Generators Reviews

I purchased one of these through Amazon just over a year ago. It recently failed, although it has not been worked hard.

I am a professionally qualified electrical engineer and it did not take me long to diagnose that two small units, the regulator and the main control board had failed. I contacted the Generac help line which offers: "Set Up Instructions, Service Call Help, and General Use Information" I asked whether I could obtain the required parts and was told all that I could do would be to return the complete generator to them or an authorised service centre! I live in the Caribbean and explained that shipping this back to the US Mainland would be extremely expensive, especially as the parts I required were very small and not expensive. Nice as the help line people were, I could get no help from them at all, under warranty or not.

I then contacted several service centres in Florida who needed the complete generator returned for any repair work, warranty or not. Finally I found a service centre who were willing to help me by supplying the parts that I needed. I have just received the parts and I now have a fully working generator again, repaired for a modest cost, as oppposed to shipping the entire, very heavy generator to the nearest service centre at some ridiculous cost.

My thanks go to Willy at Tropical Lawnmowers in Miami FL(33155)
They were extremely helpful and ordered and shipped the not particularly costly parts for me. Shipping didn't cost a lot as the package weighed less than a pound! If you need some help I can thoroughly recommend them and they have a website under the name tropicallawnmowers.

I am extremely disappointed with the support from Generac, and total lack of help or ability to supply parts themselves or through some of the agents recommended by them. If you are considering purchasing one of these units, make sure that you find out how to get repairs effected without shipping the very heavy unit around. Although the generator section has a two year warranty, I could not use that as I am not near a recognised service centre, and have had to pay for the entire repair costs. Be warned!

I purchased one of these units in December of 1999, yes, I was motivated by the Y2K scare but living in the country I needed one anyway and this justified the purchase. I have experienced other generators in this price class and size in open frames and this is the quiestest and smoothest running. I start it every few months and all it takes is to open the fuel valve, turn on the choke and pull once! It comes to life and purrs...well not that quietly. I have yet to find any generator that is not enclosed in this size/price that is quiet but this is the best. The automate idle works fine but the idle is still a fast one and I would be interested to find out how much fuel is really preserved by auto-idle. But it does idle until you put a load on it...even a light bulb! It comes with a nice cord kit and the wheel set is a plus if you plan to move it without dragging. The fuel gauge rattles and could use some sort of damping. The tank will sweat fuel out the lid if it real full and you move it out into the hot sun. Even after running this machine for over 20 hours over 12 months I find it still looks new...including the muffler! Comes with the battery charger kit.

I suspect the engine is really a private labled Honda.

I looked at everything and this is a high quality product for the price.

i just got this steamer, hoping to blast away dirt and grease "with the power of steam" (per the infomercial). Instead I got luke warm smoke and spit sputtering out the nozzle. I don't know if the steam cools down on the way out, but the steam was not hot, and the grease stayed put (though it did become wet).

With your money, just buy some 409.

I use to own a steam buggy & I thought it was the best. Well let me tell you, I was wrong! This little guy works great!! Don't listen to all of the bad reviews about this product. It wont do all the work for you, nothing does. If you put a little work into it, it works just great. I like the fact that it has a button that you push when you want steam. The steam buggy just keeps spraying the steam & never stops until it's all gone. It can be a real mess. The Scunci SS1000 works real good on everything you want it to. I cleaned my car windows & boy, do they shine!!!My stove was a mess also, it worked great. If you want something to get the job done try this little helper it works!!!!!!!!

This is my first experience with any kind of steam cleaner, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I must say, I'm not disappointed. A+
I have a friend who owns cabins that are rented out in the summer. She does all her own housekeeping, and raved about the Scunci and how it made her job so much easier. Someone borrowed it and broke it so I called her, and she wanted one too. Now there are 2 happy Scunci users!!

Home Depot now has a Generac 14 hp engine/generator #1470 with a 2 year warranty and is selling it for about 1150. This includes a cable, wheel kit and it is electric start. Generac says this is for Home Depot only,you have other names, but not the warranty. I am afraid for the money, warranty and electric start nothing you have compares.

Having just returned from Home Depot, the overwhelming majority of generators have a 5 gallon gas tank - only at 7500 watts does the tank go up to 7.5 gallons. My rating of 3 stars is just to get this to post - I have not purchased the generator (yet), but am considering it.

First of all, comparing an el-cheapo Generac ( the cheap ones - not the more expensive stanyby ones) to a Honda GX series engine is like comparing a Kia with a Lexus.

Make sure your generator has a brushless alternator design for starters, like this one. The Honda GX series engines are some of the finest around in use for portable power in this range of output.

If you have a well and septic pump, if you have electric heat, you will probably need at least this big of a generator. It might be pushing it trying to run an electric hot water heater on this sized generator, though. In any case, if you live in the country, you probably will need at least this much generator, not a small 1-2K generator like someone else wrote.

Ground clamp broke... only matter of time before the other one breaks as they are both made out of PLASTIC. I plan on replacing both myself and if/when the charging portion does not work as it should, it is going in the garbage and I will never buy another Vector product again. Customer service is horrible. Save your money -- there are better chargers available for same or less $$$.

I found the charger did not work when I really needed it. My car battery was totally dead after several days with the dome light on (didn't know at the time). When the charger was connected to the battery, the charger would not start charging and would display an error that it was not connected to the battery. The owner's manual confirmed that the battery charger will not work if the battery has less than 4 volts in it. For me, this is unacceptable. There should some sort of override on this.

This charger is soooooooo cheaply made. Have only used it once, but fear the plastic construction will break easily. Because of the inferior products used, it is very, very, very overpriced. Found some at another retailer for a much lesser price, but better constructed. Would have sent it back, but needed to use it right away and did not want to incur another postage cost. Also found that there is no explanation regarding the button labeled "alternator". A manual would be helpful.

You can't beat the price for a quartz heater. However, as a heater it is noisy. I bought it just for the quartz tubes. After opening the unit I was rather surprised to see that the fan was caked with dust. Obviously, the heater was used. Somebody probably returned it because of the noise. At 14.5 inches the tubes are just right for an IR paint stripper. If you need a heater, I'd recommend the Vornado heaters.

I bought my heater less than a year ago and one day it just shut off and wouldn't turn back on. I tried using the reset button but that did no good. I loved the heater when it was working but apparently they are not made to last long!

This unit is a great buy for the dollar. It's vertical design will warm the entire body while seated. The thermostatic control provides a range of comfort settings on both high and low power. On the downside, the fan is somewhat noisy and the standing height may prove prohibitive for some low-clearance applications. Overall a great buy at $19.99!

CHARLOTTE, NC: Just experienced the worst ice storm of my life in Charlotte, NC. Five days later and still no power. I bought the last Generac generator from Home Depot the day after the ice storm hit, and I was requried to sign a no return policy. The generator ran for 3 hours and then quit at 11:00 pm., not to run again that night. When I tried to return it the next day, I was told by Home Depot that was not possible. They had 50 generators returned the next day for repair. They tried to blame it on 'owner error', but the truth is that Generac has poorly designed the generator for cold weather. In cold and damp conditions (winter basically), the air intake pulls in cold, moist air which freezes after 1 hour or so, eventually choking out the carbeurator. It thaws within an hour after stopping, and then it will run for another 45 minutes or so (maybe). The air intake needs to come off of the exhaust manifold like most good models that are more expensive. This engine is built by Briggs and Straton, and is sold under Generac and Porter Cable (perhaps others too). Do not waste your money like I have, and do not sign a no return policy from anywhere. Home Depot knows this problem exists and won't do the right thing by taking returns for defective merchandise. They told me that Generac advised them to tell their customers to cut a hole in the shipping box, and put the box over the generator while running. While this seemed like a fire hazzard to me, I was desperate for heat and tried it. I did and it did not work either. Shame on Home Depot and Generac - they have just lost a customer for life.

It is not possible to ship a lead acid battery in a ready to use condition. The acid can spill and is very hazardous. Would you feel better if it had a battery but you had to take the battery to a service center to get the acid put in?
The only problem is that the information should be better. There should be a bold label stating the lack of a battery and why and also a list of various batteries that can be used. A garden tractor battery would most likely do fine and they are about 20 dollars and widely available .

I have owned the 7000 EXL Purchased from Home Depot for about $1100 for over a year. Came with 12v cables, extenda-panel, and great wheels. I added an hour meter, lock, and cover. I start it regularly and have only used it for primary power last Thanksgiving for about 3 hours. I also have a Generac manual transfer switch to power my house.

I regularly start the unit and it runs well. I corresponded with Generac (and the engineers that produced this unit) before purchase. My OVH IC engine is produced by Generac in Wisconsin (Generac is now owned by B&S). The unit has electronic idle control, pressurized lubrication, spin on oil filter, and low oil shut off to kill the engine when oil gets low (not just prevent a restart).

I am careful with the unit and treat it with respect (keep it maintained properly). After the 2 year warranty is over I will probably buy the kit to run it on natural gas from propane-generators.com for about $200.

I am realistic about my needs. It can power my 2 refrigs, forced hot air heat, and various other circuits in my house (master bedroom, bathroo, living room and tv's. I chose it as a portable so I could use it anywhere.

Hope this is helpful. Contact generac for questions, they are great.

After all of the hundreds of generators that I've looked at online and in person, this is the only one the gives the Surge Power as THE power of the unit. Usually, generators list the continuous or running watts as the selling point of the generator, which in this case should be 6600 Watts. The details will list the surge power of the unit...not the other way around. This is misleading and in this case, in my opinion is a deliberate attempt to grab the attention and money of the consumer who is TOO eager to investigate the details of the unit before purchasing. I have no experience with the performance of the unit, but I have plenty of experience with selling and marketing practices and this is not good.

After Hurricane Frances I lost power for 8 days. I tried to find a Generator locally and even went as far as Ga. and North Carolina but there were none to be found. With Hurricane Ivan/Jeanne approaching Florida fast I called Northerntool and to my amazement they had a generator in stock. I ordered it on a friday and had it the following Wednesday. Just in time for hurricane Jeanne to hit. Lost power again for 2 days....but this time I had my Northerntool 8000 watt monster. Ran like a dream. Powered everything I threw at it.(except AC)I love it. It is built very well and the price was not bad for the power it puts out. Northerntool your awesome thanks for powering me up during the Hurricane. Hopefully I won't have to use it anymore this year.

Faulty Product died after only 12 hours of use.. Was left in the cold and dark during a ice storm that left power out for daysss... Northern Tool refused at first to do a exchange they said all generator sales are finally during a disaster.. so they sell defective items and dont guarantee them.. after much arguing they finally switched it out with another generator which costed more didnt so much as do a discount and product was same watts.. this was my first and last time buying anything with Northern Tools... If you dont want to lose 700.00 dollars dont buy this generator from Northern Tools they wont guarantee it .. Comes to find out they don't Guarantee any of their generators so if you end up with a defective generator your out how ever much you paid.. Thanks Allison

We bought this generator for hurricane season and it's served through several of those plus a severe ice storm that left us with no power for four days. Saved the lives of the fish in our aquarium by powering the filter system as well as the food in our refrigerator and freezer. Could also be used by campers who don't want to "rough it all the way." Highly recommend for any household who wants an alternate power source for emergencies or any garage, tailgate party - the uses are endless. We got much better gas "mileage" than the manufacturer promised as well. A great value for the money. Highly recommend!

The engine hunts up and down every few seconds.
So the light get bright and then dim
The engine cycles between 58 and 62 cycles per second
The Authorize Service dealer said this can't be fix
Works good on lights but on electronic equip this is bad.

Assembly instructions clear. Best to have some equipment to hold the unit off the floor to install the underparts, (wheels, etc.) Too heavy for one person to pick up(Unless you are VERY strong).
Performance is great, has an economy feature that idles the engine back when the load lessens. Use ear protection when running, especially in an area with walls. Very pleased with the unit.

I purchased this flashlight about six months ago from another vendor. Originally, it did hold a charge; now after cranking for more than two minutes it won't. In order to get light, I have to crank constantly--it does not illuminate without cranking.

A great flashlight! We use ours daily and it works perfectly. I highly recommend this useful and environmentally friendly flashlight.