Briggs & Stratton 2400-Watt Inverter Generator

I just received this recently, so this is more of an initial review, not a long term one. With that said, with the warranty and reputation of Briggs & Stratton, I expect I will be happy with this unit for a long time.First time setting this up was easy. B&S thoughtfully provided the necessary oil and oil filler funnel in the box. While the manual says you can use regular pump gas provided it contains no more than 10% ethanol, I decided to buy some ethanol free fuel to use instead as this will help the engine last longer. Ethanol in fuel turns to water which causes bad things for engines, especially when allowed to sit with prolonged periods of not being used. The fuel I used also does not require fuel stabilizer to keep it from degrading in a month.I noticed nice attention to detail with regard to the oil filler and gas filler areas. The plastic housing around these areas are designed to handle small spills when filling, catching any spillage and providing a drainage pathway that directs the liquids away from sensitive components. When I had it all set up, I was able to start it for the first time with just one pull from the cord, and I don't feel like I even pulled it that fast.With the generator up and running, I enabled the Quiet Power switch and it idled down the engine. I was impressed with how quiet it was even when standing right next to it.The inverter is rated for 1800W of continuous power, and to test that, I connected my electric induction heating cooktop that is rated to draw up to 1800W. The cook top has power levels you can set between 1 to 10 in 0.5 level increments. I set a pot of water on top and started with the power level at 5. The generator revved up to match the additional load. It was louder, but not dramatically so. I slowly started raising the power level of the cook top, and with each step the generator kept pace and would also rev higher. I was able to raise the power of the cook top up to 9, but any higher than that the generator would flash it's fault indicator light to show that the power load was exceeding what the inverter could handle. When I set the power level of the cook top to 10, the inverter cut power completely after a few seconds to prevent overloading. It was simple enough the press the reset button and power was restored. With things back in operation, I had no problem running the cook top at power level 9 and boiling a pot of water. Given that power ratings on electronics are not exact, I consider the test to be successful and that the 1800W continuous power rating on this generator is more or less correct. The noise when standing right next to the generator running at full load was much louder, but not deafening or overly unpleasant. In normal operation, you'd have the generator 20-40 ft away and the noise would not be an issue at all.Another thing I like about this generator is the handle. It's comfortable to carry one handed, or if you need to, use the H shaped handle to get two hands on it. When it was empty I had no trouble carrying it one handed, but when it was full of oil and fuel, I used two hands so I could avoid tilting it as I moved it. Not that I think tilting it with fuel in it would have really hurt anything, but I didn't want to tilt it too much if I could help it. With regard to the styling and design of the exterior plastics, I like that it's not all neon bright colored or flashy. It's fairly compact for the amount of power it provides, and easily portable. Finally, I think that this generator gives a better experience than others in it's price range, and holds up compared to others that cost much more.This model has weather proof covers over all of the sockets and switches, which give me much more confidence in its ability to handle outdoor conditions. This is something to look for as other brands do not always include this.I was able to run a home theatre projector and a PC off of the power while keeping the noise down. It barely revved up when I connected my beefy server PC to it along with a 2000 lumins projector. My earlier test with the cook top was a true test of extremes for the sustained power rating, and it passed that. The other test cases I put it through barely brought the load above 50%. Certain items definitely put a greater strain than others. My 1800W cook top test I think was quite a torture test and a real showing of what it could do, and it handled it perfectly.