Because of your review of the Maxspeetingrod 5000 watt generator I checked into the 3500 watt duel fuel generator. All reviews were positive on the 3500 as well. I should get delivery tomorrow.
Demonstrating the break in oil differences certainly should help folks to change the oil frequently during break in periods as well as future maintenance. Great small generator and sounds great. Thanks for all the testing and the videos.
Good to see the difference in oils during the break-in period and also how it maintained frequency and voltage drop was minimal while testing. I am liking this generator to power the essentials during a power outage.
@@jamesws3 I'd imagine they would be, given many of the others are copies of the Honda, you could assume a copy to not be as good but on the other hand maybe they could improve it. I found the oil examples pretty shocking tbh.
Another look over the generator after a couple of thousand hours of use would be interesting. Or even a couple of hundred, to begin with. As a generator goes, this one seems to hold out a lot of promise, and as new machine it should be able to live up to expectations, but, will it stand the one test it hasn't had yet - The test of time!
He needs to loan it out to a carpenter or camper to put some real life hours on the machine. The person borrowing it would be responsible for bringing it to James for routine service.
I was actually in the process of watching this video when the truck pulled up with my new generator- It looks to be the bigger brother to this one. It probably all comes the same factory / parent company since that brand makes one absolutely identical to this. Great tip with changing the oil every hour of the break in- so obvious but something I never would have thought of. I've done 2 hours at idle so far, and happy to report my used oil is looking a lot better than yours did! Also spent a couple bucks on a magnetic drain plug which had a decent amount of metal on it after 1 hour, but nearly none after 2.
When you unboxed this generator last week I was very impressed it is a practical tool for outages and camping. What really impressed me are the numbers and THD for around $1100.00 it seems like a great deal it is too ad that our government has to add an additive such as ethanol to our fuel that does absolutely nothing to make it efficient or burn cleaner. James thanks for sharing your review with us it was honest and very informative. I don't think leaving this out in the elements would be a good idea but load testing should be conducted a couple times a year. Ed
Do people really take generators, of this size, camping? I'm no expert camper but this seems to bulky and heavy for weekend camping. Ethanol was added to fuel when they took the lead out of fuel. Lead and Ethanol are used in gasoline to boost octane and prevent pre-ignition/knock/detonation when trying to squeeze out performance and efficiency of the fuel. Also it wasn't the governments idea to use additives, it was the petroleum companies that wanted their fuel to perform better in engines than the competitions fuel. The government only stepped in when they banned the use of lead in gasoline - for obvious health safety reasons. Since then the EPA has made decisions on allowed additives in fuel but ethanol is not required or mandatory. You can buy ethanol-free gasoline, it's just going to have some ethanol substitute to boost octane rating be it lead (aviation gas), MTBE (better than lead but still not as eco-friendly as ethanol), or something else.
@@killer2600 Ethanol doesn't seem worth the cost to me but I am just a consumer that has to believe what the worthless EPA does. Will ethanol gas hurt my car? Ethanol can damage many parts of your car at concentrations above 10%. Ethanol can destroy gas tanks, fuel pumps, gaskets, and attract moisture into your fuel. Engines can be completely ruined over time if they're not designed for ethanol.Jun 8, 2022
Ethanol has been in gasoline sold in the USA since the 1970's. The car companies had a few troubles at first, but all those were solved years ago. Ethanol DOEs make engines run cleaner. While it's true that there are not as many BTU's in ethanol as in gasoline, ethanol raises the octane of the gasoline it's mixed in. GM's flex fuel sensor looks for alcohol (ethanol is a type of alcohol) and turns up the performance if it finds it. It really likes E85.
With your break in oils color that’s why When I broke in my new Honda EU2200i generator I changed the oil at about 10,20,30,30,60,60 minutes. At about half a quart of oil per change it seemed like the smartest thing to do.
Thanks for the review. Glad you kept the oil from the changes. Very useful to see how much debris was removed in the earlier changes. Nice generator. Dave.
These MSR units are awesome I have a 6000W one connected to my house on an ATS and it's worked well in outages, They are not that often in the UK but still handy to have and cheap to buy and have installed
Thank you. I was wondering what happen with the first video because you did not finish the review like you did with the last MFG. I was confused with how it just ended. My faith in you has been restored. Thanks again and keep them coming.
Thanks James for your evaluation on this generator. Looks like a nice generator. Keeping the oil after each oil change show how important it is to change the oil, especially on engine break in runs!
I've got the MXR3500 watt model and it weighs 47 lbs and is ultra quiet. Runs my entire 29-foot camper and was only $550. Very impressed so far. Pulsar looks to have a new 50 lb, ultra small 4000-watt generator for around $500 now and I'm very curious to know if it can make the full 4000.
Nice generator but they should really give you access to both legs on the front panel. Not many people will have a breakout box. Either add another NEMA 5-20R on the panel or a least split this one so that the two outlets are on different legs. I would mark this generator down one star for this but otherwise it's impressive - the Chinese manufacturers have really upped their game. The oil change system is the best that I have seen.
A NEMA 5-20 is good for up to 2,400 watts so another receptacle is the only way to tap into the full rated output. But you run into the use case vs cost issue. If you have higher demands expected than your single wall outlet can provide you will likely have or want the higher power outlets.
Thanks for the review James. I see this is basically a clone of the GENMAX that I'm considering purchasing and I much appreciated your feedback on this purchase.
Thx for the excellent review and startup. After seeing the used engine oil, you’ve convinced me to take the time to run and change the oil A couple times on the new small generator I’m buying.
Pretty amazing the color change of the oil during the breaking process. I could not believe the difference in the darkness of the oil when I recently break in a new 9500W Champion generator. You wonder sometimes if it is normal. Great video James. Continu the good work.
That's why i don't use standard Automotive engine oils in my Generators or Lawn equipment i use a High Performance Heavy Duty Engine like like Shell Rotella or Mobil Delvac 1630 they have extra anti wear additives & additives to withstand Much High Temperatures .
One thing I have noticed with many of the battery operated high frequency inverters is they react quite badly to highly capacitive loads being connected. A humble plug pack / wall power supply connected at the peak of the sinewave (can take a few tries to do it) can draw enough current to cause a HF inverter to assume overcurrent / fault and mangle the output for a few cycles before climbing back up to normal voltage over a second or 2. It would be interesting to see how one of these inverter generators behave since they use the alternator to produce the HVDC instead of boost power supplies as do HF inverters.
I was wondering about that myself. In these tests he is using space heaters, which are resistive loads. How would this genverter do with some reactive loads mixed in?
I would prefer separate operations for on-off switch, fuel, choke, starter. for one thing, it makes it easier to simply run the carburetor dry without turning off the ignition, and more reliability.
Great video, James. But..... I am not yet willing to trust a 'no name' probably Chinese made generator for one destined for emergency use. Parts, service and reliability are all important. Honda is still my choice, but for casual use I might consider one of these.
I've been considering making the swap from my parallel Honda Eu2000i generators to a single 5,000-watt inverter generator. This one looks interesting as do a couple other models, the thing that makes me hesitant every time though is this. With the Honda, the full-service kit (air filter, spark plug, gas filter, etc.) as well as any required spare parts are very easily found & are generally very affordable. The other thing is there are a number of 3rd party upgrade options available for the Honda units, however, I can't say the same about a lot of these alternative options. So while their performance seems great, and their price points excellent I am still hesitant to make the move to these less known options. I've had my Hondas running perfectly for 14 years now with no issues, so I want to be able to say the same for whatever generator I plan to move on to next, unfortunately, the Honda option as a replacement may be the route I end up going with which is a shame. I say this because the Hondas are so highly-priced with the 7,000-watt unit being the only Honda option that is in this power range that also produces 220 volts (which is the one thing I am lacking with my present Honda EU2000i units & really the only reason why I want to upgrade due to my new split AC units now being 220 volts instead of 120 volts like my old split AC units.).
Just an FYI... If the cap does come off of the oil drain you will loose all of your oil. Due to crank case pressure changes it will eventually pump all of the oil out of the case.
This just in-local generator repair man who runs space heaters outside every day found to be the sole source of global warming. Film at 11:00 viewer discretion is strongly advised.
Hi James, thanks for the nice review!. Could you explain to me in more detail the condition of the oil during the first three changes? 3:00 - In the first two oil samples - metal particles in the oil? or is it just the way aged oil looks like
I love that oil change tube thingy there. What a great idea. While with one of my gens, an inverter type, I don't have to tilt the machine, it's still a total pain to get a pan underneath the thing. It would be easy enough to make a extension tube like that. Hmmm.... perhaps there's a new product idea, if someone hasn't already started making and selling those. *[UPDATE]* Well, yup, it is available. 'Drainzit" LOL
Enjoy watching your videos. Was wondering about inverter generators and what ones are good to buy 6000 watts to 10000 watts? Input greatly appreciated.
Not many in that range. The Honda EU7000 can do 5500 continuous. Harbor Freight has one that can do 7600 continuous watts. But have seem some reports of inverter modules failing.
Surprised to see how dirty the first and second oil change was. Not surprised to hear about metal specs but where is the dirt coming from. Do you get more blow by as engine breaks in. Thank James
The only minor downside is that you can't run the carb dry by shutting off the fuel. They do provide a drain port, but in order to use it, a cover has to be removed, a carb screw backed out, then re-asembled. A lot more effort for the monthly maintenance runs as opposed to simply shutting off the fuel and putting the genny away. And will the cover screw fatigue prematurely?
Drill a 1 inch hole through the cover in line with the carb drain screw. Insert rubber bung in hole in cover...it would look standard if done well.....
I watched a review someone else did with a similar fuel shutoff. He pulled the cover to access the fuel valve and disconnected outlet line to the carburetor. He slowly turned the fuel valve until gas started to flow then dialed it back until it stopped. He verified these results several times then marked the dial with a permanent marker. You could put painters tape if you don’t want to mark your unit. What he discovered was just before the valve was at the closed/engine off position the unit would continue to run, the fuel would stop flowing from the tank-valve-carburetor, run dry then shut down.
It's best seen with a spectrum analyzer. If you know what a perfect sine wave should look like, you can see imperfections in the wave on a oscilloscope to see the distortion (from perfect). In the video, you can see the ripple of the peaks and when this generator is loaded you can see the distortion of the slope as it crosses the 0v line. So it isn't perfect but when you look at a brushless generator on a oscilloscope the difference is very apparent which is the better sine wave. But a spectrum analyzer makes it easier to see the THD and how much THD there is.
Great video, especially that you saved the 3 oil changes during break-in. I had no idea there would be so much metal in that oil. That seems like pretty impressive genset. Can you tell where it is made?
James - you need a meter that will give you: THD% rather than trying to visualize. I do this for a living; i saw telltale signs in the loaded wave that would indicate more distortion than you thought.
The chemist in me, looking at your break in effort, makes me think the metal and darkness in the oils might be filterable if it was filtered through activated carbon and filter paper. It should come out as clean as the stuff in a fresh quart of oil. I say that because 1 hour of running hasn’t changed the oil by any means. It’d cut the amount of oil you need to Dispose.
Hello, I’d be really grateful if you could answer my question. Two rubber hoses are attached to air filter box, one on top - regular ventilation, and second one on the left side of the air box. What’s it connected to on the other end? Mine generator (EU version with remote start) came without that hose, and it’s nipple simple exposed to potentially dirty air.
@@jcondon1 Thanks. I was suspecting that. Explains why my generator runs lean. Carburetor was probably set taking additional enrichment (from fuel tank gas vapors) in to account. Too bad idle enrichment bolt is in a form of basic plug, would have been easy fix otherwise.
@@Paberu85 that what I think every time I spend an hour drilling a jet one size at a time until the engine starts running right. An adjustable needle would make it a 1 minute fix.
Test the power quality with something other than a near purely resistive load. A loaded switch mode power supply will add all sorts of distortion. It's not the source most of the time, it's the load.
ANYONE...I've been looking for a motor startup surge assistance unit that would work in conjunction with a smaller generator to provide startup surge power to the load in addition to the continuous output of the generator. That way, it could withstand a simultaneous start of a/c, refrigerator, etc. Or, are there appliance controllers to interlock and prevent multiple simultaneous starts?
We have used the ru-vid.comUgkxOTeIs0vv4_9B5hsmnLsk9r930uDQLu_Y for probably 30 hours with our camper and it’s been great! The noise level is really only noticeable when running the AC and other appliances like the microwave, hair dryer, or coffee pot. It’s not huge like other ones and it has wheels so even at 90lbs, I can move it!
The fuel valve and ignition switch are integrated. You might be able to turn the knob mostly of so the fuel stops but the engine keeps running. Otherwise you have to use the bowl drain.
I got a new inverter generator and it seems like it's got some pops out of exhaust. It's quiet exhaust system so not really popping but stumbling maybe. Is that normal while it breaks in? Edit: so I fired it up today to warm up the oil to change it and put in actual break in oil. (Ran 2 fills of dino oil to get most the flakes out) and it didn't happen today. Not sure if I just need to run it or what. I've just been idling it with the dino to get the big flakes out. Now I'll be exercising it with the purple break in oil. I'll see if it happens again. Seemed like backfiring
I always heard that when people talk about generators, Honda always seemed to pop up as being the most quiet and of course the most expensive. By any chance do you have any numbers/Data on a comparable Honda generator that you can post as a comparison to this one including price...lol.
That is impressive that unit, I guess the next test would be knocking it around and using it long term. It came across as being really quiet, is that your impression? Have you seen quieter ones?
It is quiet like most inverter generators. The more expense brands are a little more quiet. Definitely would be interesting to see how it does long term
Hi James... thanks for the upload. I have to honest... I am the original owner of a Honda EU2000 bought about 10 years ago. Still have it.. runs flawlessly. I did the same as you for break in... but I NEVER had oil look like that black tar! What is up with that gen? Even after 3 changes that oil looks burnt. My Honda takes just under a 1/2 quart of oil. That gen you have uses an entire quart. I like it and was considering it as a bigger unit, but that oil scares me from ever thinking of buying one. Thoughts?
Hey James does your Meter read THD ? If so could you show a few shots in the Future on other Non-Inverter Generators that have %5-%20 THD ? As always enjoy your videos...
A generator creates power by spinning a magnet in the stator and the stator output is connected directly to the outlets. Engine must run at 3600rpm. Power is more dirty and the voltage and hertz fluctuate. An inverter generator creates high frequency high voltage 3 phase AC. That is rectified to DC and then feed into the inverter to create clean single phase AC at exactly 120 volts / 60 hertz. Inverters are more complicated, but the benefit is that the engine can run at different speeds based on load, they are quite, more fuel efficient and make clean power.
