Personal experience - dual fuel is nice but not a deal breaker. In general, my experience has been that using ethanol free gas and using a fuel shutoff to let it run dry at the end of each use is fine. I always keep it fueled and full so it's ready when I need it.
My strategy has always been to size a generator for emergencies - so I have two 2k Champion inverter generators. I sometimes run just 1, sometimes both in parallel depending on load requirements. 1 generator can keep my fridge and furnace (or chest freezer) running with lights, tv while running both in parallel lets me run a portable a/c unit or a gas dryer, or multiple larger loads at once. I also like the redundancy of having 2 smaller units so if 1 won't start, I always have a backup.
I checked the use log on one of my Champion 2k inverter generators and you can see it has sat for > 1 year with no issues. Using regular gas without stabilizers is the #1 reason for your generator not starting after sitting for a long time. Since inverter generators don't use a lot of gas to run, switching from pump gas to ethanol free was a no brainer, the few extra $ for ethanol free gas was worth the peace of mind.
March 2019 - break in and test
July 2019 - power outage (~ 5 days)
Oct 2020 - test
Nov 2020 - oil change and test
Aug 2021 - power outage
My planning for emergency prep and gas storage will get me by for 3 - 5 days without having to go out to get gas.
1 x 6-gallon container with ethanol free fuel - for shorter outages when I know power will be back within a day
1 x 2.5-gallon container with ethanol free fuel for easy refueling, since it's a pain to try refilling an inverter generator tank with a heavy 6 gallon container.
1 x 5-gallon regular pump gas + stabilizer (refreshed annually, just dump it in my car and get fresh gas around Thanksgiving) - for longer outages.
Sometimes, I will add a 2nd 5-gallon container if I know a bad thunderstorm or winter warning is in the news just to give me an extra 1 - 2 days in case outages are widespread and it's difficult to find gas stations that have power or gas. My last backup is that I can also siphon gas from the car's gas tank if needed (have 2 cars).
Where can I get pure gas? I checked the pure gas websites. There is nothing around me; and I live in Houston.
Where can I get pure gas? I checked the pure gas websites. There is nothing around me; and I live in Houston.
in my experience those websites are often erroneous. I've never been able to find ethanol-free gas near me despite those sites indicating that there are several stations.
You can buy it from Lowe's/HD that sell it for small engine use, but it's crazy expensive. If you have a racetrack nearby sometimes local stations might sell ethanol-free fuel there.
It's not a big deal though; I use Stabil Marine in my gas and that does a very good job with longevity for small engines. I have 5 or 6 small engines that I keep fueled year-round and many will go 6+ months without being used but still fire on the first pull. I started doing that when buying my JD tractor (That I also use as a snowblower) and the dealer said to make sure to use an ethanol treatment in it.
For something as critical as a generator, and something you're not going to use often, just empty the gas from the tank and run it dry. Usually about once a year I'll put a gallon or so in, fire it up and let it power a halogen lamp or something for a couple hours. That is, unless you're going to use it often, then keeping gas in it is fine so long as you fire it up every now and then.
Right now my 11kW is full of gas including the carb, because I had it fueled and ready to go for Henri, but I also filled up all my tanks so I don't have a place to put the gas if I drained it, but I'll follow the same protocol - drain what I can (I usually just disconnect the fuel line from the shutoff and put a short hose to a tank) then run out the rest.
I guess people forgot snow storms cause power outages too.
Hurricanes are what generators are for. Snow storms are very brief power outages and your food won't spoil and your house won't get mold from no climate control. I lived in MA for 26 years and now live in Florida. We never had a need for a generator. Even when living in very rural towns. I still don't have a generator in Florida (I moved down during Irma funny enough) but I feel like I'm really tempting fate. For me it's about space. The reason I want a generator is to power my AC (to prevent mold) but none of these are strong enough to power the in home unit, right? So I'd need to get this and 1 or 2 window units or humidifiers. I simply don't have the space to store it all. 😕
But yea. Much quicker recovery from snow storm outages than hurricane outages and again, the need for power is much less in winter since you can easily survive without it if you have a house and a fire place or house and a gas heater.
I thought all AiPowers used Yamaha engines? What engine does this use?
As an aside, they had this for $399 back in July. I bought one then but returned it because they removed the 12V output on it in favor of anemic USB ports. I wasn't expecting that, because some reviews and product literature referred to the 12V output & included cables. When I called AiPower to inquire/complain about it, they said a change was made recently and they hadn't updated the manual yet.
Also, it claims to come with oil but does not--I saw that in the reviews and that was my experience as well. Not really a big deal though as you'd want to make sure you're putting good quality oil in these.
Otherwise it seemed like a nice generator (I didn't power it on though since I knew I was going to return it).
The Champion is probably worth the extra $50 because it's lighter, quieter and has the 12V output (at least the Amazon version does, I think the Walmart version is USB)
I did a little research, Costco is Yamaha engine. Samsclub and Walmart are not. i have one that is not Yamaha from Amazon
Costco sells (or sold) a version that had the actual Yamaha mz80 engine in it and is labeled as such. The other version has a "clone" but it's debatable and some have said it is an actual Yamaha based on what was imprinted/engraved on the engine block
I think you're right, but the Costco one would cost more if it was dual-fuel (propane, too):
"A-iPower Powered by Yamaha Inverter Generator" ($549.99) https://www.costco.com/a-ipower-p...53776.html
Costco is always more competitive. If I needed another gasoline generator, I would buy that one.
39 Comments
Your comment cannot be blank.
Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.
I wouldn't plan on using propane for generators going forward. The price of propane is soaring
evil lockdowns coming?
My strategy has always been to size a generator for emergencies - so I have two 2k Champion inverter generators. I sometimes run just 1, sometimes both in parallel depending on load requirements. 1 generator can keep my fridge and furnace (or chest freezer) running with lights, tv while running both in parallel lets me run a portable a/c unit or a gas dryer, or multiple larger loads at once. I also like the redundancy of having 2 smaller units so if 1 won't start, I always have a backup.
I checked the use log on one of my Champion 2k inverter generators and you can see it has sat for > 1 year with no issues. Using regular gas without stabilizers is the #1 reason for your generator not starting after sitting for a long time. Since inverter generators don't use a lot of gas to run, switching from pump gas to ethanol free was a no brainer, the few extra $ for ethanol free gas was worth the peace of mind.
March 2019 - break in and test
July 2019 - power outage (~ 5 days)
Oct 2020 - test
Nov 2020 - oil change and test
Aug 2021 - power outage
My planning for emergency prep and gas storage will get me by for 3 - 5 days without having to go out to get gas.
1 x 6-gallon container with ethanol free fuel - for shorter outages when I know power will be back within a day
1 x 2.5-gallon container with ethanol free fuel for easy refueling, since it's a pain to try refilling an inverter generator tank with a heavy 6 gallon container.
1 x 5-gallon regular pump gas + stabilizer (refreshed annually, just dump it in my car and get fresh gas around Thanksgiving) - for longer outages.
Sometimes, I will add a 2nd 5-gallon container if I know a bad thunderstorm or winter warning is in the news just to give me an extra 1 - 2 days in case outages are widespread and it's difficult to find gas stations that have power or gas. My last backup is that I can also siphon gas from the car's gas tank if needed (have 2 cars).
Where can I get pure gas? I checked the pure gas websites. There is nothing around me; and I live in Houston.
in my experience those websites are often erroneous. I've never been able to find ethanol-free gas near me despite those sites indicating that there are several stations.
You can buy it from Lowe's/HD that sell it for small engine use, but it's crazy expensive. If you have a racetrack nearby sometimes local stations might sell ethanol-free fuel there.
It's not a big deal though; I use Stabil Marine in my gas and that does a very good job with longevity for small engines. I have 5 or 6 small engines that I keep fueled year-round and many will go 6+ months without being used but still fire on the first pull. I started doing that when buying my JD tractor (That I also use as a snowblower) and the dealer said to make sure to use an ethanol treatment in it.
For something as critical as a generator, and something you're not going to use often, just empty the gas from the tank and run it dry. Usually about once a year I'll put a gallon or so in, fire it up and let it power a halogen lamp or something for a couple hours. That is, unless you're going to use it often, then keeping gas in it is fine so long as you fire it up every now and then.
Right now my 11kW is full of gas including the carb, because I had it fueled and ready to go for Henri, but I also filled up all my tanks so I don't have a place to put the gas if I drained it, but I'll follow the same protocol - drain what I can (I usually just disconnect the fuel line from the shutoff and put a short hose to a tank) then run out the rest.
But yea. Much quicker recovery from snow storm outages than hurricane outages and again, the need for power is much less in winter since you can easily survive without it if you have a house and a fire place or house and a gas heater.
Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.
As an aside, they had this for $399 back in July. I bought one then but returned it because they removed the 12V output on it in favor of anemic USB ports. I wasn't expecting that, because some reviews and product literature referred to the 12V output & included cables. When I called AiPower to inquire/complain about it, they said a change was made recently and they hadn't updated the manual yet.
Also, it claims to come with oil but does not--I saw that in the reviews and that was my experience as well. Not really a big deal though as you'd want to make sure you're putting good quality oil in these.
Otherwise it seemed like a nice generator (I didn't power it on though since I knew I was going to return it).
The Champion is probably worth the extra $50 because it's lighter, quieter and has the 12V output (at least the Amazon version does, I think the Walmart version is USB)
I did a little research, Costco is Yamaha engine. Samsclub and Walmart are not. i have one that is not Yamaha from Amazon
"A-iPower Powered by Yamaha Inverter Generator" ($549.99)
https://www.costco.com/a-ipower-p...53776.html
Costco is always more competitive. If I needed another gasoline generator, I would buy that one.
"A-iPower Powered by Yamaha Inverter Generator" ($549.99)
https://www.costco.com/a-ipower-p...53776.html [costco.com]
Costco is always more competitive. If I needed another gasoline generator, I would buy that one.