The Best Features:
- 4000 Watt Surge/3300 watt continuous
- 4 Gallon gas tank/8 hour run time
- EZ-Pull recoil start
- EPA Approved
- Automatic low oil shut off
Cost-effective Emergency Power By H. Zelizer
I bought this generator in preparation for hurricane Irene. Ordered it on Wen., it arrived on Fri., just in time to set it up before the storm (can't beat Amazon Prime!). The generator was easy to set up and started in one pull. This generator provided power sufficient to run the refrigerator, a mini-split a/c unit, TV, and a couple of fluorescent lights for two days. Under this load, a full tank (4 gallons) lasted around 12-14 hours. This unit appears to be a Chinese import so I do have my doubts about long-term reliability, never the less, the DS4000 appears surprisingly well-constructed and capable for the price.
Pros:
Inexpensive
Easy to Operate
Relatively Quiet (compared to a 22" lawn mower)
Compact
Easy to read fuel gauge
Cons:
Recommended oil change interval of 20 hours (change the oil every other time you fill the gas tank?)
Oil drain obscured by frame below (as oil drains it runs along the frame and makes a mess)
No watt or amp meter (Has volt meter, but why?)
Earth grounding post and hardware (nuts and washers) are too small
Packaging is inadequate for UPS Ground Shipping (operating panel was dented on arrival)
Update 9/18/2012
It's been a full year since I've used this generator. After Hurricane Irene, I drained the fuel tank and changed the oil. This evening the power went out, so I filled the tank and the generator started on the second pull. I love this thing!
Update 11/5/2012
Just got the power back after 7 days; this time it was Sandy The DS4000 proved itself as the little generator that could, running 16 hrs/day for seven days without a problem. I've been using synthetic oil (Royal Purple SAE 30) and extending the oil change interval to once every 2 days (32 hours of use). Doesn't seem to use much oil, maybe down one or two ounces in this interval. I really do love this generator!Setup was easy - Add Oil & Gas one pull cord and up and running By Dennis Podgorski
We have used over the last 3 days to power fridge, 2 fans, charge mobile phones and laptops and run a few lights. We are getting approx a run time of just over 13 hours on one tank (4 gallon) of gas.
Last night even hooked up the tv and cable so our son could watch some tv. Nick, Nick, Nick, Nickeloden. :)
This morning it powered the coffee maker and iron so we could be awake and wrinkle free.
I really did not expect the generator to run as long as it did on one tank so very happy with the purchase.
Next thing to purchase is something to cover it in case of heavy rain. Setup a tarp over table with bungee cords last night but would like something quicker to setup.
If we continue to have the power outage problem here in Oak Park we may look into the natural gas generator that hooks into electric system and fails over automatically. As always we will try to get it from Amazon our favorite store.
We give the DuroStar DS4000S 4,000 Watt 7.0 HP OHV 4-Cycle Gas Powered Portable Generator 2 thumbs up and/or a 5 star rating. Bang for buck we are very happy with this purchase.Excellent Generator - Great For Post Hurricane Outages By M. Wright
I purchased this generator for the occasional power outages of my home to run things like my refrigerator, TV, and computer. And while it is rated at 3,300 watts continuous, (4000 watts peak), my experience with it has been quite impressive. Here are my pros and cons:
PROS:
Inexpensive - This is quite a deal in my opinion for a 3300 watt generator.
Fairly quiet.. They advertise 69 db. It's not super quiet, but this is what I expected for a 3300 watt generator.
Started on first pull out of the box (with choke on)... impressive.
Well built - This generator did not disappoint with the quality of construction.
4 Gallon Tank - Good sized that should run for 10 hours.
CONS:
Provided tools were not adequate to assemble the system. Since I was not expecting tools, I would imagine most people would have the tools necessary to assemble the system.
The wheel kit instructions had pictures that were upside down, and didn't show certain steps in assembly (such as removing the existing rubber feet). Not really an issue as the wheel kit simplicity can be figured out by most.
Power was not perfectly clean. I connected it to my air compressor, and the electric pump that normally purrs on house power, was slightly warbling at half second intervals when running off the generator. I do suspect the power is fine, even for electronic equipment, as from the comments from other owners.
Adding oil was not easy. It took about half a quart of 5W 30 (for cold weather), which I overfilled with a full quart. I had to tip the generator and pour the overflow back into a bowl. The company advises to replace oil "every month or 20 hours" (Did I just read "replace every 20 hours"? Really!?!). They also recommend to check oil level each use (good advice), check the air cleaner each use, clean the gas tank "Every year or 300 hours" , clean the air cleaner "Every 3 months of 50 hours", and check or clean the Spark Plug every "6 months or 100 hours". Quite the overkill on the oil maintenance, but I imagine if one did these tasks, the generator would run better over the years. I am not looking forward to changing the oil.
RECOMMENDED ACCESSORIES:
Don't forget to get the fuel stabilizer if you don't want to drain the gas after each use ( I purchased STA-BIL 22214 Fuel Stabilizer - 32 Fl oz rated at 1 year). I also purchased the manufacturer's wheel kit, a generator cover (Generator Cover 37"L x 25"W- In Taupe.. a quality cover, which was too large, but still works (after a few days, I noticed that mice have been eating the cover... so not such a good purchase here), a 5 gallon gas can (No-Spill 1450 5-Gallon Poly Gas... works great), 4 - 50 foot extension cords with lighted ends (12 gauge wire. Please get 10 gauge wire for longer runs), and 4 tri-plugs (Uninex #PS37UOG ME Orange Tri Tap Adapter ) that can connect at the end of the extension cords.
FINAL TOUGHTS
Given what I know, I would buy this unit again from Amazon for my home power outage needs, and recommend others on a budget to do the same.
I'm ready for hurricanes and the winter! The Best-Selling DuroStar DS4000S 4,000 Watt 7.0 HP OHV 4-Cycle Gas Powered Portable Generator then to sell out very fast, if this is a must have product, be sure to order now to avoid disappointment.
