WESTINGHOUSE iGEN4500 INVERTER GENERATOR (BUYER BEWARE) 

I've had mine for about a year. Started it 2 days ago in -12 degree weather and it started right up and worked perfectly. I have 89 hours on mine with absolutely no issues.

I've had mine for 2 months worked great out of the box and still works when I need it to. Luck of the draw, maybe but so very happy. This replaced a champion 3200 geni

I agree,just purchased one a few months ago. So far so good 👌👍.

Thanks for posting this video. Just got my generator today. This information will come in handy. This issue with the choke is covered in the user manual. Also the manual says the battery charger is Not a trickle charger. Use no longer than eight (8) hrs. Over night.

Awesome video! When I buy anything I always look for the least amount of whistles and bells... I have a Honda 2200 and it’s a nice generator but very prone to fuel issues, like Mike said it doesn’t allow the carb to drain and problems occur when it sits a few months without running. Thanks King!!! 😃👍

Thanks for the heads up! Back to contemplating the cash for a Honda

You are right about warranty claims on most equipment, especially stuff bought from big box stores, like Lowe’s or Home Depot. I have very seldom returned new stuff for warranty service. I don’t even know why they put that crap in the owners manual. Normally Lowe’s, Walmart or Home Depot give you a couple of weeks to return defective equipment and they deal with the manufacturer. Stihl and Husqvarna dealers will usually warranty products from the dealer you return them to.

The fuel cut off is an amazing feature. Really surprised Champion didn’t have that. Despite the choke issue, which can be fixed, I’d go with this one just for the easier way to keep the carb clean with the fuel cut off.

I hope you understand that the choke has a small wire that can become disconnected. Plug it back in itll work fine. Many videos showing how to fix it in less than 10min

Great video my 4500 has propane also so I have the same problem when it's on gas mode and that's interesting because it's not running !

Westinghouse will be more than happy to help you get the problem resolved. I've talked to them several times lately not about problems but as prospective customer before I ordered.

Big fan of Roadking & Mike's antique engines and gensets. I'm sub'd to both. I have 2 of the Predator 3,500 inverter units (and a garage full of misc gensets). I buy my Predator generators open box returned at the HF parking lot sales for really cheap (like 1/3 of the price new) then fix it. This unit looks internally a lot like the Predator. Possibly the same Chinese manufacturer. You might convert to tri-fuel with a snorkel and Garretson regulator. The snorkel is easy to make yourself. Yeah, service on these throw-away units isn't great but you're hooked up with the best guy to know when a genset needs work.

I just bought a Champion 9200 watt for $899 was $1300 Canadian. It's hardwired into house will run mostly everything at once. Almost bought the mate to this Champion a Westinghouse but glad i didn't now. Good luck hopefully you get choke issue resolved

Road king I have the same generator that had the same issue. I pulled mine apart and found a disconnected wire to the choke. I traced the wires back to the control board. Was an easy fix

I had one of these Generators. I bought it in January 2019 and sold it with my camper in 2020. I never had trouble out of it. I have used it a whole weekend without shutting it down for my RV that had two A/C units. I could run one A/C unit with all the lights on but not both A/C units. My A/C units are 15,500 btu. It ran quiet and worked really well. I would buy another one. Don't trust Honda and Yamaha either, they all have their problems are they are too expensive. Nothing wrong with what you have. I'll give you $500 for it if you really want to get rid on it.

Be good to see a part 2 Bill, with what Mike comes up with as a fix

Thanks for the heads up!!!!

That is set up just like my Champion I have been working on , It has a stepper motor for the choke & a control box that runs it . I am not a big fan of the inverter generators for that very reason that they don't like a start up load on a motor or compressor . The remote control is Identical to mine ! I bet mike can get to the bottom of the problem .. May need to take it down and see it all the wires are plugged in proper .. I sure ENJOYED king ! Hope you guys get the bugs out of it ..

I have the 11Kw and the manual does say to check the internal choke valve which should be closed long terme. Works very well.

Liked,shared. All my best. I watched this a while back.Sorry for the late comment.

very helpful video thank you!!

Helpful. Thank you.

Thanks, buying new expected the thing to go , Just bought pressure cleaner, owners said that never worked,found from new fuel tap faulty easy fix.

Hopefully you and Mike can fix it!

The machine has a lot of nice features. The duel fuel model is ideal if it would run. The 4500df that I returned would start fine but had no output, and the display was a fail. Go to harbor freight and get the predator generator. One third less money and it works fine.

Just purchased this one from Lowes as well, got it way cheaper though. Must have been a purchase return. Hopefully this video will help if I have any issues in the future. Thanks for the content

I had starting issues with low ambient temperatures. The carb jet was not correct for my altitude and had an affect when starting when ambient temperature was less than 45 degrees F. Westinghouse offers two high altitude kits. One is for the IGen4500 and one is for the IGen4500DF. Get the correct kit for your model.

I definitely start a 10k btu a/c with my lil 2000watt champion in eco mode. I did a a suppco scc6 soft start cap. But this unit should have no issue at all starting up to a 15k btu a/c. I know the cheaper generators like my champion are appealing, however the certainly have there limitations. The Honda is nearly 3 times the price for a reason. If this 4500 won’t start a 10k btu a/c, there is certainly an issue somewhere. With a 10k, seeing an inrush spike in the 20+ amp range is pretty normal, but I just don’t see how it could get it up and running without an underlying issue with the genset or the A/c itself. I am relatively mechanically inclined, but they sure do have some crap packed into this things. I sure not want to tear into them too far!

$1237 Onan or $700 Westinghouse for the essentially the same machine. If the choke is the only difference, it's worth the $500 in savings FOR ME. My needs and abilities are different than others. Thank you for the video. Wonderful information.

I wanted to get one of these for the features and price was good as well but I heard some iffy things on them, nothing consistent just issues here and there and poor support from Westinghouse so I bought an American made Generac generator, very happy with it after two years zero issues. Thankfully never had issues with my Westinghouse pressure washer I have other than the 3200 seems a little under powered for a 3200 psi washer not sure if that psi is legit because it is certainly weaker than my friends 3200 psi washer in another brand, I simply could not afford the price on some other comparable size pressure washers like Generac but thankfully Generac generators are much more bargain priced.

bought mine 3 years ago different brand the day after it arrived it went to work for 15 hours. tree took out 2 poles the next street over sure is worth investing its seen multiple uses over the last couple years especially during summer and the power company doing random shut offs.

I just dragged home a little Honeywell 6066 the other day out of the trash.First one I've ever found. Looks like the recoil spring broke and unspooled upon the previous owners last start of it. It mangled the hell out of the plastic flywheel fan, and busted or cut it's way through the fiberglass engine casing. I changed the starter cup and put a different recoil on it. It runs and makes power. I'll likely replace the recoil assembly with the right one if it runs consistently well.

NICE VIDEO 805

Just got mine, has the same issue. Wish I had seen this video before buying.

Sorry about the choke issue. It does seem to be a nice generator other than that problem. Hopefully you and mike can get something figured out.

I purchased my igen4500df from Acme tool. Excellent people to deal with. Price was very close to internet $$. Best part they service what they sell.

Also sometimes I do not turn the fuel all the way on if it doesn't start the first time. Move the fuel switch halfway and it will start right up.

I have the Cummins which is the same thing. Performs flawlessly.

Your generator has a flex cable with a ball end connection that runs from the rotary switch (on the control panel) to the choke. It simply came off the choke lever.

Can Mike tell me why all the sudden the shut off on my remote control doesn't work? No problem with the on starting button. Thanks.

Debating between this and the Cummins Onan P4500i. The specs on these two generators is exactly the same. Thoughts?

There is a choke cable harness that becomes unplugged. If you remove the side cover and front cover you can get to the cable and plug it back in. The harness is to control the carburetor

I have the I I igen2200, the service response is the worst I've experienced, it took 8 month to get a reply for a replacement recoil assembly, which was completely plastic and the pull cord broke after maybe 30 pulls. They run a little rough also even after changing the cheap spark plug. Ultimately they sent me a replacement recoil and I swapped out the new cord with a heavy duty nylon... because you basicly take apart half of the generator to get to this particular pull cord assembly. Spend the extra money for a honda... no joke or maybe a generac to run a house

Here is a note I just sent today to Westinghouse about my iGen4500 Bought this boat anchor new about the date I mentioned above. Choke problems right out of the box in that is was sticking closed. Called support and was sent a replacement choke control. Installed it and seemed to fix the problem until two days later I have the same problem again. Called support again and was told to take it to a service center...............TAKE MY BRAND NEW MACHINE TO GET FIXED!! Gimme a break! I took it upon myself since at this point to find the problem myself and when I took it further apart I found a connector that was not locked together when it was built. I locked the connector together and that fixed the problem. Jump ahead to day before yesterday. The genny ran all day while being used intermittently and it was perfect. The next day, or yesterday, hit the start button and it started immediately and just as quick shut down. Tried several times with the same results. So this morning I took it apart enough to determine that the choke was still working properly, and it is. I checked the fresh oil, it is perfect. Full of fresh fuel, nothing I can see wrong. I called support again and talked with some idiot named Jaffe the quickly started fallowing a script when I told him the story. He asked "How many times have you changed the oil?" I told him I've changed it once.............the thing only has about 15 hrs or so on it. He said "According to the manual, you should have changed it twice by now." I replied IT ONLY HAS 15 HOURS ON IT AND IT HAVE ALWAYS BEEN STORED AT ROOM TEMPS. I went on to tell him that as long as it ifs full of oil it doesn't know the difference between oil with 1 hr or 1000 hrs, that will not shut it down. He said, "Sir, I'm just telling you what the manual says." Then this incompetent moron asked me what kind of fuel is in it right now and I told him it was high octane, no alcohol canned fuel like we use it all our small engines. He asked "Did you drain the old fuel out before putting new fuel in?" I replied that the previous fuel wasn't in it very long and besides, that last time I used it I purposely ran it out of fuel. He asked "Did you drain the carburetor bowl?" I said no..........that's why I ran it out of fuel. When it stops because of lack of fuel, the bowl is dry. He then told me that there will still be fuel in the bowl at that point, so you are incorrect. I let him know that I've been a gas/diesel tech for 35 years and this clown told me that cars and generators are different! I still have a junk $800 piece of crap that I cannot depend on. I got of the phone with this person that has NO idea what he is talking about and messed with it a bit longer and noticed that right after it starts, the overload indicator comes on and it then shuts down. I didn't notice that before. Not to mention that I did not get the mickey mouse charger for it when it was new and have since had to replace the battery because I could not charge it and this thing does not charge it's own battery?? How stupid. I emailed about that and was asked my reply email to provide proof of purchase and a picture of the serial number. Really? I did it anyway and emailed it all in and have gotten zero response on that issue. I bought a small trickle maintainer for the new battery. This idiot "Jaffe" that I spoke with made no attempt to help me diagnose my problem, just read a script and told me I was incorrect about how a carb works. What are the qualifications for his job anyway?? This thing has been a thorn in my side since day one and you so called support department is incompetent if "Jaffe" is representative of it. My opening line of this note is not entirely accurate, this thing is not big enough to anchor my boat and it's too big to go in the trash can, so I don't know what to do with it.

I was really interested in this for my mother as she wants a generator and this looked perfect till i saw the choke problem. Bummer. I have one of the really cheap harbor freight ones. It works decent enough for me

Good to know Did buy a new Honda so far only one recall for fires. not much better my guess 🔥 but I did get it fixed.

Thank you

I have a Honda generator/inverter and it is the best buy I ever had.

Personally i would take it back and get a Honda generator. We just bought a propane powered generator. Have not used it yet, just started it and let it run some. Thanks for the information and video. Give us an update if you get the choke fixed. Thanks for sharing.

I'm a retired Appliance repairman- We always referred to that brand as "We-Sting-Who-Use" instead of Westinghouse

4 days ago I had a customer bring a new Chinese 10k watt generator to me to fix that he has 10 hours of run time on. Metal feet had collapse under the machines weight. Bolts rattled out of the split rims and wheels fell off. Idle kickdown mechanism rattled apart. RPM (HZ) screw rattled loose so it was only running at 45hz instead of 60hz. Entire electrical panel, key switch and outlets rattled apart with stuff falling out. I'm surprised it didn't catch itself on fire or destroy whatever it was running. This is very typical with all the "off brand" generators customers bring me. Warranty is a joke and he has to pay me to fix it and I'm sure it will be back every other season with a new set of issues. If you're not mechanically inclined these will cost you far more in the long run vs a Honda or Yamaha.

I would use velcro on the side panel so you can choke it and get it running then put the panel on. I am gonna buy one of their units and thats what I am gonna do to mine right out of the box. I mean its a best deal here.

You just saved me 1K,,,I had heard they have no service !

I messed with a similar gen and the choke was a bi-metal deal that was never set up properly from go...

I've had mine almost 2 years and used it for 2 seasons with my RV. Never had this problem. Starts immediately every time.

I saw on another video that there is a wire that sometimes doesn't get connected in the factory for this issue. Have to find the wire and connect it...

Do you still have this generator? How is it working out?

FYI, when you push the start button you don't hold it in like this guy is doing, you do a quick push and release and it starts right up.

Also another thing with this generator and the new Cummins portable they have a recall on the gas cap not being vented causes cavitation.

So is this issue now fixed with the company? I was interested in buying this exact one but don't wanna deal with this.

Bought one year ago. Been in the shop 3 times and certainly still there. Only has 16 hours on it. It is junk I should of purchased the predator 3500. Mine is the DF4500 though.

I run mine 12 plus hours 7 days a week no problems jus plug it back in change oil runs like a charm

I can see I"m in space on this ! For that kind of cash I'd expect it to work out of the box ! Then I wouldn't buy anything that wouldn't be more flexible and autonomous at my age .

So when u first buy it u have to adjust the carb

Does the 30 amp plug have a 3 or 4 prong plug

Why did you go out and buy a Generator Mike has about a hundred of them at his house lol

3 years of use now with my rv, not a hiccup. rain or shine.

I have the same one. It starts right up.

My Cub cadet lawn mower starting to do the same got to get it service

Sounds exactly like my Cromtech Outback. My problem was a loose electrical connection.

My gen keeps shutting off. And it says overload, eventho there is nothing plugged in. No circuit breaker was tripped, and i troed to reset it, still nothing... i really need help plz.. lmk... it runs for about 10 mins max, then Automatic shuts off

Looks exactly like the Cummins Onan P4500i, so who makes it?

Same issue here, now to decide what to do with my 1 week old $1000 generator that I cannot remote start

Wow I can’t believe it wouldn’t start the window A/C.I’ve seen the 3500 watt predator start a 15000 btu Rv generator. Thanks for the info I definitely won’t be buying one to run my Rv.

That's gotta be frustrating. Kudos for at least going with an inverter -- considerate of your neighbors. I have the Yamaha EF2400is for power outages to power my furnace blower etc. It's never missed a lick, but then I've only had it for ten years or so. Rather expensive, but the folks next door can sleep with it running. What good is having power if all your neighbors want you dead when it's over?

Mine starts but they wired the 120v backwards. Then the display went out. No support on mine from Westinghouse. There are some cool features, support is not one of them.

Having to take the side panel off every time you want to start the engine sucks. I'd rig up an external choke control using a bicycle brake cable, or an R/C servo so it could be controlled from the outside.

Hope you post a follow up if the fix works or not...

Thanks saved me all that money.

Seems like something a class action lawsuit should be started on.

That carb design and the valve cover are similar in design to the Honda GX series engines. Is it actually a Honda or a Chinese knockoff? Seems a lot of these generator 'manufacturers' are outsourcing these to China in the last 10 - 15 years (also the reason it's nearly impossible to get any kind of customer support). After dealing with other generators, yard equipment, etc. with that electric heat coil type choke, I've pretty much determined they're about useless, since you can almost *NEVER* get them to start in cold weather, and warm weather is iffy at best. Easiest quick fix is to do like you said and run a manual choke wire out through the side cover.😉

Thanks for the vid, I am looking at generators and wont be getting a Westinghouse

My 3500 Predator starts my 13500 btu A/C without revving up. If this westinghouse is 4500 watts it should run your 10,000 btu window unit with ease. It appears your window unit has an issue with start up amps or the generator is not putting out the wattage as specified.

my camper a/c is a 15000 and westinghouse 4500 run it great plus the microwave to

No problem, should be a easy fix👍

I think Mike could redesign it better than new ..You know me all the powered tools I have bought from HF and had to fix their defects

The choke is automatically operated so the clip that works that feature is disconnected or not pushed in all the way.

My Wgen 9500 has the same issue with the choke. Not a big deal on that one, but it would annoy me on this little one to have to take that panel off.

There is a remedy for this; and it is just plugging in the plug on the opposite side of the generator so that the module can control the choke electronically.

RV air conditioners are typically 13.5K or 15K BTU’s.

I bet Mike is up to the challenge.

Hey Road King any Gen set is a good Gen set when the power is out

Had mine 6 months. Starts on first start every time. Terry

Where's the fuel filter on these generator s I'm not talking about the screen on the fuel tank, thanks

My igen 4500 died hard at 800hrs, installed new inverter, coil, plug, I maintained it very well, now I have an expensive hunk ov junk,

And this gets rebranded as Cummins too! Same generator, just different plastic color. And apparently the same deal with their service, too!

I hear they ship without electric choke connected to avoid accidental start up before oil reservoir is filled.

Not "soft-start", you mean hard-start kit on a/c which converts comp from a PSC to a CSR by adding a start cap. Always a good idea when staring an AC with an inverter.

Taking the side off will stop air from flowing past the inverter in the front and will trip on temp cutoff

Exactly why I have an Onan.