Amazon has this generator for the lowest price on the internet and much better than locally (once factoring in free shipping which normally costs $170 and tax free which is generally $70 or 7% in Indiana).
Shipping is awesome although it was out of stock for a while. ABF shipping is great. Item arrived intact via smaller truck after 1 week. ABF called my cell phone and arrange for convenient delivery time (signature required). Driver called day of delivery for 30 min. warning that item is coming. Driver hand-trucked 278# generator which is in original Honeywell box without any crating down a 100 foot long driveway into my garage for my wife. This is not the norm as free shipping generally means curb-side drop off and it's up to me to dolly this baby into my garage. My wife gave the driver a nice tip and I called him personally to thank him.
I ended up cutting the box to get the generator out due to heavy weight. I used a dolly padded with a thick towel to lift generator on its side to put on the wheel kit and 2 back legs with enclosed nuts/bolts (no washer needed or included due to specially designed bolts and nuts with washer flare). The tires are solid rubber so nothing to inflate or to go flat (nicely design), and are held on the shaft via washers and cotter pins. The handles fold nicely and bolted on with same type of nuts/bolts. Nuts and bolts are metric so get out you metric wrenches or sockets.
Honeywell HW7500E generator is a beauty. Red, metal fuel tank holds 6.5 gallons with fuel gage and metal gas cap. Black accents and red engine are easy on the eyes. I used Stabil fuel stabilizer from Walmart (1 oz per 2.5 gallons) to allow storage of gas in the tank so it's ready to go with less gunk build up and easier start later. Generator shipped without oil. I did not use the enclosed free 1 liter of 10W30 oil or free tiny funnel, and used instead full synthetic 10W30 oil (5 liter jug) with long neck funnel from Walmart. I recommend pouring the oil into a clean disposable plastic cup and then using this cup to pour the oil into the funnel to reduce drips, waste, and mess. It took a full quart of oil.
I installed a Reliance 30216BRK manual transfer switch kit (bought on Epay for $_1_8_0 shipped--more at Lowes) and used the included 20 foot 14-30 cable from the 30216BRK kit to hook up the generator to the switch (generator is placed outside the garage of course to avoid carbon monox. posoining) when generator is needed. This switch and generator provide power to 50 gallon electric hot water heater (3000 watts), 2 fridges (1600 watts), 2 freezers (1600 watts), 6 ceiling spot lights, and 2 ceiling fans to family room. Obviously, the water heater will be switched on and off just for showers (once existing water in the tank cools) to reduce the load otherwise. The generator does have an idle control, stutters now and then when the water heater kicks on, and does not get any louder than a 20" push gas lawn mower. I can hear the generator barely in the house at night but not during the day. Generator is 10 feet from the house's brick wall, outside the garage door which is closed on top of the generator cable.
Starting is easy with plastic cheat sheet numbering 1 through 7 steps with electric start. 12v/14Ah sealed lead, tractor type battery started the generator with first push of the switch. This battery can be charged with a "smart" car battery charger if set to 2A mode for 6-8 hours. It can be replaced at Walmart or Lowes in the lawn tractor section. Stopping the generator is as easy as 1) unplug, 2) let run 3 more minutes, 3) push the button off, and 4) turn the fuel switch to off (also clearly stated, step by step, on the attached plastic poster).
Overall, this is an excellent generator for the price of $999.99 due to 1) 3 year warranty (1 year parts and labor, other 2 years parts only), 2) Honeywell brand (not the cheap Chinese junk like Powermax, Pro-Grade, Buffalo Tools, Blue Max, Chicago Tools, Eastern Tools, and numerous other aliases--best clue is the chincy 1 year warranty with them sending you the parts and you do the repair yourself or locally at any lawn mower/motor repair shop whose cost may or may not be covered by them), 3) 7500W continuous, 9375W peak watts (Chinese generators have exaggerated wattage ratings so beware), 4) included free accesories (25 foot L14-30 cable to 4 outlets which costs around $60-100 on Epay and even more locally), 1 quart of oil, cheapy funnel, 12v battery, step by step start/stop cheat sheet, toll-free help line with fast pickup by real Americans, and flat-free wheel kit.
I do wish that the fuel tank can be 10 gallons instead of 6.5 gallons, included funnel has a longer neck, easier access to fill oil, less noise is always a plus, included cable is standard 14-30 male to 14-30 female to allow easier hookup to transfer switches--it already has 4 outlets on the generator so why do we need 4 more on the generator cable?, outlet covers to keep them dry in the rain (I plugged them up with baby-proofing outlet covers at Walmart), and actual bumper to bumper 3 year warranty.
Despite these mentioned weaknesses, this generator is still a great buy at Amazon for this price.
UPDATED! I've now owned and used this generator for four years and one month. Please see my update immediately following the original review!
---Original review:
First off, let me say that I purchased this generator on Dec. 22, 2008, and it arrived on Jan. 6, 2009 (not bad, considering that when I purchased it, I was told it wouldn't even ship until the end of January 2009!). Plus, Amazon shipped it to my doorstep FOR FREE, a savings of $166.00.
Now, let's get down to the generator itself. It arrived in perfect condition, very well packaged inside its cardboard box. I carefully read the instruction manual FIRST, before doing anything else, just to familiarize myself with the generator, the accessories, and the assembly instructions. I then began installing the feet and the wheels, a process that took a couple hours, only because I was trying to be extra careful and to fully inspect the generator for any apparent damage as I went (hey, it is a $1,000 investment!). The only problem worth mentioning here is that only two wheel washers were included, but the manual says four. However, an extra set of washers would've made it impossible to install the cotter pins, so in the long run, it was OK.
Next I was ready to add the engine oil. As was previously suggested by another buyer of this generator, I added full-synthetic 10W30 oil instead of the oil that came with it (the sticker on the included oil, by the way, states that it is only for use above 32 degrees F, and it's colder than that right now here in Maine!) As everyone else has pointed out, the included funnel is worthless; however, I picked up a GREAT long-neck funnel at Wal-Mart for a mere 97 cents. Once I added the oil, I went to attach the battery. Here's where I had my second minor problem. The instruction manual said the negative battery lead would be attached to the alternator for shipping, but it wasn't attached to anything; it was carefully wrapped in plastic and left free-floating. Not a problem at all.
Speaking of the battery, while I was attaching it, I also attached the leads for an automatic battery charger/tender. Once I finished this step, I plugged the charger in, and was told that the battery was already fully charged! This was a real plus, as I didn't have to wait to test the electric-start feature of generator. I put in a couple gallons of stabilized gas, double-checked the oil level, turned on the fuel valve and the choke (the choke is on when the lever is to the LEFT -it's not clearly marked on the generator itself), and hit the start button. It started up IMMEDIATELY! I gradually moved the choke to the off position and gave the generator a few minutes to warm up. Then I pulled out my trusty multimeter to see what kind of juice I was getting. The 120V outlets were providing exactly 123V, and the 240V outlet was providing exactly 246V. Very stable readings, too! No major fluctuations at all!
Next it was time to plug the generator into my transfer switch. I did so, flipped the switch, and the next thing I knew, it was like NOTHING had happened. In other words, the voltage being fed into the house by the generator was so good, so stable, that everything in the house operated just like I was on utility power. I didn't try running everything at once, of course -it's only a 7500W generator, not a 15000W or more -but everything that I did run operated perfectly. My wife did a load of laundry in the front-loader washing machine, we turned on lots of lights, a space heater, the fridge, ran lots of hot water so the furnace would kick in to provide more, watched a DVD on our big-screen TV, surfed the Internet on our desktop PC, etc. We ran this full test of the generator for one hour! When we had multiple things running, I conducted another test with my multimeter. I'm happy to report that the house outlets were providing 122.5 to 122.9V, even with a decent load on the generator!
I can't think of a single bad thing to say about this item. The minor little issues I had are really nothing, when you get right down to it. What really matters is whether a generator will start reliably and provide good-quality electricity, and this baby DOES! If you want a generator to help you weather a shortor long-term power outage, I don't think you could go wrong buying this Honeywell. It's a real HONEY! And don't forget, it's got a three-year warranty, longer than every other generator I looked at. And you can't beat the price, considering the size of this machine!
--------
UPDATE: I've now owned this generator for four years and one month (It's now February 2013). I can't believe it's been that long! Anyway, this generator has been the steady workhorse that I hoped it would be! I keep a detailed usage log, so I can tell you with complete accuracy that I have used this generator during eight different power outages, ranging in length from one hour to eight hours, with several test runs throughout the four years, and this generator has never failed, never hesitated, never let me down! Even the original battery is still in perfect condition, most likely because I keep it on a trickle charger. The ONLY bad thing that I can say about the generator after all this time is that a couple quarter-sized areas of paint flaked off the cover where the manual pull rope comes out, but it still otherwise looks and acts as it did when I received it. I know Honeywell has updated this generator (new design, apparently a lot heavier, etc.), so this review may be outdated. However, if you are looking for a new generator and can't find my particular model any longer, you'd probably be safe trying the company's newest model.
Buy Honeywell HW7500E 9375 Watt 15 HP 420cc OHV Portable Gas Powered Home Generator With Electric Start Now
Did a fair amount of research on brands but eventually was won over by the price point and a somewhat reputable brand name. The shipment was at exactly nine days after ordering, and the local delivery was within the time frame stated, although near the tail end of the window so no real reason to complain. The driver off-loaded the boxed unit with a dolly and placed it within my garage.
There it sat for a couple of weeks until bad weather was predicted, so I finally took it out of the box and began putting it together. That's when the little nitpicky stuff began to surface. Wheel kit was missing a set of washers, so the wheels won't roll very smoothly. Then went to install the handles and found that one handle did not have a hole drilled for the bolt. Ended up drilling it myself not a real big deal but a pain nonetheless. Tried to add oil with the funnel provided but it was worthless, so as others had previously suggested the next day I went out and bought a long-necked funnel (along with a male to female L14-30 cord to be able to connect the generator to my manual transfer switch. That night a storm came in and of course we lost power, so I was scrambling in the dark to fill the oil (with the new funnel) and then began adding fuel. Immediately there was a leak at the fuel shut-off switch. Ran it anyway (not very smart I know)and it started right away and powered up what we needed.
The next day attempted to fix the leak but it appears to be a problem with the gasket or O-ring within the valve housing. Tried to get a replacement part but was told I had to take it in to an authorized dealer for it to be ordered and fixed under warranty. They wouldn't send a replacement part, so now I have to load the 300lb unit into my car and travel 40mi one-way to drop it off so they can order the replacement part and wait 1 1.5 wks before I can again drive down to pick it up.
For the 2hrs I did use the generator it seemed to work ok, its just now that I'm concerned about the long-term and whether or not there are other issues that will surface. Especially since the distance to an authorized dealer is excessive. Check this out if you're considering purchasing, I didn't think of it.
Read Best Reviews of Honeywell HW7500E 9375 Watt 15 HP 420cc OHV Portable Gas Powered Home Generator With Electric Start Here
Don't expect this generator to be there when you need it. It is cheaply made out of inferior materials. When I needed mine, I found the float valve in the carburetor was frozen closed due to rust from the steel fittings in the float bowl. The screws holding the solenoid on the bottom of the float are made of soft metal and the cross points stripped out on both of them so they had to be removed with vice grips. When I finally got the float valve unstuck, the rust cleaned out, and the generator running, I found there was only 43 volts out of each leg in the 240 volt socket. I have owned the generator just over 6 months, and have not used it since the initial test run and storage. Typical Honeywell Chinese made junk. Winter update: The starter motor doesn't have enough torque to start the engine in cold conditions. It won't pull it past the compression stroke even using synthetic 5W-30 motor oil. The recoil starter is usless as it is not humanly possible to pull it hard enough to start the engine. The only way I got it to start was to pull the engine past the compression stroke, and sometimes the starter motor will develop enough momentum to crank the engine. I wish there was a way to rate this product with negative stars!
Want Honeywell HW7500E 9375 Watt 15 HP 420cc OHV Portable Gas Powered Home Generator With Electric Start Discount?
I got the unit today unloaded it and put it together no problems. The unit just won't start. I called the number provided to ask if someone could walk me thru the initial start steps just to be sure I didn't miss anything. I waited several minutes and finally got a rep. I explained my problem and was told you have to take it to a dealer. I asked if there was anyone else I could speak to and was told they don't have any techs. She took my zip code and told me the closest dealer is 30 miles away. Now I am faced with getting this 200lb unit in the car drive 1/2 hour each way to drop off and by the way the dealer can't tell me how long it will be before it is repaired. BOTTOM LINE DON'T BUY A HONEYWELL
