Ok, i am pulling my hair out at this one.  I know you can order some online, but i dont want the hassle or risk of shipping.  I want to go to a store, look at the models, and buy one there.  But trying to find the damn things in the bay area feels impossible.  Lowes and HD have a few crappy smoke and noise generators, and NO ONE seems to carry good inverter (especially dual fuel) models in stock. So where can i actually find these things? Did everyone make a run on them because of COVID?

The kind of models i am looking at are like this: https://www.costco.com/.product.100481637.html

I am all ears for a place in the bay area.. im willing to drive around to find one..

Pensacola Bay

Sorry, forgot there is more than one bay.. hah.  Tampa Bay area..

I know you're against online ordering,  but that's where you'll find the best selection.  Home depot and lowes only get tons of them in store when there's a hurricane scare.

You can do ship-to-store at hd and get a nice inverter genny.

Why not just buy the Costco one in your post?  It can be returned easily enough to the warehouse for a full refund if it doesn't suit your needs.  Amazon also has a great return policy.  I bought an A-iPower 2000 watt inverter a month ago and it was delivered to my porch in 2 days from them.   The days of browsing gear at stores like SEARS are mostly behind us, sadly.

Don’t know exactly what you’re looking for but Harbor Freight and Northern Tool both carry inverter generators.

Check these guys out for Honda Generators




https://xtremepowersportstampa.com/

I ended up getting a Honda inverter about three years ago from Home Depot.  I would have bought it from my local Honda Powersports Dealer, but I had points from my credit card saved up--plus some gift cards.

They didn't have it in stock at any Home Depots within reason--so I did the ship to store option (freight company).  There were too many complaints about broken items with the ship to home (UPS/FEDEX) option.

It's not set up to use LP, but there are kits to convert it out there I may consider in the future.

Quality Power near Florida Firearms Academy in the Westchase/Oldsmar area.

Northern Tool usually has a few generators.

I'm in polk. I have one new in box. Sent you a im/email if your interested

I would look at Costco, too.  My local Costco carries the A-iPower 2000 Yamaha powered all of the time and the Firman you posted off and on.  They usually have a bigger Firman, too, but it’s a generator, not inverter.

I have the A-iPower and that thing is convenient, quiet and sips gas.  It comes with the ability to link another one.  I also have a 2800 Honda that is nice, too, but it’s a lot more expensive.

I got one online a couple of Black Fridays ago. 4kw peak dual fuel generator. Honestly, shipping was a lot more convenient than trying to haul the damn thing out of a store and into the car would've been. My biggest problem was how to get rid of the box without letting the entire neighborhood know about it (not a bad area, but lots of renters and no real trust or community). Unless you're in a situation where you need it same day I'd just look for free/cheap shipping and save yourself the hassle.

Generator thread.
Harbor freight. Hard to beat for the price. I have the 3500 watt inverter, quiet as can be and very happy with it.

Sorry to take so long to get back to everybody.. the weekend kept me busy. Keeping it simple, I ended up ordering the Costco dual fuel... I figured between the 4% back, the extra warranty using my card, it just made sense. Hopefully it arrives safely.. don’t let me down UPS.



I miss being able to see things in person, but I guess I’ll make due.  Two day shipping is impressive though.. wonder how fast mine will take.


I am so sorry I didn’t get back sooner - Gmail spammed your email. I appreciate the offer, but I don’t think it was what I was looking for (dual fuel inverter, due to sever noise restrictions where I am, plus electronics). Still appreciate you going out of the way on the offer.



I was trying to find a big daddy like that (think it was a Wen IGen 4300DF, but they seem to be hard to find (and more expensive). My big goal is to be ready for the season, and unless Costco biffs it badly, I should be good.

For anyone wondering, the dual fuel is really a big one for me, since I have the setup for the 900w genny, and want something that I can run on my existing supplies without depletion of gas supplies. Irma was a big wake up call on why gas gens were imperfect, especially when propane stayed available to the end.

In the meantime, gonna order a few spare spark plugs now, just to be ahead of the game