FirmanP03601 Portable Generator, 3650-Watt, Recoil Start, 14 Hour Run Time - Quantity 1

Purchased and set-up in the summer of 2019, and finally used it this year. We lost power for 4 days and this generator saved the almost $1000 worth of food we had in two refrigerator/freezers.Highlights...POSITIVES...Quality build... well put-together... seems heavy-duty - like something a contractor would use oftenStarts on the first pull every timePretty quiet as generators go... certainly not the loudestRan it for four days straight and I got 18 hours of runtime for every 5 gallons of gasChecked the oil with every fill... doesn't seem to burn oil at allEasily ran three refrigerators (two were ours, one was my neighbor's), fan, computer, printer, wifi, television and assorted other things without an issue. I think I could have connected more, but probably at the cost fuel efficiency.Small footprint - very maneuverable with the wheel kit.NEGATIVES...The drain plug for oil changes is directly above a support piece on the generator frame & the ground clearance with the wheel kit is really low - too low for the standard drip pan I had. So, changing the oil was pretty messy.I'm 99.9% sure I did not overfill the oil when setting it up for the first time. But when checking the oil it gushed out of the fill port, making a mess. If you check the oil, put a rag or drip pan underneath.Bottom line... The US power system is fragile. It's definitely worth the investment if you live in an area prone to storms (like us). Like I said, we would have had to throw out almost $1000 worth of food had we not had emergency power so having a generator is really a no-brainer.

I bought this over 4 years ago. It's always been easy to start and has never disappointed. I routinely used it with 1-2, 2-inch submersible pumps, to drain a below ground building structure in Kansas. One tank of gas easily went beyond 20 hours, considering it was a multiple day process after a heavy rain. This is my preferred brand.

Just fired mine after owning it for 2 years….I live in Florida and hurricanes are part of the culture down here along with power outages that can last up to 2 weeks….so after 2 years i took her out of the box, came with everything you need except for gas…filled her with oil, takes the whole bottle that it comes with. Filled her up with gas and she started with just 1 pull!!! The large 3 prong outlet is for an L5-30P cord that you can get from Amazon purchased mine for $42…cord is 25ft long but more than plenty to get it through my sliding door and connect regular appliances like my fridge/freezer combo, my led 65” tv, internet wifi/router and I have a 10,000btu portable air conditioner that’s plugged in separately to the regular 120v outlet ….generator was still fine, no signs of struggling….but all of this was done after a 5hr breaking period …really happy with the brand !!

Great generator. Purchased two years ago. Had an electrician install a weatherproof outdoor receptacle for the generator and wire it into a lockout kit I had them install in my main power distribution panel. By doing so I am able to use the generator for "whole house use" in a power outage situation. Had to use it twice so far in PA winters when I lost power for about 12 hours each time. Once in the middle of summer for about six hours waiting for power to be restored after a severe thunder storm. Generator is 110/120 volt so it won't run my dryer, central air, electric water heater or electric range. But everything operating on 110/120 volt works like a charm. Don't know that it has enough wattage to run everything at the same time but if you balance the load it doesn't struggle at all. In the winter I ran my furnace, microwave, heat tapes, adjustable bed and some lights without any issues. Summer outage running my 10K BTU air conditioner, microwave, adjustable bed and lights wasn't an issue. I run it monthly under a light load as recommended. This wasn't a requirement by the manufacturer for warranty coverage but I did install two magnetic oil drain plugs in the off chance there may have been some fine metal particles/shavings in the generator trapped after the manufacturing and assembly processed. After two oil changes I see no evidence of that but it's a cheap preventative measure in the event there would be an initial start up issue or could possibly be an issue at some point down the road.Couple of small issues but not deal breakers for me. Unit WEIGHTS a little over 100 lbs. Recommend purchasing a wheel kit if you have any intention or need to move the generator from one location to another. NOISY. Mine runs inside a small 10 x 12 storage shed about 15 ft from the back of the house and about 20 ft from my back porch. It's connected to the outdoor receptacle with a power cable from the generator. The shed doors are closed but the exhaust is ventilated to the outside area. It's still a little difficult to carry on a normal conversation while sitting on the back porch with the generator running under load. Fortunately our sleeping and main living areas are far enough away from the generator so the noise is not an issue inside the home. If noise bothers you I would NOT recommend operating this generator near a sleeping area. I don't know if this generator is permitted to be used in camping areas or RV parks. I didn't purchase it for that purpose. STARTING FLUID was needed for the two cold weather winter occurrences. Temps were in the mid to low 20's but after several attempts and quite a few strong tugs on the starting rope it did start and ran without any issues. Starting in warmer weather (mid 30's and above) has not been an issue. Open the gas valve, set the choke. turn on the switch and first of second pull starts right up and runs.I would recomment purchasing this item.

I bought the wheel kit to go with this generator also, which is a good thing. It's heavy, folks. I have put it through the break-in period and done one oil change. I like the features very much, including the built-in multimeter which keeps track of hours run, shows voltage, etc., and the 5 gallon gas tank. Runs great and is relatively quiet for an open-frame generator. I live in Florida and we always worry about power loss after a storm. I honestly hope this is all a big waste of money. Have to be ready, though. I think this is a good buy.Update: Since my purchase of this unit, I have been starting it monthly and running it under load for 1/2 hour, as most sources recommend. It always starts within 2 pulls and purrs like a kitten for the 30 minutes. I frankly couldn't be happier and feel as ready for the storm season as it's possible to be. Will be doing an oil change just before the hurricane season starts (June). Irma reminded us what a bad storm can do to our power grid.

The piece of garbage broke down after 5 weeks of use. The vendor, the manufacturer, and Amazon will do nothing to help me.