Loud ass generators are not even remotely friendly

I picked one up a couple of weeks ago. There was coupon for it for $40 off. I have (4) hrs on it. Plan to change the oil based on youtube reviews@ (8) hrs. 1st impressions...

1. It is quite..even at full throttle. Quieter than my Yamaha 2000 inverter both at idle and full throttle. Unexpected for sure.

2. It easily handles a 13,500 btu AC cold start on ECO mode. I tested it against my (2) yamaha's paralelled together. The HF was quite a bit quieter and seems to be working less.

3. It is a chore to lift solo. Not recommended.

4. The wheels allow pushing/pulling in a straight line only. No swivel wheels. I somewhat expected this..but it is a bit more of PITA than I thought.

5. The wheel locking plate rattles louder than the rest of the genny. Easy enough to remedy I think.

I got the (2) year warranty for $129 just to be safe. So far I think it is more good than bad. Time will tell. Hope this helps.

 

Iv been waiting for a coupon myself but have had no luck. Soon as I get one I am picking one up. I havnt heard anything bad yet about these

 

Been reading up on their products, seems like the ticket for running a trailer on an eu2000i or similar.

https://www.microair.net

 

$50 off (they accept digital):
http://www.hfqpdb.com/coupons/1967_ITEM_3500_WATT_SUPER_QUIET_INVERTER_GENERATOR_1504618882.5352.jpg

 

Hey man thanks!!

 

I got 77 hours on mine and it's awesome. Yes you do have to use some man strength if you're going to heave it around and shit, no different than the Honda EU3000 though. Changed oil at the 5 hour and 25 hour mark and it looked great both times. I had the same (minor) issue with the wheel lock vibrating making a little noise but you simply pull the genny a bit so it locks into place and it goes away.

Runs my toy hauler, 13.5 BTU and one set of warmers without any complaints.

 

If I don't find a fun mover I'll be putting one of these in my trailer's AC. My Westinghouse 2200w inverter can cold start my AC, but it's dicey on warm starts. Once running the AC only registers as about 1/4 load.

 

We ran a 9k a/c rooftop unit off of my eu2000. 7x14 trailer was insulated, never had a problem and it was very cold inside the trailer on a 95 degree race day.

 

With Harbor Freight I highly suggest taking a picture of your receipt and warranty extension they keep NO records and are far from helpful if an issue comes up without it.
Send a copy of that receipt to yourself via email so if the time comes you have a copy. OH, keeping the original if fine, BUT it's on thermal paper and will discolor to the point of not being readable.
I staple my original to the manual, good chance it will go blank or black depending on the paper there using.

 

I installed one of these on my 15k work & play and can power my trailer with my Ryobi 2200, hums

 

I get an emailed receipt already, but for a larger purchase, yeah, I do the same thing.

 

Awesome, good to hear someone here has used one.

 

I have one. Love it.
The guy I was with had the Honda 3000 one and it was just as quiet.

 

I changed the oil on the HF 3500 @ 8rhs. The oil was a bit shiny. I probably would not have noticed it unless I was looking for it. You could see tiny flakes with a light shining thru the oil while draining. So far so good. The oil drain provisions on the genny were great. A spout and a removable plug in the bottom. Basically no mess. Took advice from a youtube video and set the genny up on blocks so I could slide my oil drain pan underneath. These cats were thinking ahead.

 

So I pulled the trigger on the HF 3500 Predator inverter genny
Used it for the entire GNF and also at a drag race event practicing starts.
So far I've got about 90 hrs on it.

No real issues, no complaints! A few people at the GNF were surprised to know it was the HF unit.
Seems decently built, I double checked torque on a few bolts before use and all were good, bolts/fasteners aren't the generic super-soft pieces you'll fine on some random Chinese stuff, the internal heat shields on the exhaust seem well placed, the interface is nice with the hour counter (both overall time and current run time) and both amp and wattage use meters. The electric start (although not exactly needed) is a nice touch.

I did have one small hiccup with mine, on the fourth day it seemed to have a weird hesitation when my 12kBTU AC unit started up, causing the AC unit controller to reset. This was at around hr 60-70 of use. It would run perfectly fine otherwise. The same usage setup worked fine starting at hr 20 of use up until then, so I knew the generator capacity itself was good for it. Checked everything out and there is a very fine-mesh cone insert on the spark arrestor on the exhaust. It was about fully clogged with some soot. I cleaned it up but left it out, and only kept the regular wafer arrestor piece in. No issues after that!
I might put the fine mesh cone insert back in and check it after a couple days of use.
So if you go with this one, might just want to check the arrestor after a couple days.

Very impressed. Unit started up quickly every time. With ECO mode and a light load, the fuel consumption seems really good. I could run warmers, 12kBTU AC, random electrical stuff, all on ECO mode without issue.
Would recommend.

 

I wanted to get the Predator 8750 for power outages, and if you search there is always a coupon available for it at $529, which is a great price for that much power. Evidently, they can afford that price point because the stores are always out of stock.
They get like 4 a week and people are camped out waiting for the delivery truck at 5 am.
And they don't ship free to the store like Walmart does either.

 

I had to show up the morning after their after-hours truck delivery to get my 3500. Before then just about all the HF's in Atl and middle Georgia were out of stock.

 

Home Depot has some generators on sale. Seems like good reviews, and people in the review compared it to the Honda quiet level for the 2000W ones.

https://www.homedepot.com/SpecialBuy/SpecialBuyOfTheDay

 

So, how are those Predator 3500's holding up so far? What's the lowest price they've hit? I'm not ditching my Yamaha any time soon, but would like a bigger unit for outages at home, and I loves me some HF...

 

I don't think they've changed price at all. But mines good. Maintenance (oil changes, plug, etc) we're surprisingly easy. Love it so far.

Only big negative will be the lack of replacement parts. Sure, the engine, carb, etc is common enough to find parts for but if the electrics ever go, it's going to be more difficult than calling up HF to fix it.