by GerryS » Thu Sep 25, 2014 5:03 am
I've got one that was probably built by the same political prisoners sold under the Meijer brand.
We ran a concession business and ran fans and lights with it, but with flickering and buzzing not heard when running on other power sources. 6 hour run time is about right, maybe longer. Load has a lot to do with that. It worked fine, but I wouldn't put sensitive electronics on it unless it were truly an emergency. It started easy when we got it, but less so now that it has a hundred or so hours on it...it usually takes started fluid now. But once it's warmed up, it starts without much fuss.
Just for giggles, I tried to run a 5000 BTUS window shaker on ours....no dice. Once the compressor kicked in, the unit bogged down and died. Even my 2400 watt yamaha has to work a little for that.
My though is why would I trust a $100 generator to charge a $600 phone. I haven't got an oscilloscope to see how clean the sine wave is but harbor freights track record on things that have moving parts isn't the highest. Screwdrivers and wrenches are another discussion.
As far as noise, it's a 50cc 2 cycle, so it's sounds like a chainsaw, maybe a little quieter but not a lot. For us, we used to put up a sound shield (a couple boxes or boards) between us and the generator, keeping it about 50 feet away from us, and it was tolerable but it certainly could be heard.
Something not discussed, is that it does produce that beautiful 2 cycle oil smell. Seriously, I like it. Reminds me of an old lawn boy mower my gramps used to have, But take heed a fellow camper might feel a little differently.