Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Bought this generator in case of a power outage to run my furnace along with a few lights and possibly a TV. The unit appears fairly well-made, runs pretty smooth and quiet and starts reliably so far after only a few hours on the run-time meter. Unfortunately I didn't realize I had to de-rate the power output of the unit for my elevation (6300' above sea-level). I was pretty shocked to find out that engines generally take about a 3 to 3.5% hit on power output for every 1000' above sea level. I didn't think it was that severe until I got looking at it and never really thought about it much until I bought this unit. Anyway, after doing some load testing here are my results:
Loads were a small air compressor, a shop vac, and flourescent and incandescent lighting.
Ambient temp = 33 deg F. @ 6300' elev.
Volts/Watts/Hz/PF
124.4/0/62.2/0(no attached loads)
113/170/61.7/0.84 (small lights here)
116/770/60.2/0.93 (shop vac on here)
112.5/1100/59.9/0.88 (more lights here)
114/1460/59.6/0.94 (more lights again)
108.7/2100/59.5/0.92 (air compressor on here)
102.6/2600/57.9/0.92 (more lights)
101/2600/57.1/0.93 (added some more small lights - basically turned the rest of what I had on.)
On the second from last set of data, I believe the machine was already at full throttle, but I didn't actually check this until the last set. So, in my particular case, it looks like this generator maxes out at about 2600 watts at my elevation which is probably a little less than anticipated, but reasonably close. I would rate it at 2000W continus w/ 2500W surge rating based on what I saw where it's being used. I feel the governor controls pretty well from the data above within the practical load range considering the price of the unit. The voltage regulator probably could be a little more stable at trying to maintain 120 V under the various loads. I haven't tried to run the electronics/blowers on my furnace yet, but I think it should be able to do it in an emergency although I'll have to practice some load management between other things using the electricity (like shutting off everything else before starting the furnace). I originally intended to be able to run with a little more "elbow room" and not worry about load management as much but it looks like I'll need to have a generator rated at least in the 5 to 6000 watt range to do what I want. If I was at sea-level I probably wouldn't even be considering a larger unit given the same electrical loads. I would recommed this unit to someone considering it, assuming you have a good handle on the conditions you'll be using it in. Unfortunately it isn't as straightforward as one would like it to be.
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