How to Avoid 3 Frequent Portable Generator Complaints

You can learn a lot by reading portable generator reviews, I know I did. While the majority of the complaints voiced by reviewers are legitimate, others are just plain nit picking. Of the legitimate complaints, the following three issues seem to surface most often.

Complaint #1: Breakdowns

If you search online for best selling portable generators it should come as no surprise when you discover they're also the least expensive models in the $300 price range. Unfortunately, the term best selling generator is commonly mistaken to mean best overall generator. The quality and reliability of generators in this price range vary not so much by manufacturer, but from generator to generator. For mysterious reasons, some just work better than others.

One way to get around this problem is buying an established brand with a history of reliability. It will cost you a bit more upfront, maybe $100 or $150, but will pay you back over the long run.

Complaint #2: Not Enough Power

Quality issues aside, generators in the best selling category have an output of around 3,500 watts. Now there's nothing wrong with a 3,500 watt generator. 3,500 watts is enough to power most of your basic appliances, but not as many, at the same time, as you might have hoped for. For example:

A refrigerator/freezer might need only 800 watts to run, but it requires roughly 3 times that amount, or 2,400 watts, every time it cycles on. This doesn't leave much wiggle room for additional appliances like a 1,200 watt coffee maker and small window air conditioner or space heater.

Even though generators have additional surge power to compensate for the extra load some appliances draw when they start up, you have to be careful not to have too many appliances plugged in at the same time when a watt killer like the fridge comes on. If the refrigerator is constantly starved for power on start up, the compressor motor will eventually burn out.

You can avoid disappointing performance by determining which appliances you deem to be essential and sizing the generator to match their power requirements. If you plan on running motor driven devices like well pumps, furnace fans, or garage door openers you'll also need to install a transfer switch since these devices cannot be plugged directly into the generator.

Complaint #3: My New Generator Arrived In Pieces

On any given day, just as many people complain about the condition of their generator when it arrived as anything else. You can reduce the potential for breakage by specifying truck delivery instead of a parcel service. Although parcel services are automated to some degree, the packages still require frequent handling by people - and people drop things.

Trucking companies work differently. Large heavy boxes are put on a pallet; the pallet is loaded on the truck with a fork lift and then off-loaded with a hand jack and lift gate (which you must specify when making shipping arrangements).

I'm not saying truck shipping is foolproof, but it should increase the odds in your favor.

Over the years I've read hundreds of portable generator reviews. The complaints cover a wide variety of issues but my all time favorite is noise. On one hand it's like complaining about the saltiness of salt, on the other hand I understand how it would drive some people crazy. If noise is an issue you could look into a battery back up system for short term power outages.