WEN Gas Generators - Your Choice of Wattage

Deal Chatter Tools & Garden
#21

borrowed an 8,000/10,000 Ridgid generator with detachable control/starter unit (with a thick bundle of cables to plug stuff in so we could run that inside & leave the generator outside) from the father in law a few years ago. it was loud, but it was awesome & kept our food from spoiling in the chest freezer and fridge, ran a few lights & charged devices. the more load, the faster it used gas, but it lasted a good while before refilling since we didnt over load it with unnecessary stuff.

if i buy one, i’ll get one like that

#22

Not that I’m in the market for one, but is there any way to expand the fuel capacity? 6.5 gallons won’t get you very far at all and it seems like it would be a real hassle to keep filling it up several times a day during an extended outage, not to mention keeping enough fuel on hand to run for a couple days.

#23

Does anyone else find it a bit disturbing that the company information page basically states that electricity was invented in 1951?

#24

You realize of course, that back feeding a panel is insanely illegal and risks death to linemen as they’re trying to restore power. Right??

#25

Unless you use a transfer switch.

#26

here about 5 years ago with Ike, I backfed through my dryer plug (had to make my own power cord to do this, with 220 males on both ends). Just got to make sure you throw the breakers that are coming into your house (the ones that when you are getting power normally coming into your house, cut off all power) so that it stops the power you are generating from leaving your house. I generate my own water (on a well) so 2 weeks without power you get desperate. I am contemplating buying the smaller one for up at my ranch (will run small tools, a air compressor, a window AC unit, etc.).

#27

Only if you’re an idiot and don’t turn off the main breaker.

#28

oh…one other voice of experience thing. when storing, run any ethanol blend out of it. And honestly, I don’t recommend running it completely dry (even running out the ethanol dries things up). Run the ethanol out, then fill it up with regular gas (which you can get at home depot for like $5 a small can) then put that in and run it for a bit, then turn off all the fuel. This regular gas is pretty stable for up to 2 years. In my experience, better to let it sit idle with some regular gas in it than to run it completely dry off of ethanol blends. Just make sure you turn off the fuel petcock so that gas does not constantly fill/evaporate and varnish the carb.

#29

Anyone looking for a DIY poor man’s transfer switch, here you go. $150 and you’ve idiot-proofed your home generator setup from accidentally killing a lineman.

http://www.interlockkit.com/

#30

Whole houses in general don’t draw as much electricity as you think they do, unless you’re being silly. I currently am still saddled with a 5500W (20A)pull start generator that during Irene ran my whole house for 5 days. 16 hours on, 8 hours off, used about 5 gallons of gas per day. We used every appliance in the house as we normally would, just not all at once. I can tell you that right now my house is drawing less than 1000W of power continuously. So again assuming you’re moderating your electrical consumption (which given you’re using one of these things in a time of crisis, shouldn’t be TOO hard for you) you’ll find the run time on a tank of gas should be more than acceptable.

#31

I have the 16 HP version (probably much the same as yours) and I don’t find it too loud. However, it the noise the generator creates is too much for you, buy a larger muffler which will quiet it down considerably. Or you can go on U-tube where about a half dozen guys will show how to build a very quiet muffler for cheap. Fairly easy to do.

#32

It may surprise you to know that most generators on the American home market are in part, or completely made in China. The fact that it’s made in China will never stop me from buying one. If you take care of the machine with regular preventive maintenance, it will serve you well for many years to come. If you feel more comfortable buying an elite Honda, go for it. Understand, however, that the Honda of the same output of the largest one here will cost you about $3,500…maybe more. Does that price leave you with a sort of empty feeling inside?

#33

Good question! And the answer is YES!!

I converted my generator (same as the 9,000 watt shown here) to run on natural gas. It’s really very easy to do and the conversion kit is available on line, giving you EVERYTHING you need for about $190. You could be guided by a very thorough video which will show you exactly how to make the conversion using the kit provided.

I no longer need to wait on endless lines during a general outage and pay artificially inflated prices for gas. All I need to do is wheel the generator out of the garage, plug in the quick connect natural gas hose and start the generator…THAT’S IT!

#34

Question on generator storage. Will it be damaged if stored outside? I will only give up garage space if the machine needs it. I live in Minnesota.

Also, how do you move the 4050? Does it have wheels? I see wheels in the picture of the 4750.

Thanks,

#35

A transfer switch will work well but is very expensive. In most cases, the transfer switch ( a new electric panel box which is really a duplicate of your existing box) There is a MUCH CHEAPER alternative and one which is approved by your township. It’s called a “GENERATOR INTERLOCK KIT.” The cost of one of these kits is as little as $69. Google GI KIT and you will see at least a half dozen firms that sell them.

#36

Don’t store it outside! You will shorten the generator’s life by doing so.

#37

Thanks! Will not try that.

#38

For anyone interested in power consumption, here’s a graph of my home’s power usage in KW (located in the south). Yellow was yesterday, a mild 65* day, blue was last august, a hot day. I’ve got gas heat/hotwater. No other major appliances like dryer or iron running and it’s just me living here.

The large blue spikes are my AC unit kicking on and off. Total household use stayed below 9KW even with the AC unit.

#39

I did a lot of research before buying the 3500W version from Amazon last fall. I chose WEN for their durability and reputation for service after the sale. Even though I paid more than the smallest one selling here today, I felt the value was there. As for noise, right now I am running the gas out of my snow blower and it’s just a tad louder than the generator.