WGen5300v

I purchased the Westinghouse WGen5300V generator after a lot of research and careful consideration and I am very happy with the purchase. For context, our house is 2600 sqft and we have mostly electric appliances. Given the frequency of power outages (we have above-ground lines and live in the Southeast US where hurricanes and tornadoes aren't a rarity - we had 6 outages lasting more than an hour in the past calendar year), I wanted something to power the house during extended outages. Initially I was looking at the WGen7500 for our house, which if we wanted to run all electric appliances within the house we would need, but after using a number of generator power calculators and reviewing data from my meter, I determined I could power enough of the house to be comfortable while minimizing cost (i.e. I shut off the breakers for the hot water heater, HVAC, and washer dryer and can power the house's outlets, refrigerator, lights, TVs, and computers). I also like that this unit is pull-start as the larger/more expensive models have a remote start, which while convenient, adds weight, cost, and complexity. The generator itself arrived pretty quickly all things considered. Assembly was very straightforward, and as others have mentioned, the documentation is very good on how to convert the unit from a bonded neutral to a floating neutral. It even comes with a bottle of the exact amount of 10W-30 oil you need. After attaching the feet and wheels, filling the oil, and filling the gas tank, following the instructions I started it up (again, well detailed and straightforward). I let it run for the specified break-in period with no load, then hooked it up to the house and confirmed it's able to power everything we need. The display on the generator itself is pretty handy to see the frequency and voltage output. The only criticism I have echoes that of other reviews in that the unit arrive with a slightly dented alternator cover. Not a big deal, but it did make switching the unit from bonded neutral to floating neutral a tad more difficult as to do so, you have to remove the cover. A bit of elbow grease and a pry bar did the trick, so no major issue. All in all, I'd highly recommend this generator to anyone looking for a (partial) home power backup solution and I imagine it will be more than enough for even pretty large RVs.

After sitting in the box for a year, we were able to set it up easily, pulled the cord and she kicked in and ran like a dream. Great service, and great product. two thumbs up and 5 stars.

This is my first generator, got it for planned utility power outages. It was literally the least expensive generator I could find on Amazon. Despite the low price, it has excellent features and I'm very happy with it. Pros: - At 5300W, tons of bang for the buck. Better power output than generators costing a lot more. - Started very easily, 1st or 2nd pull every time. - Has a display to show total running time, watts, etc. Many other generators don't have this. - Came with oil, so that's nice. - Big gas tank and seems to be very fuel efficient. Tank holds nearly 5 gallons of gas; I was only running a fridge and deep freezer plus a couple lights but even so I got easily 18 hours before I had to refill. Very happy. Neutrals: - It's certainly not quiet, exactly, but overall the noise level was tolerable. If you're standing 20 feet away you could talk in a normal voice volume with someone, but the background would be totally dominated by the sound of the generator. You're not going to forget it's there. Negatives: - The only real negative with this unit is the THD. The product info says something like "THD <23%". Well first off, 23% is huge. Most other generators have much less than that (and an inverter generator would be like 3%, though more expensive). Second, how much less than 23% are we talking? Because of this I did not feel comfortable plugging any electronics into this unit. So that is definitely a limitation. Overall I'm very happy with this unit for the reasons above, taking into account the extremely low cost. If you just need a basic generator to have on hand for emergencies, this one puts out plenty of power to run your appliances, lights, etc.

Updated 10-30-2020: This generator worked fantastically overnight as our home lost power during Zeta. It’s now at a family member’s home whose power was not restored yesterday. Worth the investment. Original review: We’ve been wanting to get a generator for a while because where we live in rural Alabama poses issues for power outages from hurricanes and other severe weather episodes. This generator is fantastic. Some friends have the fancy permanent version that automatically switches over when the power goes out, but we wanted one like this that would be portable so we could transport to other areas of our property and travel with if desired. We have a roughly 2000 sq ft home with all the standard electronics and appliances. When we received the unit, we turned everything on in stages and measured the output to see how much the generator could handle. It hummed along and never faltered. The only thing (and we knew this in advance based on calculations) it won’t carry is the start-up load of the air handling unit’s compressor. However, we didn’t expect it to and have planned to run fans instead of the large, whole-house unit. My husband and family members were well-versed on how to install using a 4 prong outlet attached to our exterior panel breakers and the special cord to connect it. I do recommend following the instructions on the unit and using non-ethanol gas (we’ve learned the hard way on how ethanol does damage to small engines). When in use for alternate home power source, the generator sits outside about 20 feet away from the house and is right outside our master suite with only a bathroom separating it from our bedroom. We cannot hear it over our usual nightly bedroom fan, and even with it off, it’s just a pleasant hum. Very pleased!

Very pleased with my purchase of Westinghouse WGen5300v. Amazon delivered the generator right to my door in a matter of days. Unboxing was easy and all necessary parts were included ...wheels, mounting feet and oil. They even included a funnel extension for adding oil and a little tool kit for changing the spark plug. The directions were straight forward, and it took me only about 30 minutes to get it ready to add gas. This generator is solidly built and assembled with attention to detail. It is easy to maneuver around and takes up less room in my garage than I thought it would. It starts easy and runs like a champ. I would recommend this generator with high marks ...10 out of 10!

We lose power due to bad winter weather more than we should, and it is all due to it being an old neighborhood that is full of old massive trees. Last year we spent about 3 weeks without power, and spent more money than I care to think about because generators were no where to be found at the time. I decided on this one after shopping around and also reading numerous reviews. The affordability was a plus for me as well. It was delivered on time, and was packaged well with everything I needed. Directions are very straight forward on the few things that aren't already done, as well as starting directions for anyone that doesn't already know the steps. For the initial start up it took a few pulls, but after that it typically starts on the first pull. The generator is loud (not nearly as loud as a few of my neighbors) which I am sure everyone is dumbfounded by that after I gave the noise level a 5 star. I am not someone that rates anything that often, let alone give a 5 star rating, but what I am is someone with realistic expectations. Most of the negative reviews I have read on here are from people griping about something that is to be expected. -this generator is loud... what did you expect? if you want a super quiet generator buy that is a third of the power for double the cost. -it is heavy... that is why there are wheels. Several other brands I looked at you had to buy the wheels separate. -it is hard to move... if i had no idea of the size and weight then I would have looked at the specs before buying it. I bought a generator to help power some of my home. Not a tiny solar strip to power my phone.

This is an amazing generator. We bought it and had to put it to immediate use. With Amazon prime we had it in two days. Assembly was very easy and it was up and running within a few hours. It fits our midsize home perfectly. We were able to connect our refrigerator, freezer, and the neighbors refrigerator without any problem. The noise level is not extremely loud but admittedly it did take a little time to get used to it. One of the other things that I liked about it was that it was relatively easy to understand how to get it up and running. This was our first generator and we were a bit anxious about getting it up and running. The instructions were good and easily understandable. Really glad we made the purchase!

Had it about a week runs great. We are living off grid. Runs about a solid 8 on a full tank and I'm using about 3500 watts I can get 12 hr out of a 5 gal jug. Starts on the first pull. Gotta leave choke open a smidge. Changed oil 3 times in first 5 hr. I use Lucas oil and reg oil first two changes then switched it to high mileage synthetic. DO NOT BREAK IN WITH SYNTHETIC No load first hr change oil, 25% load for 1 hr change oil, swapped to synthetic 50% load till we hit 5 mark and now she runs like nobodys business. Okay we're basically 3 months out and the pull start has broke they sent a new one it broke. Now we are on week two of no power and we have went 3 days in a row with being told that someone was going to call me back by that evening that never happened now it's the weekend and nobody's there but for the fourth time they'll forward my information over to customer service on Monday. I will update on Monday. Honestly until this this generator was fantastic. The problem is is it's out of the return date for Amazon, not far enough out of the return date for the insurance to cover it and the manufacturer is not contacting me. I damn sure better not have just bought a $600 lemon I will blow my tippy top.