Looking for Decent 7500-1K watt generator

Joined
Mar 2, 2004
Messages
4,098
Location
Kentucky
I've been wanting to pick up a generator for some time now, figured now is a better time than ever to up the ante on preparedness. It's not a panic buy by any means, this was a planned purchase that I've just been putting off too long. We live in a rural area and springtime leaves lots of surprises some years during storm season.

I need something big enough to run most of the household essentials-- I'm thinking >7500 watts would be ideal. Harbor Frieght has a 7500W (9000-something peak) model for about $600 that would fit the bill nicely, but they're out of stock. I have no qualms with Harbor Freight stuff and their Predator line has great reviews. But I wouldn't mind spending a bit more money on something with a volt/hz meter, and I prefer something dual fuel capable (gas/ propane), but it's not a requirement. I don't recongnize many of the brands I'm seeing on Amazon. Rainier is a name I see a lot of, but know nothing about them. Wondering if you guys have any suggestions. Looking to spend less than $1,000, but the best value per $$$ spent is what I'm ultimately after. Thanks in advance for any input.
 
Champion Power Equipment makes good stuff and priced only a little more than Harbor Freight. 3 year warranty and they do make several models that are dual fuel gas/propane.
 
At that level of power use, a 20 lb propane tank/ regulator won't keep up. Just FYI.
 
just remember the bigger the unit the less efficient.

its more efficient to run a 2000w generator with a 1000w load than a 8000w unit.

inverter type gives a pretty massive fuel savings if you have low and variable loads.
typically they also produce much cleaner power if you are trying to power electronics.

Also it gets very old refueling them 2+ times a day. and changing the oil every 5 days.

So consider units that have ease of refueling and changing oil if you will be using it extensively.

You will also need an interlock on your electrical panel so you can use it to power your house(or some of your house)
 
Originally Posted by eljefino
At that level of power use, a 20 lb propane tank/ regulator won't keep up. Just FYI.



Will be hard to store enough for that size unit, propane or gasoline. If you buy a generator that size, also have a smaller one. I have 2. I have a 8-10k generator that burns 1 to 1.25 of gasoline gallons an hour. I have the HF 4375 unit, that one burns about 1/4 that.

24hr run= 24-26 gallons gasoline for the big one, or 6 gallons gasoline for the little one. Both have 240v outlets.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by spasm3
Originally Posted by eljefino
At that level of power use, a 20 lb propane tank/ regulator won't keep up. Just FYI.



Will be hard to store enough for that size unit, propane or gasoline. If you buy a generator that size, also have a smaller one. I have 2. I have a 8-10k generator that burns 1 to 1.25 of gasoline gallons an hour. I have the HF 4375 unit, that one burns about 1/4 that.

24hr run= 24-26 gallons gasoline for the big one, or 6 gallons gasoline for the little one. Both have 240v outlets.




I also have two. The big one is 7500w, which powers the well pump and hot water heater. I fire it up when I need those larger devices.

I have a 3000w unit that sips gas that I use to power the fridge, freezer, and lights when the bigger one isn't necessary.
 
Originally Posted by 92saturnsl2
I'm thinking >7500 watts would be ideal.
Could you clarify why you think you need such a large unit? I have a Champion 3500 watt generator that runs my two refrigerators and a chest freezer, plus the dishwasher on a heated dry cycle. I also run a line over to the neighbor's house for their refrigerator during an extended outage. I also have a Harbor Freight Preadtor 3500 Inverter that has run all of the above, minus the neighbor.
 
Originally Posted by Astro_Guy
Could you clarify why you think you need such a large unit? I have a Champion 3500 watt generator that runs my two refrigerators and a chest freezer, plus the dishwasher on a heated dry cycle. I also run a line over to the neighbor's house for their refrigerator during an extended outage. I also have a Harbor Freight Preadtor 3500 Inverter that has run all of the above, minus the neighbor.


Ultimately I'd like to get a transfer switch for the house, and the hope is that a larger unit can run the electric heat pump / AC unit, along with the other essentials like fridge, freezers and such. I also need it to run a decent size 240V single phase welder (obviously not at the same time as the house.)

After doing some math given the size of the heat pump, I'm probably better off with a 9500W unit if I'm to have a little spare capacity. The 7500W and 9500W units use the same 400-450cc (depending on brand) engine, so the fuel consumption shouldn't be all that different with equivalent loads.

This one seems like a good candidate for the money and has good reviews.

The suggestion to also buy a smaller generator is a good one. I will probably pick up a 2k inverter at some point that can run the fridge/freezer for long periods for when gas is scarce. I've been wanting to get one for camping anyways.
 
Originally Posted by 92saturnsl2

Ultimately I'd like to get a transfer switch for the house, and the hope is that a larger unit can run the electric heat pump / AC unit, along with the other essentials like fridge, freezers and such. I also need it to run a decent size 240V single phase welder (obviously not at the same time as the house.)

After doing some math given the size of the heat pump, I'm probably better off with a 9500W unit if I'm to have a little spare capacity. The 7500W and 9500W units use the same 400-450cc (depending on brand) engine, so the fuel consumption shouldn't be all that different with equivalent loads.

This one seems like a good candidate for the money and has good reviews.

The suggestion to also buy a smaller generator is a good one. I will probably pick up a 2k inverter at some point that can run the fridge/freezer for long periods for when gas is scarce. I've been wanting to get one for camping anyways.


The running watts is not the issue, its the start up amperage. I have a 8k 10k surge generator with an 18hp vangard engine. It will not start up my 4 ton a/c unit, granted its 15 years or so old.

I run the well pump and furnace with an HF 4375 , i stagger the well pump and furnace. It also runs 2 fridges, and lights and a 50 inch plasma tv. Again i leave the well pump off. When i need to wash dishes or charge the toilets back up, i turn off the furnace for a short bit while i cycle the well pump.


If i need to run the cook top oven or clothes washer/dryer, i crank up the big one for an hour so so to do that with the gas furnace and well pump running. Then go back to the small one. much less fuel usage.
 
Last edited:
Running the A/C isn't a necessity. If you want to run everything you need to get a whole house setup and a big LP gas tank. If all you have is a heat pump for heat need you need supplemental heat like a kerosene heater. I'd be looking at a much smaller gen. If you have a well you need something that will run that of course.

My 2000 Champion runs my essential stuff. It's also handy enough that you can use it for other things and it doesn't get stuck under a tarp for years.
 
After a lot of internet research, I came away with the impression that most generators intended for home use are all foreign-made (with Chonda engines) of comparable quality for a given price point. I didn't see any evidence that one brand of X price was better than the other brand at X price, at least not reflected in the reviews. Even the name brand stuff is foreign made and my suspicion is that it comes out of the same factory / supply chain as the lesser known brands. I notice if you try to cheap out too much, that's where the bad reviews start rearing their ugly head.

In the end I went with this one:

https://www.amazon.com/Westinghouse...Watts-Gas-Powered-Electric/dp/B07Q1DLKBG

It simply had the most features for the price, good reviews and the output was on the higher side of what I wanted. Going higher in output above 9500W or so, you start stepping into twin cylinder engines and a huge price hike to go along with it. Unit seems well built and there's a lot of attention to detail, wire ties, rubber cushioning for wires, etc. I ran it for a couple hours with about a 3kw load and the thing purrs like a kitten. After it broke in a while, I tried 6.5kw and it runs fine on a standard 20# propane tank. Much quieter than I was expecting; I figured a 457cc single cylinder engine would scream like a banshee at 3600rpm, but it has a smooth low-pitch sound that is not overwhelming. I'd have no problem running it constantly during a power outage without upsetting the neighbors.

The wife liked the remote keyfob start feature, though you do have to go out and switch the main power switch on--- once that's done you can start/stop the generator inside the house with the press of a button. Hope the electronic gizmos that work the push button and remote start hold up, that was my only qualm, but the unit does have a backup pull start and has a 3 year warranty with 24/7 support.
 
Just for grins I tried hooking the Westinghouse generator up to my computer, which is plugged into an APC NS1250 battery backup and it actually worked fine. It wouldn't accept the power if you turned the input sensitivity to highest, but was fine on medium or low sensitivity.

Previous attempts to use other non-inverter generators have always failed, the UPS wouldn't accept the power no matter what sensitivity setting was used. So it appears the power output of this generator is reasonably clean.
 
Back
Top