I wanted to leave a comment on the performance of the tri-fuel conversion kit that I added to my Predator 3500, version 2, generator. I bought the kit a couple of months ago and watched the videos on how to install. The installation was straightforward and simple. A very well designed kit that fits with no need to modify anything to make it work. I set it up for natural gas and yesterday was the first time I needed to use it due to a PG&E power outage. I connected the regulator, plugged in the hose, turned on the gas, and pushed the start button. It took a little while for the gas to reach the carb and then it started right away. The rpm smoothed out quickly and it provided more than enough power to keep the refrigerator and freezer running with no problems. The outage lasted a couple of hours and I was very pleased with how the modified generator worked. I have a 3/8" quick disconnect hose that I use for both the generator and my Weber grill that I converted to natural gas. It is about 15 feet long and works well. No need for a larger hose with 1/2" disconnects. I am happy with the conversion to natural gas since it is much cheaper than propane and there are no trips to the gas station to get my cylinders or gas cans refilled.
I bought 1 yesterday... let it run a couple hrs to break in. Totally happy with the purchase. There are larger ones for less but this one is more moble and definitely quite.
this generator was clearly made for people with small-medium travel trailers. and needing something a little bigger and better than a 3500. for trailer camping families, this is a home run.
Definitely, harbor freight is slowly realizing brands such as Champion and Duromax are taking away their market share. If they don’t offer more choices to their customers, that customer will spend their money elsewhere. I believe the Predator 5000 was much needed in their lineup.
@@jeffhopper3526 if it has two AC's it most likely 50amp two 115 poles as people would say 230v 50amp. most Rv's i see are 50 amp. but i guess it depends were you go and the wealth of the park guests.
Enjoyed your video. I did the same thing at my home about a year ago. I selected a Champion generator dual fuel 9350/7500. Didn't want gallons of gasoline sitting in my garage. Prefer propane. The power on propane is a little less but it doesn't require fuel stabilize and is safer overall. We have solar on our roof that provides a surplus each year but if the grid fails solar systems without battery backups have a switch that shuts off the solar power to prevent it sending power down stream that could harm utility workers trying to repair the grid. So our geny like yours powers the entire house! Got a super deal on it, so my investment was very reasonable.
Thanks for your feedback and for sharing your experience! I always tell folks don't just rely on solar power, having both works as a fail safe. Same with LP and NG, use both and have them ready.
I just purchased the Predator 5000 generator to run my 30 amp RV trailer. I was very pleased to see that this unit already has an RV 30 amp plug. I was planning on converting the 30 amp outlet similar to the one on the 3500 to the RV outlet. Now I have time to do my other Honey-Do chores. I also love the remote control unit
Would this Predator 5000 inverter generator run dual air conditioners on an RV trailer? Also, is it quiet enough to run at night with other trailers nearby?
I love this unit. I run two of the 5000’s on the 50 amp parallel kit as backup power for my 5th wheel. Runs everything I have no problems, and the size is still reasonable to load up and haul 2 around.
Great review, my friend! I’ve had a number of generators, as I live in Florida and have weathered many hurricanes and power outages. But now we’re traveling in our trailer and these inverters are the bomb! Just bought the 5000 but have been using the 3500 for a season. Using the soft start and have no problem with one AC unit but the change in voltage when the AC starts is still enough to constantly restart my CPAP. Bought a battery back up ( for computer) and it stays nice and steady. Just in case anyone else has this issue.
Maybe some thoughts if home backup is part of the consideration and you are thinking how this generator can fit in: 1. TT-30 extension cords are easy enough to get. Usually very little voltage drop over 10 gauge wire. Then you can have a multi-plug NEMA 5-20 adapter. 2. A generator like this can handle hard starting motors in fridges, older style "single stage" ACs, etc, but maybe you modify these appliances to use a soft starter for the motor or get upgraded appliances that either have the soft starter built in or are inverter based. Inverter based A/C - heat pump units in particular pay themselves back quickly and are very inverter generator friendly even in their economy mode. Hard starting motors tend to need any economy mode on the inverter generator turned off. 3. There are a variety of inverter based window A/Cs, mini-split A/C - heat pumps, and even dual or hose-in-hose A/C - heat pumps out there that can run on 115V. Even if you can't cool or heat your entire home, having a room or two you can heat or cool is certainly better than nothing. This generator should be able to drive up to 2 of the larger 115V AC - heat pump units. Even when you are not using a generator, the "cool room" concept can save you a lot of energy in that say you make your home 80 F and your cool room 75 F instead of say your whole home 75 F. Or say in the winter, you have a mini-split installed in your "cool room" and use efficient heat-pump action to cost effectively keep that room warm, say you set it up in your bedroom. Or say you get a dual head split A/C and have a home office room regulated in the day and your bedroom regulated at night and let the rest of the house float up and down to whatever you can tolerate in order to save on power. If for some reason it is too cold to run a heat pump, you could drive a couple of small electric heaters off of this generator. Far safer than burning stuff in your home to stay warm. 4. Most light bulbs these days are LED based that use 20W or less. So plenty easy to have lights on with this. 5. If you are running this generator off of propane, it is cheap enough to have a propane stove as well. So you could still be cooking on propane with either a Y-splitter into the tank or better yet, get some refillable 1 lb bottles and fuel back up off of a larger tank from time to time if say you have a propane camping stove. A propane BBQ is going to work just fine in a power outage. A gas stove can still be lit with a lighter, so no electricity needed for that either. If you really want to draw power for cooking, a generator like this should power a microwave oven, toaster, rice cooker, air fryer, induction burner, etc. Just gotta watch your load as a number of these electric cooking appliance can draw up to 1,800W by themselves. Thus why I mention natural gas and propane cooking first. 6. An inverter generator like this is designed to run your electronics. So you can still have Internet access and your TV going to watch these videos as well as your computer running so you can leave comments on these videos. 7. With say hot water, you should have some water stored. As long as you have a pot and something to cook with, you can have hot water. Not super convenient, but perfectly do-able. Consider say you run one 115V air conditioner, a fridge with soft start / inverter based, some lights, and some electronics to surf the web, watch RU-vid, or even play video games or do actual work from home (through a computer), that can all happen at the same time on this generator, no problem. Especially with some propane lying around and bottled water, you can round out the picture to a reasonably comfy "roughing it" in an emergency situation where the power is out for an extended period and there is no water or natural gas available during the emergency. Especially if you are told to "shelter in place" during the emergency, you should be set, granted you do have some food in your home as well. In an emergency situation, you don't actually need running water, you don't need natural gas, you don't need to cool your whole home or even heat your whole home.
I bought a 5000 it does well for my travel trailer, runs my 15000 BTU AC, microwave and several other appliances. One thing I ran into was, when it’s extremely windy run it with the panels off. This will not trigger the carbon monoxide detector.
I would have liked an L14-30 connector to be included. I know with One genny it may not make sense, but when you parallel connect them you’ll get almost 8000 watts running. I’d rather have 2 of these for $2000 and get more power than the 1 9000 model for $2400
It's amazing to me how people with no knowledge (ignorant) of how things work, will come in with such loud complaints. In the age of information, ignorance is a choice. Ignorance by choice is called stupidity.
Thanks for making this video to learnmore aboutthis thing . Just scored a open box that had a coupon for 40 percent off returns for itc members got it for 425 bucks otd and it runs great. Perfect for my 26 toy hauler with no house genset.
That’s correct. Not all 100% open frame generators are non inverters, I’ve should have made it clearer. I’ll pin this comment to the top. Thanks for your input 👍
All of those generators in your possession, I'm Impressed. Do you own a gas station or how do you ensure a continuing supply of gasoline or propane under all adverse conditions.
I run a tri-fuel conversion kit company. We build kits to convert gasoline generators to LP/NG. Your better off storing propane than having to deal with storage of gasoline.
Mine is quiet and too me it's worth it for the money works so far great at camping jets are easy to change oil screw drivers like this video yes just proper maintenance great video build box over it vent it much quiet if use it wisely
Many main service panels are fed by two 120V feeds. This provides 240V from the main service panel if the correct breakers are used. But Some of the 120V circuits will be fed by one of the two feeds while the rest will be fed by the other feed. If you can back feed via a 30A 240V (AFTER disconnecting the main service panel breaker so you are not backfeeding the grid), then you can provide power to all of your 120V outlets. This lets you unplug the heavy feeders but leave lights on everywhere. Lacking the 30A 240V outlet deprives you of this convenience. It also means that some of your 120 circuits will work and some just won't if your panel is fed by 2 120V feeds. It is a significant deficit for people who have a need to lights all over the house. For smallish RVs, maybe no problem. For grid down house back up, it could easily be a problem.
I heard they were havimg propane issues 90hrs in on those back in like October-Dec2023. Supposedly they were gonna have them fixed by Jan 2024. There are specific serial #s that are causing issues. Might wanna check it out and make sure they fixed it
I wish it also ran on natural gas. I’ll mainly use this for my travel trailer, but would be nice to have it in case of a power outage at home too and not have to rely on gasoline.
The natural gas kits for the predator 5000 are now avaible for sale, just check out the video link here ---> ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-jaoDG4g3A0A.html
Just ordered 2 generators. FedEx is great at smashing anything they touch. Both generators completely smashed. Drove to harbor freight picked one of these up. Pristine condition. I almost feel like I should drag it behind the truck to get the FedEx love marks on it.
Unfortunately this modification only works for single phase appliances, which restricts usage to most well pumps. Not dryers, stoves, or some furnaces.
I got the because I can use the propane tanks on my RV to run it if I need to. Also, propane never goes bad, if SHTF I have enough fuel to keep the essentials running for a little.
I love your shop! Do you sell generators too? For some reason I'm addicted to generators. I have about 10 now including a Predator. 9500 which I love. I have an old school Winco 9000-watt tri fuel I bought new in 1999 and it has out proved itself. During an ice storm back in 2005 this generator ran on propane for over 5 days. It has the Briggs & Stratton 16 hp Vangard engine which they say are indestructible. Needless to say, I did complete maintenance to the engine after that run time. It's still running today.
Sounds like you got a hobby. I buy these generators mainly to do R&D for the conversion kits. I haven't had time to build them but eventually I'll have a kit built. But I do enjoy working on all the generators I have while building custom parts for them.
I have two ver2 3500’s with Grenergy tri fuel conversions and they will come damn close to the rated 3150kw on propane. I run them in parallel I get 50a without breaking a sweat. My Honda EG2800i has his tri fuel kit as well. Hands down these are the best tri-fuel kits you will find.
These things are for emergencies. So you have to ask yourself what you really need during an emergency? Do you need all of the normal comforts of full house power? Most likely no. If you have a 240 V stove, ground source heat pump, or well pump, then you need 240 and the power to run them because you need them. However, if you can get by without those things, during an emergency, then this size genset can work. Our 3600W inverter will run the current fridge, freezer, and central furnace as well as some lights. If it is an emergency, we need to keep food fresh and keep the house warm in winter. In the summer, we can last a few days without central AC. Also, you have to plan for the amount of fuel to keep on hand. Smaller generator uses less fuel so you dont need 100 gallons of gas for that emergency. Our generator uses 2.5 gal per day of usage so we need ~18 gallons for a week without power. We keep 27 gal of stabilized fuel on hand.
Thanks for adding these tips! A lot of folks too often go for the bigger generators and are unwilling to sacrifice running the bare minimum for survival. Your right, you don't need to run everything. Focus on running your equipment for longer on necessities and rationing your fuel.
Crap my 2013 duromax 3500 runs all 5 ceiling fans, every single LED in the house, 4 bedroom 2 bath 2000 sq ft. 4 tvs and 4 PlayStations, 2 deep freezers and 1 fridge. It’s been plenty and still runs great. But it will not run our coffee pot even plugged straight into the generator with nothing else hooked up. Or even our shop vac lol. 😅 But when I found out it was dirty electric never again will I run a tv, or gaming console, computer etc on it. This 5000 inverter predator for $1099.00 is a steal in my opinion, and will do all we need to make it through a power outage in certain. You are so right in this video and so direct and straight to the point. Ppl get these and bitch and complain bc it won’t do more than it is suppose too. Common sense is so lacking these days. Good video man.
@@sweetdaddy77 I have mine connected to a 100lb propane tank at the house. The continuous run time without having to worry about refilling in the middle of the night was worth it to me. I was able to buy propane cheap in the summer when demand for it is low, the cost between gasoline and propane is not so much different other than the time when gasoline prices was crazy high last year.
You mentioned in this video you would make a video to explain how to connect the 30A outlet to a well pump. Will you be making a video to show this process?
I own 2 different 3500 predator generators and I really like both of them. I will eventually buy the 5000. But I only plan on using the LP part of it just because they burn really clean inside. (I would think the unit would last longer on LP) atleast it would never get gunked up with bad fuel. Thoughts?
My dad worked at a office furniture manufacturing plant for 33 years. He used and drove the same forklift for those 33 years while it ran on propane. If that doesn’t impress you enough I don’t know what else to tell ya.
To better understand the regulator does it get sucked through buy some kind of fuel pump from the generator itself? I'm just wondering why the pressure from the tank doesn't push any fuel through the
The Predator 5000 is Recalled and out of stock. If anyone bought one, check out serial number and take it back if a bad unit. Until they get this one correct, the Champion 4650 w/ dual fuel and remote start is the ticket. Just as quiet. No issues.
@@evildead1791 Throttling hops up and down every few seconds on steady loads. Will turn itself off under a heavy load that is still well below load max. Also issues with using propane. There is a serial number range of defective ones. Supposedly, units shipped after 12/20/23 are entirely 'issue free' per HF.
We are currently working on a kit for the Predator 9500. Unfortuanly there's been a ton of work at the shop building kits for other generators and getting to the Predator 9500 will take some time. Feel free to check in anytime.
You can actually run those items you said it couldn't. You have to do so with some manual and selective breaker management. It may not run everything all at the same time but in an emergency situation, you might not need that. Just be a bit more selective on what you operate and for how long.
Actually I can run my entire house on my Honda EU7000is inverter generator. I have a soft start kit for my central air. I can run my entire house including my 2-1/2 ton central air, 2 extra large refrigerators & a extra large freezer. It’s actually rated at 5500 watts. I have had it for 5 years & has started flawlessly every time on the first try. I’m not your typical consumer. I use Star Tron fuel enzyme & marine grade Stabil in my fuel. I use Mobil 1 oil in my genny. I run my generator about once a month. Every other month I use the generator with load. I have about 80 hours on my unit. For me I desired the model I have. I need reliability over price. Like I say you can’t put a price on safety. The safety of my family is paramount. When my genny is running is when I’m at work. If it’s a long duration outage? I come home after working a 24 hour shift to refuel it & take a shower before going to bed. My comfort is important as well. Especially as a lineman for the local power company. Our first day on after a major storm is a 24 hour shift followed by 17 hour shifts until everyone is back on. I usually average about 4 hours sleep between shifts. Last thing I want to hear from my wife is the genny died? Hence why I bought a Honda.
Many people have compared these generators together. Predator generators from I have seen an experience work at the same level as Honda. Plenty of off grid people have 1000's of hours on predator generators with no issues.
@@dustinryan9671 Until Predator makes a fuel injected generator I’m not interested. Plus Honda’s reportedly can be run up to 5000 hours before a rebuild if properly cared for? We use Honda generators at work & they perform flawlessly. I have a Honda 4 stroke engine on a ground rod driver. It starts every time & I’m using old gas that is three years old that’s been treated & it still burns it without a problem. What I have found is folks that gravitate towards the Predator are driven by price. If safety is paramount like in my case? You can’t put a price on safety.
@@johnclyne6350 Fuel injected generators just means another part that can cause problems. I have four predator generators I have never had an issue. But I do understand brand loyalty and sticking with what works. I had a Honda before and I never noticed a difference between the two my equal watt predator. But like you said if I can save $800 between the same generator I will do it.
@@dustinryan9671 Money is no object for me in protecting my wife who is disabled. You might be blown away? I had an electrician & a fabricator design & build out my set up. I covered all the bases. Everyone I show my set up to (fellow power lineman & electricians) are blown away. What’s $800 savings going to shake out in the end? I dropped over $14,000 on my set up so far. I’m constantly improving & acquiring the best of the best. If your of the mind set of saving a few dollars? And you have a few of the same units? Stick with what you know?
In your opinion, what be louder running a small portable a/c unit? The predator 5000 or a Honda 2200? I already have the 5000 but am open to a 2200 if it's quiter.
Hi, all generators are going to get louder when they are under full load. The Honda EU2200i is not any quieter than the Predator 5000 when under full load. You're better off building a sound box if you need quiet, or run a solar battery bank system.
why is this generator not under jobsite category? yet the 3500 Watt SUPER QUIET Inverter Generator is? I'm thinking I want to get this for a coffee pop up shop
I can attest to not using open frame gen sets without some sort of regulator to run most modern electronics. The power spikes will absolutely murder smart devices. I lost four sets of non-ballasted LED lights and my smartphone.
There’s another person somewhere on one of my videos who commented about his open frame generator running just fine on the electronics he’s using. The shear ideology this one person’s experience will be the same for everyone else here on planet earth tells me that inverter generators were made as a joke. 🙄
What is the consensus on the quietness of the new 5000 to the 3500? The owners manuals show 60.5db at 23 feet for the 5000 at 25% load (975 watts) and for the 3500, 56db at 23 feet and 25% load (750 watts). Any chance of a direct comparison with the SAME wattage between the two? The sound rating in the manuals won't be an apples to apples comparison as is based on 25% of max vs a specific load (say 1000 watts?). The 5000 has a 224 cc engine at 8.6:1 compression vs the 3500 having 212cc at 9:1 compression. No way they are getting 900 watts from 12CC more and .4 points of compression less! It appears the higher power rating of the 5000 is mostly coming from the maximum engine rpm! It's 3800 rpm on the 5000 vs 3600 rpm on the 3500. HF is rating the predator 3500 at 6HP and the 5000 at 6.7HP too. Seems a bit of a bummer IMO. Louder, more expensive (the 5000 does have dual fuel though), and still has the same 90 day warranty. Thanks for the great review!
Besides what the brochure says, from my own ear. It's about the same quietness. If you want quieter you can leave the generator 25ft from the house or park it behind the shed.
Sorry to be picky but it isn't SA it's CSA which stands for "Canadian Standards Association." I'm Canadian and its our standards body for various things made for the Canadian market (and in this case, with the "us" on the right side also makes it tested to whatever American standards they are as well).
They are all the same, they all come from the same 2 Chinese factories. Only difference is their customer service and product warranty. Pick the company that takes care of their customers rather than leave them with an expensive paper weight. Harbor Freight has a retail store that allows for immediate replacements if they have them in stock. Champion has very good customer service but they’ll make you send in the generator and wait for a replacement unless you purchased at a retail store with extended warranty.
@@GrenergyTriFuel Not without re wiring the stator, 2 phases of 120 from the same source isn't 240. you need to measure 240 phase to phase. Its going to measure 0 or close to it. Not going to happen with whatever you have in mind.
They are all made from the same 2-3 Chinese factory, just with different colors and panels. I would buy from a brand that has good customer service. Such as Harbor Freight, Champion and Duromax.
I would also like to hear about this. Some people have had luck using a 5KVA 120VAC to 240VAC single phase transformer to run their well pump. I'm curious if you have a different approach.
Great level headed common sense review. Looks like a great unit for either rv travel or emergency home power. Can run the basics like a refrigerator, couple lights, sump pump. Thanks.
Home ac with today’s efficiency should run on that 5000 you would have to be careful what you would run fuel injection is more efficient? So … you could just clean the fuel injector
The 240V is only good for single phase appliances which applies to some water pumps but not all. I should edit this video for clarification. Sorry about that.
Thoughts on the Genmax tri-fuel GM10500iETC that is now available? It is tri-fuel from the factory and uses inverter technology. At $2,899 it isn’t cheap.
The wattage that generator outputs is impressive but their customer service according to other’s experience is a bit luck luster. If you need something this large to run your 50amp appliances I would just grab a non inverter open frame generator and have your panel wired up for just those appliances and then buy a smaller inverter generator to run your sensitive equipment. That way your not putting all of your load on one generator. You can grab a cheap 13000watt Duromax generator for $800 bucks during their sale and a Predator 5000 watt generator for $1k and still be under the $2899 price point of the GM10500
@@GrenergyTriFuel Just found your channel, a large generator does not mean you want to run your large "50 amp appliances" but may be needed for your needs. Calculate your watts needed and make sure you load balance everything. For viewers that may not know you lose about 10% of your wattage on LPG and 20% on Natural Gas. Wish it would be mandatory that THD % would be listed in all specs. Not having to hunt or call to find out.
Like you said 5000 W is not enough to justify a 240 Outlet on that thing you'll burn it up the 9500 sitting next to it is barely big enough for 240 Outlet maybe 20 amp definitely not 50 I plug my plasma cutter into that thing in its toast and that takes a 50 amp plug a stove AC system those bigger units are going to smoke that little generator you need like a 13-14 thousand watt generator to do that
So I have it update on that 5000 I went bought one fresh out of the box it ran for like 10 or 12 hours and then it started shutting itself off I'm not sure if it was because of where it was at very open environment on a front porch I know that there was wind most of the night baby I've got one with the folder unit I was having problems with the remote starting it. Right out of the box so it could be a faulty remote sensor fault the remote I don't know I'm out of town doing welding work so I will know more when I get back since it is my only form of electricity hard-headed I am
Do I see any of my generators? You mean do I "use" any of my generators. Yes I do, they all were torn down and tested and then torn town again for R&D of my own tri-fuel kits.
Sorry but a open frame gen has not hurt my pC ,tv , fridge , or anything else ive plugged in to it for over 7 yrs. So pushing the fact of you need a inverter gen this inverter that gen, is horse 🐎 💩!
Anyone and everyone here on this channel are welcome to state their opinions respectfully. If this is exactly how you talk to your family and friends, you can take your business and attitude elsewhere. I don’t tolerate vulgarity on my channel.
He's right in that some/many non-inverter gennies do not have real clean power, some do. I had a Yanmar diesel genny for over twenty years that got replaced with the Predator 9500, and it had no problem with various electronics, but it wasn't cheap either.
Anybody that understands Sinewaves will not willingly hook up a TV or computer or other sensitive electronics to a non-inverter generator or one that is only modified sine wave. You’ve been lucky, but your experience is not the predominant information.
Open frames are fine for farm / construction / emergency outages, but pretty disrespectful and inconsiderate to others when used at events, camping or places where other people don’t want to hear a generator droning on.
I already have the 1st version of the 3500... been working great now for several years.... After watching this... I see nothing wrong with the 5000.... I think it's great and I'm gonna buy one...
I got one this week for $900 and it is my first generator. I am only needing it for 2 sump pumps and a window AC. The push button and remote start are perfect for my wife and kids.
I just bought this unit. I also have a double pole 30 amp breaker I added to my main line when I need to run lights and such in the house during a power outage. Just bought 25’ of 10-3 cable and wired up a 30 amp plug that plugs into this unit. Works just fine to get me by without needing to run any large appliances.
This is what I also am looking to do. I have a Reliance 30 amp generator inlet plug and interlock feeding a double pole 30amp breaker. Did you get a tt-30p to l14-30r adapter that bonds both hots to feed the entire panel?
I bought this 5k unit for my travel trailer It is replacing dual Ryobi 2300w units. And I am SO happy with the upgrade. I literally bought one 45 minutes after learning about its release
Scott I had exactly the same Ryobi’s in parallel for my tag along. Got tired of lugging around two generators etc so I bought the predator 3500. It’s awesome! Just bought the 5000 and am anxious to see how it works with my soft start
I have a mobile home and my Harbor Freight Predator 3500 runs the whole house except the A/C, with "everything on", even the microwave. So, I would think the 5000 should do it with ease. Great video. Thanks The problem I have with the Predator 3500 is the fuel tank, fuel tank filter/strainer gets contaminated, even though I've used Sta-bill 360 since new and I run the unit twice a month for 30 mins. to exercise it. Only had to use it twice for 1-2 hrs.
