I decided to give the generator it first run yesterday before it gets it's real use later this week. At I went to add oil and noticed some was on the dipstick. I got a little nervous that this may have been a returned generator, but then realized they probably added oil at the factory and then drained for shipping. I noticed it should be run five hours initially and then have the oil changed. Put oil in a about a gallon of gas. Temp was about 33 degrees. generator started on first pull! I did have to play with the choke for 30-60 seconds to let it warm up. I was pleasantly surprised at how quiet it was. I had heard a champion 2000 this summer at a campground, and although it was fairly quiet it was louder then a the red and blue generators.
At idle it was somewhere in between my eu 2000 at idle and with the eco mode off. The big surprise came when I turned the eco off. It reved up, but not a whole lot. I think it is quieter than the Honda Handi that a friend used this summer.
I let it run for about an 1.5 hours and then turned it off. I had read some reports where they were a little tough to start when they are hot. After 5-6 pulls, it had not started. I then pulled the choke and it started on the first pull.
About four hours in, I decided to put a load on it. It was in eco mode and I started a 1500 watt heater and it reved a bit. The only other appliance readily available was my wife's 1875 watt hairdryer. my math put that at 3375 watts. I fully expected the generator to kill. It kept going for the 5-10 seconds I left the hair dryer on.
I will change the oil today and put in a synthetic 5-30 oil and as it will be used on the ice to power the fish housethis week and temps will be near 0. I'm anxious to see how long it will run on a tank of gas. I believe Champion states 8 hours on 1.5 gallons. I found with the eu 2000 ran longer than the hours honda posted on their website. we could get 11-12 hours when we kept a load off of it.
