PREDATOR 9000 Watt Max Starting Extra Long Life Gas Powered Generator - EPA III SKU 63971
PASS
PREDATOR 10 In. Heavy Duty Generator Wheel Kit SKU 64788
PASS
THUNDERBOLT 12v 10 Ah Sealed Lead Acid Battery SKU 62586
PASS
This is going to be a review of the generator and accessories but I will include some basic general knowledge as well.
Please use safe practices when using a generator on your house. Don't back feed the power grid or make homemade suicide cords. Last year in my house I had an electrician professionally install a generator inlet kit and interlock kit for my whole house panel. I have a 200amp panel but my house is small. Single level ranch, 3 bed, 1 bath. All LED fixtures but I do have central AC and electric stove and oven. This way I can power my house in the event of a power outage. It is nice to have it all set up correctly and safely. A couple of months ago in the northeast we had a power outage. I was without power for 3 days, many people up to 5 days. I am a first time home owner and still trying to get everything set up so at this point I didn't own a generator yet so my awesome whole house hookup was useless. Once generators came back in stock I decided I needed one for emergency uses.
Type of generator:
Inverter vs regular generators.
Inverter Pros: Much quieter and can usually vary RPM based on load, put out cleaner electrical power, better on gas.
Inverter Cons: Much more expensive. Generally not available in large outputs like for a whole house
Regular Pros: Cheaper, much higher outputs
Regular Cons: Louder, shouldn't run sensitive electronics like a computer, use more gas
For my house a regular generator was a no brainer.
Deciding on size:
I wanted to power my whole house which may be a different case than what you want. For generator inlet boxes there are generally 3 inlet types. 20A, 30A and 50A. 20A is for RVs and small house hookups. If you want to find maximum wattage you just multiply Amps x Volts for Power. In a house panel you probably are using 240/250V circuits as well which is 4 prongs. 120V is 3 prongs. A 20A inlet box is good for (20A)x(250V)= 5000 watts. That means if you have a larger generator than 5000W with a 20A inlet it is overkill as the receptacles couldn't handle that power anyway. I think 5000W was a little low for a whole house. Also not many generators have 20A outlets.
The next size up is 30A. (30A)x(250V) = 7500 watts. 30A seems to be the most widely popular. Almost all generators have 30A outputs even in smaller sizes.
The next size up is 50A. (50A)x(250V) = 12500 watts. Seems like 50A should be the way to go so you have some overhead for a whole house. Unless you are getting a very large generator they usually do not have 50A outputs.
So in the end 30A will run my house (at least all the main things needed but pretty close to everything), and is by far the most common so that's what I got. The 9000 watt starting, 7250 running watts. I could also run my house off of any of the smaller generators as they all have 30A outputs I just couldn't run as many items.
So like most things Harbor Freight you always need some extras. Here is everything I bought for a really nice complete set up.
From Harbor Freight:
Generator: Obviously. I had a coupon for $599.
Generator Extended Service Plan from Harbor Freight: This is a $129 add on for 2 years. From what I have heard Harbor Freight does not have a repair center. If it breaks they just give you a brand new one. I did it for peace of mind since it was a decent investment but not necessary.
PREDATOR 10 In. Heavy Duty Generator Wheel Kit: A wheel kit is necessary. This thing is HEAVY. They make an 8" and 10" wheel kit. I just got the 10" since the generator is so big. It is $49.99.
THUNDERBOLT 12v 10 Ah Sealed Lead Acid Battery: For the electric start. $39 from Harbor Freight and I used a 20% off coupon. Not necessary unless you want electric start. Engine has a pull cord. I got it incase my wife needs to start the generator.
From Misc. Vendors:
Generator cord: This is one area I didn't feel comfortable using the Harbor Freight item. This cord needs to carry a lot of power, for a long time and in my case a pretty decent distance. The Harbor Freight Cord is 25ft. I needed about 40 feet from my hookup to a safe distance in my backyard. Connecting 2 25ft cords is possible but is not ideal. The longer the cord the more resistance and usually has a downgraded rating. I don't think 2 Harbor Freight cords could handle full power. Due to the distance and power required I got a 50ft cord from Generac rated for full capacity (7500W) at that length. I felt more comfortable from a Generator company and the cord seems very high quality and got great reviews.
Battery Tender: I bought a cheap $25 batter tender junior battery tender and maintainer 750mA. This way I don't have to worry about the battery being dead when I need it.
10W30 oil: This is the specified oil. Run whatever brand you like. I bought Mobil 1 synthetic. You need just over 1 qt.
Long funnel: Oil fill is kind of under some stuff so you need a long funnel to pour.
NGK BP7ES Spark plug: The engines come with a Torch Chinese spark plug which people say is pretty crappy. I bought a replacement from Advanced Auto for under $3. The manual says a Torch F6TC which is equivalent to a NGK BP6ES. My engine actually had a Torch F7TC in it so I bought a NGK BP7ES. If you buy a generator I would just replace what is in the engine with the NGK equivalent. I checked a bunch of engines at the stores (generators, power washers, plain engines) and they seemed to vary from both 6 and 7 heat range plugs. I couldn't figure out if the variation was from age (older items had a 6, newer a 7) or if it was based on item like generators and power washers had a 7 and plain engines sold had a 6. Either way I don't think it is a huge deal.
Dielectric grease: To put on the spark plug boot as just general maintenance
Fuel Stabilizer: I use Sta-bil Storage for the generator since it will sit more than most items. They actually sell it at Harbor Freight but you can get from any autoparts store. Although Harbor Freight does do $2 off instantly if you buy a generator and Sta-bil product at the same time.
Hour Meter: I bought a cheap inductive hour meter off Amazon to track hours for maintenance since it does not come with one.
Set up:
The generator comes with the battery mounting bracket and hooks. I mounted the battery in and put the battery tender permanent hookups so when I need to charge I just plug in a quick connector.
It also comes with a spark plug wrench. I removed the stock plug and replaced it with the NGK. Put a little dielectric grease in the spark plug boot too.
Mounted the wheel kit. The tires do not have air but they are not solid rubber either. They seem to be filled with a solid type of foam. The first kit I bought the tires had some huge dents in them like something was sitting on top of them. I wasn't sure if over time they would un-dent and go back to normal so I just returned it for a new one. Next one was good. One wheel sits at a slight cant but this is not due to the wheel kit. The one bracket on the generator frame looks like it was welded at a slight angle so the wheel sits at a slight angle. It doesn't rub anything and works fine but a minor annoyance.
Filled the engine with oil. These engines essentially get filled right up to the threads of the dipstick so super easy to fill.
Installed the hour meter. Just wrap the wire around the spark plug wire 5 times and zip tie it. I double stuck the meter on top of the gas tank.
Filled the gas tank with fresh gas with Sta-bil storage fuel stabilizer. Gas tank is claimed 8 gallons. At 5 gallons it looked pretty full. You could see the gas all the way up to the screen in the fill. I kept going. I stopped at 7 gallons because the fuel level looks high but the gas gauge shows about 7/8 so I would say it can hold the full 8 gallons.
I also opened the airbox to just check the filter was ok. The foam was put in a little crooked so I just straightened it out.
Starting and Running items:
I charged the battery with the battery tender until it was full. It probably came with 2/3 or more charge straight from the store based on charge time which is better than I thought. For the first start I wanted to use the pull cord. I turned the fuel petcock on, put on the choke and it started right up first pull. Immediately was able to turn the choke off and it ran great. I thought it may take a couple of pulls since it was the first time I put fuel in. I let it warm up a minute or 2 and then plugged in a portable space heater which is like 1500 watts. I have heard it is not great to run a generator without some load on it. I checked all of the regular 120V outlets and they all were good. I also tried running my big shop vac and that was no issues either. I shut it off and tried starting again. No issues, first pull. I then tried the electric start. The electric start is definitely less powerful than me pulling the cord. For the electric start it always works flawlessly and started right up but it does require the choke. I found hot or cold the electric start needed the choke to start right up otherwise it just cranks. With the pull cord you don't really need the choke as much and it starts up easier.
As of now I have a couple of hours on it running misc. things. I have not had a chance to test the actual voltage outputs yet but that is something I want to check. We have not had another power outage so I don't have a multi day test yet but I will update if that happens. Since I now have everything I am sure I will never lose power again.
I do feel confident in this generator. I have come to find out the 212cc predator engine and 420cc predator engine (which is what is in this generator) have MASSIVE aftermarket support. Companies make pistons, rods, cams, valve springs, heads, superchargers, carbs, and more. Many people use these engines in go karts, mini bikes, and whatever they can cram them into. They run them on gas, propane, natural gas, alcohol and I'm sure other things. I am not worried about keeping the engine going. On the other hand I am not as sure about the electrical generator portion. I am pretty sure Harbor Freight has sold thousands and thousands of these with pretty overwhelmingly good reviews so I do not see any issues coming up but just to be safe that is why I bought the warranty.
Overall for the features, quality, price and reviews I really think it is a great buy.