22. June 2009 by admin.

Inverter Generator Review

Thinking of buying an inverter generator?  Do yourself a favor and buy something else. Honda or Yamaha is a great choice and worth the extra cost.  We purchased two of these cheap generators and it ended up costing us more then it would cost to buy a Honda for example and I’m sure we would not have so many problems with it if we did. Now it is time for our Review on the Inverter Generator models XG-SF2000 and XG-SF3000.

We used to be a Kipor Inverter Generator dealer so we are very familiar with these types of generators. Two of us where involved in the test. One of us has a mechanical, electrical and technical background and the other an automotive, parts, generator and hands on experience who is involved in hands on generator repairs and service.

We noticed many companies all selling the same looking thing. We looked further in to it and found out  they are all from the same China company. Just a different sticker on them.

There are two ways to check who it really comes from. One is the sticker on the engine. The EPA certificate often tells you the name of the engine manufacture and the model number.   We found they all say Yongkang Xingguang Electrical Manufacture. The second is from the CSA. CSA will let you put any name on it but the model number must stay the same so we searched the model number and found it.   call comes from the same company. We even got a copy of the certificates.

We also wanted to sell them so we contacted the manufacture and started the purchase process.  They where very quick to respond and produce an invoice for us but they refused to include spare parts to fix them if they fail.  This is almost unheard of.  No parts kits.

The final agreement is we would buy spare parts.  We gave in.   Suspecting no other company would do this we contacted many other dealers looking for spare parts for common things that fail and non of them had any and most would not respond. Not even the company we where about to spend tens of thousands of dollars with would supply parts not even defective ones.   Since asking over a week ago before completing or order even, they have not responded and offered horrible technical support to date.

We went ahead anyway because we have the ability to service them but we would just require parts.  We purchased 2 sample units and this is what happened.

When it fist arrived we where impressed with the packaging but it all went down hill from there.

Like most products from China the manual and stickers on the generator are hard to understand.   English documents should be left to someone who understands the language when you manufacture a product for sale in North America. Clearly customers would have problems with it. The print quality was also poor.

The first generator was the XG-SF2000 2000 Watt Inverter Generator.  Following the poor instructions we learned whe had to prime it by pumping it 50 times. That is what the instructions said to do.

And you guessed it, we flooded the engine.   OK so we removed the park plug and let it dry out then started again. Closed the choke and pulled the recoil starter some 15 times before it started and stalled again.  The choke is very sensitive and requires a LOT of adjustments during the starting process to get it working.  Finally we found the magic position and ran the generator for 10 minutes.  Turned it off and have have not really be able to get it started ever again.    OK perhaps it was just me…….   Maybe I got a lemon so I took the second one the XG-SF3000 to my partner and had him open the box and set it up.

XG-SF3000 Review

Same problem, prime it 50 times as per the instructions. Get it started and it stalled.  It has never ran again since.  This time we did all the normal checks.  Check for fuel, we had it, checked all valves open, they where.   Check for spark there was none !!   We thought perhaps being out of the engine it may just be to weak to see so we put it back in and tried starting again.  No luck.

Be warned.  The cover over the  engine is a very poor design in our opinion .  If you are not careful the spark plug will fall and land between the engine and the enclosure and require extensive disassemblly  to get it out.

Virtually all screws, nuts and bolts removed had to be replaced. They are of such poor quality and soft metals they ALL strip. (photos to follow)  Some stripped just trying to open the case and had to be broken off to open it up.  It gets worse.

(We have a lot more photos to add here and some other interesting findings. Will continue edit and update here with it later today.)

Note that the brains of the generator, the part that controls the engine speed and the output power can never be serviced. It is filled with epoxy. If you have an electrical problem, toss the generator way. You can’t service it.

At the end the problem was this ignition control board that not one single dealer, supplier or even the manufacture  has responded to any calls, emails or requests for us to PURCHASE the defective part.

Right now ALL the hardware that was used or disassembled has had to be replaced. ALL screws and threads are stripped.  VERY very cheap quality metals are used.  Horrible quality.   Thankfully there is a local hardware store around so most parts we could replace but still stuck with two generators that don’t work.

Remember we have 2 of these. All brand new and we are experts in generator sales and service. We even designed many of our own products we sell today.  So far we have had 100% failure rate with these.  What are the chances that you will get one that works?

After two weeks of trouble on these brand new generators we finally fixed it with no support from anyone. We feel it is a product defect and design issue.

If you have a low oil pressure condition it signals the ignition control board to send a signal to the ignition coil and disable it so you get no spark and the engine stalls. It is for safety.   BUT, the oil pressure sensor and wiring is fine. We can even disable the oil pressure sensor but the control board does not care.  It still acts like there is no oil pressure and sends a signal to the ignition coil to stop working.  We modified it and disabled it and it now works again.

To date it is a 100% failure rate with all the ones we tested. Provided you can get used to the tricky choke settings, don’t over prime and flood the engine, starting is easier now and we kind of have a working generator now.

We do not feel any customer will accept having to open it up and butcher it to make it do what it should have done right out of the box.
In closing, it is scary that no one can support it, not a single company returned any calls or e-mails and no parts availability.  The hardware is made of soft metals and easily stripped.  The enclosure is soft plastic that will never close correctly again.   Very disappointed in this product and it does not matter what company wants to put their name on it it is all the same junk.

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20. April 2008 by admin.

Mortex Generator Review:
Yarmax Generator Review:

Who is this company? Yarmax a labor factory in China and does not actually manufacture their own products. Components are purchased from others and assembled to produce their brand of generators. Their website suggests they have products with CSA approval (They spell it with two capital P’s APProval in 5 different places) however none have been found and no records found with the CSA.

When you buy a brand of generator from a company that buys after market parts to assemble their products there is always a problem with inconsistent parts supply and constant changes in design. Often service manuals and instructions do not apply and critical information is missing. There are no documents available on their site either.

Having no operations in North America but selling them on eBay through importers and liquidators leaves customers with no place to turn too when it fails.

The latest version says it has a 10 Hp engine. Others are 11 - 13 hp. There is no fuel pre-heater or external fuel filter. They never show you what is inside or under the cover. Like many other low end products this one is also missing a top access panel. It is like trying to access your car engine without opening the hood.

The wheels are very small and moving this 360 lbs generator is very difficult. No remote control, no spare parts, no local service available.

The warranty is supposed to be one year however it does not cover labor and shipping of parts to you. This can be very costly considering it is not a North American company and they are located in China.

Electrically it looks cheap. The outlets are not standard and are very cheap looking. The circuit breaker appears to be the same brand that was recalled by the CSA in North America. This generator also has no Ground Fault Protection.

We consider this just another no name brand generator and not worth considering if your looking for a quality unit.

Posted in Diesel Generators, Generator Reviews | Print | 1 Comment »

17. April 2008 by admin.

QuickPower Generator Review:

Found this on eBay. The Instructions and Manual say Elim on it. Searching the CSA website it says there has been a recall on Elim generators. The manufacture says the same thing. Is an Elim generator now being sold with a different brand name sticker on it? We thought so, so we called them. We could find no record with the CSA of this product being electrically approved by them as they claim it is. You can call the CSA to confirm this. (Audits and Investigations - 416-747-4278) We suspected it is the same old product being offloaded on eBay to unsuspecting buyers.

You can also see there is no GFI outlet on the panel and it is a requirement for electrical approval.

We did a Google Search for QuickPower Generators and could not find this company. Where is it from? How do you get it fixed? Who honors the warranty and any company history.

Too many unanswered questions, we suggest staying away. Besides its a very old design and new stronger generators don’t use this tube frame design.

Better quality units have a hour meter and quality wheel it included.

Posted in Gas Generators, Generator Reviews | Print | No Comments »

17. April 2008 by admin.

Everlast Diesel Generator

Product Review:
(Everlast AKA “NEVER last”)

This product worries us. It is sold on eBay with an Automatic Transfer Switch. An automatic transfer switch is supposed to turn this unit on automatically when the power goes out and disconnect your home redirecting it to this generator.

Here is a few issues.

The generator is not weather proof so it can’t be left outside where it can be commanded to turn on by itself safely. The transfer switch is also not electrically approved and made in China. Without electrical approval it can’t be connected to your home.

Connecting a generator directly to your whole home will overload it. A automatic transfer switch is a bad combination for this product.

Just like others we tested, there is no place to get it serviced, no company history and missing features necessary for safe operations and future service. The seller now has a website but no contact information on it.

For a company that says they have been around for such a long time and a combined experience of 200 years they don’t even have any information on their website on how to contact them. What we then did is search who owns their website and found the information hidden there too. Domain Name Search shows its been hidden from the public.

Much of the material on the website has been copied from other sites. They even have a photo showing their competitors generator.

Now this is just too funny. It is like Ford having a photo of a GM car on their website. Or how about Burger King having a McDonald’s Burger on their menu!. It seems like a small player in the generator business tying to look like the big boys and does not know how else to do it. Shame they have to copy material from others and look stupid in the process.

Everlast showing Aurora Brand Product on their main front page!

Now back to the product for a moment IF you have not already made up your mind to stay away.. The case here has no access panel on the top. This makes it very difficult to get to the fuel injector, valves and decompression leaver IF they even have one installed. To do so you would need to disassemble it. It is like accessing your cars engine without ever opening the engine hood.

The sellers offer a warranty on SOME parts however do not include shipping and no labor is included. Who will you contact after they stop selling on eBay is unknown.

The sellers claims “Everlast 6500 has proudly UL and CE certified.” however if you contact the UL they have no record of them.

When we asked the seller of this generator brand to send us a copy of the UL certificate he could not.

We have so many other issues with this company however just the above information should be enough to shed some doubt and cause anyone to stay away.

Posted in Diesel Generators, Generator Reviews | Print | No Comments »

17. April 2008 by admin.

Product Review: Leading / Sparks Diesel Generator

Sold on eBay only by liquidators or individual sellers. No company information can be found with no resources for support, parts and warranty. We have seen the brand name change a few times.

There is also no access door on the top of the generator. Like we said before on other brands, it is like trying to access your car engine and you can’t open the hood. The valves, decompression leaver and fuel injector are up on top and this cheap case does not let you access it.

Cheap quality wheels and no fuel pre-heater.

We have seen many that look like this and it seems it is copy of products made by more successful companies as this one is not known in the industry. It is just a sticker on one more look alike.

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17. April 2008 by admin.

GT Power Diesel Generator sold by SoGoodToBuy. They also sell

One look and it will turn you off. A closer look and you start seeing all that is missing. No external fuel filter. No pre-heater, cheap circuit breaker and wheels. Also missing access door on the top to access engine fuel injector, engine valves and decompression leaver IF it has one. There is no electrical approval and we have never seen a cheaper unit then this.

They only warranty some limited parts and for the short period of 6 months. (Most never use their generator until there is the first power failure then its too late) But where do you go when it fails? Who do you call and where are they located?

The company is PMC Trading. A Hong Kong company that uses the name SoGoodToBuy.com for their website and brands their generators with the name GTpower. The website says they are also “GT-World Machineries Inc.” We checked with Industry Canada for any such companies since they operate out of Quebec Canada but found nothing. A Google search also finds no such thing.

We suggest not buying from companies with no history and no contact information. Once their limited stock is sold you may never see them again.

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17. April 2008 by admin.

Aurora Silent Diesel Generators

Aurora Generators brand is sold by a few companies, one being EmergencyPower.com Both are registered with the Better Business Bureau and have been operation in both Canada and the USA for a number of years. So far we are impressed. When we search for company information we found it easily with over a dozen phone numbers for different cities.  We called and where able to talk  to live people. 

While they do sell on eBay Aurora brand generators are also carried by some Home Hardware Stores and have been seen used by the U.S. Military in Iraq and Coast Guard in Canada. Search the net and you wil find them all over the place. 

While the price is higher so is the quality. Aurora generators have CSA, ETL and some other certifications including EPA and ISO9001 . So far Aurora is the only company we have seen that has the majority of its wiring protected from heat by a fiberglass sleeve. They proudly show the inside of the generators and support their claims with photos and videos. You can spend all day on their website reading up on stuff.

We have been monitoring this brand for a few years now and have seen many copying their ideas such as higher quality wheels, construction and more powerful engines. The reviews found searching on google have been all been positive with the exception of the odd customer however considering the size of the company and the number of generators sold this seems normal.

The fact their products have ETL approval is an indication it has gone through some very extensive testing, has met strict standards and quality that others just can’t match. It is a complex process to get CSA or equivalent approvals.

When we asked for proof they sent us a copy of their certificate and we confirmed it.

While they too seem to made in China so is Honda and Yamaha. Actually we are not aware of ANY manufacture other then Coleman Powermate that is made in North America and they just declared bankruptcy in the USA.

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17. April 2008 by admin.

Canadian operations used to be run by one person. After running into debt and unable to pay suppliers they switched to cheaper products to increase sales. Buffalo warehouse and office shut down. Leading generator manufactures no longer deal with this company after debt issues and poor relations.

The current supply is limited and assembled by smaller relatively unknown assembly plants in China. Many dealers and liquidators once supplied by them left causing them to sell their own branded products on their own on eBay for very little.

Owners of their products report poor quality, little support and impossible to get spare parts for repair.

Some 30,000 generators have been recalled by the CSA and the manufacture due to uncertified circuit protectors, circuit breakers, receptacles and wiring and do not meet the applicable standards.

Currently there is no CSA electrical approval on the transfer switch and generator. Due to the safety warnings and quality concerns with this brand we have declined to test it or support it.

Elim also operates under the name SUNPOWER.

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17. April 2008 by admin.

It is amazing what you can buy on eBay these days. Generators are a dime a dozen and there is lots of junk out there. Finding who sells a quality unit, where it comes from and how long it will last is often hard to find outBefore you spend your hard earned money and possibly waste it away it may help you to know what we know so you can make a better educated decision on what to buy.

Who can you trust?

Well lets start with some of the obvious observations that you can easily confirm on your own with a little of research and if you find the same, simply avoid them or ask yourself what else are they not telling you or hiding from you ?

While we will try and cover as many brands as possible its not easy. Many look the same and are the same. Depending on who sells it it may just be a matter of putting a different sticker on it and calling it their own. Don’t be fooled. Most if any do not have their own factories. Look for a company that carries more then one model this many help.

 Have a look at some of the reviews and our readers comments here

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17. April 2008 by admin.

Ramsond Elite Generator

We had published a review of a Ramsond generator we purchased on eBay  and posted our findings here.

Our hosting company has received a complaint letter from a firm claiming to represent Ramsond. They feel our review is damaging to their client Ramsond.  Rather the involve our hosting company in any legal matters we have agreed to remove the content. You must now go to another website to read our review.
Please visit http://ramsond.weebly.com/

Posted in Diesel Generators, Generator Reviews | Print | 1 Comment »