Bought a Westinghouse iGen2500 inverter generator (2200w rated) from Amazon. Amazon & Sam's Club both had it on sale for $450, which is $150 off the normal price. I snatched it up, the very next day they both went back to $599.00. What a lucky dog I am, I thought.
I had high hopes for this machine; I own their big dog wGen9500 dual fuel unit and have zero complaints. Wanted something more portable for camping trips and better fuel efficiency for longer duration power outages.
Received the unit yesterday, got around to firing it up today, had my break-in procedure, oil change intervals, etc. all planned out. Fill it up with gas and getting ready for the big moment. Pull handle a few times... nothing. Moments later I realize there's gas leaking profusely inside the case.
I'm a bit disgusted at this point and not happy about dousing the insides of my new generator in gasoline and not crazy about the idea of working on a brand new generator, so I decide to just RMA for a replacement given Amazon's effortless return policy. Get on the computer and only option is refund. Out of stock. Which means returning it is a one way street, no way I can get that $450 price anytime soon.
So what the heck, I go work on the thing. Insides are very cramped but from the limited angle I have, leak appears to be coming from the carburetor bowl flange. I barely got a wrench in there to remove the bowl, but I was able to remove it and verify that the float is working and shutting off fuel flow. My only guess at this point is the gasket got pinched or something. I can only see one side of the gasket without taking the whole case apart, but nothing seems amiss. I put bowl back on, snug it up real good and cross my fingers.
Leak is fixed! Maybe the float was stuck, gasket not on right, who knows... Ready for the big moment again. First pull gets it started, but as soon as I flip it from choke to run position, engine falls flat on its face and dies. Every stinking time. I discover I can run the unit on choke, but it's running rough and uneven and any electrical load over about 200w kills the engine. Bummer.
Here's the kicker: I was about 5 starts into it, just fiddling with things, when on the subsequent start, the dang pull handle breaks! Whatever mechanism is inside no longer engages the engine about 95% of the time. If you spend a great deal of time you can occasionally get it to catch and get a good pull. One other flaw the unit had was the plastic spark plug cover was molded wrong and does not close securely. The best you can get it on creates about a 3/16" gap.
What an afternoon! I'm no longer bummed about having to take the refund route instead of replacement-- I'm convinced that thing is a pile of pure junk! No idea how the QC could be that bad, I thought for sure these things were at least run at the factory before being sent out. Maybe it was made on a Friday, or perhaps the child labor in Vietnam need more training.?
Trying to find another inverter generator with that combination of features and price is going to be a real challenge. I really like the display which has load %, runtime/fuel remaining, hour meter -- I'm pretty stuck on finding one with those functions.
I had high hopes for this machine; I own their big dog wGen9500 dual fuel unit and have zero complaints. Wanted something more portable for camping trips and better fuel efficiency for longer duration power outages.
Received the unit yesterday, got around to firing it up today, had my break-in procedure, oil change intervals, etc. all planned out. Fill it up with gas and getting ready for the big moment. Pull handle a few times... nothing. Moments later I realize there's gas leaking profusely inside the case.
I'm a bit disgusted at this point and not happy about dousing the insides of my new generator in gasoline and not crazy about the idea of working on a brand new generator, so I decide to just RMA for a replacement given Amazon's effortless return policy. Get on the computer and only option is refund. Out of stock. Which means returning it is a one way street, no way I can get that $450 price anytime soon.
So what the heck, I go work on the thing. Insides are very cramped but from the limited angle I have, leak appears to be coming from the carburetor bowl flange. I barely got a wrench in there to remove the bowl, but I was able to remove it and verify that the float is working and shutting off fuel flow. My only guess at this point is the gasket got pinched or something. I can only see one side of the gasket without taking the whole case apart, but nothing seems amiss. I put bowl back on, snug it up real good and cross my fingers.
Leak is fixed! Maybe the float was stuck, gasket not on right, who knows... Ready for the big moment again. First pull gets it started, but as soon as I flip it from choke to run position, engine falls flat on its face and dies. Every stinking time. I discover I can run the unit on choke, but it's running rough and uneven and any electrical load over about 200w kills the engine. Bummer.
Here's the kicker: I was about 5 starts into it, just fiddling with things, when on the subsequent start, the dang pull handle breaks! Whatever mechanism is inside no longer engages the engine about 95% of the time. If you spend a great deal of time you can occasionally get it to catch and get a good pull. One other flaw the unit had was the plastic spark plug cover was molded wrong and does not close securely. The best you can get it on creates about a 3/16" gap.
What an afternoon! I'm no longer bummed about having to take the refund route instead of replacement-- I'm convinced that thing is a pile of pure junk! No idea how the QC could be that bad, I thought for sure these things were at least run at the factory before being sent out. Maybe it was made on a Friday, or perhaps the child labor in Vietnam need more training.?
Trying to find another inverter generator with that combination of features and price is going to be a real challenge. I really like the display which has load %, runtime/fuel remaining, hour meter -- I'm pretty stuck on finding one with those functions.