" Regarding windings,if you look inside and think you are looking at copper alternator windings, you have been fooled. What you see is copper colored enamel. If the copper was exposed for you to see on the windings you would have a boat anchor. What is really under the enamel will be 100% copper if you're lucky, but these days you run the risk of having windings made of aluminum, copper clad aluminum, or copper clad steel. All in the name of beating the high price of copper. "

I think that people here are forgetting that although these products are MADE in CHINA which makes them = to the devil I guess, these products must meet safety standards and codes and must be approved or would not be allowed in.
2 of the most modern and up to date cities in the world are Bejing and Shanghai China and they are 2 of the fastest growing also, they have modern plants, very good technology with state of the art production equpment in many plants, staffed with well educated employees, far lower wages as things cost far less there. I guess people here still love to kid themselves, the largest emerging country on this planet with 1.5 billion in population can do an awful lot more growing economically and otherwise than a country with 300 million in population. China is presently starting to live through the same growth as post second world war here. Communism is going to the way side with the pesants in favor of capitalism but this is beginning to be poorly hidden now by the Chinese government. Believe what you want, continue to kid yourself if you wish, but the power, economics and balance is shifting elsewere in todays real world.

10 years from now we will be buying Chinese made automobiles replacing our Honda's, Toyota's, Hyundai's, Kia's etc., we will also gladly be purchasing Chinese electronics, clothing and main stay goods etc. etc. etc.

I don't have a problem with the Chinese people, they are a huge untapped market and likely will be the next economic superpower. The issue here are the counterfeitors that are taking advantage of our greed and flooding the market with low priced junk. Why bother developing and producing a quality product at a fair price only to have it crudely copied and blown out at rock bottom? Eventually, Chinese made products will improve just as the Japenese did. Then someone else, possibly the Russians, will start the cycle again.

That is as the world has turned for thousands of years.

Roman Empire, Persien Empire etc. etc. etc.

tahclep,

Why you pasted my information on conductor materials followed by a lecture of yours about China is beyond me. Read my post again. Where am I talking about countries?

"The issue here are the counterfeitors that are taking advantage of our greed and flooding the market with low priced junk. Why bother developing and producing a quality product at a fair price only to have it crudely copied and blown out at rock bottom?"

***

You make a bold assertion that these imported generators are "low priced junk", yet you offer no evidence to support such a conclusion. My observations and experience with these Chinese generators lead me to think that they offer very high quality at a very low price. I honestly dont care who makes them. My computer is an IBM clone made in China and it is state of the art. My USB external hard drive was made in China and it too is state of the art.

You also assert that these generators are counterfeit, yet again you provide no evidence to support that claim. I have not seen any counterfeit engines or generators in the USA. The makers and importers of these engines and generators do not attempt to pass them off as Honda made products. They are clearly clones, not counterfeits.

Are you trying to say that these engines violate Hondas patent rights? The Honda GX engine series was developed back in 1983. Are you suggesting that Honda should have the exclusive right to manufacture the GX engine series without any time limit? Industrial patents only last for 20 years and they cant be renewed. Hondas patents on the GX engine series expired several years ago.

Honda cannot renew their patent on the GX engine for good reason. Patents are designed to expire to promote free access, trade and research development. As an example, some of the Chinese Honda clone engines now have their own patents because Chinese engineers improved the GX engine design. The clone engines are now better than the originals in many respects. Kart racers that I have spoken with tell me that they can get more torque out of GX200 clone than the Honda original.

I purchased the kingcraft 2500w 12vdc generator with the 168F 5.5 engine from Aldi of all places. It was $199.00 IT works great I have run 2 refrigerators and a well pump at the same time.Its as about as quiet as a coleman powermate,ITs a little heavy though, I easily put some casters on it.As far as service who cares for 199 bucks Ill just bye another one.

That Kingcraft 2500 looks very similar to the Coleman ProForce 2500. At $199.00 you got a great deal on that generator and, as you point out, service and parts are not very important at that price! The specifications state that it has a rated output of 2200 watts (18 amps) so its got plenty of power. You found a terrific bargain.

Hello to all.

Found your interesting forum while researching home generators. Costco has a Cummins Onan Homesite 6500 Portable Generator available at $679 which includes shipping and wheels but no battery. (5000 watts, 5500 peak) I also found this model available elsewhere for slightly fewer dollars, however shipping is not included.

While cruising the web, I found a Gentron (6500 watt peak, 6000 continous) generator "Pro Series". The engine is a Lifon (Chinese). The ad stated it had a JD engine, however all models in 2007 will be shipped with a Lifon. This machine is available (or was) for $699, an attractive price which includes shipping. The ad did state: "This is a pre-order special for shipment arriving Dec. 30, 2006", so it may not be available at that price. It did at least give me a benchmark in pricing. Does anyone here have any knowledge of this company and its generators?
http://www.generatordepot.us/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=30

Does anyone here provide a weather shelter for protection, or some sort of a doghouse when operating their machines? It would make sense to add soundproofing material inside a housing shelter to cut down on the noise. Paint it white to reflect the sun and extend the housing lengthwise to contain the noise.

I also found that some machines don't have an "automatic voltage regulator". The Cummins-Onan and Gentron have them although Onan didn't list it in their specs. I called Onan about this, and the woman did'nt know the answer. She asked someone offline, and then stated it had one. Makes me nervous when I get this kind of response.

Any comments or suggestions? I'd like to hear as much as can be provided about the Cummins-Onan. I'm leaning in that direction.

Don't know about generators... My brother bought a cheap azz 49cc Lifan Chinese pocket dirt bike. Required a lot of tweaking and adjustment since it isn't tuned from the factory. However he is on his third year with it and the bike starst after two pulls when cold no stuttering. He started it in -15 degrees celsius no problem. The periferal parts are cheap for sure... But, these parts are easy to replace yourself and the bikes are compatible with high end parts makers. $300.00 over 3 years plus about $60.00 in parts is pretty darn cheap considering he has actually jumped this thing off five foot drops...

Bottom line if it's under $500.00 and it's easy to work on, chinese small engine products are pretty good bang for the buck. After $500.00, it isn't worth the time and money at the begining spent on tweaking and adjusting.

I finally purchased the Cummins Onan Homesite 6500 through Costco after researching several brands and eventually talking to my electrician. He'll be installing the Manual Transfer Power Switch. Now it's time to design & build, or buy a shelter in addition to coming up with some noise reduction solutions. This machine is rated at 76 dBA.

Briefly cruised the web and saw that acoustic materials are expensive. Along with that, I'll need to find something that will safely tolerate heat. I've decided to paint the shelter olive drab to blend in with the nearby foliage, between our Peonies and climbing roses growing against a white barn.

greendrum, ANY "housing" will need plenty of air flow. these are air-cooled engines.

I use cinder blocks. I stack them higher than the genset, then cover it with plywood, then put some blocks on to keep the plywood down.

The key is that two of the middle rows of blocks are turned so that the holes allow air flow.

I purchased a heavy-duty "plastic" trash barrel storage shed, cut out large openings on three sides to install large gable vents (louvers) and mounted two 20" box fans on opposite ends. The generator is sitting on a set of wheels and feet with rubber tips. The fans are plugged into the generator and come on when it starts. Airflow is from left to right as one fan pulls in air and the other exhausts it. The generator engine exhaust is only several inches from the exhausting fan and the air flows unobstructed around, underneath and over the elevated machine.

The shelter top opens like the hood of a car. I've run the generator twice for testing purposes and with the "hood" either open or closed, the machine runs nice and cool. Outside air temperatures during both runs have been 22F and 30F.

The front of my gen-shed opens with two doors split down the middle. During hot summer months when I excercise it or actually have to use it, I plan to run it with the hood and front doors open. Can't get any more air flow than that. So far, we've had several rain and mixed rain/snow days and this thing is as dry as the inside of my house. The gable/louvers are very effective also come with screens to keep out critters. Next step is to have it wired with a transfer switch by a professional, paint it flat olive drab and watch it dissappear! :)

I store the fans in my cellar at room temperature, by the way. If by chance this thing does get wet, plan B is to purchase some sheets of thin, stiff plastic at A.C. Moore to cover the louvers. I also bought a cover for the generator made by "Classic".

One more very important item I left out. The gen-shed is on a slope and is leveled, of course. This prevents water from flowing through or accumulating inside (Boy
Scout days pitching tents). I also added plywood floorboards inside for support.

I have a question about a Chinese generator a 350 watt chicago electric generator. I am trying to find out who made it so I can buy parts when needed here is a picture
http://hudsonvalley.craigslist.org/wan/408778646.html

Well all I got to say (which most don't want to here)when you by off brands and cheap you better take very good care of this equipment cause parts may be hard or not available and the meterials aren't cast or have the same rust prevention as main brand products, why? that costs too much and they have no good name to ruin.

I don't blame china. at the being of the 20 century they could not cast or forge a rake or a shovel. I blame CEO's who sell out there products for cheap labor so they can pocket hundreds of millions of dollars using near slave labor. All of this defruads the comsumers which don't care as long as they save a buck untill the junk breaks or when the job loss hits home.

Do you really think that once they learn this and have the molds beings they honor no patent or trademarks rules that most of the rest of the world follow their not going to use it????? That's the cost of doing business with third world. Some say china is not the third world, but look how the adverage chinamen lives and what freedoms they have. Yes, this will offend some in high levels of management, but you allow it and want to cover it up at the blue collar worker expence.

China breaks every patent and copies anything they can. We even give them all the opinions to do it and sometimes teach them how. I will not be suprised one day the US gov. will contract out it military work. which is already happening, but not as wide spread as the free enterprise world. Just emagine being bombed by the bombs you built or the plane that dropped them??? How long will it take to copy that!!!??? IMO not long.

Hey everyone... I'm in the market for a portable generator for emergency power for my home... I've got a 150' deep well with a submersible pump, that I'm not totally sure how man HP it is... Some of what I read leads me to believe that submersible pumps can be as much as 1.5HP, and pull 5000 watts at startup or something like that...

So, anyway, I have two concerns...

One is the size of generator I need, which I assume to be at least 5000 Watts... need to run furnace, fridge, freezer, water pump... and a few lights.

Second area of concern... Voltage surges and/or Automatic Voltage Regulation. My concerns in this area are related to my furnace's electronics(or any other 'sensitive electronic' stuff I might have plugged in)... and what happens when say the water pump turns on and off and possibly creates a surge in electricity, etc... One of my neighbors claims his furnace was damaged when his generator had a voltage surge... I've had a electronic board in my furnace fail in the past, for reasons not totally known, but I it looked to me like a voltage surge of some sort, as one of the relays on the board had clearly visible damage that to me looked likely to be caused by voltage spike of some sort...

But anyway... back to "Chinese Portable Generators"...

I've been looking at the "ProForce 6000", you can find them for as little as $600. They have a 12HP OHV (no name) motor, put out 6000 watts... AND have Automatic Voltage Regulation.

It seems most low cost generators sold at big box stores, do not have AVR. I'm not sure I really have to have AVR, but it sounds like a good thing to have...

The question(s) are... Does anyone have any real details or knowledge of the ProForce 6000 (Model# PM0106000). Is there something better out there for $600-$700? Should I be concerned about getting a generator with AVR? (because they are kind of hard to find in a reasonably priced generator).

Thanks for any help that can be provided...

Or perhaps... I'd be better off buying a smaller generator, say a 2500 or 3000 watt generator and only running my water pump as needed... Say most of the time just run my furnace and maybe a freezer or fridge one at a time... then only connect the water pump up occasionally when I need to take a shower, etc... (and disconnect any sensitive stuff if/when I run the water pump) I guess then, the big question would be... will a 2500 watt generator safely operate a submersible water pump and/or it's startup load?

I do like the idea of only spending $300 on a generator... and also like the idea of saving gas when I only need 2500 or 3000 watts at any given moment... Gas is EXPENSIVE these days...

No responses???

Well, I figured out that my well pump is only 1/2HP... which by most accounts should not require more then 3000 watts at startup... So, I decided to go with a smallish generator... The one wound up buying is a Champion 4000 (supposedly 4000 watts peak, 3500 watts continuous... Found one at my local Tractor Supply store for $299. Cabela's sells this same generator for like $399...

The only problem now is... Looking at the cost of wiring, it's probably going to cost me darn near as much in wiring as I paid for this thing.

I've done some testing... I was able to start and/run my 1HP Air compressor with this generator... It bogged down and almost stalled the generator like 2 out of 10 tries but it never did completely stall the generator. Obviously the 1HP compressor motor is pushing the limits (possibly exceeding them). However, I pretty much new that 1HP wasn't really likely to work. I am very confident this generator will run my 1/2HP 240 well pump however, I haven't tested it yet, but plan to do so in the next few days.

This generator gets MANY good comments by RVers on the rv.net forums... they have entire threads with over 4000 posts about '3000 watt Chinese gensets'... the Champion is one of the most popular in that community it seems.

Hi,

Wiring I think is best left to the professionals. You need eiher a (1) Transfer Switch or (b) an interlock kit. This will allow you to run stuff without having wires everywhere. This instalation will cost you maybe $US 1,000 or so dependent on the number of circuits.

As for generators, I would have recomended the Honda 7,000. This is expensive though at $US 2,200 or there abouts. It is 7,000 watts. The nice thing about it is that it uses power electronics. So the AC power it produces is very clean and good for electronics. It also allows the generator to run at optimum speeds and not 3,600 rpm like most other generators (you need 60 Hz, hence the 3,600 rpm).

I have a well and when the power went out for 5 days it was really bad. Pipes froze too. In the end we ended up with a Cummins Onan RS 20,000. Sort of expensive though.

All the best, Mike.

I've had my Powermate 2500 since Xmas '06, and have put nearly 50 hours on it. Got it off eBay for 170 + 50 S/H as a refurb. Unit arrived with a gas tank fitting leak, but that was solved with an O-ring out of the toolbox.

I did change the oil after the recommended 10 hours...it had a noticeable metallic sheen to it. After that, the oil problem went away. I suppose it was crud in there from manufacture and break in wear.

It's a great little generator. Decent output, starts easily and luggable by one man. Saw them over the weekend for $317 at Wally World and definitely think I got a good deal. Just remember to change the oil the first time.

I've got small horse shelters away from electricity, so Have 4 (3 850 watt and a 2500 watt)I'm in Germany so mine are 230 volt. One of the 850's would have been enough, but the local HD equivalent had them marked down from 99 euro to 49. Too good to pass up?? The only thing that sold me was there was two more and a 2500 watt one there with various broken parts (2 pull ropes and an engine mount)that he said cost more to send back than they were worth. Got the whole lot including the new one for 100 euro.
For what I need, they seem to be OK.

Pro's: noone wants to steal them so I can leave one hooked up at each building.
Con's: Throw them away when they quit, or wing it yourself.

Good Luck,
Think I'd get a bigger gas can and some earplugs and keep what you've got. If you want to give the chinese some money, take your family out for Chopsuey.

You get just what you pay for and can get better for just a small amount more.Why would you want to trust there products.They try killing our kids with lead in painted toys.They tried posioning our pets with there dog and cat foods.Then they put razors in lollie pops.

looking for a replacement on/off switch for my generator
it was bought a costco it is a nikota model #06044.. 3500 watt... 6.5 ohv . its red with a simple turn on/off switch.
on wire connects with anothr wire then the unit plugs into the generator itself. i have used the generator before and it had worked very well

So, lots of good information, including:
all these low cost generators have Chinese engines and Chinese generators. I don't want to go into all the many reasons I have, (many have been listed on this thread already...), but I don't want to buy Chinese products.
So, what companies are making generators in the 5KW to 10KW class in the good ole USA? (or at least a friendlier country, Canada, Mexico, Japan, etc.....)
Thanks!

About a year ago I recieved a generator from someone who owed me money and couldn't pay me. It's a 7500 watt "Titan" diesel generator with 27 hours on it. I really haven't had to use it yet, I only crank it occasionally. I looked it up and it appears that it is Chinese, but the new ones I see are not cheap, they're over $5k. Anybody know anything about these Titan generators?

Someone stated: "You get just what you pay for and can get better for just a small amount more.Why would you want to trust there products.They try killing our kids with lead in painted toys.They tried posioning our pets with there dog and cat foods.Then they put razors in lollie pops."

I second this opinion. China is attacking our internet sites, stealing our military and commercial information, and in general, means us no good over the long haul, i.e. after they are done sucking us dry as a consumer nation.

I discovered for not that much more, $1400, Generac makes an 8KW generator in Wisconsin, using an engine and generator made in the US. I am not so craven for a "good deal" that I can't or won't spend a few hundred more to have it well made, and well made in the USA. Don't be cheap and unpatriotic, don't buy Chinese generators!

Just Thought I'd share some of my experiences - I originally bought a Coleman Powermate 6560 with the robin subaru engine on it. It did fine till it hit about 60 hours of use when the generator head endbell bearing went bad and wiped out the entire generator head during a storm (*iss poor engineering if you ask me). The generator was still within warranty (or so I believed) but the company in Nebraska had filed bankruptcy and had gone out of business.

Rather than loose ~300 bucks in groceries and all of my frozen elk/venison/pheasant/turkeys in the freezer I went to Home Depot in our neighboring town and bought a Homelite HG-5000 which 1) was all they had left and 2)I thought was an American brand...

Here it is on the web: http://www.homelite.com/catalog/generators/HG5022P

I got it out of the box, filled it with oil,gas,choked it and and it fired up first pull. I got to looking at it and discovered that not only was the whole thing was made in china by a company named Ducar, it was the same model they make for the chinese army. It uses a 389cc 13hp Honda GX390 Clone engine - it looks the same as the real thing except the stickers.

Check it out:

http://www.ducar.com.cn/cache/pro/20080515173627-60528.shtml

I tried to take it back and exchange it for something a little less communist, however Home Depot was adapting Red Army policies too because they have a zero return policy on generators once you buy one. So I'm stuck with it.

After that storm was over I went over the whole thing and made sure all the nuts and bolts were snug. I didn't over tighten anything, but quite a few were looser that what they should have been. Hopefully they used a torque wrench on the rod and main bearing bolts. I also adjusted the intake and exhaust valves to Honda Gx390 Specs.

74 Hours and 2 oil changes later it has (sadly) outlasted the American made equivalent. That's bittersweet as we used to be a country that made the best stuff. But that's another subject

With 5500 watts I am able to power my furnace, the fridge, a freezer, the basement sump, some lights and the TV. It goes about 9 hours on a tank.

The robin subaru engine that I have leftover from the dead powermate still runs like new so I may just replace the dead coleman head with a new (non coleman) gen head.

I have two cheapo China Clones , ran both for over 6 yrs no problems other than cheap recoil prawl gear and recoil springs , go figure. Only have them for back up got them both for under $200.00 . Both 2-stroke . I usually run my Honda and Yamaha 4-Strokes for Camp , the Chinese are borrowed frequently by my Son for his fishing excursions . If you need a cheap back up Gen Set and you are mechanically inclined the China Units are a no brainer , but don't rely on these for routine usage back in the sticks as your sole power supply ! Peace of Mind comes at a Substantially Higher Price lol .

Here is a real shocker for you. Just check out the Communist North Korean website. It is listed as something like "http://www.korea-dpr.com/";. The Commie North Koreans who hate America more than anyone, are making generators, power washers, cars, trucks, motorcycles, and many other products. I have seen their generators, and I'm sure they are sending them to Red China to sell to us. I wouldn't trust a commie North Korean generator anymore than I would trust a Red Chinese one. I'm sure many are the same ones, just different names and paint jobs. They also have bought the equipment from Japan and other countries to allow them to make these products. You can see the generators they make on that North Korean website. I'll pay more for a Japanese or American generator.

Word of Warning about Generators. I too was intrigued by the cheap price of the Chinese generators, however if I need it, it's for a multi-day outage during the spring ice storms we get here. So, wanted something reliable.

Decided to go with the Generac 3750 (or was it 3250, I forget), which claims to be American made. Ordered it from Amazon, came in, nice unit, starts easy, runs quiet, etc. etc. I posted an in-depth review at Amazon if anyone's interested.

Anyway, after some research and speaking directly to Generac, I discovered they are American made, EXCEPT for the engines on their "smaller" units which use a "market generic similar to the Honda engines." They wouldn't define "smaller" for me, beyond saying that I had one. That translates to a chinese clone.

I guess I'm satisfied with the unit, I'd have preferred a Honda genie, but that was more than 3 times what I paid for something to sit in the barn and be used every 2-3 years.

Guess, if something touts "Made in America" check the fine print. e.g. Some years back we bought a John Deere Farm tractor, 55 HP Diesel and Deere and American made are synonymous, right? This tractor was made in Germany??? Still a real Deere, but one wonders.

Ev

I was wanting to know if you can tell me what kind of motor the King Craft has on it?

>Guess, if something touts "Made in America" check the fine print.

Yea check out the Harley Davidson Motorcycles which clearly state "Made in America"...they mean essembled here: Austrialian wheels, Japanese Carb, Engine is Korean Block etc!

im working on a friend's generator.a collapsed spring.may as well replace both springs.i cant believe how simple the task is.problem is .... i havent figured out where to bye parts.i would love a referral.my application is as follows- i have POWERWISE 3500.( JD3000/JF200 engine ).made by Jiangdong.apparently same as honda gx200,onan 2400...something like that.my jiangdong vin # application and model # are different than honda vin.do i create a ghost engine, to get honda parts on a jiangdong jf200 engine.

Since the origional subject kinda changed into quality and countries, I'll throw my two cents in.

Some Chinese products are excellent. Digital cameras, for example. I've bought four in the last five years and they've all worked fine.

Now Chinese flashlights, that is a whole other matter. I love flashlights for some reason, and I can't stop buying them. I have about 45 now, cheap to medium price. One out of the fifteen Chinese lights works properly. All the others are interminent when waved around in a normal manner. When new. None of my U.S. or other imported flashlight behave like this! I wonder if the springs are made of too thin wire. Can't tell, tried to stretch out a few of the springs. Even a $30 U.S. branded Chinese made flashlight did this. I can't be the only person who noticed this.

This last month I've purchased four belts. Three were Chinese made with names like Tommy Hillfiger. All three showed quality problems in the first month of use. One of the Tommy Hillfiger's stiching unraveled within ten days. Another belt seperated the leather from the buckle within three weeks. The fourth belt was a U.S. made product, but costs more at $40. My question is, why are the major brands selling us this stuff, and why are we buying it?
At size 34 my stomach can't be at fault. I blame the name brand folks who contract this out with an interest in profit over everything else.

So my opinion is that Chinese quality is neither all good or all bad, but differs in various areas.

You are correct about the quality issue. It varies. My best ever portable drill, a Milwaukee, is made in China. Superb quality. On the other hand I have had some awful tools made in China.

Many people talk about Chinese products as if they were all manufactured by one company when they label all products from China as "junk". As mentioned already, the term "jap c rap" was widely used decades ago for the products coming out of Japan. Now Japanese made products are known for their generally high quality.

I want to make the point that the country of origin does not determine the quality of the product.

I also want to make the point that China did not attack us at Pearl Harbor, or anywhere for that matter.

China is an enigma of sorts because it has a capitalist economy and an authoritarian government - although I hear that some communistic policies are rapidly shrinking as the people see the virtues of a free market. (our government seems to be going the other way!)

I own a few gensets that were made in China. A couple of small 2 stroke generators sold by Harbor Freight that are copies of the Yamaha ET950. They always start and run when I need them. I frequently lend them out to friends if they lose power.

I also own one of the 3000 Watt gensets that use the Honda GX200 clone engine. I got mine at Costco, it is a Nikota Tools brand and was manufactured by Jiang Dong in China. I use it for backup power and to run my 220V air compressor and a small 220V welder since I don't have 220 power in my garage. It has 250+ hours on it, it was purchased in 2007 real cheap because of the non-existent 2006 hurricane season.

I also own a motorcycle made by Lifan in China. Lifan is the largest PRIVATELY OWNED motorcycle manufacturer in China. The bike is a knock off of a Honda CT-70 Trail Cub, except it has a 110cc engine and a 4 speed trans good for 50+ mph. It is street legal, and I use it for running errands around town. I bought it in 2007, it has about 2000 miles on it and has never given me any trouble. I use Harbor Freight engines made by Lifan (GX200 clones) in my mini bikes, go karts and as replacements for power equipment. The GX200 clones run reliably, they are quiet, have cast iron sleeves, full ball bearing supported cranks, and will last longer than the aluminum bore Briggs and Tec engines they are replacing.

I think it's a shame that we don't manufacture these things here in America anymore. Blame it on the unionized worker that thinks they are entitled to $50/hr and full benny's to screw products together on an assembly line.

And don't believe the myth that Chinese workers make pennies a day. The middle class is growing in leaps and bounds in China due to their economic growth. They are tossing their bicycles and scooters for Buicks. (they love Buicks!)

So if you want to bash products, bash the brand, not the country the product was made in. America has produced some pretty awful and embarrassing products in the past. Not everything that is built here is of high quality or best design.

I purchased a Power Pro Model 2000inv Inverter Generator in December 2007 sold by Wen Power at PepBoys. I used it extensively but about three months ago it stopped running. I took it apart recently and discovered that one of the two bearings for the overhead camshaft had done bad and took other parts of the camshaft with it. After reading all this I think I may be SOL but where do you get parts for this thing? Have researched everywhere trying to find parts to replace the whole camshaft. I have noted that the chinese do not appear to document much of anything and do not set up any way to get parts. HELP!

Hmm, I purchased a 3kw electric start Chinese made generator about 5 years ago. I bought it as backup for a greenhouse I owned. I have since gotten rid of the green house but use the tiny generator to power my house in outages (which happen frequently in NYS). As stated, I pretty much power the whole house, sans the electric stove and Dryer. I regularly run two window AC units, refrigerator, freezer, furnace, well, lighting and two plasma TV's. Yes, I know that is crazy and impossible... however.. it does do it. I do start everything one at a time and if both ac unit the well and refrigerator cycle at the same time the generator practically jumps off the ground, but everything works just fine. That being said, I am looking for a wiring diagram of the thing... That will prove difficult... only draw back.. getting service.. sigh.

I am an Engineer by profession base on fuel generator only , I have many of clients which are under my mentainace shedule ,some Chinse potable gen set are good ie some are made of high quality standard while some are nothing to compare to them . when purchasing any seek specialist advice on the type of genset to recomend to you.
These mistake is taking place every day because of inglorant
1 When buying a gen set for a customer , you must find out
the tppe of applainces the customer is having ,that will determine his requirement.
2 Mentaince shedule , many people do not even know when to mentaince there engine or not.
3 Sort out for specailist ,trained for the job who can garrantee you the life of your generator

Chinese generator to the rescue!

I live in central NJ and we just got hit with hurricane Irene. We had power throughout saturday night into sunday morning until about 8am when the winds blew over a tree in my development and knocked out the power. The Nikota generator I posted about earlier started on the first pull and powered our freezer, fridge, 42" plasma TV and lighting for about 8 hours until power was restored. (didn't even use a full tank of fuel) I loaned the Nikota genny out to a friend in nearby PA where the power is still out at the time of this posting.

All I can say is that being prepared for a storm is worth every penny. I usually use the generator to power a 220V air compressor and MIG welder because I don't have 220 in my garage, but it served well during this power outage.

All of the little Harbor Freight Chinese two strokes were also lent out to friends in need, and for the record, they will run a 1/6 HP utility pump with power to spare for some lighting and fans.

Chinese Generator 3000W 3568 Hours on it,run every day start first pull,do I need say more?

Costco is having a sale on a Portable Generator starting in a week or 2. It is a ETQ 7250/8250 for $650.00 The generator is manufactured in China. Has anyone had experience with this brand. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Farbie, you asked about the ETQ Brand Gen sold at Costco, my brother has one and is really pleased with it. He has had it for a couple of years and has to use it for power outages up to 7 days. He swears by it and is easily maintained. We were just talking about them last week and he mentioned that they are going up in price at Amazon and you have to pay shipping (wow!!). He said to take a read at the user comments and you would be swayed to make a purchase of the ETQ. He did tell me that the Operation/Parts Manual was poorly printed, but he downloaded from the ETQ website and it is now super.

I bought a Chinese Wen power 5500-watt generator (13-HP gasoline engine)from Pep Boys about 5 years ago for $350. It sat in the crate for 2 -3 years until I finally put oil and gas in it. Worked fine for a test run, and then later for our community theater who used it to set lights so their show could open on time (regular power was back by opening night) and it powered my house for 1 1/2 days when Irene knocked our commercial power. I had wired a few circuits to an emergency panel fed by a manual transfer switch, fed by the Wen. It powered up our heating, oil fired water heater, dishwasher, portable TV, coffee pot, toster, a few lamps, and three refrigeration units. It did its job very well, although our fancy microwave oven would not operate with the 62-Hz frequency the generator provided. An old, cheaper microwave did work, however, as did everything else. Picked up TV off the air. I maintain an antenna anyway just in case cable goes out. I buy American where possible (I always buy American cars) but I just cannot justify $1000 for a rarely-used generator. They say that peace comes with trade since you do not attack your trading partners. I hope so.

the chinese made engines are made from the dies that honda sells to other companies. they have a proven track record, and even have their own class among small engine racing applications. i dont belive their is any reason for anyone to call them "junk" as you WILL NOT find any reviews on premium engines or generators that have not had problems or failures. GENERAC, which is a company that ONLY makes generators, now use clone engines. you will not walk into any home store, and find a snow thrower, pressure washer, or lawn mower with a honda or briggs and straton without ann insane price tag attached to it. might i also remind you, that with a labor cost of $95/hr these small engine mechanics charge you these days, is it worth it to fix a 10yr old honda when you can replace it with a new engine for the same money? lastly - there would not be a demand for these, which there obviously is, if the american companies were not trying to suck every last dollar out of the public. a company oversea's can reproduce and SHIP all there engines here for less than half what a honda cost - which i might also remind you - is made in china.. lastly ill bring up one more important point - the people that knock these are the people that dont own them. when you want a good review - ask the people that actally own one - not the people that want to belive their stuff is better just cause they spent more money.
if you have the money to spend, and its for something you need your life to depend on - then yes its probably a better idea to go with a honda. the actual motors are very similar, but honda does use better carbs, better qualtity tanks and will have metal lever and switches in place of the clone's plastic. - but prepared to spend. nobody is saying the clones are "better", but they are far from junk. if you have an old mower or snow thrower that you kept good care of, but the b&s or honda finally gave out, can you justify spending all that money to replace it? for the price of replacement honda these days you can buy a new 2 stage troy bilt thrower with a clone.

People require many facilities during different circumstances and situations. Power is an important source and without energy it is very difficult to conduct any business and today everything depends upon power; however, on account of acute power shortages, many times, people are in a position to depend upon alternative sources like generators and inverters. Especially in populated countries like India or China where more people are dependent on power, during the course of any power crisis, people depend upon the generators and inverters.

When it comes to inverters, they can be utilized for minimum number of hours since inverters supply power from the energy already stored in the batteries. On account of several difficulties as mentioned above, nowadays alternative power equipments including portable camping generator are used so that uninterrupted power supply can be made available at any point of time.

KCTYPHOON............You're WRONG.
"GENERAC, which is a company that ONLY makes generators, now use clone engines. you will not walk into any home store, and find a snow thrower, pressure washer, or lawn mower with a honda or briggs and straton without ann insane price tag attached to it."

After reading your post, I went to my shed to verify you are WRONG. I OWN A GENERAC 2100 PSI PRESSURE WASHER, I bought it about 8 years ago at Lowes and have used it several times a year since I bought it. Lend it to friends all the time, and it has at least 100 hours on it. It has a 3.75 Briggs and Stratton motor and cost me less than $175. I did quickly look on line and it does appear they have a different engine now and costs more...BUT...just so you know, Generak makes more than Generators. ;)

In furtherance of the Chinese making junk.......Briggs&Stratton and Generac (B&S owns them also) have generators coming in from China. I did real searches and contacts, and there are no American Made gas generators that are sold for the homeowner.

Another way to look at this: maybe the Chinese are the suckers here, in that they are shipping us stuff that is often pretty high quality, for dirt cheap prices. Who benefits more?
Anyhow, the solution might be for us to stop buying everything Chinese, while they stop buying everything U. S. (let's see--agricultural products, luxury cars--Boeing airplanes--what else?)

Any body have any more info on these Mighty quip generators. They are all over Craigslist for almost double what Home Depot sells the same ones for. Apearently made in China and dressed in American stickers. EU8000 EU8500 EU9500 EU8500s