The Best Features:
- 4,375 surge watts/3,500 continuous watts
- 8-inch flat free tires
- Briggs & Stratton 1150 Series OHV Engine
- Provides up to 8 hours of run time at 1/2 load
- Non-CARB Compliant/Not For Sale In California
Rock Solid By Willy
Purchased the Briggs & Stratton generator before a pending hurricane. Assembled it quickly and ran non-stop for 43 hours straight! Was able to run three refrigerators, one freezer, sump pump, TV, and several lights with no problem. My fuel consumption was 2.5 gallons every 9 hours, better than advertised. The metal tank is a great touch, proven engine, and great warranty.Very Disappointing By Guardian
Good reasonable delivery. Arrived 1 day after Hurricane Irene. Started right up and ran well for about 16 hours, then ran rough (according to instructions I changed the oil after the first 8 hours). It did give me the power that I had expected when I ordered the generator and I was initally quite happy with the purchase. However, after another 4 hours it stopped producing electricity but the engine continued to run normally -after about 1 minute it sounded like a bucket of bolts dumped into a clothes dryer, or a bunch of gears stripping themselves apart. Very frustrating, expecially since we had had the foresight to order the generator before we had known that Irene would target us and we were now dependent upon its' services.
However, I have to say the Amazon person I talked with was very supportive and helpful, and I was satisfied with the results. Unfortunately I will be looking for a new generator and it will not be a Briggs and Stratton!31 of 32 Good deal at $469, updated reviews included at bottom... By Old Swamp Yank
I purchased this the first week of September 2011, just after Hurricane Irene and a week without power. Thought about buying one for the past 3 years and just could never decide on how much power I wanted, gas consumption and physical size. But I decided on the B&S 030466 because at $469, it was a good deal and I have worked on a lot of L-head Briggs engines and found them very reliable.
Pros: The estimated delivery time was 3 months but it showed up in three weeks. Thanks Amazon! Price was right, as mentioned above. Took 3 pulls to start, started on the first pull a week later. Came with oil (eh, whatever, I have plenty of oil). Not super light but manageable at about 140 pounds. Nice locking handle. I have not run it for a long period of time but it runs for the 5 minutes I turn it on and power output seems fine. Based on previous reviews and literature, it should get very good gas consumption but the trade-off is less power. Relatively quiet. I was really surprised about this. If I put it on the side of the house, we can't even hear it inside.
Cons: The Amazon price is now $499 and the BrandNewEngines, Inc price is $599. Frankly, this ain't no $600 generator. For $600 you could get more power in the same size. You'd eat more gas, but you run more stuff. The alternator cover was bashed in. I assume this was a shipping issue. I didn't waste my time with the warranty or Amazon, I just bought a $16 replacement cover from SearsPartsDirect.com and swapped it out- none of the electronics under the cover were damaged. It uses an OHV engine. I have no experience with OHV B&S engines but I do not like OHV Honda engines- too much plastic and rubber in the crankcase, which are prone to failure. I assume you get more power in a smaller size with this type engine but I would have preferred the old L-head B&S engines. You can beat the crap out of them, drop them in the ocean, never change the oil and they keep running. Finally, the choke lever is made of plastic and pops right off. I expect it will break eventually and I will need to replace it. Should have bought a spare when I replaced the cover unit.
In summary, if your generator needs are moderate and you can get this for under $500, it's probably worth it. If I had to do it again, I might try and find a 4,500 Watt generator so I could run my water heater but aside from that, I'm happy I got it when I did.
UPDATE: It's been a year since i purchased this generator. Every 2-3 months I crank it up. It never fails to start by the 3rd pull. BUT I have noticed that the gas tank is starting to pucker/bubble and rust in a few spots and the edge around the tank is heavily rusted. I have treated it with rust converter. The generator is kept in my shed, covered in a very thick cover. I am little disappointed, it looks like only the tank is affected, I assume it was poorly treated before painting. This may not be an issue if stored in a garage but I have a ton of other equipment in my shed and none of it is rusting (Generac, Ryobi, etc). It does occur to me that it is the only item covered in my shed, so the cover may be holding in moisture....
UPDATE #2: It's Oct. 31, 2012. Hurricane Sandy just blew through. We had no power for 46 hours. I used the generator for 4 stretches, each lasting 3-4 hours. We seem to have gotten at least 2 hours for every gallon of gasoline. This thing is super efficient! I was running my well pump, my refrigerator, my 41" TV and cable boxes, internet router, wi-fi, 4-5 lights and ipod and computer chargers. Occasionally it would bog for a second if the fridge and pump kicked on at the same time but it was momentary, I assume it was going to the surge output. The oil has had 15 hours of run time and I plan to change with synthetic soon, the stuff is barely off-color. The only thing I missed was my water heater. I did not have the furnace hooked up but plan to alternate between the water pump and furnace as needed in colder temperatures. I do not think it could handle the furnace, fridge and well pump kicking on at the same time and would not want to burn them out.
UPDATE #3: We lost power again during Nemo, February 2013. I attempted to connect the furnace to the generator (oil burning hot air) and while it did function, the furnace blower did not operate at the proper speed nor did the burner seem to produce as much heat- the burner itself was much quieter than it should have been. In 1/2 hour of operation the furnace could not heat the house higher than 63°F. I used a decent grade extension cord to power the furnace but will try some 12 gauge romex next time. Hopefully the wire was the issue (although everything else functioned fine). My other thought is that the quality of the electricity produced may not be quite right and the furnace may just be more sensitive to it. The Best-Selling Briggs & Stratton 30466 3,500 Watt 250cc Gas Powered Portable Generator With Wheel Kit then to sell out very fast, if this is a must have product, be sure to order now to avoid disappointment.
