Westinghouse 5000 Peak Watt Super Quiet Portable Inverter Generator, Remote Electric Start with Auto Choke, Wheel & Handle Kit, RV Ready, Gas Powered, Parallel Capable

I received the iGen 4500 about a week ago in order to provide portable power for our new 30 foot trailer. My wife and have tested the unit and found the set up relatively easy. I added the oil but errored and didn't screw in the small yellow oil stopper and gauge correctly and slightly overfilled the oil reservoir. You must be sure to screw in the stopper straight in order to get an accurate gauge reading of oil level. I had to use a bulb syringe and remove about one ounce of oil until the gauge showed that I had the proper amount of oil. My wife started the unit via the key fob and it immediately fired up and ran without hesitation. In fact, each start of the motor resulted in a successful start the first attempt each time. The instructions advise to run the unit for 5 hours at half or less of the stated capacity and we are 3 hours into that process now. We have kept the unit in the shade but despite the elevated summer temperatures of the low California desert, the unit is running flawlessly. We decided to run the RV air conditioner using the 30-amp outlet. We decided to purchase the gasoline single powered unit to contain costs and figured that gasoline is available everywhere and would suit our purposes just fine.Having heard many generators over the years, this unit runs relatively quiet and only modestly increased in volume when we ran the unit and about half its stated capacity. The unit provided consistent power to the ac unit with no problems. I did not notice any excessive heat and the unit sounded very consistent in a relatively low noise level. The retractable handle allows easy maneuverability, and I was able to move the unit and store it in the garage after each use. The controls and buttons and digital screen readouts are well placed and allows the user to easily monitor the functions of the generator. The unit provided clean power to run a television within the RV. We decided to purchase an inverter type for the RV as I have a television and expect to use various two-way radios and scanners inside the RV and the inverter type provides a better wave form for electronics. Other type of generators might harm sensitive electronics and circuits, so we opted for the inverter type with cleaner waveform generation. As per the manual, it recommends the purchase of a high-altitude kit (which I ordered) for use over 2000 feet. I'm not sure how 2000 feet is considered high altitude but I ordered the kit as many of our destinations will be at elevations over 5000 feet. I watched a YouTube video and it seems like replacement of the small fuel flow element will take quite a bit of work to open the case, remove a few parts and install the element. I will have to see how the unit performs at different elevations. Thus far, my wife and I are happy with the functionality of the generator and recommend others to purchase this unit.

I discovered this gene completely by surprise, I didn't even know it existed. I had in mind to get one of the competition (if it can even be considered competition) in the Red (H) or Blue (Y) BIG NAME brands but I was going to have to do it another time as these brands tend to be a bit pricey. The closest H makes is a 3 kW peak 2.8 kW running wattage, the next is a whopping 7 kW so it's not even a consideration for our needs. The Y is the same peak kW @ 4.5 kW, so it is a closer match. The H retails for about $2300.00 and the Y for about $3,000.00, both more than I was ready to pay. I will not take away anything from either the H or the Y, both are very respectable units. That said, the Westinghouse brand gives them both a run for the money. It is quieter, 52 dBA advertised vs. 58 dBA both H and Y, it is lighter at 97 lbs. vs. the H at 131 lbs., Y at 194 lbs. The Y does have a higher rated running wattage but the Westinghouse is more than adequate for our needs. It is clear that the Westinghouse is going after that "midrange" to higher kW market and they've done an excellent job of it, the retail price being about $950.00. The Westinghouse has an excellent warranty comparable to the H and Y models as well. I'm really impressed that the Westinghouse model with the owners manual comes with information I would think would be "proprietary" in that they give you maintenance information I'm not sure H or Y would give. Valve adjust info and how to do as well as a complete schematic including the wiring diagram and engine exploded view with parts and part numbers. That seems to me to be unheard of these days. MFG's want you to take their equipment to their dealer for maintenance & repair, that to me is HUGE that Westinghouse would do that!I unboxed my new gene yesterday, performed the necessary setup requirements which really just included adding oil and connecting the battery at the "quick connect," filling it with gas and simply hitting the start button. Started right up without hesitation. I wasn't sure if I was going to have to charge the battery first but it proved itself in that I didn't. I connected an external earth ground (just to be safe, questions about that) and connected my travel trailer to it. I turned on the 15K BTU A/C unit and it picked up the load no problem, I then proceeded to turn on the microwave oven and again it picked up that load as well, no problem. I so far am very impressed with this Westinghouse gene and would highly recommend this unit to anyone looking to purchase a mid to high range kW inverter generator. I got this for two reasons, originally as a backup to keep my refers running God forbid we have a power outage for any length of time and 2nd for my TT to take with us for camping (RVing). For the money, you really can't beat this unit. If you are considering, read over the spec's and see if it is something that meets your requirements and then check out the competition. It speaks for itself!

Received this generator inverter a few days ago and tested it a few times as I won’t get to use it too often right away, but I am quite happy with my purchase so far.The battery had plenty of power when I unboxed the generator and the electric start works like a charm. The very first start-up predictably took a bit of cranking (maybe 15 seconds), but ever since the first run, it starts instantly whether the engine is hot or cold. Even when using the recoil starter to crank by hand, it starts on the very first pull!The engine increases power very smoothly as you add electrical loads. Since I am still in the break-in period, I am only taking it to 50% power, but it just never surges and runs very predictably and the power output seems to be quite smooth so far.The noise level in Eco mode is really low and remote control work perfectly. The retractable handle work very well for moving the generator.Small things I like: Having the digital display is nice. I like the rubber cover/mat around the fuel filler cap. The instruction booklet is well written – been a very long time since I had seen instructions using clear layout and clear language and in good English.One gripe I have that other reviewers have also raised: Filling engine oil is a bit of a chore/messy and reading the dipstick or even reinserting/screwing in the dip stick is a bit awkward.Overall, so far am quite pleased with my purchase!