I needed a unit ua-cam.com/users/postUgkxOTeIs0vv4_9B5hsmnLsk9r930uDQLu_Y that I could store in my home when I wasn't running, so it being light and running on propane were key requirements. I can store the propane tank/bottle outside yet store the generator in my home when it's not in use as I will never put any gas in the engine. It is so light, and on echo mode, which I expect is how it will be used most of the time, it is pretty darned quiet (certainly compared to all the generators I hear in my neighborhood after each power outage).Many of the previous reviews had me concerned that it would be difficult to start on propane, but I have to say, I had absolutely no problem at all. I primed it first using the choke...3 pulls, heard the engine want to start, flipped it to propane, and one more pull and she started. I ran it for 2 hours the first time and plugged it in my fridge. And when I was done, I put the propane tank away and carried the generator to my basement for next time.I could not be happier.
I got mine going on 2 years now and works excellent. Uses less gas on eco mode than the Honda 3000. I was thrown around by a bear this last summer as I think the bear thought it was a picnic basket and left it upside down. I turned it upright and it started right up so I feel it is a pretty darn good generator.
First time pull start and it works nice, I've had mind for a year and it hasn't failed me yet. They have made adjustments on the newer generators that plug in better. I am sure you will not regret buying this generator I use non Ethanol gas in mind and change the oil often. Good luck and happy camping. This Sailor is out....
There are 7 screws on the panel faceplate that can be removed. Once inside the case you can rotate the RV adapter to whatever position you want. Saw it in another UA-cam video. Seemed to have worked great! Aloha
I have 3 of these generators I purchased for my company and after buying my first one it preformed so much better than I had expected I bought 2 of the 2000 watt generators they are so quiet and portable . I use my very heavily and my guys do not maintenance them I have not had a single problem after 3 years of use . You will not be disappointed
*glug glug glug* At 4:28- hold the quart of oil so that the spout is on top, not on bottom. When you pour, the air will escape and the oil will flow freely and far less likely to make a mess. 👍
I bought one when they were on sale at Harbor Freight. I wanted a inverter generator because of the economy. I only have a few hours on it so far. So far it has served my RV without a problem. I think we made a good choice.
@doc hall Yes, mine is. I have, however, found I don't use it as much as I thought I would. I have a large installation of solar and lithium batteries so the need for electricity only shows when we need Air Conditioning. I would rather try to NOT be where air conditioning is needed :-)
Your oil change break-in protocal will make that gen last way longer. Lots of particles come out of cheaper made motors. It's key in making them last. 👍
Had a Predator for Hurricane Ike here in Houston. Got me through 7 days of no power. Was able to run the refrigerator, a small room A/C unit and some lights. Kept the food from spoiling, the bedroom cool and enough lights lit for the entire 7 days. Back in 2008 it cost $300. Sure, it did not power the entire house but it was enough to get me through those 7 hot, humid days until the power came back.
I know of two Honda owners that upgraded to the Predator. One is a local mobile vet that had nothing but trouble with their Honda. After several repairs (none under warranty) they bought the Predator as backup. Now the Honda is backup for the Predator. They have had no issues and wish they hadn't wasted their money on the Honda. The other family is off grid and their Honda has cold weather issues that Honda can't fix. You bought well.
I have had Honda motorcycles, outboards, mowers, trimmers, blowers, generators & my Dad has had an Outdoor Power Equipment business for 40 years & has been Honda's top dealer for the whole country (not USA) for a long time,... During one year, his single retail outlet sold more Honda mowers, one at a time than the country of New Zealand ! I worked for him for 15 years & I can tell you that Honda products certainly do FAIL & the big boys like Honda, Husqvarna & Stihl are not all made in Japan & Germany ;) Most of their products are made in China, Thailand, Taiwan & India ! My Dad has been selling Mowers with Chinese Engines for years not to stay competitive & these "junk" engines have had a warranty repair rate of LESS than 2% which is better than Honda & Briggs & Stratton !
I changed my oil at 4, 8 & 25 hrs along with an NGK plug at 25 hrs. It runs like a scalded dog and powers my entire 32" 5th wheel with a 15k a/c unit. I am very happy with this unit.
I have had my predator generator for almost a year. It has been wonderful. At 8 hours I changed the oil to Royal Purple. Also, you will find the 30 AMP plug goes the wrong direction for your RV power cord. There is a great UA-cam video on how to easily turn the plug so that your RV cord goes down, rather then UP and risking vibrating out (someone said the Honda 30 AMP plug does the same thing). I also purchased the vented door (another UA-cam video), that helps with the surging that might happen. What I liked about the Predator most was the quiet and the ability to run my A/C quietly. Enjoy
I just bought the predator 3500 inverter at the beginning of summer.. We use it for our Jayco jayflight 32BHD. It has no problem keeping everything running. I've just been keeping up with the maintenance
I bought the same generator right before Hurricane Harvey in 2017. We live in Corpus Christi, right about where the storm made landfall, so I knew we'd be without power for a good while. I went went this gen, mainly because of how quiet it is. I didn't want a big "COME AND STEAL ME!" beacon for several days till power was restored. Also wanted to be considerate to my neighbors. This fit both criteria. You can't even hear it running inside the house, much less from the neighbors house. This thing did NOT disappoint. We went without power for 8 days. This generator powered our refrigerator, a fan, a small AC window unit, TV, Xbox and a couple lamps with LED bulbs. Everything we needed to be comfortable. Since Harvey, I use it to power Flood lights for overnight fishing trips, our pop up camper when camping, and for random worksite stuff. In three years, the only thing that's crapped out on me is the battery. No big deal. Just be sure to follow the care and maintenance instructions and you should be good. Once my warranty expired, I cut the fuel line and installed a valve so I could cut the fuel off and let it run itself dry. That'll keep your carb cleaned out and you won't have any clogging issues.
That's great! It's still going trying for us and we've only had to replace the spark plugs once. We love how quiet it is and we feel we'd buy another one if it quit working down the line
@@WanderingWagners You just reminded me that I need to check that spark plug today. We are supposed to have a tropical storm hit us Saturday, so I need to get that generator ready to go. Haha! Thanks!
Love my Predator 3500. I have had it 2 years now and works great! I had it up on my property and the other day when I got there saw it pulled out and dragged about 10 feet from where it was left. I also noticed it was upside down. Looks like a bored bear decided to toss it around for a moment. Outside of a little oil that leaked out, I righted it up and it fired right up! So I can say that this Predator was stronger than the other predator trying to eat it, lol! def thumbs up!!!
It's a great generator. Known to have idle issues. Some people put in air vent on the removable door. Bought two myself and returned both. They started to idel terrible, but still worked fine with a load. Didn't want to risk them having an issue after short warranty period. Sure they would have been fine. Now have Two WEN 2000 - same clones different color. Zero issues after 200hrs so far. Tip: use ethanol free gas with stabilizer if possible and use oil meant for air cooled engines. I changed mine a couple times within first 10hrs to get metal out as quick as possible during break in.
re FV plug in issue: I've seen videos where owners unscrew the control panel, flip the 30Amp plug 180 degrees, and it solves your problem. I love mine.
I have one I live in Puerto Rico and I have been using it Sinse hurricane Maria more than 10 hours daily. It has never failed me. Well build excellent performance
It proves that not everything from Harbor Freight is junk. I’ve bought some really good stuff there and still using it to this day and saved some money. Nice video.
I have had mine for a year & half use 4-5 days a week 10 hrs a day this thing rocks I am a construction worker and buddy of mine had a Honda till it blew up up after 26 mo
I have been pleasantly surprised with many many things I've bought at Harbor freight. Also they have no problems returning something that is not working right. Friend has one
It was your review that convinced me to buy this Predator 3500 today. Your logical explanation of not wanting to deal with maintenance of two units, and the way you took it out of the box showing that it does not weigh as much convinced me to buy this one instead of two separate 2000 units. Thank you.
I have a friend who bought one of these five or six years ago ran the piss out of it bought another one cuz there was a good sale on them and he thought it might break down at some point two years later the new one was still in the box a wildfire came through burnt the new one up and he still using the old one these generators are bulletproof
I have one works great , it is worth getting the extended warrantee its cheap . If you have a problem anywhere you are just go to harbor freight And get a new one . Had a small gas leak in mine very small I probably could have fixed it easily . I just decided not to and we were on the road , Went to Harbor freight and they even put it in my truck for me . Absolutely have to say service is great .even 1200 miles from home did not even take me 30 minutes.
Lost power for 5 days. I ran a deep freeze, two large refrigerators, tv, fans and coffee pot. I got 12 hours out of 2.5 gallons of gas. Super quiet and great generator.
3 yrs on mine. I never miss an opportunity to promote the Predator 3300. I typically use it for my 30' Coleman. But we have leaned on it to keep essentials going when storms take out power grid at the house. I have been able to consistently run the camper 11hrs on a tank of gas. We don't use air conditioning but the heater runs often as we camp year round here in Colorado
I have mine on the back of my 34' sailboat. At this moment. I use Mobil 1 oil only. And ......rec. gas only. I plug the 30amp shore power cord and turn on the quite mode. The Northern Tool model is the exact same generator except blue in color. We run about 40 hours a week. It has run perfect for eight months now. Yes, recommend buying one.
I think you'll like that overall... Our Champion decision was initially just because it was an RV receptacle plug(TT30)... I am 99 percent that you are to check the oil by the "stab" method.. Every Japanese/Chinese engine I have worked on doesn't require the dipstick to be screwed in when checking oil level.. Of course that's the exact opposite of all the domestic built engines... Here is a video link I did some time ago discussing Predator engines... ua-cam.com/video/AHyut3NIca8/v-deo.html
Thank you for showing us everything to setup and start a new generator. I was waffling between a Wen and the Predator. I'm definitely sold on the Predator now. Mahalo!
Thank you. A great video for all of us out here looking for a similar backup. 2KW/3KW, multiples--parallel charging cables, maintenance, Honda/Yamaha/HarborFreight…touched on it all. This looks like a great option. I hope you got a great one that'll do 10+ years.
Make sure you run synthetic oil in it right after the break-in period. Put a better quality spark plug in it and clean the spark arrestor often. Should give you years of service. I use Star Tron in my gas as well.
Despite their "bad" reputation, I have found HF to be excellent! I carry their wrench and tool sets when we camp. I've bought an air compressor for my garage, and various power, air tools and nailers, and other hand tools. I too, was skeptical at first, but so far, they've never let me down! Some of these "big traditional" companies who charge half a paycheck for a frickin' 7 piece wrench set better be on alert!!!!
do they get a bad reputation from customers who use their products, or from the "reviewers" who get paid to review more expensive products (that do the same thing for 3 times the price)
@@tomibach9712I do get things from HF. One case that gave me a real bad experience. I got a mini lathe from them used it for over a year was happy with it till it broke a part. The part was real thin. But I got out the parts list, called HF and there reply was we don't support parts for our lathe! So it is a $500.00 throw away lathe???? lesson learned. hammers, wrenches, tarps ok machinery / expensive things beware
They have since re-positioned the 30AMP plug to the untwisting doesn't occur. I also recommend adding Lucas Oil Treatment to your oil. Also treat you gas. This is a small engine. Treat as such. It will treat you well in return.
@Stable Genius I have lots of generators and other small eng and all this stuff in the comments is not necessary, I have 6000 hrs on a champion gen and prob close to the same on a honda, best thing to do is USE IT! Most problems are from varnish from no use. I use 10% ethanol gas, and Rotella T4 oil. Change it every 150 hrs, but do the break in oil change as recommended. My neighbor has 2 of these and loves them, did have issues with 1 of them right off but the store replaced it no problem. And yes they are quiet. No need for synthetic oil or expensive non ethanol gas.
Bought the same generator last summer. Did the break in like many others did. 30 hours on it so far, and its been great, changed the oil twice. For the price this is hard to beat.
Perfect, thank you for taking the time to show all that. And I am so glad you showed using it on your r.v., that's exactly the reason I am buying one, and your video sold me on this one.
Predator bought the patent to an older Honda engine. There are no lawsuits. It is legit. Many of the parts on the predator are compatible to the Honda.
I bought mine as a return never used for .......... wait for it ......... $200.00. But I didnt get the funnel, spark plug tool nor the instructions. Money well spent
I wish I purchased the Honda we use ours at the camp outs and next to a Honda this is significantly lauder and has a more annoying clicky sound that travels more in the woods. Not bad for the money but sound level is why I will be changing after this past summer and hearing this thing for hours at time with Honda's next to it all you hear is mine.
I have 2 Champions. and love them.. One $299 from Sam's , propane and gas..and one insulated super quiet electric start 3100 Gas.. $825 from Home Depot.. lol. but my 6000 kw Onan in my RV kicks ass.. the other ones are for the shop and power outage at home..
They make oil dipsticks with magnetic tips. I don't know how much they really help but my thinking is any floating metal shard the dipstick can catch on the magnetic tip is a metal shard that isn't circulating in the engine. It's hard to find one for the 3500 & they are on the expensive side for what they are but the dipstick for the 2000 will fit. It's shorter and you have to be aware of that when checking your oil but they fit and cost $10 +/-. I think they recommend doing the first oil change at 25 hours. I did one at 10 and had lots of stuff stuck to the end of that magnetic dipstick and some in the oil. I did another at 25 and the oil was pretty clean at that point. I think most of the break in happens in the first 8 to 10 hours. Like you did, I would recommend doing an oil change at 8 to 10 hours. No point in having those metal particles floating around in there until the 25 hour oil change. A good break in sets you up for a long engine life. An extra oil change 1/2 way through the break in period only costs a few $$ and takes 10 min. I think it's more than worth it. lol If nothing else, it calms the OCD. :)
I have a predator 13K gasoline that has served me through a few including Hurricane Michael. It handles most of the house but for the central air but I have 3 ~10 amp individual units I pull down for those times. I rarely require it more than a couple of days as we have underground wiring, so they hook up the mains along the big road and we're good to go.
We recently purchased our predator and we had really good output on it we filled up the tank and pulled our sides and then just doing your normal dues our tank ran for close to 16 hours on one tank on eco mode just an awesome inverter
It had a nice low sound and for what I needed for which is basically fans and the rare AC hookup it would be perfect for me. Thanks for the informational video
Check your manual but I believe you should not screw in the dipstick when checking the oil. Probably doesn't make too much difference but you never know. Informative video, thanks.
Just seeing this episode (2 years old) but I chose the same generator. My research revealed basically what yours revealed - mostly encouraging. I’ve used ours with our WhitHawk 24MBH and it has worked like a charm! Longevity? We’ll see!
Sir we used 2 of them at a Luau on the big island becouse it was out door n let me tell you it’s awsum n quiet we borrowed it from a friend n loved it so I ordered 2 for myself 🤙
I recently saw a review about that generator, what I find interesting about that review is that they were in the 1500 hour area, within 1 year, and they had no issues. They said to keep up with maintenance. That generator has a predator 212 in it and the aftermarket support on that engine is extensive.
If you take off the 7 screws and the one screw on the start stop run switch you can turn the 220 volt outlet to where you need to face the ground it takes about 15 minutes but it's pretty easy to do
@@ericerto8250 I believe the newest models have been switched by factory, I'd love to answer that but I can't find one in a 75 miles radius from me. Guess the storms and covid has them scarce? But we flipped my buddies plug a yr ago and vented oil fill door
I saw on another Video that the feller has flipped the plug 180 degrees. Makes the RV cord work clockwise. Righty tightly. Another converted a Predator to propane
99% of the running issues with these, are the cheap 19 cent Torch spark plug. Swap it for an equivalent NGK. Mine topped 150 hours, trouble free. Just check oil level every run. Only holds like 8oz
Yes! We used it and it always got the job done and was quiet. Since we have the on board generator in our rig now, we actually sold this generator to my sister and they use it camping now!
Love my predator I traveled the country for five weeks ran it during the day to run camper ac and at night to run the heat and lights it handled everything no problems did one oil change on the trip the electric start is great but also pull starts with ease
Predator comes with a real warranty by Harbor freight, but you have to purchase on the side, no exclusions, no exceptions, no BS. If the unit fails they will replace it . A Full replacement warranty. I Had an Yamaha ef2000 after 3 months started to run rough,even being fanatic about maintainance, they charged me $300.00 under warranty . Bought a Ryobi 2300 after that and so far so good 900 hours on it. But if fails my next gen is a Predator 3500
You can tell by the way this guy jerks this generator out of the box he's wrestled a few trailer tandem slides. LOL I'm about to buy the same one. Saw one torn apart. It's actually pretty darn well made. When your AC stops and the lights go out, and you see someone speeding away with your generator, you'll be glad you got the HF one. LOL
Really GREAT review! Your, on-the-fly, explanations regarding the details and why you are doing everything was easy for me to follow & understand! Perfect amount of info that kept my attention through to the end. I have a short attention span, which makes it difficult to keep listening when a person rambles about everything under the sun and/or repeats themselves over and over!! Thanks from a Generator Newbie!!
cheeznhard Nope, right out of the box, I removed the spark arrester and put oil in the engine. Run hard for 2 years now oil is still perfect nice and clean! Im changing the oil soon anyway cause we use it everyday!
Bought one the first week and have not looked back. Runs Great and does the job! I can buy three of these for the price of one Honda. Used M1 full synthetic rather than whatever they provided.
You need to use a generator bonding plug to power an RV with Surge protection. It bonds the neutral to the ground at the generator. About $12 on amazon.
Nice video. Nice to ham radio operator. Do you have anything set up in your trailer for your radio system so you have portable housing and communication. This generator surprised me how well it ran he said it would be nice to see how long it lasts overtime. I think ideally it's a good idea to change the oil often it seems like that's what's going to make it last the longest
I bought the 2000 for my boat. The only gripe I had was the exaust screen that would plug up and prevent start up. Removed the fine screen and left the big porous screen in. I have had no problems since.
ameer ok the exhaust has a screen with a ring and nut . loosen the nut and the screen assembly comes off . inside the exhaust pipe is a finer screen pull that out and discard it. Clean the bigger screen that’s attached to the ring and nut and brush an rinse with alcohol. Reassemble hope this helps
I heard of a guy that has got 3000 hours out of his. I only got about 100 hours on mine and the only thing wrong with mine was a crappy battery. But that can be replaced. Heck of a generator!!
We got a raven 6500 peak watt generator recently when our power went out for a few days at our house. We had just about everything plugged in and that thing kicked ass. Ran great. It has a big gas tank as well which made it run all day and night. Only thing that sucked was the getting 10 gallons of gas everyday ha ha. I’ve been wanting to purchase a inverter generator and will be looking forward to your follow up video. I’ve bought stuff from harbor freight before and haven’t had any problems with the products. Plus the sales they have most of the time are decent as well.
+SteveTheTruckGuy we did the 25 hr beak in without issue. We will probably use it early on this year just to see how it does while camping. C'mon above freezing weather!
You can take the face plate off and turn the plug upside down to correct the cable loosing problem. It's literally like a 10 min job, it'll make life a lot easier. Good luck!
I have one and it runs great.. The only this I had issue with is the muffler spark arrestor plugged up on me and it would not run (I ran it inside my enclosed trailer with doors open, but no breeze and it was running rich due to bad O2 mixture).. so I removed it and bam..back to awesome. Now I just made a pipe for the exhaust gasses to go outside and all good. The Yamaha is better than the Honda, and if you need 240 V the Yamaha 4500 is the one to get.. but I didn't need that for my camper. I use this mainly in my model airplane trailer for battery charging.
One other note on the spark thing that in the exhaust that will need to be clean from time to time I did try running without out it and it did run louder so I cleaned it and put back in I look at this as just routine maintenance I clean it every time I changed my oil
Wow. That is super quiet. I was in that store 2 days ago. And got ramps. Its an amazing store. (On some parts) but everyone is talking about how they are changing. Why not if its for the better. 👍👍👍👍thumbs up bro.
There is a video of one of these on you tube with 5800hrs on it so not to bad. If it starts running rough clean the spark arrester in end of exhaust it gets clogged and smothers them out it will run and idle like crap until you clean it
@@td7390 Honda makes great products. The products are manufactured around the world, in Honda supervised factories. The issues I have is the price. Technology has caught up on generators for the manufactures of different makes and models, so it's hard to find a bad one really. everybody
Yep, I had to use a Edison N-G plug with my Lifan 3600 watt generator and my PI surge protector like yours. I added an EasyStart 364 by Micro-air for the roof a/c. It makes a huge difference on the a/c start up.
Excellent review I've been scratching my head on which way to go this review does help a lot great information nice to see a drain plug on it for the oil thank you
You can shop hard for a few, reasonably well cared for (craigslist, etc), used Honda EU2000i generators .. go over them thoroughly maintenance wise, and you get the best equipment for the money. I have 3 (can run all 3 in parallel .. get 3500 useable/sustainable watts), and paid just little more than I would have for new, but cheap stuff.
The return comment was not a suggestion to return the Generator now. It was in response to your comment about fixing if it ever broke. They have a great exchange return policy. Not 5-7 years from now but if it fails in the 1st year type thing. I spoke to a guy at the local store last night about the Predator 3500 and I’m gonna get one next month. I like them. It was again a comment about if it fails early in its life with you and your family
Just over 2.5 years later...what do you think of it? How many hours do. you have on yours now? We have about 90 hours on ours (would have a lot more if the USFS didn't insist on their hosts using their generator).
Unsure of the hours but it's never let us down and we love it! It's super quiet and I don't think I'd ever buy another brand generator with how well it performs
Hi Mike,,, I'm a H.F. veteran and use their 20% & 25% Off Coupons all the time plus getting the FREE Stuff... I got enough Shop Towels to clothe everyone in ARkansas... We kinda lucked out with our Two Used "Honda EU3000iS Generators"... Buying the first one 3 year's ago for $1,8000.00,,, barely used... We've used it during our Truck Camper travel's with it sitting in the RAM's Front (H.F.) Aluminium Carrier with 6 gallon jug's of Gas and Diesel on either of its sides,,, come-along strapped in and with a extra heavy duty chain around it and the RAMs frame for security... The TCampers 30 amp cord easily reach's the Honda and we don't hear it running while we are in the camper... The other "EU3000iS" I got while I was pumping gas into our Escalade and a young man walked up to me with the story he was relocating to Canada and needed travel money and he had a 2 year old "Honda EU3000iS Generator" and he needed to sell it... He wanted $800.00 for it and I offered him $600.00 and he jumped on it,,, "What A Deal,,, What A Deal" !!! These Generators are a Beast and never failed us... We use the first one for camping and the second one is a Power Backup for the house when its power goes out... It's nice to have a Generator for camping... "It's Better to have IT and not use IT (much) than need IT and not have IT"... Happy Camping... We Love your videos,,, Good Luck with You'als Full Time Adventure's !!! Jack & Lynne (JaLyn) in Little Rock, ARkansas
Storm comes and knocks out power of my small home for 5 days. Say its summertime and hot. What is this generator going to be able to run safely and safely at one time (fridge+aircon+a light+TV???) Also, HF offers 1 and 2 year warranty options $97 and $157. I'm not a camper or RV owner so just for emergency use which means in a 3-4 year time period it may not see much use. Advice? Unit costs 799.99 here in Texas. HF will take $100 off the price for $30 1 year membership so $70 off. Does not include tax 8.25.
One more reason to feel good about your purchase. Echo has come out with a line of generators called the Echo Bear Cat. They have a 3500 model that looks like a re-labeled Predator 3500. The model number is ig3500e, and it has an MSRP of $1,399. One more thought is that if these ever need parts or work, any Echo dealer should be able to provide assistance. Echo also has a BearCat 2000 that looks like a re-labeled Predator 2000. To me it's boost of confidence to see Echo slap their name on them. No wonder the reviews are so good. Apparently they really are.
Good idea to break the engine in under some load and varying the load helps too. The reason for the low noise reduction is the case that surrounds it. Most think the exhaust is the source of most dB's but it is usually the generator itself that produces most of it. Inverter generators are the way to go but it is hard to get a large inverter generator in the 10KW range for a reasonable price. A lot of Chinese companies bought the patents for older Japanese companies so what you see here is not unique. Yanmar sold their patent rights for there single engine diesel in the 10hp class and if parts are needed for the engine Yanmar parts work just fine. I would guess the same would be true for this engine. I have owned a number of Generac's and Chinese engines and the first thing I did was to drain the oil on the Chinese models as there was machining particles in the oil just as your video shows. Show run for a long time now. Nice video too!
The little 212 cc engine in the Predator is a very popular engine for go carts so if you need a carb, plug, or a part for the engine a go cart place is the best place to get cheap parts. Just tell them you have a Predator 212cc engine. There are also several brands selling this exact same unit so you can get parts if you need something related to the generator. It may take a little research but they are out there. They are also becoming popular so an aftermarket parts market will spring up soon. I have had mine for just over a year and I love it. t hasn't skipped a beat. My only complaint is it won't quite hit 3,000 but I live at 5,200 foot altitude and no generator will quite make their rated performance in this thin air.
I needed a unit ua-cam.com/users/postUgkxOTeIs0vv4_9B5hsmnLsk9r930uDQLu_Y that I could store in my home when I wasn't running, so it being light and running on propane were key requirements. I can store the propane tank/bottle outside yet store the generator in my home when it's not in use as I will never put any gas in the engine. It is so light, and on echo mode, which I expect is how it will be used most of the time, it is pretty darned quiet (certainly compared to all the generators I hear in my neighborhood after each power outage).Many of the previous reviews had me concerned that it would be difficult to start on propane, but I have to say, I had absolutely no problem at all. I primed it first using the choke...3 pulls, heard the engine want to start, flipped it to propane, and one more pull and she started. I ran it for 2 hours the first time and plugged it in my fridge. And when I was done, I put the propane tank away and carried the generator to my basement for next time.I could not be happier.
It's a powerhouse for sure
I got mine going on 2 years now and works excellent. Uses less gas on eco mode than the Honda 3000. I was thrown around by a bear this last summer as I think the bear thought it was a picnic basket and left it upside down. I turned it upright and it started right up so I feel it is a pretty darn good generator.
I have a Chicago generator from there its still running great after 7 years i didn't expect it to last this long but it has
First time pull start and it works nice, I've had mind for a year and it hasn't failed me yet.
They have made adjustments on the newer generators that plug in better. I am sure you will not regret buying this generator I use non Ethanol gas in mind and change the oil often. Good luck and happy camping. This Sailor is out....
There are 7 screws on the panel faceplate that can be removed. Once inside the case you can rotate the RV adapter to whatever position you want. Saw it in another UA-cam video. Seemed to have worked great! Aloha
I have 3 of these generators I purchased for my company and after buying my first one it preformed so much better than I had expected I bought 2 of the 2000 watt generators they are so quiet and portable . I use my very heavily and my guys do not maintenance them I have not had a single problem after 3 years of use . You will not be disappointed
Going strong after 2 years!
you can remove the outlet panel and turn the 30 amp 180 degrees so that your rv cord hangs to the right, keeping your rv adapter locked in place
New Predator 3500's no longer need that. They do it at the factory.
Great generator. Change plug and oil regularly. Had mine a year, ton of use on it ,24/7 for a couple months straight. No problems.
Over 2 years with ours and we love it
*glug glug glug* At 4:28- hold the quart of oil so that the spout is on top, not on bottom. When you pour, the air will escape and the oil will flow freely and far less likely to make a mess. 👍
Learned that when i they first came out.
Air doesn't escape from a partial vacuum. It enters into the container. Glug glug ya big lug :)
You can remove the 2 screws on the side panel for a whole lot more room to service the oil system. It made it so much easier for me.
I bought one when they were on sale at Harbor Freight. I wanted a inverter generator because of the economy. I only have a few hours on it so far. So far it has served my RV without a problem. I think we made a good choice.
+Roger Courtney we did the 25 hr beak in and love it. We will update when we use it camping
@doc hall Yes, mine is. I have, however, found I don't use it as much as I thought I would. I have a large installation of solar and lithium batteries so the need for electricity only shows when we need Air Conditioning. I would rather try to NOT be where air conditioning is needed :-)
Your oil change break-in protocal will make that gen last way longer. Lots of particles come out of cheaper made motors. It's key in making them last. 👍
Exactly
Nice Video...good tip...buy a magnetic oil dip stick...grabs all the metal flakes out of the oil...MAKES GOOD SENSE
@Slomofogo I got mine from ebay
Had a Predator for Hurricane Ike here in Houston. Got me through 7 days of no power. Was able to run the refrigerator, a small room A/C unit and some lights. Kept the food from spoiling, the bedroom cool and enough lights lit for the entire 7 days. Back in 2008 it cost $300. Sure, it did not power the entire house but it was enough to get me through those 7 hot, humid days until the power came back.
I know of two Honda owners that upgraded to the Predator. One is a local mobile vet that had nothing but trouble with their Honda. After several repairs (none under warranty) they bought the Predator as backup. Now the Honda is backup for the Predator. They have had no issues and wish they hadn't wasted their money on the Honda.
The other family is off grid and their Honda has cold weather issues that Honda can't fix. You bought well.
I have had Honda motorcycles, outboards, mowers, trimmers, blowers, generators & my Dad has had an Outdoor Power Equipment business for 40 years & has been Honda's top dealer for the whole country (not USA) for a long time,... During one year, his single retail outlet sold more Honda mowers, one at a time than the country of New Zealand !
I worked for him for 15 years & I can tell you that Honda products certainly do FAIL & the big boys like Honda, Husqvarna & Stihl are not all made in Japan & Germany ;)
Most of their products are made in China, Thailand, Taiwan & India !
My Dad has been selling Mowers with Chinese Engines for years not to stay competitive & these "junk" engines have had a warranty repair rate of LESS than 2% which is better than Honda & Briggs & Stratton !
I changed my oil at 4, 8 & 25 hrs along with an NGK plug at 25 hrs. It runs like a scalded dog and powers my entire 32" 5th wheel with a 15k a/c unit. I am very happy with this unit.
We're happy with it as well
Do you have a part # for the ngk you used ?
got one. it has lasted 2 years once a day usage. i live in a 40' converted school bus. not a single problem. upgrade the sparkplug. i love mine. peace
Same here! It's been great
What spark plug do you recommend?
We just used whatever was in stock at a Walmart because we were out of town when our spark plug went out.
Going 8 months strong in a 5 window shorty in TN . Just got mine a few days ago . Love the hell outta this thing already
@@WanderingWagners so actually what spark plug was the upgrade Elijah?
I have had my predator generator for almost a year. It has been wonderful. At 8 hours I changed the oil to Royal Purple. Also, you will find the 30 AMP plug goes the wrong direction for your RV power cord. There is a great UA-cam video on how to easily turn the plug so that your RV cord goes down, rather then UP and risking vibrating out (someone said the Honda 30 AMP plug does the same thing). I also purchased the vented door (another UA-cam video), that helps with the surging that might happen. What I liked about the Predator most was the quiet and the ability to run my A/C quietly. Enjoy
+classicbob44 thanks for watching. So far so good!
I just bought the predator 3500 inverter at the beginning of summer.. We use it for our Jayco jayflight 32BHD. It has no problem keeping everything running. I've just been keeping up with the maintenance
I bought the same generator right before Hurricane Harvey in 2017. We live in Corpus Christi, right about where the storm made landfall, so I knew we'd be without power for a good while. I went went this gen, mainly because of how quiet it is. I didn't want a big "COME AND STEAL ME!" beacon for several days till power was restored. Also wanted to be considerate to my neighbors. This fit both criteria. You can't even hear it running inside the house, much less from the neighbors house.
This thing did NOT disappoint. We went without power for 8 days. This generator powered our refrigerator, a fan, a small AC window unit, TV, Xbox and a couple lamps with LED bulbs. Everything we needed to be comfortable.
Since Harvey, I use it to power Flood lights for overnight fishing trips, our pop up camper when camping, and for random worksite stuff. In three years, the only thing that's crapped out on me is the battery. No big deal. Just be sure to follow the care and maintenance instructions and you should be good. Once my warranty expired, I cut the fuel line and installed a valve so I could cut the fuel off and let it run itself dry. That'll keep your carb cleaned out and you won't have any clogging issues.
That's great! It's still going trying for us and we've only had to replace the spark plugs once. We love how quiet it is and we feel we'd buy another one if it quit working down the line
@@WanderingWagners You just reminded me that I need to check that spark plug today. We are supposed to have a tropical storm hit us Saturday, so I need to get that generator ready to go. Haha! Thanks!
Haha glad to help😂 hopefully you stay safe during the incoming weather
If a generator just keeps an A/C unit and my fridge running? I can make it!
Love my Predator 3500. I have had it 2 years now and works great! I had it up on my property and the other day when I got there saw it pulled out and dragged about 10 feet from where it was left. I also noticed it was upside down. Looks like a bored bear decided to toss it around for a moment. Outside of a little oil that leaked out, I righted it up and it fired right up! So I can say that this Predator was stronger than the other predator trying to eat it, lol! def thumbs up!!!
i have had mine for three years and it is the best generator i have ever had....................
Yeah we agree with that
It's a great generator. Known to have idle issues. Some people put in air vent on the removable door. Bought two myself and returned both. They started to idel terrible, but still worked fine with a load. Didn't want to risk them having an issue after short warranty period. Sure they would have been fine. Now have Two WEN 2000 - same clones different color. Zero issues after 200hrs so far. Tip: use ethanol free gas with stabilizer if possible and use oil meant for air cooled engines. I changed mine a couple times within first 10hrs to get metal out as quick as possible during break in.
Luckily no issues like that here yet
I own one. Works great and quite . My break in oil was clean. They’ve corrected the 30 amp plug problem
We love ours and it's still going strong
re FV plug in issue: I've seen videos where owners unscrew the control panel, flip the 30Amp plug 180 degrees, and it solves your problem. I love mine.
I have one I live in Puerto Rico and I have been using it Sinse hurricane Maria more than 10 hours daily. It has never failed me. Well build excellent performance
Wow that's great to hear that it's been working so well for you. Gives us confidence it'll continue working well for us. Stay safe!
It proves that not everything from Harbor Freight is junk. I’ve bought some really good stuff there and still using it to this day and saved some money. Nice video.
Same here!
I have had mine for a year & half use 4-5 days a week 10 hrs a day this thing rocks I am a construction worker and buddy of mine had a Honda till it blew up up after 26 mo
That's great to hear! Ours has been great as well
I have been pleasantly surprised with many many things I've bought at Harbor freight. Also they have no problems returning something that is not working right. Friend has one
It's still going strong!
It was your review that convinced me to buy this Predator 3500 today.
Your logical explanation of not wanting to deal with maintenance of two units, and the way you took it out of the box showing that it does not weigh as much convinced me to buy this one instead of two separate 2000 units.
Thank you.
Glad to hear it. Hopefully you like yours as much as we like ours
I have a friend who bought one of these five or six years ago ran the piss out of it bought another one cuz there was a good sale on them and he thought it might break down at some point two years later the new one was still in the box a wildfire came through burnt the new one up and he still using the old one these generators are bulletproof
I have one works great , it is worth getting the extended warrantee its cheap . If you have a problem anywhere you are just go to harbor freight And get a new one . Had a small gas leak in mine very small I probably could have fixed it easily . I just decided not to and we were on the road , Went to Harbor freight and they even put it in my truck for me . Absolutely have to say service is great .even 1200 miles from home did not even take me 30 minutes.
Going strong 2 years later
Lost power for 5 days. I ran a deep freeze, two large refrigerators, tv, fans and coffee pot. I got 12 hours out of 2.5 gallons of gas. Super quiet and great generator.
It really is an amazing generator
3 yrs on mine. I never miss an opportunity to promote the Predator 3300. I typically use it for my 30' Coleman. But we have leaned on it to keep essentials going when storms take out power grid at the house. I have been able to consistently run the camper 11hrs on a tank of gas. We don't use air conditioning but the heater runs often as we camp year round here in Colorado
Ours is still going strong as well
Saw one with over 1000hrs of use so far in PR and it's still kicking.
+Rudie that's what we like to hear!
I bought one 2 months ago. I have over 150 hours on it and there have been no problems at all.
No issues here as well
I have mine on the back of my 34' sailboat. At this moment. I use Mobil 1 oil only. And ......rec. gas only. I plug the 30amp shore power cord and turn on the quite mode. The Northern Tool model is the exact same generator except blue in color. We run about 40 hours a week. It has run perfect for eight months now. Yes, recommend buying one.
I have 8560 hours, eight thousand five hundred sixty , on mine , runs like new
I think you'll like that overall... Our Champion decision was initially just because it was an RV receptacle plug(TT30)... I am 99 percent that you are to check the oil by the "stab" method.. Every Japanese/Chinese engine I have worked on doesn't require the dipstick to be screwed in when checking oil level.. Of course that's the exact opposite of all the domestic built engines... Here is a video link I did some time ago discussing Predator engines... ua-cam.com/video/AHyut3NIca8/v-deo.html
+RVdaydream thanks! We love it so far
Thank you for showing us everything to setup and start a new generator. I was waffling between a Wen and the Predator. I'm definitely sold on the Predator now. Mahalo!
Still going strong more than 2.5 years later too!
@@WanderingWagners How many hours do you have on it? I bought one a few months ago to prepare for hurricane season. Have about 15hrs on mine
Thank you. A great video for all of us out here looking for a similar backup. 2KW/3KW, multiples--parallel charging cables, maintenance, Honda/Yamaha/HarborFreight…touched on it all. This looks like a great option. I hope you got a great one that'll do 10+ years.
Make sure you run synthetic oil in it right after the break-in period. Put a better quality spark plug in it and clean the spark arrestor often. Should give you years of service. I use Star Tron in my gas as well.
Had it 2 years now and it's still working great!
Despite their "bad" reputation, I have found HF to be excellent! I carry their wrench and tool sets when we camp. I've bought an air compressor for my garage, and various power, air tools and nailers, and other hand tools. I too, was skeptical at first, but so far, they've never let me down! Some of these "big traditional" companies who charge half a paycheck for a frickin' 7 piece wrench set better be on alert!!!!
+gac914 we found the same. We have a lot of craftsman tools but a lot of hf too. No complaints!
do they get a bad reputation from customers who use their products, or from the "reviewers" who get paid to review more expensive products (that do the same thing for 3 times the price)
@@tomibach9712I do get things from HF. One case that gave me a real bad experience. I got a mini lathe from them used it for over a year was happy with it till it broke a part. The part was real thin. But I got out the parts list, called HF and there reply was we don't support parts for our lathe! So it is a $500.00 throw away lathe????
lesson learned. hammers, wrenches, tarps ok machinery / expensive things beware
@@bugkiller5293 I bought their torque wrench, big mistake! I like HF for consumable stuff only, but it looks like these generators aren't half bad.
They don't have to worry as much once Trumps tariffs (tax) kicks in. HF will have no choice but to raise prices substantially.
They have since re-positioned the 30AMP plug to the untwisting doesn't occur.
I also recommend adding Lucas Oil Treatment to your oil. Also treat you gas. This is a small engine. Treat as such. It will treat you well in return.
We have been really impressed with this generator over the years we've owned it
What some people has done with the 30 amp plug was flip it 180 degrees. Real simple to do. You can find a couple videos on UA-cam about how to do it.
ua-cam.com/video/6tmi65PyDQ4/v-deo.html
+mike conley thanks! We'll do that
Just like any other gas engine probably the most needed attention is doing the correct break-in oil change and procedures!!!
What is the correct break-in procedure? Didnt get an instruction manual with mine.
@@GlockPunisher1 Isn't that what this video is about?
@Stable Genius I have lots of generators and other small eng and all this stuff in the comments is not necessary, I have 6000 hrs on a champion gen and prob close to the same on a honda, best thing to do is USE IT! Most problems are from varnish from no use. I use 10% ethanol gas, and Rotella T4 oil. Change it every 150 hrs, but do the break in oil change as recommended. My neighbor has 2 of these and loves them, did have issues with 1 of them right off but the store replaced it no problem. And yes they are quiet. No need for synthetic oil or expensive non ethanol gas.
Glad to see you got the 3500w. I've been thinking about getting the same one. After your video I think it would be a good buy.
+Russ Adkins we have the 25 hr break in compete and are happy with this purchase!
Bought the same generator last summer. Did the break in like many others did. 30 hours on it so far, and its been great, changed the oil twice. For the price this is hard to beat.
We agree. No complaints so far!
Perfect, thank you for taking the time to show all that. And I am so glad you showed using it on your r.v., that's exactly the reason I am buying one, and your video sold me on this one.
Yep the Honda boys can’t get over it. This is a very good generator at half the price! Lol.
+Richard Harrod apparently this is identical to a Honda and Honda is suing HF haha who knows but we're happy with it
Predator bought the patent to an older Honda engine. There are no lawsuits. It is legit. Many of the parts on the predator are compatible to the Honda.
I bought mine as a return never used for .......... wait for it ......... $200.00. But I didnt get the funnel, spark plug tool nor the instructions. Money well spent
A Honda 3000 is 2k. This was $700 bucks..id say get two of these and have 600 bucks left to do what ever.
I wish I purchased the Honda we use ours at the camp outs and next to a Honda this is significantly lauder and has a more annoying clicky sound that travels more in the woods. Not bad for the money but sound level is why I will be changing after this past summer and hearing this thing for hours at time with Honda's next to it all you hear is mine.
I have 2 Champions. and love them.. One $299 from Sam's , propane and gas..and one insulated super quiet electric start 3100 Gas.. $825 from Home Depot.. lol. but my 6000 kw Onan in my RV kicks ass.. the other ones are for the shop and power outage at home..
We had nothing but problems in the Onan generator we had in our toy hauler
@@WanderingWagners Mine is in a 40 year old GMC motorhome and starts on 1st. push..
They make oil dipsticks with magnetic tips. I don't know how much they really help but my thinking is any floating metal shard the dipstick can catch on the magnetic tip is a metal shard that isn't circulating in the engine. It's hard to find one for the 3500 & they are on the expensive side for what they are but the dipstick for the 2000 will fit. It's shorter and you have to be aware of that when checking your oil but they fit and cost $10 +/-.
I think they recommend doing the first oil change at 25 hours. I did one at 10 and had lots of stuff stuck to the end of that magnetic dipstick and some in the oil. I did another at 25 and the oil was pretty clean at that point. I think most of the break in happens in the first 8 to 10 hours.
Like you did, I would recommend doing an oil change at 8 to 10 hours. No point in having those metal particles floating around in there until the 25 hour oil change. A good break in sets you up for a long engine life. An extra oil change 1/2 way through the break in period only costs a few $$ and takes 10 min. I think it's more than worth it. lol If nothing else, it calms the OCD. :)
Except most of the metal from break in is aluminum from the cylinder bore as the rings seat good.
Ive had mine 2 years and love it ....no problems
But is quiet?
Yes very quiet
I have the same one I keep up at some remote property. Has worked flawlessly.
Ours is still going strong as well
I have a predator 13K gasoline that has served me through a few including Hurricane Michael. It handles most of the house but for the central air but I have 3 ~10 amp individual units I pull down for those times. I rarely require it more than a couple of days as we have underground wiring, so they hook up the mains along the big road and we're good to go.
We love this generator. Going strong
I buy one use 8 hour a day for 7 month it still runs good
Ours is running great still as well
We recently purchased our predator and we had really good output on it we filled up the tank and pulled our sides and then just doing your normal dues our tank ran for close to 16 hours on one tank on eco mode just an awesome inverter
Ours still preforms great
@@WanderingWagnersawesome
It had a nice low sound and for what I needed for which is basically fans and the rare AC hookup it would be perfect for me. Thanks for the informational video
It would definitely suit your needs. It's really quiet and a great unit.
Check your manual but I believe you should not screw in the dipstick when checking the oil. Probably doesn't make too much difference but you never know. Informative video, thanks.
I have the same one, and just finishing our 1st camping season with it.. LOVE IT.. GREAT BUY
We agree
Rick F
What break in procedure did you do out of curiosity?
Just seeing this episode (2 years old) but I chose the same generator. My research revealed basically what yours revealed - mostly encouraging. I’ve used ours with our WhitHawk 24MBH and it has worked like a charm! Longevity? We’ll see!
Ours is still going strong!
Nice, i like it. The wheels are handy for moving it around.
Sir we used 2 of them at a Luau on the big island becouse it was out door n let me tell you it’s awsum n quiet we borrowed it from a friend n loved it so I ordered 2 for myself 🤙
It's been a great generator for us
I recently saw a review about that generator, what I find interesting about that review is that they were in the 1500 hour area, within 1 year, and they had no issues.
They said to keep up with maintenance.
That generator has a predator 212 in it and the aftermarket support on that engine is extensive.
We've had it 2 years without any issues
If you take off the 7 screws and the one screw on the start stop run switch you can turn the 220 volt outlet to where you need to face the ground it takes about 15 minutes but it's pretty easy to do
True but that's only a 110volt plug... This generator isn't equipped with 220volt
@@Michigan-thrifter woops my bad you are right . I just looked at mine lol thanks for pointing that out
@@ericerto8250 I believe the newest models have been switched by factory, I'd love to answer that but I can't find one in a 75 miles radius from me. Guess the storms and covid has them scarce? But we flipped my buddies plug a yr ago and vented oil fill door
I saw on another Video that the feller has flipped the plug 180 degrees. Makes the RV cord work clockwise. Righty tightly. Another converted a Predator to propane
Very good video. All the small details on breaking it in will definitely help me out when i order mine. Thanks again
99% of the running issues with these, are the cheap 19 cent Torch spark plug. Swap it for an equivalent NGK. Mine topped 150 hours, trouble free. Just check oil level every run. Only holds like 8oz
..and the effect that ethanol has on the carb (too bad there is not an easy LPG kit); has anyone seen a conversion kit for this one?
@@MM-yn9ni I just run nothing but 100% gas in mine, no issues with carb so far.
It holds 20 oz of oil. I wouldn’t want someone to under fill the crankcase because of this comment.
I know this video is 3 years old now but I was just wondering how it's working? Going good? I've always heard a lot of good things about it.
Yes! We used it and it always got the job done and was quiet. Since we have the on board generator in our rig now, we actually sold this generator to my sister and they use it camping now!
Love my predator I traveled the country for five weeks ran it during the day to run camper ac and at night to run the heat and lights it handled everything no problems did one oil change on the trip the electric start is great but also pull starts with ease
Thank you for the explanation I was looking at the Honda eu3000is, but now considering the harbor freight predator! Very interesting. Thank you again.
Very welcome
Predator comes with a real warranty by Harbor freight, but you have to purchase on the side, no exclusions, no exceptions, no BS.
If the unit fails they will replace it .
A Full replacement warranty.
I Had an Yamaha ef2000 after 3 months started to run rough,even being fanatic about maintainance, they charged me $300.00 under warranty .
Bought a Ryobi 2300 after that and so far so good 900 hours on it.
But if fails my next gen is a Predator 3500
You can tell by the way this guy jerks this generator out of the box he's wrestled a few trailer tandem slides. LOL I'm about to buy the same one. Saw one torn apart. It's actually pretty darn well made. When your AC stops and the lights go out, and you see someone speeding away with your generator, you'll be glad you got the HF one. LOL
Haha we always chain them up but true nonetheless😂
Really GREAT review! Your, on-the-fly, explanations regarding the details and why you are doing everything was easy for me to follow & understand! Perfect amount of info that kept my attention through to the end. I have a short attention span, which makes it difficult to keep listening when a person rambles about everything under the sun and/or repeats themselves over and over!! Thanks from a Generator Newbie!!
+Cyn thank you! We appreciate the feedback. Let us know if you have any questions
I never changed oil on mine, works perfectly fine. Oil level fine, nice and clean. Changing oil every 8 hrs is a pain in the ass
This has been a great generator for the years we've owned it
I-STYLE MUSIC PRODUCTION out of curiosity did you do some kind of break in procedure?
cheeznhard Nope, right out of the box, I removed the spark arrester and put oil in the engine. Run hard for 2 years now oil is still perfect nice and clean! Im changing the oil soon anyway cause we use it everyday!
I-STYLE MUSIC PRODUCTION that’s not good for the Engine.
Bought one the first week and have not looked back. Runs Great and does the job! I can buy three of these for the price of one Honda. Used M1 full synthetic rather than whatever they provided.
It's been great for us. Only had to replace the spark plug then it was good as new
You need to use a generator bonding plug to power an RV with Surge protection. It bonds the neutral to the ground at the generator. About $12 on amazon.
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07F4R7BDL/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
We made one for a few bucks.
Nice video. Nice to ham radio operator. Do you have anything set up in your trailer for your radio system so you have portable housing and communication. This generator surprised me how well it ran he said it would be nice to see how long it lasts overtime. I think ideally it's a good idea to change the oil often it seems like that's what's going to make it last the longest
I bought the 2000 for my boat. The only gripe I had was the exaust screen that would plug up and prevent start up. Removed the fine screen and left the big porous screen in. I have had no problems since.
Can you explain more? I didn't understand fully. Thanks
ameer ok the exhaust has a screen with a ring and nut . loosen the nut and the screen assembly comes off . inside the exhaust pipe is a finer screen pull that out and discard it. Clean the bigger screen that’s attached to the ring and nut and brush an rinse with alcohol. Reassemble hope this helps
Very informative to us that don't have a generator. Thanks!
+TxOldNavy no problem, thanks for watching!
I heard of a guy that has got 3000 hours out of his. I only got about 100 hours on mine and the only thing wrong with mine was a crappy battery. But that can be replaced. Heck of a generator!!
We love it! Still going strong and we only had to replace a spark plug once
@@WanderingWagners yeah I replaced the plug first thing, what can I say had to have my NGK!!
We got a raven 6500 peak watt generator recently when our power went out for a few days at our house. We had just about everything plugged in and that thing kicked ass. Ran great. It has a big gas tank as well which made it run all day and night. Only thing that sucked was the getting 10 gallons of gas everyday ha ha. I’ve been wanting to purchase a inverter generator and will be looking forward to your follow up video. I’ve bought stuff from harbor freight before and haven’t had any problems with the products. Plus the sales they have most of the time are decent as well.
+SteveTheTruckGuy we did the 25 hr beak in without issue. We will probably use it early on this year just to see how it does while camping. C'mon above freezing weather!
Been looking and seen this on different channels but you sold me!! Thanks
It's still going strong after 3 years too
I'm sold i have a old school coleman and she is loud and I been thinking about a upgrade to this
You can take the face plate off and turn the plug upside down to correct the cable loosing problem. It's literally like a 10 min job, it'll make life a lot easier. Good luck!
+D Yang thanks! I'll have to do that
I have one and it runs great.. The only this I had issue with is the muffler spark arrestor plugged up on me and it would not run (I ran it inside my enclosed trailer with doors open, but no breeze and it was running rich due to bad O2 mixture).. so I removed it and bam..back to awesome. Now I just made a pipe for the exhaust gasses to go outside and all good. The Yamaha is better than the Honda, and if you need 240 V the Yamaha 4500 is the one to get.. but I didn't need that for my camper. I use this mainly in my model airplane trailer for battery charging.
Remove it, simple.
You won t get arrested for that, but make sure the back of your gen is not facing dry grass, other than that it will be fine
One other note on the spark thing that in the exhaust that will need to be clean from time to time I did try running without out it and it did run louder so I cleaned it and put back in I look at this as just routine maintenance I clean it every time I changed my oil
The one channel I watched the guy rotated the 30 amp plug. Its an easy fix.
Yep just wanted to make note of it for others. I believe predator changed the design in the last 3 years when we bought this
Wow. That is super quiet. I was in that store 2 days ago. And got ramps. Its an amazing store. (On some parts) but everyone is talking about how they are changing. Why not if its for the better. 👍👍👍👍thumbs up bro.
It is very quiet and it's been working well for us
@@WanderingWagners awesome. I will get there. One day.
There is a video of one of these on you tube with 5800hrs on it so not to bad. If it starts running rough clean the spark arrester in end of exhaust it gets clogged and smothers them out it will run and idle like crap until you clean it
I have 8560 hours on mine
Honda doesn't have the wheel kit standard. Its $120.Battery charge cable isn't standard, its $60. The honda is also now made in Singapore
Thanks for letting us know about "Sinapoor" making Honda--not good in my books. Way overpriced for me anyways.
@@td7390 Honda makes great products. The products are manufactured around the world, in Honda supervised factories. The issues I have is the price. Technology has caught up on generators for the manufactures of different makes and models, so it's hard to find a bad one really. everybody
Best thing about this video.... The dog. Love it
Yep, I had to use a Edison N-G plug with my Lifan 3600 watt generator and my PI surge protector like yours. I added an EasyStart 364 by Micro-air for the roof a/c. It makes a huge difference on the a/c start up.
+P J thanks for the tip!
Excellent review I've been scratching my head on which way to go this review does help a lot great information nice to see a drain plug on it for the oil thank you
Thanks for the comment and for watching
Nice vid! I just bought a Predator 9000, getting delivered on in 2 days
Hope it treats you as well as this one has for us
@@WanderingWagners Thanks! I'll let you know!!
You can shop hard for a few, reasonably well cared for (craigslist, etc), used Honda EU2000i generators .. go over them thoroughly maintenance wise, and you get the best equipment for the money. I have 3 (can run all 3 in parallel .. get 3500 useable/sustainable watts), and paid just little more than I would have for new, but cheap stuff.
The return comment was not a suggestion to return the Generator now. It was in response to your comment about fixing if it ever broke. They have a great exchange return policy. Not 5-7 years from now but if it fails in the 1st year type thing.
I spoke to a guy at the local store last night about the Predator 3500 and I’m gonna get one next month. I like them. It was again a comment about if it fails early in its life with you and your family
Understand, just saying we've had it over a year with no intentions of getting rid of it etc. Glad you're going to get one!
Just over 2.5 years later...what do you think of it? How many hours do. you have on yours now? We have about 90 hours on ours (would have a lot more if the USFS didn't insist on their hosts using their generator).
Unsure of the hours but it's never let us down and we love it! It's super quiet and I don't think I'd ever buy another brand generator with how well it performs
Hi Mike,,, I'm a H.F. veteran and use their 20% & 25% Off Coupons all the time plus getting the FREE Stuff... I got enough Shop Towels to clothe everyone in ARkansas... We kinda lucked out with our Two Used "Honda EU3000iS Generators"... Buying the first one 3 year's ago for $1,8000.00,,, barely used... We've used it during our Truck Camper travel's with it sitting in the RAM's Front (H.F.) Aluminium Carrier with 6 gallon jug's of Gas and Diesel on either of its sides,,, come-along strapped in and with a extra heavy duty chain around it and the RAMs frame for security... The TCampers 30 amp cord easily reach's the Honda and we don't hear it running while we are in the camper... The other "EU3000iS" I got while I was pumping gas into our Escalade and a young man walked up to me with the story he was relocating to Canada and needed travel money and he had a 2 year old "Honda EU3000iS Generator" and he needed to sell it... He wanted $800.00 for it and I offered him $600.00 and he jumped on it,,, "What A Deal,,, What A Deal" !!! These Generators are a Beast and never failed us... We use the first one for camping and the second one is a Power Backup for the house when its power goes out... It's nice to have a Generator for camping... "It's Better to have IT and not use IT (much) than need IT and not have IT"... Happy Camping... We Love your videos,,, Good Luck with You'als Full Time Adventure's !!!
Jack & Lynne (JaLyn) in Little Rock, ARkansas
+Jackson Sheesley what a great deal! So far, we're happy with the performance of this unit. Can't wait to get to take it camping
Storm comes and knocks out power of my small home for 5 days. Say its summertime and hot. What is this generator going to be able to run safely and safely at one time (fridge+aircon+a light+TV???) Also, HF offers 1 and 2 year warranty options $97 and $157. I'm not a camper or RV owner so just for emergency use which means in a 3-4 year time period it may not see much use. Advice? Unit costs 799.99 here in Texas. HF will take $100 off the price for $30 1 year membership so $70 off. Does not include tax 8.25.
Depends on what your wattage is on those appliances you want to run. We still have it and love this generator
One more reason to feel good about your purchase. Echo has come out with a line of generators called the Echo Bear Cat. They have a 3500 model that looks like a re-labeled Predator 3500. The model number is ig3500e, and it has an MSRP of $1,399. One more thought is that if these ever need parts or work, any Echo dealer should be able to provide assistance.
Echo also has a BearCat 2000 that looks like a re-labeled Predator 2000.
To me it's boost of confidence to see Echo slap their name on them. No wonder the reviews are so good. Apparently they really are.
+kings17court we did the 25 hr break in and are very happy with it!
Thanks for the info. Did this generator power the RV air conditioning? Did you need to install a soft start on the air conditioner?
Yeah it powered the AC just fine.
Good idea to break the engine in under some load and varying the load helps too. The reason for the low noise reduction is the case that surrounds it. Most think the exhaust is the source of most dB's but it is usually the generator itself that produces most of it. Inverter generators are the way to go but it is hard to get a large inverter generator in the 10KW range for a reasonable price. A lot of Chinese companies bought the patents for older Japanese companies so what you see here is not unique. Yanmar sold their patent rights for there single engine diesel in the 10hp class and if parts are needed for the engine Yanmar parts work just fine. I would guess the same would be true for this engine. I have owned a number of Generac's and Chinese engines and the first thing I did was to drain the oil on the Chinese models as there was machining particles in the oil just as your video shows. Show run for a long time now. Nice video too!
The little 212 cc engine in the Predator is a very popular engine for go carts so if you need a carb, plug, or a part for the engine a go cart place is the best place to get cheap parts. Just tell them you have a Predator 212cc engine. There are also several brands selling this exact same unit so you can get parts if you need something related to the generator. It may take a little research but they are out there. They are also becoming popular so an aftermarket parts market will spring up soon. I have had mine for just over a year and I love it. t hasn't skipped a beat.
My only complaint is it won't quite hit 3,000 but I live at 5,200 foot altitude and no generator will quite make their rated performance in this thin air.
Amazingly HF does have a very good parts network. Over the years I’ve needed parts for several items including a Predator 2K unit.
Luckily we haven't needed to replace anything except the spark plug so far