Westinghouse 9500 Peak Watt Portable Generator

UPDATE: Jan 2nd 2022 Due to global climate change, weather patterns have been changing, bringing unprecedented cold front temperatures, to many regions of the country. Due to strong winter storms and wind, we seem to be losing power more often. The previous time my generator was run, was back in November, as we had a power outage then. Then December 26th came around, there goes the power! The outside temperature was 20F with a 0F windchill... I went to fire up the generator, she was cranking, but she wouldn't start. I'm running a summer oil in it, 10W30 which didn't help matters, better to run 5W30 in the winter time. However, since the air in the cylinder, the cylinder itself, and carburetor are freezing, the gas that flows through it, can't vaporize correctly for proper combustion, thus resulting in lack of ignition. Some might try to solve this, by spraying a solvent like starting fluid through the carb intake, to force their generator to start. I'm a small engine mechanic, and I can tell you hands down, that is a bad idea. Your cylinder could be dry, and a solvent like ETHER thins away remaining lubrication that might be there. Its not a good idea to start a generator at full speed, with dry cylinders, in freezing temps. If you look at one of my pictures, you will see the carburetor, just to the right of the overhead valves casing. What I did, is I fired up my propane torch, and I began heating the side of the carburetor facing out in that picture. I did not focus the heat in one spot, a torch can burn hot enough to burn aluminum. So I kept moving the torch around till I got the carburetor sufficiently heated up. I then pressed the start button, and she fired up and died. She has an automatic choke, I should have manually held the choke on for a little longer. But she's a smart generator, so she cranked up again on her own volition, and fired right up, and kept going until she smoothed out. I waited 5-minutes before putting a load on her, cause I wanted the engine to warm up. So other then that experience, my generator has been running awesome. So, if you run across this issue, remember to try the torch method for heating up the carb in the cold. This is going to be my last update on this generator. I have already gone through my first oil change, and I can still to this day recommend it. UPDATE: May 29th 2021 Once every 2-months, I start the generator just to charge the battery, and keep the exciter field charged, when its not being used. However, as of May 28th, we had a major power outage, that was caused by a Semi-truck, snagging power lines, thereby causing a chain reaction, and bringing down power poles. This put us folks out of power, for a total of 17-hours! Because of that situation, we got to use the generator for real, and really put a load on it. We used the heavy 10-gauge 220 plug with a splitter that splits each pole into 2-120v outlets, for a total of 4. This is the cable that we plugged our high draw appliances into. During the day, it was just a bit warm so we ran a fan, didn't even bother with the AC. But at night it got cold, around 65F(inside), so we ran a space heater off that line, as well as our fridge, microwave, and or coffee maker. Don't worry, we made sure to balance the load on the 4-poles so we wouldn't damage the generator. We used the smaller 12-gauge cable to plug into a power strip, which had all our internet devices plugged into it, plus a fan, as well as a charger to charge the cell phone and tablet. This generator was able to run all of that, handle the load, and push on through like a trooper! But there is something I discovered that I feel the need to mention. If you have a modern microwave, as I am sure most people do, its probably going to be overly sensitive to this generator. I have a Panasonic microwave, and when plugged in, it refused to run off the generator for more then a few seconds. This was not due to the generator not having the power output to do so, its a 7500-watt generator! This is because modern microwaves apparently, are super sensitive to frequency dips below 60-hertz. This generator will dip just bellow 60-hertz when put under a good load, so that is something to watch out for. When I Googled this issue, apparently, the magnatrons in modern microwaves must operate at 60-hertz exactly, or they won't work, and safeties in the unit will trip. However, we were lucky, because we still owned an extremely old, and surprisingly still working, ancient microwave from the early 90's. They made microwaves different back in those days. Yes, its too small, yes it has no turn table, yes its slow at heating cause it don't got more then 700-watts if that, but the important point is, it worked with our generator. It didn't care if the frequency dipped below 60-hertz, it just worked. Could you imagine if things were made that well today? Now, in regards to space heaters, they are a resistance load appliances. As such, even a little 2000-watt generator could handle them. So it was no surprise, that this generator handled it like a champ, even when being pushed to full heat, and drawing as much as it can off the generator. Yes, I could hear the generator struggle a little, but not much! Your bigger loads however, are going to come from your fridge however. Unlike a heater which use resistance, a fridge does not. A full size fridge can use 800-watts or more depending on unit. Now you might be thinking, well that isn't much power. Sure, but with things like fridges, you have compressors, and the starting wattage, also known as PEEK power, literally triples! Whenever the fridge came on, I would hear the generator momentarily struggle with a deeper sound as it normalized. With the heater running, fridge running, and an electric coffee percolator running at the same time, the generator was put under a solid load, and it pushed on through like a trooper! Regarding an internet modem, router, network switch, some chargers and a fan, your still not pulling even 1000-watts, so this generator wasn't even phased by it at all, and if thats all you had to power, you could get one of those itty bitty 1000-watt generators and save on the cost. We were without power for a total of 17-hours! I was very lucky to have nearly 10-gallons of fuel left in my garage. 10-gallons of fuel was more then enough to see us through 17-hours. I filled the tank nearly to the brim on the first fill, and it last between the hours of 2:00PM to 12:00AM. I then refilled it, all the way to the gasoline rubber seal, and it ran between 12:00AM to 7:00AM, running mostly a heater, fridge, and the internet, and have half a tank of fuel left, as you can see in the picture. I remember reading some reviews where people stated that the site glass window wasn't very accurate. All I can think is that their units must have been defective, as I felt mine was fairly accurate. When it shows half a tank, its half a tank. When the site glass window shows empty, you have maybe a gallon of gas left, so it gives you time to stop the generator, and refill. Remember guys, a car's fuel gauge is exactly the same way, when it shows empty, you usually are given time to find the nearest gas station to fill up. So my conclusion to this lengthy review and update is this, if your looking for a generator that has a lot of power, and is capable of pushing that power, to most of your devices, this generator is a trooper and will get it done! However, due to slight frequency dips, this unit might not be the best for you, if you intend on powering modern microwaves. I'd like to do some further research and see if I can find a more modern microwave that works better with generators that are NON-INVERTER types like this one. But overall, I am quite pleased, and my review still stands on recommending this unit. Original Review... Hello everyone, I am Arthur Senior, or as some like to call me, Sr. Arthur. :) If you follow me, then you know that I generally write detailed reviews, and this will be no exception. Only this time, I am bringing you a little treat, a video that took some time to make, hope you enjoy! Music: Love Is War by Deoxys Beats, creative commons attribution, free use non-copyrighted. Where I am located, we often get power outages during winter storms, because of this, I have suffered many times without power. Everything in the home is electric powered, so when the power goes out, prepare to freeze, and only eat sandwiches! After seeing many of those 1-star reviews, showing damaged generators in shipping, it can be a horrifying experience to say the least! However, I know that is a small percentage of people, but still, its worrisome, and makes you feel like your taking a gamble on ordering. The good news, is that my generator arrived intact, undamaged, and in excellent condition. I found it odd that Westinghouse doesn't use any molded Styrofoam, which would help greatly in protecting the generators in shipping. I recommend using Styrofoam to greatly reduce the chance of shipping damage, I got lucky as it was shipped with care. Before ordering, I had watched a video on Youtube that showed the assembly process, plus, I also read the owners manual in PDF form. I am the type of person that likes to be fully educated on a new product, I am not a fly by the seat of my pants and hope for the best kind of person. lol - I used a floor jack to prop up the generator to make it easy to get the wheels on. They go on with just axle bolts, washers, and cotter pins. I did the same process for getting the feet on, they simply use bolts that you have to tighten, so make sure to have your metric set ready, I recommend a ratcheting box wrench set, as they make it super easy! I am well aware that some people were required to install the battery cables to the terminals on the battery, however, mine were already attached, I just needed to plug in the quick connect fitting. Notice that yellow tag on the dipstick that warns you that there is no oil in the engine? They want to make sure that you are aware, and don't destroy your engine immediately from running the engine without oil! As well as the hardware, they also generously include a funnel, and a bottle of oil for your convenience. That bottle of oil they included, is supposed to be a pre-measured amount, that is for the generator model. However, I am here to tell you that it is not. According to specifications, the oil level, must reach the bottom end of the threads, which can be seen by the naked eye. Unfortunately, they don't provide enough oil, and so I had to top it off with my 10W30 synthetic oil, and it took several ounces more oil! Then all I had to do was put some gas in the tank, flip the fuel valve to the on position, and I was ready to go. The engine is a 420cc engine, also known as, 13HP. It has overhead valves, and a cast iron sleeve. This engine has some luxury features, such as automatic choke, operated by an electric servo, which requires power from the battery to function(It can be operated manually if your battery is dead). It also has push button electric start, as well as remote start and shutdown by the key-fob as well! It also comes with a pull starter for backup, but you won't have fun pull starting a 13HP engine I can assure you that. This engine also has a CARB compliance emissions control module, so yes, this generator is legal for California use. This is without a doubt, the cleanest running small engine I've ever owned. I can't smell exhaust from it at all, the only smell I can detect from it, is just the smell of a new machine that is heated up! The engine also runs amazingly smooth for a single cylinder engine. Of course I only run premium stabilized gas in my machines, so I am sure that helps. But this engine is finely tuned, and that is something that I appreciate. This engine comes with a low oil shutdown sensor, so if your engine is getting too low on oil, the safety will kick in, and shut the engine down to prevent damage. It won't let you restart it, until you top off the oil. The engine uses a simple foam filter for the air cleaner, that is treated with oil, to catch debri so it doesn't enter the engine. It also uses the typical Chinese Torch sparkplug, and while it is working perfectly fine right now, they are known to not be reliable, so if it starts giving me problems, I will replace it with a real sparkplug, I use Bosch plugs in my machines which are high end, and last years. The engine and generator are on rubber motor mounts, which helps with vibration, and the feet keep the machine steady. After starting the engine, I noticed that it was not providing any power, turns out, these generators ship with the main breaker automatically tripped, possibly a safety feature? So I had to flip the breaker off and on again, (What does that remind me of? IT Crowd?) and then it was outputting power. Using a multi-meter, I probed the 120v outlets, and they were properly set to 122v. When a load is applied, that will settle to 120v so don't be worry there. The frequency its putting out is 62.5 hertz, again, it normalizes to 60 hertz when a load is applied. I did not want to load it up a whole lot on its very first run, its in a brea-kin period afterall. So I just plugged in a metal oscillating fan, and a powerful LED worklight. The generator is so powerful, it didn't even flinch! For powering high amperage devices, such as space heaters, window AC units, refrigerators, microwaves, coffee makers, electric tea kettles, I have a Temco L14-30 20' twist lock extension cable, as well as an AC works L14-30 5' distribution cable to 4-120v 3-prong splitter. In an effort to make sure the splitter is indeed taking the 240v and splitting it 4-ways, I checked it with a multi-meter, happy to report its working perfectly, and I am getting 120v out of all 4 outlets on the splitter. Open frame generators such as this, are known to be loud, this machine is no exception. Right next to the generator, I measured 90+ decibels, which is as loud as a lawn mower. However, in a 20+ foot distance, I measured it in the 80 decibel range. And 50' away, I measured it in the 70+ decibel range. I wanted to point out, that this generator actually has a quality muffler on it, I am not hearing exhaust sound at all! Its just that the engine itself is loud, its a small engine afterall, not an automotive engine with overhead cam. If your neighbors homes are 50' or further away, they shouldn't complain, as the 70-DB range, is the range of people speaking to one another. While it is true that inverter generators are much quieter, they are also far more expensive, and you usually can't find one in this wattage range! Another con about this generator is its weight. This generator's dry weight is 197 pounds. And with oil in the engine and fuel in the tank, it weighs well over 200 pounds. So while this generator is technically mobile with wheels, its not the easiest to move around. And if your trying to move it over your lawn, well, you better have some muscles is all I gotta say. I razed up each step until I could get it on my porch, and it took everything I got to do it, and I am a strong person! If you need a generator to power a home during a power outage, this size or bigger is what you want to power your home. But if all you need is to power an RV, or to power up a campsite, this is not what you want, weighs too much, and is far too loud. Most people will pay an electrician to come out and install a transfer switch, breaker interlock, and generator hookup outlet, or they will do it themselves. After paying this much money, nearly a grand, I can't afford to buy all that. Instead, I am running cables plugged into the generator, and running them into my home, basically, the old school way. I am going to use the L14-30 connection to power all my high amperage draw appliances, as this generator supports 31A @ 240V 62A @ 120V, continuous draw from the connection. And it supports 39A @ 240V 79A @120V PEAK. And I am going to use one of the 120v 20-AMP duplex ports, to plugin a 12-gauge cord to plugin a power strip, which will handle my low amp draw devices. I am going to use that to keep my internet going, run a fan, lights, or a sleeping sound machine aid. Those of you who are using C-PAP machines, you will most certainly require a generator during power outages. Since the 120v duplex outlets are breaker-ed to the standard 20-amps, realistically, you can expect a continuous draw of up to 40-amps between each duplex. When powering multiple devices that use high AMP loads, make sure to balance out the load, by plugging 1 into each duplex. An unbalanced load on the generator will cause excess vibration, which is not good for the life of the machine. Additionally, when using an L14-30 splitter, you must do the same, balance the load on each leg of the splitter. For example, plug the space heater in 1 RED outlet, then plug the refrigerator into one GREEN outlet. This generator offers 7500-WATTS continuous, and up to 9500-WATTS peak load. Always size up your generator purchase by how many watts you require. Then think about things with motors, such as a fridge, where you will have a peak load, which is generally 3-times the running watts, when the motor first kicks on. This generator has a 6.6-gallon fuel tank, which is rated to last 11-hours at 50% load, and longer if only at a 25% load. Westinghouse is rating this generator to 72DB. With the footage that I've uploaded, I've clearly proven, that you have to go at least 50' feet away or more to achieve that. THD or Total Harmonic Distortion, is 23%. You would most certainly not want to power a sensitive electronic device such as a computer with this, that is unless you have a power line conditioner in your home, in which case, it won't matter. However, I feel that its important to note, that rating of 23% is taken when the generator is being used practically at its max load. Most people would not use a generator at its max capacity if they properly sized up their generator in the first place to give themselves a cushion such as I have. At lower loads, the THD is not as bad, so I wouldn't worry about it with anything else. If your really worried about it, and you really need to power computers with a generator, instead of just using tablets and cell phones, then you could obviously get an inverter generator. But your going to pay at least 2-times more for 2-times less the wattage capacity, so I'll let you decide on which path you want to go on for your generator adventure lol. All in all, if you want a generator that has the horses to power all those super high amp loads, this is the unit you want, or better if you have even more requirements still. In conclusion, I have only put this generator through testing, and its still in the break-in period. Once I go through a proper power outage, and really put this generator through its paces, and its first oil change, I will then finalize this review with a longevity update. But for right now, I really love my new generator, and I am giving it 5-STARS overall. I purchased a cover for it to keep it clean when not in use, and I have it chain locked, and under surveillance at all times, so nobody steels it. I hope this review helps you, and if you have any questions not answered in this review, please leave me a comment bellow. :) PS: I don't write reviews on Amazon anymore due to Amazon's questionable review deletion processes, where they rely on a faulty algorithm to make important decisions, instead of manually reviewing them. This is always a recipe for disaster, as it was with me, when they arbitrarily for no reason, deleted a dozen of my recent reviews. For this reason, I cannot and will not write anymore reviews on their site.