After our recent tornadoes we decided the ability to have hot showers etc warranted the purchase of a portable generator. Calculated the watts we needed and we needed the top end of the portables.
Looked at several and ordered what I thought was a GP8000 however got a GP7500. Amazon adjusted the price as they will not accept anything that may contain gasoline back even unopened. Amazon now has the right one listed.
Assembly was easy attached wheels handle etc no prpblems with assembly and it fired up and ran smoothly. There is a quirk you should be aware of. The generator does not recharge the starter battery. It takes a seperate plug in charger to keep the generator's battery charged.
Alredy had the house set up to simply flip switchs and have it on generator power but before we plugged it in the house circuit I decided to plug some 110 volt tools into it to test it. My Bosch drill ran and sparked like I had never seen before so I decided to get the volt meter out. Good thing this unit was generating 170 volts. Talking about frying electronics or just about anything else in the house! HOT HOT HOT!
Contacted Generac and was told to take it to the nearest repair station which is a 180 mile round way trip for delivery and picking back up.
Loaded the beast up in the truck with my motorcycle ramp. If you do not have a pick up truck/SUV/trailer plus at least three helpful neighbors or a ramp you may have just bought an exoensive boat anchor. Delivered it to the repair station and the three techs helped unload.
It has now been six weeks waiting for the unit to be repaired and all I am getting is we ordered the parts.
If you have a pick up, tie downs, a ramp, an accesible repair center and a couple of months to wait for warranty repairs then you might want to consider buying a Generac generator. If any of the previous does not apply to you then consider getting a brand that is sold in a brick and motar place so if you have a problem you could swap or get a refund for a defective unit.
One final bit of advice; before buying use a usage list to calculate how much watts you will need. Keep in mind that most transfer switchs only handle 7,500 watts if you need more power to run your basics.
Purchased this generator locally here in CT in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene.
No power for 5 days, this genset is running 15 hours per day with no issue whatsoever.
I have it back-fed into my breaker panel, powering well pump, refridgerators, lights, microwave, garage door openers, dsl modem, wifi and complete home network.
I've been getting 14 hours of run time from a single tank of gas, call it 10 gallons. More than I thought possible. Last night, ran a bunch of appliances, trying to max the genset out, and after 5 hours, had used only 2.5 gallons of gas.
The genset is noisy, but I've got behind a pool shed, so it doesn't bother us much at all.
Highly recommended. Make sure to buy the NEMA 30 Amp plug, part number NEMA 14L 30P when you order this so you can plug directly in to the 220v side of the generator.
Update. Today is 11/12/11. Here in CT, we're just coming off of an 8 day power outage as a result of a large snowstorm. This time we really needed power in order to run the heat in our house, as it was 30 degrees for several days. Luckily we had this generator fueled up and ready to go after buying it for Irene.
It ran flawlessly 24 hours / day for 8 days. It consistently ran between 12 and 14 hours on a full fuel tank of 8 gallons. I'm happy to say we had enough extra juice to run a 250' extension cord to our neighbors house for lights and a small heater. I now have 250 hours on the clock.
I run this generator in our small 10'x12' pool shed, and have fabricated an exhaust pipe extension to run the exhaust out of the building.
Highly recommended for cheap (buy noisy) back-up power
Buy Generac 5943 GP7500E 9,375 Watt Generator with Electric Start Now
Ordered this after 4 power outages this summer, not to mention the outage last winter that was 3 days in 10-15 degrees F. Overall this unit is impressive for the price per watt. I was hoping that this generator was made in Wisconsin but it is not. Rather it is made in China. That being said there are high quality products that come out of China, you just have to find them. Assembling the unit only took about 20 minutes.
Here are some quick specs:
The engine is a 420cc, 14HP air cooled 4-stroke with overhead valves (OHV) w/electric start (battery included). The surge rating is 9375W with a 7500W running watts rating. The fuel tank holds 8 gallons and is rated 12 hours @ half load for run time.
Here is an easy way to assemble the unit:
1. First was remove it from the box by cutting the box off and leaving the generator on the pallet. This will assist with the next step installing the wheels.
2. Remove the (2) axles from the package with hardware (nuts, bolts, and a (1) litre bottle of SAE30 motor oil). You will also need the two cotter pins, and two flat washers. Here is a trick I found when installing the axles. One axle will not fit so that the cotter pin end is inside the wheel due to a lower motor mount. I can not remember which side it was, but you will see it. So the trick is to put one axle in one direction, and the other axle in the reverse. This means that the motor mount side will have the cotter pin so it is not viewable in the center of the wheel when looking from the side. The other side will have the cotter pin viewable from the side. The other option is to jack up the engine (very carefully) and remove the motor mount so the axle can be installed. Whichever method you choose remember to install a thin film of grease as the wheels are without axle bearings.
3. Next I would suggest adding the motor oil. I have this step as third because the unit needs to be on a flat level surface to confirm that the 1.06 Quart (one litre) bottle of oil is sufficent to fill the oil to the proper full level. Remove the yellow dipstick tube along the bottom of the engine in the front of the unit. Empty the entire bottle slowly. I had to use a funnel as it is awkward to add oil with out spilling it due to the bottle and the angle of attack that must be used to fill the engine oil. After the oil is installed screw in the dipstick and unscrew it to confirm that is to the top on the stick on FULL.
4. Add some fuel (unleaded 85 octane rating or higher)
5. Make sure the fuel valve OFF for now, side to side is OFF and up and down is ON.
6. Either use the electric start (battery should have a charge as mine did) or use the recoil-start to turn the engine over 4-5 times (you don't want it to start yet). The purpose of this step is to properly lubricate the internal engine parts before the engine starts. This is not even mentioned in the manual, but if you want it to last a long time I would highly suggest this step. This is not a pressurized oil system (there is no oil filter to filter the oil and no pump to spray oil in vital areas). This type of air-cooled engine works by slinging oil off from the crankshaft located at the bottom of the engine to lubricate the piston and other moving parts such as bearings. The Amazon description when I bought mine said it was a pressurized system but I knew it was incorrect because I looked up the info on Generac's website.
7. Now you can turn the fuel valve ON (give it a few seconds to fill the carburator bowl) then also move the choke to the left which is the ON position. Make sure the switch is set to RUN if pull starting, and Start if your using your electric start. One interesting thing you may want to know about the battery is that the generator on this model does not charge the battery. The unit does come with a small charger that plugs into the front of the switch panel and into a regular 120 volt outlet. You will need to charge the battery ocassionaly to keep it ready to start the generator. Overall not a big deal.
8. Now step 8 is up to you, but I would suggest reading the manual when you have time. Also make sure to install a ground cable and also get a auto-transfer switch, if you will be hooking this to your meter or fuse box. For us the cheapest option for the transfer switch was to call our electric coop that installs the switch for free, but you need to buy $550 transfer switch. By using the transfer switch you will not need a bunch of extension cords running all over and getting shut under a door. All your normal outlets and appliances, well pumps, washer/dryer all still plug into the house normally through the outlets. Now you wont be able to run all that stuff at once with this unit but there are some generators that can. One cord is then run into the fuse box (consult an electrician) or installed into your meter (call your provider to see if they offer a auto-transfer switch, this saved us at least $2000 versus the electrician/fuse box option. So that's it other than the silly stuff like don't ever use it indoors, or in confined spaces and read the manual!
Hope this help some in making the decision. Overall thanks Amazon.com for an outstanding transaction from price to delivery. Took awhile to get to me but with free shipping I sure didn't mind. Very good quality unit that is made in China. Remember folks they make good quality stuff and bad quality stuff just like any where else, but from my experience this is a very good generator for the price. Remember to change that oil after the first 30 hours, and after that you are safe to go 100 hours between an oil change according to Generac. The hour meter will remind you when its time to do the scheduled maintenence, see the manual on hour to clear it after maintenance if you plan on doing this yourself.
Best of luck and I know you will like it. Quit reading all the reviews and just get it. Wish I would have had mine 5 power outages ago...
Read Best Reviews of Generac 5943 GP7500E 9,375 Watt Generator with Electric Start Here
I just purchased Generac GP7500E generator with electric start. Although there are 12 volts on the battery terminals, and I recharged it twice to make sure, nothing happens when I push the start switch. Generac referred me to a local repair shop. The shop will look at my generator but I will have to pay for transportation from and back to my home. Generac will not reimburse me for this expense necessary to fix their faulty brand new product. They said they will not take the malfunctioning product back either. Generac took my money when I bought their product. Now, I have to pay more money to get their product fixed before I even started using it.
Want Generac 5943 GP7500E 9,375 Watt Generator with Electric Start Discount?
Do yourself a favor and avoid this brand as they will not support their product. I purchased a generac generator because it was highly recommended by a friend. It arrived in an un-damaged box strapped to a wooden pallet but when I started to assemble it I noticed damage to the starter housing. When I contacted generac they had me take it to one of their service centers, they informed me that if the repair wasn't approved by the manufacturer that I would be charged, needless to say this concerned and infuriated me. When I contacted generac again they tried to blame the shipper for the damage and told me that it would depend on what the repair shop said. After the service center examined the generator and agreed that the damage had to have occurred prior to being packaged and shipped generac still refused to repair the generator. It hasn't run and hasn't even had fluid in it; and they refuse to make it operational. They say that I have to go through the shipper to get it repaired. Well it's going back to generac and I will be buying another brand, maybe a Briggs and Stratton. They don't even seem to care that they will be loosing a customer. So do yourself a favor and avoid this brand as they will not support their product.
Save 27% Off
