dang it why oh why did I read this thread... now i've got to go get one. Can't justify the really nice handa mini at 800+ but under $100 is something I could handle so thinking why not? Might even spring for the extended warranty on it since that just bumps it up to $100 which is still very reasonably priced.

the service plan really isn't worth it, there is very little that could possibly go wrong with this thing.

I abused the hell out of the generator during the 30 day return policy, and continued during the 90 warranty. If you get a bad unit for some reason, you will know if well before the warrany is up (as long as you use it). Harbor Freight has a nasty habit of rough handling there products, might be because of the 16 year old kids that work in the warehouse. If you over load it, it will just stall out, its not likely to catch fire or blow up. YMMV

Harbor freight is playing there cards right with this thing offering it so cheap, I am amazed at how many different versions floating around the internet, flea markets, and auto part stores that are asking $150-$200 for the same thing.

I bought two extras for "spares" @ $79 +tax to loan out to my family should they need it.

I picked mine up today. Got the $79 deal but did pay the extra 19.99 for the 2 year warranty. I figured it was cheap enough insurance against a failure that I'd go ahead and pay for it. If it keeps running thru the two year period, I will be happy that it is reliable and if it fails in the two year period, I get a replacement. I have it running with a 500watt light in the driveway as we speak to start the breakin period. Started up easy and idle lopes a bit but not bad and light is steady. Will wait till I have a couple hours on it to check voltage and see how stable it is. Got to say it is not a bad looking little generator for a hundred bucks with two year no questions asked warranty.

thought about getting a second one to have a spare but cash is tight and I'm trying to add another solar panel so better save up for that instead.

I "splurged" for the two year warranty also. Cheap enough, I thought. Like you, I broke mine in with a 500w lamp. I don't have a lot of faith in anything that Harbor Freight sells, but this little genny has proven itself to me. I've got @ 150 hrs on mine, with no issues yet. When they're on sale again, I may just buy one or two more, just to have around.

I tried (operative word) hooking up a small 5k BTU AC to the generator this evening. Long story short, the AC will power up and the fan will spin but the compressor will not kick on. Also the generator and the AC sounded pretty bad. The gen and the AC would spin fast then slow sort of in a wave pattern cycling once every 2-3 seconds. Neither were very happy. I may try the same trick I used before and connect the AC to a UPS then the generator to the UPS to see if this will work but the exercise is getting pretty futile at that point. Suffice to say, to run even the smallest AC this thing isn't the tool for the job.

Thinking about going a size or two larger than this one so in the event of an outage I can keep the refrigerator, freezer, a small AC (as needed) and a few other appliances online. This being my first experience with consumer generators I'm just wondering if this small, cheap, harbor freight unit is the sweet spot in value vs. performance.

Pro tip: For the cool down cycle, pull any devices off the generator, shut off the fuel valve and let it run with no load until the carb bowl runs dry. This will let it cool down thoroughly and also empty the carb for storage. Even with the carb empty once you turn on the fuel again it starts in usually two pulls.

I have an AC in the garage so I may try to plug it in just to see what happens as well as testing a portable heater. I am waiting till I get a few hours on it to try heavy loads though.

That's an interesting idea. If the UPS is beefy enough to provide the starting current required by the compressor, the generator might be able to power the A/C after the surge subsides.

Several of Yamaha's inverter generators use a similar trick - A small built-in 12 volt battery provides extra current for a few seconds, increasing the generator's surge capacity.



Some RVers are having success powering 5,000 - 6,000 BTU air conditioners with the 1200 watt Champion 4-stroke generator. I've never seen any smaller generator size do it (although the 1000 watt inverter models from Honda, Yamaha, etc. might).

I used the UPS before to clean up the power for 2 Cisco switches and a Cisco router. That's what got me into this. There is a post by me earlier in this thread about it. Granted that was a small load but it worked great for the task.

Will probably need more than 1200 watts to power a fridge, freezer, A/C and maybe a few lights. Something around the $500-$600 range that isn't a total POS would be ideal. I wonder if the higher end HF units are as good as the 900W 2T unit?

Sean, I don't know about the quality of the other HF generators, but if I were you, I would get one of the Champion brand 3kw generators.
This is the company that Skibane linked above.
You can usually find them retail for @ $300-$350.

They have a good reputation for quality.
People say their CS is top notch, also.

I've got two, and have no problems out of either.

Thanks for the advice. I will look into them further.

On sale at Lowes for $299. I might need one.

I don't know if you can still do this, but I got mine when it was priced at Lowe's for $299. I went by my local post office and requested a "change of address packet". Inside that packet was a 10% off coupon for anything at Lowe's, so I got the 3000W/3500W peak Champion generator for $269 + tax.

That was about 2-3 months ago, so see if you can find one of those 10% off coupons to use.

wanted to do a quick update on my generator. I now have 10 hours break in time on it so decided to do some experiments with it tonight to see what it could power. I have been using a 500watt light for break in so it runs that with no problem. Hooked up a power strip and started adding stuff to see what it could power with the light. Added a shop light and ran it no problem. So then I added a 20" floor fan and on low or med it ran it fine. On high, it didn't seem to spin as fast as it should have but did run. So unplugged everything and tried my air compressor. The engine didn't die but it really was lugging hard so after a few seconds I turned off the compressor. Tried a 10amp battery charger and it works fine. Tried a hand drill and it worked fine.

So of all the things I tested tonight, the only one that would not work was my air compressor which is rated at 2hp. The generator is pretty neat but I do hear a knocking sound on mine. When it was new, it didn't do it but now I hear a mild knocking sound kinda like an car knocking with low octane gas. I am using regular 87 octane gas so think I am going to try 89 octane on the next tank and see if that stops the knocking sound. The knock doesn't seem to be bothering the power and my motor starts 3rd or 4th pull and runs fine. The knock just makes it louder than it would otherwise be so if higher octane gas stops the knock, I'll start using that.

On sale again this weekend for 72 bucks when used with this coupon...

can you use it online? I tried the coupon code(barcode) and it said invalid. Just wondering, because the nearest HF is 2 hours either way I go...

That coupon has a date of 12/15/10 - 12/31/10 on it anybody got a current coupon?

http://dealspl.us/imageview.php?f=147363

Double check it. I see 12/15/09 - 12/31/10. Right click, save as. It will come in handy.

Is anyone able to run their generator nearly dry?

After three tanks, I still have ~300 mL's left in the tank each time it stops running.

I think mine did that too, until I set it on a slope where the corner with the fuel shutoff valve was the lowest corner on the slope. I believe that ran it dry. But it's been a month or so...

That is what I do with mine.

pull the fuel line to drain, it comes off real easy.

I turn the fuel line off, then run the carb dry till it dies.

Call their 800#. I told them i had a coupon but there is no store near me. They took the order over the phone and applied the 20% off.