**Item: **PowerPro 2-Stroke 1000-Watt Generator
Price: $94.99
Shipping Options: $5 Standard
Condition: New
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So-so reviews (2.8 out of 5.0) over at homedepot.com
[MOD: FWIW, 4 reviews. One liked it, one said it was too noise for camping, two weren’t crazy about it.]
I have had bad luck with these…I have 3 of them that were bought over 5 years ago, 2 worked successfully once and 1 was DOA. Between the 3 of them, still could not make 1 functional with the parts…a painful lesson to learn when you actually NEED to use it.
I’ve owned one of these for more than 3 years and I love it! I used it on many occasions, notable during last year’s storm we had in October in NJ, when our power was interrupted for more than 10 days. I kept it going for 10 days, stopping only to gas up. When there are no storms to contend with, I use it on my property to power electric chain saws, trimmers and other power tools…only weighs 39 lbs.
While this generator should NOT be considered as your main generator to power the whole house, it will power a normal size fridge or several lights and TV. During a storm, I use it to power our basement freezer (not frost free), house gas fired hot water boiler and gas fired 50 gallon water heater. It will do this for days on end. A full tank (about a gallon) will run the generator under this load for about 12 hours.
By the way, this is the time to buy a generator! If you wait until the bad weather comes, you will be too late.
Here is a link to get info on ordering parts and also to download an owners manual if you want.
http://www.wenproducts.com/store/Power-Pro-2-Stroke-1000-Watt-Generator-56100
Click on the parts and accessory tab and the download tab.
Any 2 stroke is a bad pick for a generator motor. They don’t make low rpm tq like a 4 stroke, not made for steady state load / long load of generator. If you run the gas tank dry on any 2 stroke, you run the chance of cooking the piston from lean condition
There is no affordable 4 stroke in this output category. I wish there were! 2 Stroke motors are durable and are not matched by any 4 stroke for weight v. output.
Harbor Freight has a coupon on for one similar to this for $89.95. This one is better! I bought one to sit in the garage unopened as a just in case investment.
Btw, I have Makita 4 stroke weed eater and blower just so as not to mix gas and oil…if you ever pick up a 4 stroke chain saw you’ll know why most of them are still 2 stroke!
THIS IS A GREAT BUY!
I like 2-stroke engines. I have them on my motorcycles and chain saws. They have a wide power band, can run at high RPM, have a higher power to weight ratio than a 4-stroke, have fewer moving parts, and you don’t have to worry about changing the oil because the engine is lubricated from the fuel mixture. I have run my 2-strokes out of fuel lots of times with no damage to the engine.
Harbor Freight’s is 800 which is almost unusable but in am emergency it’s like gold! I have their 3200W which I bought for $289. My son yses the 800W when model flying in remote areas. Both proven reliable.
This seems like a good deal, especially with parts availablity.
He said captain, I said watt,
He said captain, I said watt,
He said captain, I said watt,
He said captain, I said watt d’ya want?!
I got one of these a while ago after doing some research. The wattage and horsepower numbers aren’t actually that reliable if you’re trying to compare generators. In fact, Honda, Briggs and Stratton, etc. had a class action lawsuit a few years ago because of misleading horsepower numbers. They’ve now switched to using engine displacement (cc).
Anyways, the PowerPro unit is 72cc, and it’s more powerful than comparable units from All Power (http://www.amazon.com/All-Power-America-APG3004-1000-Watt/dp/B0017YV188/) and Steele Products (http://www.sears.com/steele-products-1000w-portable-generator/p-07191858000P) since those are both only 63cc but also marketed as 1000 Watt.
This is definitely the best deal I’ve seen for a small generator like this.
If you have a Harbor Freight around you they have a gas model of this. Doesn’t have the fancy gauge but it is a gas model. Not 2 cycle. They usually email out coupons and sell this for around $80.
That is SO UNTRUE! Hopefully, this will enlighten you…
A four stroke or 4 cycle engine requires that the piston moves 4 times (up, down…up, down)before it has one power stroke. A two stroke or 2 cycle engine requires that the piston moves only 2 times (up, down) before it has one power stroke. This means that theoretically, any 2 cycle engine produces TWICE the amount of power of any 4 cycle engine. This is because the 2 cycle produces one power stroke for each revolution of the engine while the 4 cycle needs 2 revolutions to produce only one power stroke. This translates to twice as much power. For small engines, where weight is at a premium, the 2 cycle is the ONLY way to go.
This is very similar to the Harbor Freight model as mentioned earlier, however it does have slightly higher running wattage and a larger engine.
I would consider this a good deal for the minor difference in price and additional features. The control panel on this unit is much nicer with a volt meter and 12VDC output.
I have two questions:
What are the specifications of the charging circuit? Does it do a true 3 stage charge? I was considering this unit to use an external pure sine inverter connected to the 12v output, but the manual states it is only for charging batteries. That is fine, but i’m not about to hook up any old charger to my very expensive deep cycle batteries.
What is the AC output? Is it true sine or modified sine or what? From the manual, I am inclined to say that it is a sine wave output.
I would like to use this to power electric tools (such as chainsaw) in a remote location. Anyone know if this would NOT work?
Actually, right on the picture it says, “2-stroke”
It should work just fine provided you don’t draw more than the generator is rated for.