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(More customer reviews)As an engineer, I'm obsessed with numbers and choosing a generator presents the perfect opportunity to play with them. I won't bother you with a lot of technical details, but this is the generator I chose after 4 months of deep, deep researching.
First criteria: my needs. I wanted to power a 3 bedroom home with a finished basement through the harsh winters in Maine. Here are the devices I setup as an absolute necessity to power up during an emergency:
1) Water well pump, 2) Furnace blower, 3) Basement Sump Pump, and 4) Refrigerator. Here are the "good-to-haves": 5) lights in the kitchen and main living room, 6) pellet stove, 7) oven range. And, finally, just the "nice-to-haves": 8) TV, 9) microwave oven, 10) computer. And here's what gets excluded: all the 2nd floor in the house, garage door opener, bedroom lights, everything else not listed above.
By adding the must-haves and nice-to-haves, a 5500 W generator takes care of business. One of my concerns: since I have a lot of electric motors to start (well & sump pumps, refrigerator, furnace blower) this requires a good surge capacity from the generator. In case you don't know, a motor takes a lot of electricity to start up, between 3 to 5 times (!) over their normal running wattage. Here's the caveat: not all motors should start at the same time, so then determining what your surge wattage is becomes an "art". Consumer Reports simply tells you to ignore the surge wattage, since all the generators they tested started their appliances with no problem. Well, the thing is, they don't mention what appliances they tested and how they started them (manual selective start or just regular use?). So, their point is taken, but surge wattage can't be simply ignored (it shouldn't be the only criteria to buy a bigger generator, though).
Well, this generator, with a 9000 W surge, is the biggest I've seen in all 5500 models -- it beats them all. So, this model is perfect for me, as it meets the criteria I've selected above. It even powers my computer and TV (with surge protector) if the oven range is turned off.
This is very important: if you turn your generator on, you're in "emergency mode". This means, you lose some comfort, some conveniences. You just try to keep the inconveniences at a minimum. Well, if you don't agree with my assessment above, you're looking for the wrong type of generator. If you want to power your entire house and live as if power wasn't lost, you need a stand-by generator, not a portable one. Of course, they cost a lot more money (good and powerful ones start at over 10,000 bucks). That's a lot of money to pay not to be inconvenienced. Now, since you're looking for portable ones (I assume so since you read this review so far), you'll have to give up something. Basically, you can't throw a pot roast party for 20 guests if you lose power; like I've said, you're in emergency mode. Cooking a gourmet meal shouldn't be a priority, order out, get pizzas. You get my point. So, decide what you want to power in an emergency situation.
Second criteria: fuel consumption. I was just about to purchase a 7500 W model with 13000 W surge, for about $1,400 bucks! Have you seen the fuel consumption for these generators? Only 8 hours, tops, at half load. This ones rates at 13.5 hours. Well, with gasoline prices hovering at around 2 bucks a gallon, do the math if you run a larger generator for 2 weeks (a possibility over hurricanes and severe winter storms): it may cost you over $500 dollars in gas! Of course, with this generator the cost drops significantly and you don't have to wake up in the middle of the night to refuel it. This is very important to me, especially during cold winter nights.
Third criteria: quality of parts and components. I wanted a good engine and a good quality brand name generator. This one meets my criteria. It's not a Honda, but they're overpriced anyway and most home-owners and occasional users won't benefit as much from them. Construction workers, electricians and contractors may benefit some from their cleaner electrical output and "quietness", but no generator is really quiet. I ran a Honda once at my house and, sincerely, they're loud too. You just have to work around their noise, it's one of the inconveniences of being in emergency mode. Compare the noise of a generator to 5 kids screaming at the top of their lungs. With a Honda, you have 4 kids screaming at the top of their lungs. My point: 4 or 5, it doesn't matter, they're still loud.
Finally, here's what I mean for "less is better". If all you want is to power your house during an emergency, there's a good chance you'll be wasting your money if you buy a 10,000 W generator or bigger. First, 10,000 Watts is a lot of juice to deliver and you'll need 50 Amp plugs, cables, and a big transfer switch box if you want to use all that juice. They're ALL more expensive when you talk 50 Amps. The regular 30 Amp already costs money, about $100 for cable (depends on the length you want), $300 bucks for the transfer switch with 8 to 10 breakers (a bit less with
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Porter-Cable BSI550-W 5,500 Watt Generator with 10 HP EngineBe prepared for power loss emergencies with the Porter-Cable 5,500 watt generator, featuring an overhead valve Briggs and Stratton engine and seven gallon fuel tank.The powerful 10 horsepower engine delivers with a 9,000-surge-watt capacity, providing 13.2 hours of power at half load and 8.1 hours at full load.This generator offers convenience with semi-pneumatic wheels, full-width axle, and handles that fold and lock for trouble-free transport and storage.It\'s also constructed with a completely welded steel tube frame to protect important parts while rubber isolators protect the motor in order to reduce vibration.The Porter-Cable BSI550-W is built with a cast-iron cylinder sleeve and low oil protection for all day endurance.In addition, the innovative brushless, all-ball-bearing alternator produces with less down time and the accessible front panel includes two 120 volt outlets with an one installed circuit breaker and one 120/240-volt twist-lock connection.
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