Looking for a Inverter Generator - This may be your lucky day

[robo44]

Dont know if this has been posted, but
Just walked through my local NorCal Costco and saw this Firman 1600W Running / 2000W Peak Gasoline Powered Inverter Generator had a 30amp Plug. Lot of petty good features.

The price is hard to beat as well -

I do not know anything other than what I saw. But if I was in the market for a generator, this would be hard to pass up -

(not affiliated with Costco or Firman)

[CHICKDOE]

i don't know if this is representative. i just met a guy with a 5th wheel that had just purchased one of these and took it out camping. it ran for two hours until it quit. he was not pleased! generator? operator? alignment of the sun and moon?

[robo44]

That's still good to know I have no experience or input other than what I saw at Costco.
Still I'd do the research see if others had similar experiences.. thanks for the feedback

[TTnewbie]

I've been looking around with no luck so far. I'm looking for a duel fuel version.

[U.S.ArmyVeteran]

1600 running watts would be a little light for me. But yes a good price.

Just saying

[Luke Moseley]

The great thing about Costco is that they will replace the generator or refund you, not a problem. I returned mine a year after I bought it (it was never started) and they refunded me in full.

Originally Posted by CHICKDOE

i don't know if this is representative. i just met a guy with a 5th wheel that had just purchased one of these and took it out camping. it ran for two hours until it quit. he was not pleased! generator? operator? alignment of the sun and moon?

[KEN9XL]

Originally Posted by robo44

Dont know if this has been posted, but
Just walked through my local NorCal Costco and saw this Firman 1600W Running / 2000W Peak Gasoline Powered Inverter Generator had a 30amp Plug. Lot of petty good features.

The price is hard to beat as well -

I do not know anything other than what I saw. But if I was in the market for a generator, this would be hard to pass up -

(not affiliated with Costco or Firman)

FYI - with that generator read the maximum amperage or wattage you can use with it.
I have one similar, brand is an IPower 2000.
Runs at 1600watts & can cover surge to 2000watts.

The directions state, you Can Not Use the 30amp receptacle, unless you have TWO Identical Inverter Generators connected in Parallel. I am guessing it would work with another generator of similar setup

I do not have two small portable generators, nor have I tried any parallel connections.
Directions do state you can charge you RV batteries from the unit (12VDC).

That is a good price though. They are light enough to carry and transport.

[BriaBeck]

Originally Posted by KEN9XL

FYI -

The directions state, you Can Not Use the 30amp receptacle, unless you have TWO Identical Inverter Generators connected in Parallel. I am guessing it would work with another generator of similar setup

That doesn't make any sense, since the 30A receptacle is still 120V, just as the 15A receptacles are.


What would make sense is if it would say that you cannot get the full 30A output without paralleling with another genny... and even then you would come up 400 watts (3.33A) short.


Perhaps a bad Chinglish translation???

[markb422]

Originally Posted by CHICKDOE

i don't know if this is representative. i just met a guy with a 5th wheel that had just purchased one of these and took it out camping. it ran for two hours until it quit. he was not pleased! generator? operator? alignment of the sun and moon?

Maybe he tried to plug his 30 amp trailer into the 30 amp plug on the generator. 30 amps at 120 volt would require a 3600 watt generator or two of the size shown with a parallel kit.

[KEN9XL]

Originally Posted by BriaBeck

That doesn't make any sense, since the 30A receptacle is still 120V, just as the 15A receptacles are.


What would make sense is if it would say that you cannot get the full 30A output without paralleling with another genny... and even then you would come up 400 watts (3.33A) short.


Perhaps a bad Chinglish translation???

Just quoting what I am reading, unless I am misinterpreting the statement.
I am guessing as you stated, you can not get the full 30amps with a single generator.
See attached information, you make determination.
Please, tell me if I am wrong. I do not mind being corrected. Thank-you!

[BriaBeck]

Originally Posted by KEN9XL

Just quoting what I am reading, unless I am misinterpreting the statement.
I am guessing as you stated, you can not get the full 30amps with a single generator.
See attached information, you make determination.
Please, tell me if I am wrong. I do not mind being corrected. Thank-you!

Ahh, I see where the confusion is coming from. Bad manual writing.



For the NEMA L5-30R (mistyped as LR-30R) receptacle you can connect loads requiring up to 1600 watts continuous power. You can also use this same outlet when 2 generators are paralleled, for up to 3200 watts. It also reads in the "NOTE:" that a NEMA TT-30 adapter is provided, somewhere. If that adapter is on the paralleling unit, or an adapter that plugs into the L5-30R receptacle, I'm not sure.



I can't see anywhere where it says you Can Not Use the 30amp receptacle, unless you have TWO Identical Inverter Generators connected in Parallel. (I did a little cut and paste there...) You won't get anywhere close to 30A with only 1 unit, and with 2 paralleled, you'll almost get 30A.

[markb422]

Its almost dangerous when they rate generators for the peak output and not the continuous running wattage. I know they have overload protection but if someone wants to run one at its continuous rating for any time with an ext cord that is not the right gauge or too long, it could get ugly.

[KEN9XL]

Originally Posted by markb422

Maybe he tried to plug his 30 amp trailer into the 30 amp plug on the generator. 30 amps at 120 volt would require a 3600 watt generator or two of the size shown with a parallel kit.

Directions have have ... LOL!!!
It states that on 1 gallon of fuel, the generator will run up to 8 hours. I am sure the load has alot to do with that statement.

Originally Posted by BriaBeck

Ahh, I see where the confusion is coming from. Bad manual writing.

For the NEMA L5-30R (mistyped as LR-30R) receptacle you can connect loads requiring up to 1600 watts continuous power. You can also use this same outlet when 2 generators are paralleled, for up to 3200 watts. It also reads in the "NOTE:" that a NEMA TT-30 adapter is provided, somewhere. If that adapter is on the paralleling unit, or an adapter that plugs into the L5-30R receptacle, I'm not sure.

I can't see anywhere where it says you Can Not Use the 30amp receptacle, unless you have TWO Identical Inverter Generators connected in Parallel. (I did a little cut and paste there...) You won't get anywhere close to 30A with only 1 unit, and with 2 paralleled, you'll almost get 30A.

Funny, never read into the electrical formula part (P=EI) or in this case
Power (P) at 1600 watts running and current (I) at 30 amps for voltage (E) at 53 volts AC (E=P/I) ... NOPE - Won't Work!!!

Briabeck, as you stated, you would need 3200watts to get close to 120VAC, still short unless you settle for 110VAC. LOL!!!
As for the NEMA TT-30 adapter, it was provided with the original Inverter/Generator at 1600/2000 watts. Thought that to be odd as well.

Thanks for the enlightenment gentlemen. It was an eye opener for myself of how misleading some information can be if not educated or quickly scan.


Stay Safe, Stay Health - Enjoy Camping & Travel wherever it takes you

[Jim-LP240FS]

I bought one of these Firman W2000i generators at Costco a couple of weeks ago and I'm very pleased with it. It not only has the built in NEMA L5-30R Receptacle but it also comes with an L5-30P to TT-30R Adaptor and a set of parallel cables. The parallel cables fit my Harbor Freight Predator 2000 Watt Inverter generator so I am able to parallel the two together without the use of an additional parallel kit thus saving me an additional $80 for the parallel kit. I've load tested the Firman and Predator generators paralleled together and can sustain a 26 amp load. Granted, I've only put about seven hours on this generator but it has worked flawlessly so far. One can purchase a pair of these for $700 and have everything that they need to connect their 30A cable (actually 26.6A's of power).

[Hoomi]

Originally Posted by CHICKDOE

i don't know if this is representative. i just met a guy with a 5th wheel that had just purchased one of these and took it out camping. it ran for two hours until it quit. he was not pleased! generator? operator? alignment of the sun and moon?

Reading one of the reviews, the poster wrote about the proper "break-in" period for the engine, and doing an oil change afterwards. Copied from his review:

"1st hour, no load. 2nd hour 4-500 watt load. 3rd hour 7-800 watt load etc....then cool down, shut down and CHANGE OIL. I always use mobil 1 full synthetic 5w-30 in all my small engines; have used it for 30+ years, no issues..."

I know many auto manufacturers will not honor their warranties, if the proper break-in procedures are not followed, including the required post-break-in maintenance. If this person bought the generator, and fired it up with heavy load without properly breaking in the engine, that could explain his results.

[Hoomi]

If you use only one of these generators, you have to make sure that your load remains below about 14.5 amps. Especially if you have a smaller trailer, and aren't operating any major electrical appliances, you're likely below that anyway.

You start running the microwave, or another electric cooking device, your current draw is going to jump. If you're just keeping your 12 V battery charged to run the LED lights, maybe an LCD television (a 32" LCD TV pulls around 18 watts), you are not likely to tax the limits of a small generator like this.

[Top B]

You’re getting less than 15 amps so the 30 amp plug is just a waste unless you’re not planning on drawing much power.

[Hoomi]

The 30 A plug simply means you can hook the trailer up without buying an adapter.

As someone who has worked in electronics (dealing with everything from millivolts to kilovolts), I can tell you with absolute certainty, it's better to draw 15 amps through a 30 amp connector, than it is to draw 30 amps through a 15 amp connector.

That said, yeah. The generator is NOT going to provide even 15 amps at 120 VAC. Even dropping the voltage to 110, the running wattage of this generator is going to reach its limit at about 14.5 amps. Still, if you're not looking to power a lot of amp-hungry devices, it'll work fine. It won't power the air conditioning, but it'll run the fridge, an LCD television and DVD/blu-ray player, an average electric fan, keep the 12VDC battery charged. and not break the bank.

[RStock]

Power = amps x voltage, thus 30a x 120v = 3600 watts.
Or Amps = Power ÷ Voltage, thus 2000w ÷ 120v = 16.6 amps. That's the most you'll get from this generator.

A thing to keep in mind when comparing generators is the size of the motor. A bigger motor will last long and run quieter. I had a 3500 watt Champion and I hated it. I replaced it with a Honda 2200i. I love this little Honda. It has the biggest motor in its wattage class and is the quietest. It purrs like a kitten and even runs my AC. The bigger Champion would stall when my AC came on. That's my experience anyways. Good luck in your shopping.

[forestwendel]

The formula to convert Watts to amps is amps/voltage.
Thus 1609/120 = 13 33 amps. That's why you need two 1600 amp generators in parallel to get 30 amps surge output.
Actually the two in parallel would only produce 26.6 amps but you TT probably would never draw 30 amps continuously.
I'd go to a higher continuous amp generator to be safe, IMHO.