I went with the westinghouse 3700. It's really light and puts out a ton of juice. It's been great so far. I followed your procedure for break in, worked amazing!
We've been running the predator generator in our vanlife for a kooonngg time now. Over 5000 hours. Never used a magnetic dipstick or anything else. Completely stock. Just change the oil every 100 hours along with cleaning the spark arrestor and your ready to run! Oh, and we run regular gas. Non ethanol may be recommended if you don't use it too much and the gas is sitting in it. But we use ours everyday so the gas is always flowing.
I have a question for you, I bought this generator last summer, and haven't started it in months. Now it won't start. What would you say I need to do first for trouble shooting? I can't find anything online - and see you have used for a while - so thought I'd ask you! Appreciate any help (or direction to where i can get help)!! Thank you!
@@lgrunke well, the worst thing you can do to any generator is not run it. We run our daily so it helps keep the fuel and oil fresh and flowing. For yours you'll prob need to clean the carb and bowl of fuel and any but up gunk. When you store your generator for a long period of time, you should run it dry so you burn all the fuel out of the system. Then store it. Don't mess with fuel treatments / stabil. That stuff is pretty useless. If you need to keep fuel in it for whatever reason, start that thing up every other week or so to clean the system out. run it for 10-15 minutes.
I agree with him. Stabil is useless. Startron is the best. Research it. I buy mine at academy. Parts stores sell it also I think. I let all my gas powered things sit for months and they always fire right up when using Startron. Just treat your main 5 gallon can and use it in all your gas powered things.
@@ThatNomadicCouple I don't wait for the 100 hours change intervals, instead I change the oil at 50 hours or 3 months, whatever comes first cause I use mineral engine oils from SAE 40, 15w40 to 20w50. At 50 hours, the oil is already dark and mineral SAE 40 oils are not that expensive these days considering that my generator takes only 660 ml of oil
so i just purchased this generator last week. I ran it 1.5 hrs and changed oil like alot of people were saying is required, i strained the oil and not 1 piece of aluminum or metal, machining shavings or particles were anywhere in the oil. I was suprised after so many videos were showing oil so full of particles. Maybe the new ones are machined better?? who knows but i am keeping this second oil in for at least 25hrs then ill change it again. I know my store was backordered from factory for a month or more. but as far as im concerned changing oil once every hour for first 3 hours is a waste. my friend bought 2 of these generator 2 years ago or so and said he did first change at 30 hours and his run perfect with over 200 hours now. just my opinion. good luck to everyone
I have the 3500 for over a year now. I use it on my 28ft 5th wheel. It now has 3450 hours. On eco mode it’s Very very very quiet and on 1 full tank of gas it last all day long. My only issue is the pull cord breaking but lucky for us it has an electric start.
So just a little tip, for the future you don’t need to add stable to the fuel if it’s ethanol free. Stable is to keep ethanol fuel from attracting water and stops the formation of deposits in the fuel which can plug up the carburetors jets and or fill the bowl with ethanol deposits. And I know this because I’m an engineer who does emissions and fuel testing.
Actually sta bil red has nothing to do with ethanol. Even ethanol free goes bad in roughly 6 months to a year but the usually higher octane helps it to still run longer alone. Yes it will last way longer with sta bil but sta bil red doesn't have anything to do with ethanol treatment. The ethanol ones are 360 gold and 360 marine blue and those only push to 1 year So it's still smart to treat non ethanol with sta bil red. It helps it hold the octane rating.
@@2010stoof Actually your wrong sir. I do fuel testing along with emissions work for a living. Using stable in fuel does almost absolutely nothing. Modern fuel is actually very refined and depending on who refined it will depend on its shelf life. For instance, if you had a 55 gallon drum full of ethanol free fuel it could stay good for about two years if it was unopened and exposed to atmospheric conditions such as water and contaminants. And believe me when I say I’ve seen some fuels come through my faculty that are so pure and clean that they barely have a smell and are so clear you can’t barely see the fuel in a full drum. Also octane has nothing to do with the quality of the fuel or its refinement quality. Stable is a junk product that shouldn’t be sold. If you are storing an engine for the winter simply run it dry if fuel, or if you think you may use it in the winter full it with rec fuel which is ethanol free and you are good to go.
@@burntfaceman24 I think you missed what I said. Sta bil red does nothing for ethanol fuels but MAY help extend the life of non ethanol. Previous comment was saying the red does something for the ethanol. It doesn't. That's all I meant. And unless your generator has a vented cap you can turn off, atmosphere will get in, and with any fuel water will get in. With 10% ethanol it will drag in 1 cubic inch per gallon per month. Alcohol chases away water but the ethanol alcohol seems to love to attract it and displace it into the fuel.
A word of caution with the magnetic dipstick. I tried one with a new generator and during the break in like a dummy I went to change the oil and twist out the dipstick. Burnt the crap out of my fingers on it. Of course the metal dipstick was the same temp as the engine casing and for some reason I didn't think about that. Wearing a pair of gloves would have prevented the burn.
Dude - this is seriously a good tip! I have found this out already, but luckily didn't burn my fingers too bad. Since then I think I'd rather just wait for the motor to cool down a little bit. I figure the oil will still be thinned out for a while.
Added lawn mower wheels and added a propane fuel converter. Changed the oil at 1 hour, 5 hour, and 25 hour. Along with the magnetic dip stick I think I got all the shavings out. I clean the spark plug (ngk) every oil change and it runs like a champ.
Been running small engines all my life (non pressure lubed), and I have never used a magnetic dipstick. The magnetic only picks up ferris metals, dont do anything for the 17 other metals that won't stick to the magnet. That pretty color in the pan means the engine is getting happier. The oil used in a small engine is supposed to suspend particulates, unlike a pressurized system. In my opinion, that magnetic dipstick is not needed.
@@ChadwickFamilyFilms It's true that the magnet doesn't get all the metals out. However, I would be pleased to get any metal out of the oil. I always use a magnetic dipstick.
Yes Guns N Gears, I agree. That’s why there was a lot of shiny metallic particles in his break in oil but nothing on his magnet. Bearing babbitt is non-ferrous and once it’s gone you have a problem that the magnet ain’t helping. lol
With the amount of junk that dipstick picked up... in an hour break in, it obviously does matter. Most higher quality engines in the past this would have been a total non issue though. All of the suspended particulates in the oil... probably aren't a huge issue themselves but the metal flakes on the dip stick are an issue as they are iron.... and more abrasive then any of the non ferrite stuff in the oil.
The inverter part means is goes from AC to DC. Then it goes back to AC again. This makes it so that you can use it with sensitive electronics - laptops, tablets, TVs, appliances, etc.
My man, we are going through a severe storm in Sacramento, California, which unearthed a giant tree that hit our powerlines, and we are without electricity for an unknown amount of time. We bought this generator, and your video was clutch! Thank you so much.
Grabbed a Wen 2250i generator this spring. I ordered the magnetic dipstick and run it with full synthetic oil. I ran it 1 hour, drained the oil. Glad I did since it was glittery. Ran it 3 more hours and drained it again, much better. Currently at 8 hours and will probably drain it around 12-15 hours just to check. After that I will do the normal 25 hour change interval.
Mine has 5000 hours on it mostly run at 2000 Watts or more this thing is a beast for the money. You might read this from more people than just me but over time what happened to me was the small little spark arrestor honeycomb type thing clogged and choked out the machine. I just took mine out I run my generator inside of a little building so no risk of fire.definitely put a real spark plug in the machine mine came with a crappy one. After about hour 3000 my main jet clogged and the machine would stall out if you had a big load on it Jets easy to service and clean. Even if this thing conked out on me tomorrow I'd go buy another one.
Great to hear this thing has worked so well for you! Yeah that mesh spark arrestor really doesn’t do anything to help the generator, just maybe prevent a fire. I have mine off as well. Cheers 🍻
That generator will be a game changer for future trips. The tips you shared (advantages of 1 larger generator, magnetic dipstick, using fuel stabilizer, etc.) were helpful. Looking forward to the follow-up video showing your generator in action on a camping trip.
I bought two of these for our fifth wheel and for power outages at home. They are awesome. I make sure I keep non-ethanol gas with stabil in them and use synthetic oil. I also exercise them every 30 days. My hack is to take the control panel off and disconnect the kill switch. Now when I turn the knob off it continues to run until the carburetor is dry and shuts down. Should prevent carb issues.
I do the exact same as you with gas, oil, and exercising it every 30 days. Should help it last for a long time! That’s a clever idea about your carburetor. I’ve not heard of that idea before.
You will love it, I have had no problems at all, it will run everything at once but I recommend shutting A/C off b4 running microwave, it does do it but puts it very close to the generators power limits, but will do it . Great generator...👍
Thanks Andy! We have been pretty pumped with it so far even up at altitude with the stock jet. On our last trip our furnace went out so it was nice to have this to give us ac power to use a space heater.
Nice video! Just bought one and definitely will be getting that dip stick. I have seen a few other videos that change the oil at hour 2,4, and 8. Might be a little overkill but I might at hour 2 and 4.
Hey Chadwick. Funny to see you in a Predator 3500 video, I subscribed to your Davinci channel (awesome by the way). How is your generator treating you after several years? Any issues? Thanks
I prefer two smaller 2000 watt generators. Reason being, most of the time you can get by just running one generator. The smaller units have 79-99cc engines, so less than half the size of the 212cc engine in the 3500 generator. Smaller engine = less fuel consumption. If you need more power, you start up the second generator. Its comforting knowing that I have a backup generator in case one wont start. Also, the Chinese Torch spark plugs are trash. Change it out for an NGK. I keep the Torch as a spare plug in case the NGK gets fouled. I had the metal magnetic dipsticks in mine but I didn't like how hot they got so I went back to the factory plastic dipsticks. Drain the carburetors! The bottom of the carburetor has a drain screw hooked up to a clear plastic drain line. Use the drain screw to completely drain the carburetor of fuel, so that it will start next time you use it.
Ehtanol free gas wont attract moisture and gum up and clog your carb. Or you can use VP small engine fuel or Trufuel both no ethanol. Even treated ethanol gas with a stabilizer will still go bad fast...faster than you would think.
Thanks Chadwick Family! Not sure where you are in CO, but I've been using a very old (1980) Kohler 5KW up at my elk hunting place in Park County, elevation 10,000'. Don't forget that altitude/elevation means that you have to downrate your output.
We just got one of these.. thanks for the review! I ordered the magnetic dipstick on Amazon - with free shipping to me- a Prime member- was $15.15. Got another tip- I'm buying an NGK BPR 70S spark plug- it's supposed to improve the engine's running.
@@ChadwickFamilyFilms - Just a heads up- I may have misheard the other You-Tuber when he spoke of the model number of the NGK. I think a little research will get you the correct one....I see a BPR 70 S, but have seen other plug numbers recommended...Parts seem to be readily available for this, like complete carbs and kits- cheap- but try finding an intake/ air filter door! I want to drill holes in mine- but.... I only have the 90 day warranty anyway.
"Inverter" means the electricity will be cleaner, not necessarily more quiet. Inverter Generators are primarily used for sensitive electronics vs regular generators which provide choppy electricity and are used for power tools and other non-sensitive motors😁👍
Do you think Harbor freight will also have the magnetic dipstick? And the other tools you used to change the oil? How did you know what oils to get, And even that you had to do all this before opening it up to get the instructions.? Sorry for the dumb questions because I’m really not a mechanical type of gal so this all seems foreign to me.
@@kevinw1287 sure. If you are wrenching the positive on after the black your tool could short circuit to the chassis. While that may be frightening it does pose a risk to the equipment.
Ethanol in gasoline is a stupid idea across the board. The small gains you get in cleanliness when you run the car are easily eaten up by the environmental cost of growing the crops and then converting them to alcohol and transporting that stuff around... meanwhile, ethanol pulls water from the air into the gas, which is not great, and in general it adds wear and tear to engines. Just one of those idiot things we do for no real reason - burning gasoline is dirty, regardless.
Where I am at in Illinois you cannot get ethanol free gas from a station anywhere within 50 miles and many of the stations that show up on the pure-gas.org maps are specialty places like airports or farm stations.
@@spyder000069 I live on the West Central edge and high grade Shell is ethanol free. Also the local HyVee grocery store gas station has ethanol free. All I use.
AMEN SIR! YOU ARE SO RIGHT ABOUT ETHANOL IN GAS! A COMPLETELY IGNORANT AND SMALL ENGINE DAMAGING FIASCO. I don't know what lobby pushed this idiotic, soil damaging (all crops deplete micronutrients essential for good growth and nutrition)...So let's put micronutrients and water attractant, washer/hose drying out chemicals into our gas tank and fool the American public into thinking they are going "green". Politicians have been trying to pass laws to INCREASE the percentage of alcohol in gasoline!! WRITE. CALL. EMAIL ALL POLITICIANS SO THIS DOES NOT HAPPEN!!! Or kiss your generators, chain saws, motorcycles, gas mowers and all small engines good bye...even some cars may die from this lunacy. Not to mention the environmental harm you pointed out.
I ran mine again today for 2 hours and changed oil looked lot better than first time. Next time am waiting 24 hours then am checking the oil and spark plug.then calling it good.
Thanks for the video. Two questions for yall. 1) when using this at the campground, are you grounding the unit? 2) given its an inverter, bought this so I wouldn't need to worry about phones and such running off a powerbar from this unit, but I noticed in small print on the side that it says not to use with sensitive electronics. You guys plugged phones and stuff into this without a line conditioner?
Yes. Ours is 30amp camper as well and can run the AC and Microwave at the same time. It does max out the generator with both running, but it is still capable. So AC and lights is no problem.
Big No No. Run your new engine on a load. Run it for 1 hour at a variable load between 30% and 75/80% load. Don't baby the engine. The first hour is actually crucial .... Imagine you just bought a new car. Would you sit at the lot at the dealer, start it up and hold your foot on the accelerator just enough to run it at 3.600rpm? All this while in neutral and listening to your favorite song. For an hour?? That's exactly what you are doing when you "break-in" the engine of your generator this way. You end up with a less efficient, less powerful engine that will consume more oil that it should. Break in you engine the right way, vary the load !
I am just getting one of these set up. Book says to shut the load off; stopping the generator with load on will damage the generator!! Will the generator also be damaged if it runs out of gas with a fair load?
Hey Tony! You know me dude - I was up filming your spoken word that we did on top of that mountain last summer. Cheers man. I hope you and fam are well.
@@ChadwickFamilyFilms yessir! I was like hey I know that guy!! Lol didn’t know you had your own channel. I subscribed and will definitely check out your content. Same to you and yours....
Nice video. We are in the market and the Predator seems to be what we will be going with. We really wanted the dual fuel Champion but they are impossible to find.
Thanks Chadwick. Loved your video. It was clear and concise. I now have a Predator 3500 and am going to prep mine just as you did. I am additionally going to change the oil at the 5 hour and 25 hour mark as well as someone else commented. I ordered the stabil fuel stabilizer and the magnetic dip stick. Am excited to use this and feel so much safer having this for my Sonic X RV and to have around the home for emergencies. Again Great videos keep them coming!
Hello First time watcher. I was wondering after a year what are your thoughts on the generator,,,,, Is it pretty quiet it seemed like it in the video. Does it say what the decibel output is? Thanks for the video and feedback! We are looking for one for boon docking.
Hi! Thanks for watching. Yes, it is pretty quiet. Mine is a little louder because I took the spark arrestor off. But in general, in terms of generators, it’s still pretty quiet. Online, it says it is 57dB, but I’ve never measured it myself.
My generator keeps turning off and CO light flashes. Its pretty far from my RV and outside, so very ventilated. I see a few people disconnecting the CO sensor. But the videos are not super clear. Have you had this issue yet?
We haven’t had that issue yet (fingers crossed). So I can’t speak one way or another about disconnecting the sensor. You could consider taking the spark arrestor off and see if that solves the issue. It may be that yours is clogged.
Why did you change the oil after one hour? Was that info told to you or in your generator Manuel. BTW thank you. I was going to change it after a tank of Gas.
You could wait until a tank of gas, that is closer to what the manual says. I learned the one hour suggestion from the Facebook group and various forums. I figure since it’s just a couple bucks of conventional oil that it’s simple enough to do for helping to break it in.
Hello mate... thanks for sharing... my question is where did u buy the metal deep stick? I mean with what specs did u ask for it in the stores? Im from Mexico and I'm planing to get one generator maybe I'll search for deep stick in amazon or so. thanks I hope you can reply me back.
No problem this is the one I ordered and use from amazon - Motoparty For Predator 3500 Inverter Generator Magnetic Oil Dip Stick Silver www.amazon.com/dp/B07VK1H6HG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apip_3iQEjXks3qe7T There are several on there that basically all do about the same thing.
I believe I did it at about the one hour mark, then the 3 hour mark, then 10 hour mark. It’s a good idea to have medium size load on it too. Some halogen lights work good.
My hope is that these cheaper alternatives to a Honda play out in the long run, please let me know. My family has three off grid cabins in the same location, we have used other generators and water pumps in the past, currently two cabins use the Honda 7000iu with fuel injection, so no need to choke when using remote start, these are amazing generators. I have used a 3000IU for 14 years with a remote start that chokes the generator, have been through two of the remote systems as they require a cable and actuator to choke the generator and the 3000IU must be choked to start. Overall the 3000IU has been bomb proof as well as the 7000EU. I am not against these other units and would like a long term feed back from someone, but for us Honda is the long run play. These Predators are significantly less than a Honda, but do they last is my question?
We’ve had ours for a year and with regular maintenance, it’s still going strong. We will see how it does over the next year or two, but I also love the “no questions asked” warranty /replacement that you can get with this one to give me that peace of mind too.
What is your favorite generator for camping? Have you had success with this predator model from Harbor Freight?
Where is the link for the dipstick. Thanks 😊
Is there a link for the dip stick
@@TwinRoxyShred5 here is that link - www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07VK1H6HG/
@@miked6521 sorry about the delay - www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07VK1H6HG/
Isn't most the interior engine parts aluminum
I went with the westinghouse 3700. It's really light and puts out a ton of juice. It's been great so far. I followed your procedure for break in, worked amazing!
We've been running the predator generator in our vanlife for a kooonngg time now. Over 5000 hours. Never used a magnetic dipstick or anything else. Completely stock. Just change the oil every 100 hours along with cleaning the spark arrestor and your ready to run! Oh, and we run regular gas. Non ethanol may be recommended if you don't use it too much and the gas is sitting in it. But we use ours everyday so the gas is always flowing.
I have a question for you, I bought this generator last summer, and haven't started it in months. Now it won't start. What would you say I need to do first for trouble shooting? I can't find anything online - and see you have used for a while - so thought I'd ask you! Appreciate any help (or direction to where i can get help)!! Thank you!
@@lgrunke well, the worst thing you can do to any generator is not run it. We run our daily so it helps keep the fuel and oil fresh and flowing. For yours you'll prob need to clean the carb and bowl of fuel and any but up gunk. When you store your generator for a long period of time, you should run it dry so you burn all the fuel out of the system. Then store it. Don't mess with fuel treatments / stabil. That stuff is pretty useless. If you need to keep fuel in it for whatever reason, start that thing up every other week or so to clean the system out. run it for 10-15 minutes.
I agree with him. Stabil is useless. Startron is the best. Research it. I buy mine at academy. Parts stores sell it also I think. I let all my gas powered things sit for months and they always fire right up when using Startron. Just treat your main 5 gallon can and use it in all your gas powered things.
@@ThatNomadicCouple I don't wait for the 100 hours change intervals, instead I change the oil at 50 hours or 3 months, whatever comes first cause I use mineral engine oils from SAE 40, 15w40 to 20w50. At 50 hours, the oil is already dark and mineral SAE 40 oils are not that expensive these days considering that my generator takes only 660 ml of oil
so i just purchased this generator last week. I ran it 1.5 hrs and changed oil like alot of people were saying is required, i strained the oil and not 1 piece of aluminum or metal, machining shavings or particles were anywhere in the oil. I was suprised after so many videos were showing oil so full of particles. Maybe the new ones are machined better?? who knows but i am keeping this second oil in for at least 25hrs then ill change it again. I know my store was backordered from factory for a month or more. but as far as im concerned changing oil once every hour for first 3 hours is a waste. my friend bought 2 of these generator 2 years ago or so and said he did first change at 30 hours and his run perfect with over 200 hours now. just my opinion. good luck to everyone
First rule of generators... do not run indoor, even in a garage.
I have the 3500 for over a year now. I use it on my 28ft 5th wheel. It now has 3450 hours. On eco mode it’s Very very very quiet and on 1 full tank of gas it last all day long. My only issue is the pull cord breaking but lucky for us it has an electric start.
Great choice! Been running my 2306bhs for the last 1 1/2 years with no issues!! 👍👍👍
Awesome. That’s great to hear. Hoping we have that same luck.
@@ChadwickFamilyFilms
A
Thank you for posting this
So just a little tip, for the future you don’t need to add stable to the fuel if it’s ethanol free. Stable is to keep ethanol fuel from attracting water and stops the formation of deposits in the fuel which can plug up the carburetors jets and or fill the bowl with ethanol deposits. And I know this because I’m an engineer who does emissions and fuel testing.
Actually sta bil red has nothing to do with ethanol. Even ethanol free goes bad in roughly 6 months to a year but the usually higher octane helps it to still run longer alone. Yes it will last way longer with sta bil but sta bil red doesn't have anything to do with ethanol treatment.
The ethanol ones are 360 gold and 360 marine blue and those only push to 1 year
So it's still smart to treat non ethanol with sta bil red. It helps it hold the octane rating.
@@2010stoof Actually your wrong sir. I do fuel testing along with emissions work for a living. Using stable in fuel does almost absolutely nothing. Modern fuel is actually very refined and depending on who refined it will depend on its shelf life. For instance, if you had a 55 gallon drum full of ethanol free fuel it could stay good for about two years if it was unopened and exposed to atmospheric conditions such as water and contaminants. And believe me when I say I’ve seen some fuels come through my faculty that are so pure and clean that they barely have a smell and are so clear you can’t barely see the fuel in a full drum. Also octane has nothing to do with the quality of the fuel or its refinement quality. Stable is a junk product that shouldn’t be sold. If you are storing an engine for the winter simply run it dry if fuel, or if you think you may use it in the winter full it with rec fuel which is ethanol free and you are good to go.
@@burntfaceman24 I think you missed what I said.
Sta bil red does nothing for ethanol fuels but MAY help extend the life of non ethanol.
Previous comment was saying the red does something for the ethanol. It doesn't. That's all I meant.
And unless your generator has a vented cap you can turn off, atmosphere will get in, and with any fuel water will get in. With 10% ethanol it will drag in 1 cubic inch per gallon per month. Alcohol chases away water but the ethanol alcohol seems to love to attract it and displace it into the fuel.
How do you know someone is an engineer…? Don’t worry they’ll tell you
Thanks FACE!
A word of caution with the magnetic dipstick. I tried one with a new generator and during the break in like a dummy I went to change the oil and twist out the dipstick. Burnt the crap out of my fingers on it. Of course the metal dipstick was the same temp as the engine casing and for some reason I didn't think about that. Wearing a pair of gloves would have prevented the burn.
Dude - this is seriously a good tip! I have found this out already, but luckily didn't burn my fingers too bad. Since then I think I'd rather just wait for the motor to cool down a little bit. I figure the oil will still be thinned out for a while.
Its a mostly aluminum engine. What's the magnetic dipstick gonna do? ;)
PPE!!!!! Good post my friend!
Added lawn mower wheels and added a propane fuel converter. Changed the oil at 1 hour, 5 hour, and 25 hour. Along with the magnetic dip stick I think I got all the shavings out. I clean the spark plug (ngk) every oil change and it runs like a champ.
Awesome. Our experience too has been that as long as you maintain it, this generator works great and lasts!
Been running small engines all my life (non pressure lubed), and I have never used a magnetic dipstick.
The magnetic only picks up ferris metals, dont do anything for the 17 other metals that won't stick to the magnet. That pretty color in the pan means the engine is getting happier.
The oil used in a small engine is supposed to suspend particulates, unlike a pressurized system.
In my opinion, that magnetic dipstick is not needed.
Thanks for the advice! I didn’t realize how it only picks up certain metal types.
@@ChadwickFamilyFilms
It's true that the magnet doesn't get all the metals out. However, I would be pleased to get any metal out of the oil. I always use a magnetic dipstick.
Yes Guns N Gears, I agree. That’s why there was a lot of shiny metallic particles in his break in oil but nothing on his magnet. Bearing babbitt is non-ferrous and once it’s gone you have a problem that the magnet ain’t helping. lol
With the amount of junk that dipstick picked up... in an hour break in, it obviously does matter. Most higher quality engines in the past this would have been a total non issue though. All of the suspended particulates in the oil... probably aren't a huge issue themselves but the metal flakes on the dip stick are an issue as they are iron.... and more abrasive then any of the non ferrite stuff in the oil.
@@Wingnut353 If they are so important, then why no magnet from the factory? Perhaps an oversight?
Break in oil, is exactly that, break in oil.
Yea bud..definitely don't like running that in a garage for a utube demo..could get someone killed
The inverter part means is goes from AC to DC. Then it goes back to AC again. This makes it so that you can use it with sensitive electronics - laptops, tablets, TVs, appliances, etc.
thankfully, we didn't need anything quite as large as that and went with the honda eu2200. have heard a lot of good things about the predator.
Yeah that Honda will run forever. You can’t go wrong either way really.
My man, we are going through a severe storm in Sacramento, California, which unearthed a giant tree that hit our powerlines, and we are without electricity for an unknown amount of time. We bought this generator, and your video was clutch! Thank you so much.
Thanks for the tips
Thanks for watching.
Magnetic dip stick and ZINC ADDITIVE to the oil makes the biggest difference
Grabbed a Wen 2250i generator this spring. I ordered the magnetic dipstick and run it with full synthetic oil. I ran it 1 hour, drained the oil. Glad I did since it was glittery. Ran it 3 more hours and drained it again, much better. Currently at 8 hours and will probably drain it around 12-15 hours just to check. After that I will do the normal 25 hour change interval.
Most of these metal particles are aluminum. The best way is to change oil more often.
Good quality break in oil and then Amsoil with zinc. Most young people today don't even know that most oil use to have zinc in it.
@@robertries7774 yea they don't even know what zinc is for.
So 2 yrs later hows it working? Have you used it much? Had anything fail?
Mine has 5000 hours on it mostly run at 2000 Watts or more this thing is a beast for the money. You might read this from more people than just me but over time what happened to me was the small little spark arrestor honeycomb type thing clogged and choked out the machine. I just took mine out I run my generator inside of a little building so no risk of fire.definitely put a real spark plug in the machine mine came with a crappy one. After about hour 3000 my main jet clogged and the machine would stall out if you had a big load on it Jets easy to service and clean. Even if this thing conked out on me tomorrow I'd go buy another one.
Great to hear this thing has worked so well for you! Yeah that mesh spark arrestor really doesn’t do anything to help the generator, just maybe prevent a fire. I have mine off as well.
Cheers 🍻
Thanks for the video and the link to the magnetic dipstick. Clicked your affiliate link and purchased!
Thanks for watching and thanks for the purchase. We appreciate your support!
That generator will be a game changer for future trips. The tips you shared (advantages of 1 larger generator, magnetic dipstick, using fuel stabilizer, etc.) were helpful. Looking forward to the follow-up video showing your generator in action on a camping trip.
Thanks Corey - yeah I'm pretty excited to get to go off the grid with it soon!
Awesome buddy initial i thought you were the kind of brush and arrogant UA-camrs but i was wrong, that's an awesome presentation
Thanks, John. We try to be pretty down to earth, but maybe my silliness in the video thumbnail came across the wrong way.
There is gold in them hills! With your shallow oil pan, it really did look like you were panning for gold.
N6EAJ haha yeah sure did. If only the camera could capture what my eye could see!
Solid video...thanks for sharing.
Thanks for watching!
Dang , that is quite. 👍🏽
I'm so glad he said he wS like right next to hit because I was thinking man he's really far from. The genetator
I bought two of these for our fifth wheel and for power outages at home. They are awesome. I make sure I keep non-ethanol gas with stabil in them and use synthetic oil. I also exercise them every 30 days.
My hack is to take the control panel off and disconnect the kill switch. Now when I turn the knob off it continues to run until the carburetor is dry and shuts down. Should prevent carb issues.
I do the exact same as you with gas, oil, and exercising it every 30 days. Should help it last for a long time!
That’s a clever idea about your carburetor. I’ve not heard of that idea before.
Why disconnect the kill switch? Just let it run until it runs out of gas. 🤷
Okay, your humor is sneaky. "Lift with your back, not your legs." Didn't even catch it for a few seconds. Nice video.
Haha. Glad someone noticed 😉 I try to sneak little funny bits in here or there, but sometimes I think it’s only me who finds them funny.
You will love it, I have had no problems at all, it will run everything at once but I recommend shutting A/C off b4 running microwave, it does do it but puts it very close to the generators power limits, but will do it . Great generator...👍
Thanks Andy! We have been pretty pumped with it so far even up at altitude with the stock jet. On our last trip our furnace went out so it was nice to have this to give us ac power to use a space heater.
Yes they are great investments at first I wasn't sure about Harbor Freight but I got to say I love the generator..
Great video! Just curious, how come you did a 1 hour runtime versus an 8-hour runtime on the first go around?
Nice video! Just bought one and definitely will be getting that dip stick. I have seen a few other videos that change the oil at hour 2,4, and 8. Might be a little overkill but I might at hour 2 and 4.
Hey Chadwick. Funny to see you in a Predator 3500 video, I subscribed to your Davinci channel (awesome by the way). How is your generator treating you after several years? Any issues? Thanks
I prefer two smaller 2000 watt generators. Reason being, most of the time you can get by just running one generator. The smaller units have 79-99cc engines, so less than half the size of the 212cc engine in the 3500 generator. Smaller engine = less fuel consumption. If you need more power, you start up the second generator. Its comforting knowing that I have a backup generator in case one wont start. Also, the Chinese Torch spark plugs are trash. Change it out for an NGK. I keep the Torch as a spare plug in case the NGK gets fouled. I had the metal magnetic dipsticks in mine but I didn't like how hot they got so I went back to the factory plastic dipsticks. Drain the carburetors! The bottom of the carburetor has a drain screw hooked up to a clear plastic drain line. Use the drain screw to completely drain the carburetor of fuel, so that it will start next time you use it.
Ehtanol free gas wont attract moisture and gum up and clog your carb. Or you can use VP small engine fuel or Trufuel both no ethanol. Even treated ethanol gas with a stabilizer will still go bad fast...faster than you would think.
Nice vid bro
Thanks Anthony 👍🏻
Thanks Chadwick Family! Not sure where you are in CO, but I've been using a very old (1980) Kohler 5KW up at my elk hunting place in Park County, elevation 10,000'. Don't forget that altitude/elevation means that you have to downrate your output.
That’s a great reminder. Sometimes we go as high up as Leadville and it’s good to know that I can’t push it as hard up there.
@@ChadwickFamilyFilms I might be off, but I think you have to downrate by 35% at 10,000', and Leadville is just over 10, 000'.
We just got one of these.. thanks for the review! I ordered the magnetic dipstick on Amazon - with free shipping to me- a Prime member- was $15.15. Got another tip- I'm buying an NGK BPR 70S spark plug- it's supposed to improve the engine's running.
Awesome! Congrats. I’m still super happy with mine and that new ngk plug was a good idea!
@@ChadwickFamilyFilms - Just a heads up- I may have misheard the other You-Tuber when he spoke of the model number of the NGK. I think a little research will get you the correct one....I see a BPR 70 S, but have seen other plug numbers recommended...Parts seem to be readily available for this, like complete carbs and kits- cheap- but try finding an intake/ air filter door! I want to drill holes in mine- but.... I only have the 90 day warranty anyway.
Ethanol Free gas here in California is $10 per gallon. No, thank you. I’ll use regular gas and just empty it whenever I don’t use it.
"Inverter" means the electricity will be cleaner, not necessarily more quiet. Inverter Generators are primarily used for sensitive electronics vs regular generators which provide choppy electricity and are used for power tools and other non-sensitive motors😁👍
I’d charge the battery first
Just pull the cord
Maybe show the checking oil and fill portion a little more. That was a lil quick
Do you think Harbor freight will also have the magnetic dipstick? And the other tools you used to change the oil? How did you know what oils to get, And even that you had to do all this before opening it up to get the instructions.? Sorry for the dumb questions because I’m really not a mechanical type of gal so this all seems foreign to me.
It really does not matter if you do red or black cables first on batteries..... Stop making up rules. Newbies will believe you
Interesting. I was always taught you should do red first when putting them on and last when taking them off. But maybe that’s an old school theory.
It may not matter which one gets connected first. But it does in the event of shorting out by accident during a connection.
@@kevinw1287 sure. If you are wrenching the positive on after the black your tool could short circuit to the chassis. While that may be frightening it does pose a risk to the equipment.
Has anyone tried Slick 50 in any of their generators?...just wondering.
The powerhorse version is 4500 watts, comes with 2yr warranty standard, just fyi
Running a generator in a garage….. what could go wrong. Don’t do this at home!
Ethanol in gasoline is a stupid idea across the board. The small gains you get in cleanliness when you run the car are easily eaten up by the environmental cost of growing the crops and then converting them to alcohol and transporting that stuff around... meanwhile, ethanol pulls water from the air into the gas, which is not great, and in general it adds wear and tear to engines. Just one of those idiot things we do for no real reason - burning gasoline is dirty, regardless.
I had no idea about all of those effects Croft! I just heard it was bad to sit for a long period in a small engine. Thanks for the info!
Where I am at in Illinois you cannot get ethanol free gas from a station anywhere within 50 miles and many of the stations that show up on the pure-gas.org maps are specialty places like airports or farm stations.
@@spyder000069 I live on the West Central edge and high grade Shell is ethanol free. Also the local HyVee grocery store gas station has ethanol free. All I use.
AMEN SIR! YOU ARE SO RIGHT ABOUT ETHANOL IN GAS! A COMPLETELY IGNORANT AND SMALL ENGINE DAMAGING FIASCO.
I don't know what lobby pushed this idiotic, soil damaging (all crops deplete micronutrients essential for good growth and nutrition)...So let's put micronutrients and water attractant, washer/hose drying out chemicals into our gas tank and fool the American public into thinking they are going "green". Politicians have been trying to pass laws to INCREASE the percentage of alcohol in gasoline!!
WRITE. CALL. EMAIL ALL POLITICIANS SO THIS DOES NOT HAPPEN!!! Or kiss your generators, chain saws, motorcycles, gas mowers and all small engines good bye...even some cars may die from this lunacy. Not to mention the environmental harm you pointed out.
Wen generator recommended 8 hours.do that or do it in 2 hours am breaking mine in now
Both good times to swap that initial oil out.
I ran mine again today for 2 hours and changed oil looked lot better than first time. Next time am waiting 24 hours then am checking the oil and spark plug.then calling it good.
Thanks for the video. Two questions for yall. 1) when using this at the campground, are you grounding the unit? 2) given its an inverter, bought this so I wouldn't need to worry about phones and such running off a powerbar from this unit, but I noticed in small print on the side that it says not to use with sensitive electronics. You guys plugged phones and stuff into this without a line conditioner?
HEY!...We got foam...lol. : )
I remember my sons helping me when they were that age . Great time. God bless y’all.
Can you make this remote start? I know it isn’t remote start out of the box but I have seen some people make them remote start somehow
Stable is snake oil, just run it every 6 months and you never have a problem
Can I just add ethanol, free gas with no mix?
The magnet dipsticks are great. Many have your model listed but others need to make sure they'll fit
I have a 30amp camper. I am assuming it will run the air conditioner with no problem. As well as interior lights.
Yes. Ours is 30amp camper as well and can run the AC and Microwave at the same time. It does max out the generator with both running, but it is still capable. So AC and lights is no problem.
Thanks Great video! Also me to
Big No No.
Run your new engine on a load.
Run it for 1 hour at a variable load between 30% and 75/80% load.
Don't baby the engine.
The first hour is actually crucial ....
Imagine you just bought a new car. Would you sit at the lot at the dealer, start it up and hold your foot on the accelerator just enough to run it at 3.600rpm?
All this while in neutral and listening to your favorite song.
For an hour??
That's exactly what you are doing when you "break-in" the engine of your generator this way.
You end up with a less efficient, less powerful engine that will consume more oil that it should.
Break in you engine the right way, vary the load !
I am just getting one of these set up. Book says to shut the load off; stopping the generator with load on will damage the generator!! Will the generator also be damaged if it runs out of gas with a fair load?
It probably won’t damage the engine, but it could have negative impacts with surge on your electronics.
Wow! Just bought a Predator and was looking for break in tips and lo and behold ran across a fellow Flatirons brother. Thanks for the tips my dude...
Hey Tony! You know me dude - I was up filming your spoken word that we did on top of that mountain last summer. Cheers man. I hope you and fam are well.
@@ChadwickFamilyFilms yessir! I was like hey I know that guy!! Lol didn’t know you had your own channel. I subscribed and will definitely check out your content. Same to you and yours....
I have two Honda 2800 watt! Thinking I could parallel,you can’t! Bought the 3500 predator and it’s actually quieter and I love the electric start!!
Put oil in mine and the drain cap was off from the factory. Didn’t noticed because it was tucked away. Spilled out almost half my oil.
Nice video. We are in the market and the Predator seems to be what we will be going with. We really wanted the dual fuel Champion but they are impossible to find.
We have been super happy with our Predator, so hopefully you will be too.
How much oil you put in there???
Its say DON'T, DO NOT, run indoors.. this is why we have to have warning labels on everything..
Half way into the video, we've seen the reasoning for buying this one, unboxing and set up. Thought this was a break in video.
Had two of these. Both died right at 200 hours. Went back to Honda and will never look back again.
ahh man that's a bummer - they must have had a few bad production runs
I have 3500 hrs on mine just change oil and use seafoam and marvel mystery oil in gas
Salmon of Capistrano?? 😄
I run ethanol free with stabilizer in mine. I'm on my 2nd Predator bcz 1st one fell off bumper rack and was destroyed.
Thanks Chadwick. Loved your video. It was clear and concise. I now have a Predator 3500 and am going to prep mine just as you did. I am additionally going to change the oil at the 5 hour and 25 hour mark as well as someone else commented. I ordered the stabil fuel stabilizer and the magnetic dip stick. Am excited to use this and feel so much safer having this for my Sonic X RV and to have around the home for emergencies. Again Great videos keep them coming!
Thanks, Kent! Hope you enjoy your Predator 3500 as much as we do. We are 2 seasons in and it’s still going strong.
How is the generator?
Hello First time watcher. I was wondering after a year what are your thoughts on the generator,,,,, Is it pretty quiet it seemed like it in the video. Does it say what the decibel output is? Thanks for the video and feedback! We are looking for one for boon docking.
Hi! Thanks for watching. Yes, it is pretty quiet. Mine is a little louder because I took the spark arrestor off. But in general, in terms of generators, it’s still pretty quiet. Online, it says it is 57dB, but I’ve never measured it myself.
The one I got no good it start right up an shut off sometimes when i pull it an it start its say overload headache but good video
My generator keeps turning off and CO light flashes. Its pretty far from my RV and outside, so very ventilated. I see a few people disconnecting the CO sensor. But the videos are not super clear. Have you had this issue yet?
We haven’t had that issue yet (fingers crossed). So I can’t speak one way or another about disconnecting the sensor. You could consider taking the spark arrestor off and see if that solves the issue. It may be that yours is clogged.
is it ok to leave unattended? Like when no one is home but just a fridge and modem is plugged in while it runs.
Why did you change the oil after one hour? Was that info told to you or in your generator Manuel. BTW thank you. I was going to change it after a tank of Gas.
You could wait until a tank of gas, that is closer to what the manual says. I learned the one hour suggestion from the Facebook group and various forums. I figure since it’s just a couple bucks of conventional oil that it’s simple enough to do for helping to break it in.
@@ChadwickFamilyFilms Thank you
Chadwick: "Always lift with your back, not your legs"
Me: (Yells in spinal fusion surgery)
🤣
Great video but you need a hat 3 sizes smaller.
Haha yeah I probably could use a new set of hats 😂. Thanks for watching.
I agree hat is to big
HA HA HA
Where did you get the magnetic dip stick!?
On Amazon. There is an affiliate link in the comments of our video :)
Hello mate... thanks for sharing... my question is where did u buy the metal deep stick? I mean with what specs did u ask for it in the stores? Im from Mexico and I'm planing to get one generator maybe I'll search for deep stick in amazon or so.
thanks I hope you can reply me back.
No problem this is the one I ordered and use from amazon - Motoparty For Predator 3500 Inverter Generator Magnetic Oil Dip Stick Silver www.amazon.com/dp/B07VK1H6HG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apip_3iQEjXks3qe7T
There are several on there that basically all do about the same thing.
@@ChadwickFamilyFilms cheers pal I´ve ordered now... nice one.
Dip STICK NOT (deep stick🤣)
Hee Hee Hee
How do you hook a 30 amp rv cord to this?
There is an adapter plug that comes with the generator when you buy it new. Or you can always buy one from Amazon as well.
Will this run the fridge no problem if the power go's out? Ty
Yep that’s no problem at all. Of course most can also run on propane too but this will save you some LP.
Oh you might mean a residential fridge - yes to that too. My home fridge only pulls 3.5 amps and this gives you 25 easy
I just got mine. How much oil does it need? Thanks!
Hi Chadwick, thank you for this video. Did you ground yours? I've gotten mixed answers to this. Thank you
Technically, you’re supposed to. But I never have nor do I see anyone else really doing it. So really a personal decision I guess.
the salmon of capistrano..... hahaha good video
Can you tell me the different interval you used to change the oil until it was fully broken in???
I believe I did it at about the one hour mark, then the 3 hour mark, then 10 hour mark. It’s a good idea to have medium size load on it too. Some halogen lights work good.
Definitely won't hurt to change the oil more often than needed
Lift with your muscles...not your gonads....I think
The Staybil is an ethanol blocker.
hello cuestion is ok if i put direct only gasoline directly or i have to put something to mix any info please
I think that cap is affecting your brain
Where did you get the magnetic dipstick?
Hi how much fuel stabilizer did you Put in the gas ?
I just did whatever is suggested on the bottle.
Great video. Thank you I just made my mind on what to get👍🏻
Glad it was helpful!
If you let it two long the battery will go dead. Buy yourself a trickle charger to keep it always ready to go.
That’s a great tip. We have one for our travel trailer that I might share some time with the predator battery.
Do they make anything so you can hook up to extra gas can. Like you can with the Honda’s??
Not that I am aware of, but the may be something out there for that.
Hey what does the VA mean on the display?
Hi, did you mix the fuel stabilizer into the gas in the gas can?
Yes! We put Stabil in the gas can each time we fill it.
My hope is that these cheaper alternatives to a Honda play out in the long run, please let me know. My family has three off grid cabins in the same location, we have used other generators and water pumps in the past, currently two cabins use the Honda 7000iu with fuel injection, so no need to choke when using remote start, these are amazing generators. I have used a 3000IU for 14 years with a remote start that chokes the generator, have been through two of the remote systems as they require a cable and actuator to choke the generator and the 3000IU must be choked to start. Overall the 3000IU has been bomb proof as well as the 7000EU. I am not against these other units and would like a long term feed back from someone, but for us Honda is the long run play. These Predators are significantly less than a Honda, but do they last is my question?
We’ve had ours for a year and with regular maintenance, it’s still going strong. We will see how it does over the next year or two, but I also love the “no questions asked” warranty /replacement that you can get with this one to give me that peace of mind too.
7:10 “Always lift with you back, not your legs” if you want to destroy your back for the rest of your life 😂
It was a joke 😉
Should not be in garage with the kid to move it outside use your head dude