Power Joe 4100W Peak / 3300W Portable Propane Generator w/ 2.0Ah Battery & Charger Expired

Take a chill pill. This generator is perfect for a cabin or backup generator. Throw a $20 solar battery charger on it and it will fire up instantly, every time, whenever you want as the propane doesn't go bad and the battery is charged.

An inverter generator this size is at least $500 to $1000 with electric start.

Dirty power is so overrated. Almost every device that has a power brick won't be affected. But it's not going to kill any electronics running it for a weekend while the power is out. worst case if you run your house on it for a month you might burn out an led light bulb or find some things don't work right (furnace control boards, mini splits). but, almost nothing is permanently damaged by dirty power (except LEDs like the one in your microwave display)

What you can do is run a switch into the cabin and with a push of a button your generator turns on (every time) when you want power for lights or an old fridge or whatever.

If you've got a $8000 fridge and home theatre system your worried about being damaged by dirty power, you're not the type to buy the cheapest Genny you can find, buy the inverter.

see product description and photos

I bought this propane Power Joe for the case where I run out of gas for my 3 x 2200w inverters and 1 x 5500w raw power gennie. I have 8 x 20# propane tanks. I tried a dual fuel inverter and while it was nice, it was hard to start and ran about 20% less power on propane, IIRC. I'll be receiving this one in a couple days. $298 plus tax = $321 with tax @ Walmart. Really a great deal.

UPDATE 12/14/23

I followed the steps in the unboxing video step by step: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfIVVdVQeTw

Setup couldn't be much easier.

There are only 7 nuts and bolts and assembly was a breeze. Tools needed:
19mm socket and ratchet
17mm wrench or crescent wrench
10mm socket and ratchet
10mm wrench or crescent wrench
wire cutter, knife or scissors to cut the zip tie on the propane hose
crescent wrench for the handle release mechanism

Note that in the video, the front feet are angled UP slightly. The 2 feet are NOT THE SAME. One is for the left side and the other the right side. You need to put the correct one on the correct side as they are not marked.

Start charging the battery before you start assembly and the battery will be ready when you are done. The battery has 3 LEDs indicating charge level with a button on the battery to display the battery's charge level.

The 24v battery is a GREAT IDEA and differentiates this generator from others that require a trickle charger or a jump starter on a typical 12v AGM battery. This battery can be charged in your house with the included battery and charger and be ready to start the generator when you need it. This is a huge advantage.

INCLUDED $180 worth of accessories (plus free shipping $70):

Propane Generator unit $118
Propane Hose, $20 https://snowjoe.com/products/sun-...-generator
Cover, $40 https://snowjoe.com/products/sun-...4500-watts
Extension Cord, $50 https://snowjoe.com/products/sun-...ty-25-foot
Dipstick, $20 https://snowjoe.com/products/sun-...-sjg4100lp (NOTE: these are only $10 on Amazon)
Battery & Charger $50 https://www.amazon.com/Snow-Joe-2...36&sr=8-16

Included 2.0-Ah lithium-ion battery starts unit up to 400x on a single charge

4100 Starting Watts/3300 Running Watts of power to run appliances for up to 9hrs... for a dual-fuel generator this equates to 5125 Starting Watts /4125 Running Watts on propane (~20% power loss on propane)

Integrated control panel w/ multiple outlets for devices, appliances, RVs & more

Propane hose siphons fuel from the tank (tank not included) for cleaner energy

TIPS:

1) the box is big and heavy. I tipped the box onto a heavy duty dolly to move it around. It's over 115# so be prepared for that. Slide the box off the dolly onto a piece of cardboard or moving blanket to protect it. Cut open the box from the bottom, lay the box down and simply lift the box up revealing the contents. Navigating the box was the hardest part of the assembly process.
2) the two front feet have a slight angle to them... follow the video and install with them angled UP
3) the hubcaps snapped in place easily on the left wheel, but not on the right, so I opted to just leave them off. I think they are ugly and just get in the way should I need to access the wheels. The generator looks better from the side without them.
4) I plan on using a 25' 30a Southwire generator cord https://www.lowes.com/pd/Southwir...1002945674 with the Reliance Through The Wall kit https://www.zoro.com/reliance-con...lsrc=aw.ds
5) Add oil ... the instructions say 10w30 or 10w40. It gets real cold here this time of year, so I put in 10w30. In summer I'll go with a heavier weight.
6) When a cumulative run time of 20 hours has been reached, replace the engine lubrication. After the first time of replacing lubricant, replace the lubricant every 100 hours.
When a cumulative time of 50 hours is reached, clean the air filter.
When a cumulative time of 100 hours is reached, clean the spark plug.
7) I didn't measure but it looked to me like it took about 3/4 quart of oil. It ships without oil.
8) I ran it for about 1/2 hour with a light load on it. I'll run a breakin with 2 x 1500w heaters soon and then change the oil again.
9) I installed the magnetic dipstick. I use these on all my generators except the Coleman PM0525202.03 which doesn't have one available.

CONS:
1) Weight, as mentioned above, I won't be lifting this into my SUV like the small inverters
2) Noise, @ 70db it's about 10-12db louder than my inverters, but not as loud as my 6250w/5500w Coleman @ around 90db
3) Digital display–The display shows the amount of time the generator has run since being started. It will automatically reset when reached the Max. number it can show. My Westinghouse inverter shows fuel level, watts, etc. This display is a real let-down by comparison, but it's better than nothing.