furnace blower) this requires a good surge capacity from the generator. In case you don't know, a motor takes a lot of electricity to start up, between 3 to 5 times (!) over their normal running wattage. Here's the caveat: not all motors should start at the same time, so then determining what your surge wattage is becomes an "art". Consumer Reports simply tells you to ignore the surge wattage, since all the generators they tested started their appliances with no problem. Well, the thing is, they don't mention what appliances they tested and how they started them (manual selective start or just regular use?). So, their point is taken, but surge wattage can't be simply ignored (it shouldn't be the only criteria to buy a bigger generator, though).

Well, this generator, with a 9000 W surge, is the biggest I've seen in all 5500 models -- it beats them all. So, this model is perfect for me, as it meets the criteria I've selected above. It even powers my computer and TV (with surge protector) if the oven range is turned off.

This is very important: if you turn your generator on, you're in "emergency mode". This means, you lose some comfort, some conveniences. You just try to keep the inconveniences at a minimum. Well, if you don't agree with my assessment above, you're looking for the wrong type of generator. If you want to power your entire house and live as if power wasn't lost, you need a stand-by generator, not a portable one. Of course, they cost a lot more money (good and powerful ones start at over 10,000 bucks). That's a lot of money to pay not to be inconvenienced. Now, since you're looking for portable ones (I assume so since you read this review so far), you'll have to give up something. Basically, you can't throw a pot roast party for 20 guests if you lose power; like I've said, you're in emergency mode. Cooking a gourmet meal shouldn't be a priority, order out, get pizzas. You get my point. So, decide what you want to power in an emergency situation.

Second criteria: fuel consumption. I was just about to purchase a 7500 W model with 13000 W surge, for about $1,400 bucks! Have you seen the fuel consumption for these generators? Only 8 hours, tops, at half load. This ones rates at 13.5 hours. Well, with gasoline prices hovering at around 2 bucks a gallon, do the math if you run a larger generator for 2 weeks (a possibility over hurricanes and severe winter storms): it may cost you over $500 dollars in gas! Of course, with this generator the cost drops significantly and you don't have to wake up in the middle of the night to refuel it. This is very important to me, especially during cold winter nights.

Third criteria: quality of parts and components. I wanted a good engine and a good quality brand name generator. This one meets my criteria. It's not a Honda, but they're overpriced anyway and most home-owners and occasional users won't benefit as much from them. Construction workers, electricians and contractors may benefit some from their cleaner electrical output and "quietness", but no generator is really quiet. I ran a Honda once at my house and, sincerely, they're loud too. You just have to work around their noise, it's one of the inconveniences of being in emergency mode. Compare the noise of a generator to 5 kids screaming at the top of their lungs. With a Honda, you have 4 kids screaming at the top of their lungs. My point: 4 or 5, it doesn't matter, they're still loud.

Finally, here's what I mean for "less is better". If all you want is to power your house during an emergency, there's a good chance you'll be wasting your money if you buy a 10,000 W generator or bigger. First, 10,000 Watts is a lot of juice to deliver and you'll need 50 Amp plugs, cables, and a big transfer switch box if you want to use all that juice. They're ALL more expensive when you talk 50 Amps. The regular 30 Amp already costs money, about $100 for cable (depends on the length you want), $300 bucks for the transfer switch with 8 to 10 breakers (a bit less with <6 breakers, but then you can't power as many appliances), and then installation labor. With my generator, I paid less than $1,500 for everything: generator, transfer switch box (required by law or you're liable, the risk is all yours if you chose to back feed to your house), cable, and labor. With a bigger unit (50 amps), good luck, you're talking a lot more money (I stopped adding up when it approached $3,000, including generator).

All in all, this generator is a winner; it powers my house (what I want), it has good fuel consumption, it's also "lighter" (160 lbs, compared to 250+ lbs for 7500W ones), and the price is good. I hit literally dozens of generator sellers on the Internet and locally for many weeks, and this one at Amazon.com beats them all. This may change, of course, but I'd still pick this model.

Some drawbacks: 1) no electric start. Well, they're notorious for not working anyway, especially in cold winters. I borrowed a generator from my brother-in-law and the electric start rarely works, we always end up pulling the cord to get it started anyway (both his and my generator start at most on the second pull, 100% of the time). 2) No Automatic Voltage Regulator (AVR). This means the voltage output can vary quite a bit and may damage sensitive equipments. The manufacturers' manual requires that you use UL listed surge protectors for TV's, stereos and computers. I do that and so far, no problem. Only more expensive generators have AVR's and I didn't feel it was justifiable to pay hundreds of dollars more for one (then you have the fuel consumption issue if you buy bigger! Remember, in this case: less is better!).

Like insurance, you hope you don't have to use a generator, but when you need it, you will be glad you have it.
I hope you have good luck choosing and buying your generator. This one works really well for me. If your needs are similar to mine, picking this one is a no-brainer.

This is my second Paslode product. The price from Amazon provided considerable savings over local purchase. That combined with the quality and versatilty of the nailer made this a an outstanding buy. Amazon's prompt shipping as well as savings on shipping costs added to the overall excellence of the transaction.

Great nailer... after struggling with a heavy compressor, extension cord, airlines, etc. for several years i finally gave in and bought the paslode. This thing rocks! Worth every penny - now I don't need to decide if it's worth bringing out the nailer for each job - it's always worth it, and its so easy.

My contractor that I hired to build my deck was using this nail gun and got me interested in buying it. He praised it up and down and has bought 2 of these guns. I use it occasional but when I do it makes my life a lot easier. This gun is everything you need and are looking for. A must buy. Very convienent and mostly powerful. I have only good things to say about this gun and nothing bad to complain about. The price is better than any Home Depot or Lowes.