WEN 56225i 2250-Watt Gas Powered Portable Inverter Generator with Fuel Shut-Off, CARB Compliant , Black

I have 2 other generators a large open frame and a small $100 - 800/1000 watt for taking on the road. I got this inverter unit because we run a lot of I.T. equipment in the house with multiple servers and networked drives. I wanted cleaner power for the electronics along with the washing machine or furnace of course only 1 at a time with 1800 watts being the rating on the generator. An earlier review scared me of how it would not hold a steady idle. Mine is very smooth and runs great in standard or ECO mode. I thought for sure these units came from China. My box is labeled Made in Vietnam. Was wondering if it was to dodge the import taxes being thrown at products from China. Regardless it arrived all banded up in nice shape. This is a very nice unit if you can get it at the right price. Open the gas cap vent, put it on choke and let it sit for a minute it starts 1st pull every time for me. On ECO mode it is so easy on the ears compared to my other 2 units 10/19/20 update: I was having issues with the unit stalling on a 1200 watt (el-cheapo) hot plate and a "George F" griddle both around 1200 wats. Both full RPM and ECO mode it would stall after struggling to find the sweet spot. Turned out to be the extension cords I used. Plugged into the unit directly they worked fine even on ECO mode. If you use extension cords make sure they are 12 gauge or better. I figured it was the extension cord. A few days earlier we did a test run of the washing machine on a 50 foot 12 gauge quality cord and it purred like a kitten for over 2 hours of washing. Junk extension cords are for powering LED lights nothing more. 10/22/20 Update: I used my same line-up of electronic cooking devices tonight with a good 12 gauge extension cord and the unit ran very smooth100% in ECO mode.

I have a bigger generator with electric start, dual fuel, and able to run many appliances. I also have an older Honda generator but much smaller wattage rating. Both of these work so well except the fuel use is very high. Even the dual fuel model is great on LP gas but storing 10 tanks for an emergency is not what I want to do. AND the availability of gasoline after a major storm is difficult to say the least. Being prepared is the most important thing for us. Hurricane Irma taught us some hard lessons. Sleeping is the most important problem because resting in 90 degree temperatures inside your house with equal humidity is impossible. SO, enter Wen... We use this with two upstairs bedrooms with installed windows AC units rated at 450 watts each. The WEN used a gallon of gasoline, not 4 or 6 in the case of our other generators. The WEN runs most of the night at half load even with the AC windows cycling their compressors on an off. I stayed up late while were tested our units for the beginning of the Hurricane season. The WEN was just so good on gasoline and ran 7 hours with both AC windows units running all night. We also ran other device in the bedroom like phone chargers and white noise speakers (NO FANS). It performed outstanding and would probably run for more than 10 hours as advertised on one window AC unit. All that on ONE GALLON OF GASOLINE. We would recommend buying a one of the 14 gallon gasoline containers available on Amazon. The plastic one is a couple hundred dollars and saves on filling multiple gas cans and has a way to pump the gas in the generator without trying to turnover a 5 gallon gas can. Then after the storm is past, power is restored you can simply put the gas in your car before it starts to go bad with water buildup. I would buy a Honda model like this but honestly this WEN is just a great deal for the price tag. The Honda's are several thousand dollar, rather pricey! Getting ready for a storm before they come is so important. Take it from someone who wasn't ready on several occasions thinking it will not come here...WRONG! Being prepared is better and not that difficult. Another word of advise would be to get one of the Jackery or similar large battery backup inverter charging units with the solar option. These work very well and allow you to give the generators a rest and still have a way to charge devices like cellular phones and tablets. Communicating is VERY important because ALL the cellular towers here have generator backups. That's a lifeline for an emergency. Dead batteries mean no contact...just sayin! If there is a CON to any of these generators, including the WEN, is the requirement to change the oil often. But If you stock up on several quart containers of full synthetic oil its an easy operation to swap out the old oil for new. ENJOY!!

i bought this generator because i didnt want to pay honda price and the reviews seemed to be good overall. i have used this now for 35 hours. i put an hour meter on it right away so i can keep track of oil changes. it is very quiet and runs almost everything i have tried. the only thing it wont run is my camper air conditioner but i wasnt expecting it to do that. i had to try it though. i fill the gas to the red fill line and i get 12 hours of runtime on eco. overall i am really pleased with this purchase and next year i will be purchasing another to link together to run the air conditioner. ***UPDATE - I bought this june 2019 and it is now jan 2023. This generator has almost 2000 hours. It has been bulletproof. The only problem I have had is the pull cord broke. I have ordered another WEN generator to link with this one to run my camper AC. It almost runs it but cant. I just hope the new one runs as good as this one!

Can't really give it 5 stars yet because it's only been used once following break-in. The unit is indeed very quiet compared to gennies I've owned in the past. I particularly like the tool kit, which includes everything you need to get at the basics of removing the shroud and spark plug for routine maintenance. Adding a small socket to get the spark arrestor off for cleaning would be a major plus. It starts on the first pull, however, and the price is right. Tucks nicely into my very crowded shed and will provide a little peace of mind for the next weather outage.

Ran this for hours during a 20-degree tailgate powering coffee makers and warming pads for serving food. Everyone commented on how quiet it was, and it ran like a champ. Lightweight, powerful, and I love how it uses all the fuel in the bowl when you shut it down, preventing they typical dirty carb issues that you see on these types of engines.

Just finished the initial break in period at 6 hours (Manual states 20hrs I believe for first oil change but I am going early oil is cheap) The generator spent its first 6 hours under varying loads from 3 amps to 15 in eco mode and full power mode. It is louder than a honda but not overbearing even right next to it. The sound of an AC, box fan, or washing machine will easily drowned it out completely inside the house. Even with it running 8ft from the house on the back porch it is at most a dull hum inside. It is very fuel efficient even out of the box, it has used less than a tank of fuel for the entire break in. Voltage swings from 123V or so no load to 116V at full load. Hovers right around 59.95hz-60hz and the waveform of the power output looks like a "fuzzy" sine wave. Bear in mind that is on a very sensitive oscilloscope and the waveform looks MUCH better than either of my conventional alternator based generators. On an older CRT scope I doubt it would have the resolution to distinguish between grid power and the inverter. I did purchase an inductive hour meter to keep track of the maintenance schedule since I wont be running it constantly unless there is a need to. Overall very impressed and happy with my purchase.

I'm a nomad. I live on the road in a van - Arizona, Montana, Idaho, Nevada, Washington State. I purchased this generator a year and a half ago. It gets used 1 to 2 hours daily, everyday. It charges my lithium power stations and my sealed lead acid batteries, on which I rely heavily. During the time I've owned it, I've changed the oil (using high quality oil) and cleaned the filter a few times. (The task takes a minimum amount of time.) Initially, I was going to buy a Honda generator as I needed reliability, but at that time, the price kept going up exponentially, so I settled on this unit. Definitely one of the better purchases I've made; I couldn't be more pleased.

I wanted a small portable generator for some time and this one keeps popping up as a nice unit. Go onto YouTube and watch a video about it. They are very helpful to get you started. Do the break in! Make certain it works before you need it. The unit weighs about 40 pounds. I filled the oil and gas and after a few pulls, it started right up. It is very quiet, and on the eco-mode, it is almost silent. I ran it for the 5 to 6 hour break in period and put it away. about a week later we had a storm that caused minor basement flooding and I am so happy I had this ready to go. With my NG furnace I could use this to power it along with a few led lights to keep things going. For 450 bucks, it is a great peace of mind.

Works well.

Good features, better than the Honda 2000 I had. Just as quiet as Honda. Very satisfied….so much so that I bought two and have the parallel kit. Now I have plenty of power and each individual unit is so much easier to carry than a single 3000 inverter.

This generator served me well over a couple of years. Sold out Airstream but kept the generator to have power in my shed for the fridge in power outage times Also used it for portable power when doing acreage fence repairs. Great little unit.

Fired up yesterday for the first time and was amazed at how quiet it ran. Plugged into our trailer and ran at about 50% load with air conditioning. Eco mode adjusted the running level and noise accordingly. Neighbor came over to tell me how surprised he was at how quiet it was compared to others he has seen/heard! Easy to lift. Also bought the magnetic dipstick.

The generator works as advertised. Noise level was a little loud compared to the Honda. Great value for the money.