Firman Generator

[Poppy2003]

I bought a dual fuel generator from Costco, not planning to use it till 2021 July, can I just leave it in the box it came or do I need to open fill oil and start it??, I tried calling Firman several time no one answered or returned my calls, help please, thanks.

[KMLsquared]

FYI: My buddy just bought a firman from costco. The first one had cracked plastic on each end of the lifting handle. He returned it and they sent a new one. It too had tiny cracks starting to form near the handle again. Then when started and broken in, it is not running smoothly. Surging under light to no-load conditions. We are gonna use it this weekend and if it doesn't smooth out its going back again.

Edit: this is the 3200/2900 dual fuel model.

[Poppy2003]

MRC54 wrote:
I have two still in the box sitting in the garage. Leaving on our full time adventure May 1.

Costco provides lifetime returns on everything they sell, except for electronics (TV's, laptops, etc). Per Costco, generators do not count as electronics.

Gotta love Costco!

Appreciate your response , yes Costco does stand by its products, so I'm going to leave it in the box and will only load it in RV when we ready to hit the road. We are planning on visiting all National Parks this summer God willing. Good luck in your travels.

[MRC54]

Either you're not a Costco member or you've never returned anything. In my experience, Costco always refunds the purchase price. Your statement "Lifetime warranty only works if there is a replacement at the store" is incorrect.

My generators will be open and running long before I leave.

[Gdetrailer]

MRC54 wrote:
I have two still in the box sitting in the garage. Leaving on our full time adventure May 1.

Costco provides lifetime returns on everything they sell, except for electronics (TV's, laptops, etc). Per Costco, generators do not count as electronics.

Gotta love Costco!

All well and good until you get to campsite and find out that your Costco gen fails to work..

Then what do you do?

Pack up and leave?

Stay and not have power?

Drive a long ways out of your way to only find the closest store does not carry or have your gen?

Just plain mind blowing that anyone would buy something and let it sit in a box for months or years before taking it out of the box and go to use it.

Lifetime warranty is also only works if there IS a "replacement" on hand at the store, forever.. Stores like Costco and Sam's clubs change brands often and also discontinue carrying certain brands or even categories of products.. Store will have most difficult time fullfilling a lifetime warranty if they cannot get said item or stock said item..

[MRC54]

I have two still in the box sitting in the garage. Leaving on our full time adventure May 1.

Costco provides lifetime returns on everything they sell, except for electronics (TV's, laptops, etc). Per Costco, generators do not count as electronics.

Gotta love Costco!

[Reisender]

I would prep it with oil, but I wouldn’t put any gas in it. You sad it’s dual fuel. Run it under load on propane for awhile. Then put it to bed.

[Gdetrailer]

wa8yxm wrote:
Depending on the Genrator (Traditional or inverter)

In "Traditional" Generators there are devices that are designed to control the wave form and "Total harmonic Distortion"

Sitting in the box these devices get... Weak.

HOWEVER DO NOT WORRY

First. Resistive stuff like lights. could care less about the waveform.
And second. Well the one i bought where that happened by the 2nd tank of gasoline was 100%. The devices had "Woke Up" and were working.

(Actually I'm blabering. i do know the proper technical terms but .. Well.. They do not matter).

:h

Forgot to take some meds?

"Traditional" gens, have no such device to control waveform or harmonic distortion.

Traditional gens may or may not have "AVR" (Automatic VOLTAGE Regulator), and it's sole job is to CONTROL the OUTPUT VOLTAGE. Has nothing to do with waveform or distortion control.

Sitting in a box, does not mean it is getting "weak", period.. Lots of folks that have WW1 and WW2 vintage generators that still work and it isn't from "excising" them every month.

All generators rely on some "residual" magnetism leftover from previous use, generally even just a very slight amount will restart the process.. For very old gens sometimes one would have to "jump start" the magnetism by flashing the fields with a small current from a battery across the fields.. Generally not so much of a problem with more modern gens and if you are not careful can easily damage newer gens so it is not a recommended go to fix.

Tradition gens the waveform , frequency and voltage can vary from the engine speed.. Waveform distortion is typically 10% or less.

Pretty much ALL electrical and electronic devices can operate on a traditional gen with no ill effects.

Inverter gens the waveform, frequency, voltage are far less affected by engine speed. Waveform distortion varies wildly depending on quality of the inverter.. REALLY CHEAP inverter gens may actually use a MODIFIED SINE WAVE (MSW) inverter, more expensive gens typically use PURE SINE WAVE (PSW).. So cheap inverter gens may actually have more waveform distortion that a traditional gen..

Pretty much ALL electrical and electronic equipment will work on Inverter gens..

The main advantage of most inverter gens is they tend to be quieter..

And the last sentence I quoted, I can't make heads or tails about what the blathering is about.. Something about 2nd tank and 100% working perhaps??? But boy you must have been partying pretty hardy last night..

[2112]

I would put some gas with sta-bil in it and gently break it in

[gbopp]

As Gdetrailer said, the warranty is running. I would want to know that the generator works.

[wa8yxm]

Depending on the Genrator (Traditional or inverter)

In "Traditional" Generators there are devices that are designed to control the wave form and "Total harmonic Distortion"

Sitting in the box these devices get... Weak.

HOWEVER DO NOT WORRY

First. Resistive stuff like lights. could care less about the waveform.
And second. Well the one i bought where that happened by the 2nd tank of gasoline was 100%. The devices had "Woke Up" and were working.

(Actually I'm blabering. i do know the proper technical terms but .. Well.. They do not matter).

[agesilaus]

FrankoToo wrote:
I purchased a Firman gen through Costco not to long ago as well. While reading through the reviews, someone had commented they had done exactly that and the gen fired up 8 months later without any issues. My only concern would if there was a problem. I'd hate to find out when I really need the gen.

Just so long as the generator was in good working order when they stuffed it in the shipping container a year or more ago in China. They are shipped w/o oil or gas and I don't see why sitting in the box will deteriorate it in any reasonable amount of time. Of course the warranty time is ticking down.

[Gdetrailer]

Is Costco willing to take it back for a return if it doesn't work?

Or will you have to deal directly with the "Importer" (IE Firman)?

Personally, if it was me, I would pull it out of the box the SECOND I got home and fire it up, load it for a couple of hrs..

DOAs happen and you won't know if it is DOA or working until you pull it out of the box and test fire it..

Warranty starts the second the sales transaction happens, July you are talking having a gen sit in a box never tested by you and if it doesn't work now it is your word against the store or importer when it comes to warranty coverage.

Be aware, Costco isn't going to repair it or offer parts, you will have to deal directly with Firman who is nothing more than an importer of Chinese made products, they also do not make the gens, they buy them from another Chinese manufacturer who makes them..

If you go ahead buying a Firman (or any other Chinese off brand) I would highly recommend you replace the cheap spark plug that comes with the gen with a better brand like Champion.. The ones that come with the gens are pretty cheaply made and often are a source of starting problems..

Put the oil in some fuel and let it rip for a while..

Then before shutting down, turn off the fuel to the carb and let engine run out of fuel.. The other option is to turn off the fuel, then drain the carb..

No fuel in carb and you can store the gen for a long, long time.

Leaving fuel sit in the carb can easily clog the emulsion tube in the carb (this tube has little tiny pin holes smaller than a sewing needle and is above the main jet). All Chinese Honda clone engines use the same Honda designed carbs and even Honda carbs are not immune to this tube clogging off..

[FrankoToo]

I purchased a Firman gen through Costco not to long ago as well. While reading through the reviews, someone had commented they had done exactly that and the gen fired up 8 months later without any issues. My only concern would if there was a problem. I'd hate to find out when I really need the gen.