Features:

  • Extremely quiet operation comparable to the sound of a normal conversation according to the US Department of Health and Human Services
  • EPA III and CARB Compliant 60cc OHV engine produces 1250 surge watts and 1000 rated watts
  • Great for campgrounds, construction sites, tailgates and power outages
  • Produces clean power to safely operate and prevent damage to sensitive electronics such as smart phones, tablets, televisions and computers
  • Includes two three-prong 120V receptacles and two 5V USB ports
This generator rocks! It kept 2 refrigerators and 2 ...

This generator rocks! It kept 2 refrigerators and 2 freezers going 24 hours/day with a little room to spare for four days in the aftermath of the Irma induced storms in Atlanta.

Excellent for the money. Quiet as claimed.

I've used it 8 hours and performed the recommended first oil change. Received in fine condition. Did not start until I performed the troubleshooting step in the manual corresponding to "Generator was tilted when adding oil, or shipped side-down". After that, it started on the third pull. I checked the sound level with a Noise Sound Level Digital Decibel dB SPL Meter and found it to be close to what claimed. It works fine up to 1500 Watts continuous. 1500 to 1600W may or may not work. Any surge that lasts more than a couple of seconds above 1600W will stop the generator. The side panel for the oil check/change access is bothersome- not a good design but it seals the inner components well from the elements. It runs stably with hardly any shaking and it is as thrifty as claimed. The fuel gage is very useful. Checking the oil after the first change, there was hardly any debris in the oil and it is was not particularly dark. The generator is not as powerful as the Honda 2000 generator and its durability is yet to be determined but for the $415+tax that I paid for it, it is 5 stars.

8 hours every day for at least 4 months

I bought this soon after the Maria storm hit Puerto Rico. The generator has been used every day for at least 8 hours per day and its still going strong with no problems whatsoever. That is at least 4 months ppl!!! Highly recommended!

Proven performance

Recently purchased two units for parallel purposes. After unboxing first unit, opened gas cap, noticed a strong gasoline smell. Thought the unit may be run tested or something similar, still seemed rather odd that residual gasoline would be left in a unit prior to shipment... Took off side panel to look at oil, unit did have some residual oil left, however; this was very clear oil, so I figured it may be a non-issue. Figured they may be run tested at the factory. Second unit had no such gasoline smell and had nearly no residual oil leaving me to doubt my previous assumptions. While I haven't run tested either at this time, I do have a bit of apprehension about receiving a unit with residual gasoline, barring any safety/shipping concerns, the chance of problems down the line related to gasoline evaporation/deposition is troublesome (Carb failure due to residual gas is major source of failure for all carborated generators). Given that these units do not have hour counters, I am unable to tell if the unit I received was returned, the only saving grace being the aforementioned very clear residual oil Upon running the units I will update my review based on performance. Initial Performance update: 5/28/2016 Oil - 10w30 Pennzoil Platinum Synthetic, 1 quart = about 3 generator fills so cost is negligible Aftermarket Yamaha magnetic dipstick installed http://www.amazon.com/dp/B017CXO7AQ?psc=1 Wen parallel kit http://www.amazon.com/WEN-56421-Parallel-Connection-Generators/dp/B0144O1808?psc=1 L5-30P to 2 5-20R Y cable (wanted for full 20 amp down 25 foot 12 gauge extension cord) First unit started was the one with the gas smell, followed instructions, started up second pull. Followed same instructions for second unit, started right up, though there was a significantly different burning smell with the second unit for awhile after start up. Seemed to dissipate (I'm guessing that is new generator smell burning off assorted residual chemicals in motor, which supports the first unit having being ran at some point prior in its existence). Should note that start up pull is very, very light. Both units stabilized, checked outlets with a box fan, no problems. ECO mode is extremely quiet, but even at full speed, it isn't very loud. Shut em' down, installed the parallel kit (took it apart before hand, simple parallel junction box with no internal breakers). Should note that once the engine has been started and gas has been circulated, don't use the choke per instructions, good way to flood the engine. Started first generator, let it stabilize, started second generator, let it stabilize, checked parallel kit with a box fan, had juice. Ran extension cord to room I would power in a an outage, hooked up a 15,000 BTU 120 volt AC (LG Brand). AC started, compressor kicked on, generators powered through. Standing by the generator, you could hear them buck a bit when the AC started, but it responded quickly. Ran a few other odds and ends without issue which would suffice in an extended power outage. Didn't play around with ECO boost and the AC connected, worked great with power tools though. After running AC for about 2 hours (88 F outside), I shut the units down and looked at the magnetic dip stick. Dark metal fines on the dipstick. I believe this is the black dirt that most folks were seeing in the first oil changes. Cleaned the dipstick, put back in, ran for an hour, cleaned dipstick, repeat. The oil itself was immaculate, dark material was all magnetic. Ran fuel out of generator (started with half tank). Will likely change oil after next run assuming dipstick doesn't show clear. Not worried about this issue, this is a known problem for high end Yamaha's as well (hence the aftermarket magnetic dipstick). Overall I am impressed with the generators (assuming initial burning smell on one unit and residual gasoline in the unit's tank aren't red flags, 2 stars off for that for the time being). Lot of clean power and flexibility for the Money. Power outage performance update: 6-13-2016 Lighting struck near home during electrical storm, lost power. Ran generators in parallel, in ECO mode with the following: 15000 btu window unit, Full size refrigerator, 60 watt lamp, Computer speakers, 2 phone chargers and a tablet. Made a parallel extended run system that can use any generic 5 gallon fuel jug. They did shutter a bit when the AC compressor kicked on, but powered through. I give em' 5 stars now.

Getting us through post-Irma

Hurricane Irma - bought as a prep for the storm and things are working out great - constant usage for the last 4 days all through the day and night. Running full sized fridge and deep freezer, 7500 BTU window unit, TV and a floor fan. Also various chargers, etc... all at the same time. It does require some planning to get all of the larger appliances up and running so that the surge wattage does not hit all at once. Tripped the overload a few times getting it all figured out but this generator is running a heck of a lot more simultaneously than I thought it would when I bought it. Very happy so far. Have to disconnect the window unit to hook up the coffee maker, but that's a small price to pay for keeping the wife happy. I also want to comment on the fuel efficiency of this generator. Buddies of mine are running around struggling to fill their tanks with almost non-existent gas after the storm, and I'm just beginning to think of restocking my cans. We burn a gallon every 6-8 hours or so with all of the aforementioned load hooked up, but when out and about during the day, we have just the fridge and the deep freeze going and a gallon lasts almost 12 hours with just those two things going. I was nervous about how much gas we had on hand before the storm (12.5 gallons), but at this time, four days in, I just filled up the generator and we still have five gallons left in the cans. I am really happy with this generator as it suits this purpose. We still have all of our food, not struggling to find gas or ice, and we're sleeping cool and have hot coffee and the DirecTV is getting us news. I can't speak to the long term reliability of the unit and some of the negative reviews had me nervous, but four days of constant use have me writing this positive review. Very pleased. Hate Irma, love the Wen.

It can then easily handle these appliances one at a time

Waited a year to review (about 100 hrs on the machine).. Ok, here's the deal. Take it from a retired home builder with lots of generator experience, if you plan to rely on this unit to make a daily living, (think food truck) I would save my pennies and go for the twice as expensive Honda only because they are proven to last forever. But, for any other application, especially camping, look no further than the WEN 56200i. Mine does everything it's advertised to do but no more. By that I mean, you cannot exceed the 1600 watt continuous or 2000 motor start surge max. So before you click "buy", know your wattage, especially the start up power of motors involved. Read the directions! I can keep mine in econo mode in my camper van and watch TV, run my small refer and a small fan if need be, all at one time. In this application, it only revs up for a second or two when the refer compressor kicks in and then right back down to a purr, Really quite. If I want to use my Keurig clone or the microwave, yes, I actually have to get out of my recliner and hit the switch to get out of econo for a few minutes. It can then easily handle these appliances one at a time. It's quite, sips fuel, fairly light and the motor never misses.Starts on first or second pull every time. The only drawback is changing the oil every 25 hrs, but it's easy to do. Just watch the price, Last year it went back and forth from around $485 to a low of $410. And oh yeah, never, never ever leave fuel in it unused for more than a month, or you will be looking for a new carb.

Still Going Strong after Irma

Bought this Early Tuesday AM in anticipation of Hurricane Irma's arrival in Miami and I am sure glad I did!. It has worked like a champ. Runs my 8,000 BTU portable A/C which I also bought the same night on amazon. It has been running nearly non-stop for 4 full days now. You have to learn to connect the appliances with the highest starting watts first. I am running the a/c, full size fridge/freezer, 65" OLED TV, wireless router, 2 LED table lamps, large floor fan, and a UPS with several battery chargers plugged in, and a MacBook pro charger. If i want to run a microwave or nespresso machine, I disconnect everything else and only run each of these at one time and have had no troubles. It always starts on the first pull. You need to make sure you change the oil after the first 8 hours and then every 25 hours after that. SAE 30 works best for hot weather. I also bought the magnetic oil dipstick. Mine came with a copper grounding rod. It is also not that noisy. It is not quiet, but not so loud. It lasts about 4-5 hours with the load i am running before i have to refill the gas tank, and there is a fuel level indicator on the top of the machine..

Does Exactly What I Wanted.

So I ordered this generator for the specific purpose of powering up my 18 ft. camper batteries (2 deep cycle 6-volt golf cart batteries) during the day so that my lights, water pump and heater would work overnight, so that I could dry camp in the mountains. I took it out for the first time on our 10 day / 9 night family vacation recently. Five of the nine nights we camped without electric and water and the generator operated flawlessly. First, it was easy to get ready. I did have to add oil, but as I change oil in my cars and other smaller equipment regularly this was easy. The oil fill area is easy to get to and well marked. It was easy to learn how to start, and it is easy pull to start it. My 17 year old son easily learned to start and operate it as well. Second, it runs fairly quiet. My in-laws own a Honda and I don't make any claim that this runs as quiet as theirs (but the Hondas are also much more expensive), but it still ran really pretty quiet especially in economy mode, which I used most of the time. Four of the nights we camped in forest service campgrounds with other campers and I was trying to be considerate of them, and for the most part, I do not think they were bothered or even noticed much (I did make sure to run it most of the time during the day). I was running it about 20 ft from our campfire and was still able to have a comfortable conversation with my family. Third, it charged and ran most of my appliances. When it was running all of my camper appliances including our small Microwave worked. The one exception was is the AC unit, but as most of our camping is in the mountains we don't use that unit much, and did not need it at all on this trip. I think it would take 2 of these units hooked up to run our AC. It charged the batteries from about half full to completely charged in under an hour every day. Fourth, it was exceptionally fuel efficient. I filled it before we left on vacation, and I took an extra gallon of gas along. I did not need the extra gallon, because in about 5 hours of running on economy mode it used only 1/4 of the tank of gas! On the whole, I am very pleased with it. As long as I take care of it, I think it will probably last for years to come and make boondock camping much easier. If I run into maintenance problems or if it breaks down in the first few years of use, I will come back and revise this review, but for now it is just what we needed without having to pay the Honda price.

Great little generator.

So far this product earned 5 starts, I will update if that changes. I did run in to some issues, so read below Generator arrived in undamaged box and I could not see any damage on the unit itself. When removing side panel, you will need to take out 3 phillips head screws at the top and one bolt at the bottom, no tool is included for this bolt. But you can use small nose pliers to undo it. Everything looked bran new inside, I opened the oil cap and tipped the generator to see if any oil was inside, there was some oil in there and manufacturer confirmed this was from the factory. You should drain that oil. Added new synthetic oil, added gas and tried starting the generator, but got nothing. I called the manufacturer and checked everything I could but generator would not start. My hope was that maybe it was improperly stored during shipping(upside down) and some oil made it inside the cylinder and possibly got on the spark plug. I did not have the tool to take spark plug out so I decided to wait. Next morning I tried again and it started on the second pull. Runs quiet. Some things that maybe useful: It comes with funnel and tube to fill the oil 12v plug with clips for car battery charging is included Tank has gas level gauge at the top Side panel can be tricky to re-install, make sure you have it snug all the way around before putting in screws There seems to be carburetor drain valve under right side panel(same as oil) with tube running down under the generator, you need screw driver to open the valve. I have not tested this yet. Magnetic oil cap is recommended to collect metal particles, since this engine has no oil filter. My personal suggestion is to change first oil fairly quickly after engine worked itself in, this will removed any material that came loose. Always use fuel stabilizer when storing and start your generator every few weeks to keep it humming.

Greatest Yamaha EF2000is clone on the Market

I currently have a Yamaha EF2000is. I saw the WEN on hot deals recently and couldn't pass it up for the price. I could have bought two of these and had change for what I paid for the Yamaha. The reason that I purchased the WEN is that the engine is a Yamaha clone, it's very similar inside, and the wiring diagrams are virtually the same so that I believe I can parallel the two generators. It's made in China, but the Yamaha has a label inside that it's made in China also. Smarter tools also has the Yamaha engine but they lablel theirs "Powered By Yamaha". I don't know if WEN licenses this engine or if it's a knockoff. I'm betting that both units might be made side by side in the same Chinese factory. I've received it and have run it a couple of days and really like it. First of all it's very attractive. Inside it seems to have nearly the quality level of the Yamaha although there are differences. The engine is the same design but it has a dipstick whereas the Yamaha only has a plug. The spark plugs use different size wrenches. The inverter on the Yamaha is cased but the circuit board components are open on the WEN. One thing I like about the Yamaha that's missing on the WEN is the little door that allows you to access the oil fill hole without removing the entire side cover. I oiled it and gassed it and then pulled the starter rope a couple of times slowly. Then I pulled twice and it started. I ran it through several short cycles with varying load and then cooldown to break it in. Then I ran it side by side with the Yamaha testing it with the same loads. I believe the Yamaha is marginally quieter but not by much. When on autothrotte the Yamaha responds to load faster whereas the WEN would blink it's overload lamp for a few seconds while catching up to a 1,500 watt load from idle. But really there seems to be very little difference in the performance or noise levels of the two units. Also the WEN is a couple of pounds heavier. Update 04/01/2017 - A couple of years ago I gave away my Onan generator in my class C motorhome and replaced it with more batteries, a charger/inverter, and solar panels. I boondock always and never hook up. I don't want to start a generator every time I want to use the microwave or make a pot of coffee. I carry the WEN56200 in the coach for when solar isn't enough and I'm not driving enough to charge the battery bank from the vehicle generator. I fire up the WEN and run it at 90% load (I've added a tachometer) for a couple of hours. I never carry extra gas for it as I've never come back from a camping trip where I had used half of it's tank. After a year, the WEN still works great and starts right up every time. My Yamaha EF2000is has been gathering dust in my shop. I ran it several hours yesterday powering a 40 amp battery charger charging the two 12 volt batteries on my big truck. It purred away on 1/4 throttle and you could hardly hear it from 50 feet away. I just received the WEN parallel kit and spent yesterday parallel testing the WEN56200i with my Yamaha EF2000is. Both gensets paralleled with no problems. They shared the load well with almost identical RPMS. Both gensets held a nice steady 60cps standalone or paired. The max that I could load the paralleled gensets was 3,000 watts before the overload light came on the WEN. The Yamaha is just a bit stronger. See the attached picture. Ran them with two 1,500 watt heater at various settings as well as my air compressor. The little known secret is that any brand inverter generator that is parallel capable can be paralleled with any other brand. Honda, Yamaha, WEN, Smarter Tools, Etc.

Full Reviews