OB opinion on Predator generators

No experience with extended use, BUT

I bought that 3500 inverter generator in 2017 for storm prep. Didn't use it much, so I ran all the gas out of it and put it up. After 6 years sitting, the other day I was tinkering in the shop and decided to start her up. 1 pull and she was purring like a quiet kitten.

Had a buddy that sold his Honda and replaced it with one of these on his bow fishing boat, never had any issues with it in the couple years he had it.

Several buddies at work have them and use them for not only emergency but several times a year camping and such and they all raved about them.

Have had great service with ours. Good machine. We use them a lot.

My family has 6 3500Watt Predators between us. The hurricane hit us hard and FEMA bought us each a generator. 5 are still in the box.

I also have a Predator 2” water pump that I use to flood my yard. Pumped tens of thousand of gallons this summer. Runs fine.

Facebook has a Predator3500 group. Lots of info there.

I have the 9000 and have used it the past 3 hunting seasons, it runs everything in my RV plus the water well and two other RV’s on occasion, I’ve had great luck with mine.

I’ve been out on several work boats the last couple years and they all had Predator generators on them to run the A/C’s. I asked one of the captains about them and he said they work as good as the Hondas and when they crap out they’re a lot cheaper to replace.

I've got two 9500s for whole house backup in parallel.

I've had several various models over the years.

These gennies have come a long ways since 2015 ... especially these newer quieter inverter models.

They are the best value on the market right now imho. I've got 8 hours on one and 12 on the other.

The key to these generators are proper breakin.

Here's the pro tip.

When you buy one the manual says 30 hrs breakin period then change the oil. That's some Chinese bullshite right there.

You do you first oil change at 4 hrs and your second at 8 hrs and your 3rd at 30 hours. Manual says 10w30. China is cold. I went with 10w40.

Here's the other secret. You go to Amazon and buy a $25 magnetic dipstick and a magnetic oil plug if you can find one. If not get a strong Neodymium magnet and attach it to the bottom of the oil pan between the dip stick and the drain plug.

Here's what you're going to find.

At the 4 hr mark there will be little pieces of metal. At the 8 hr mark there will be fewer pieces, tiny pieces, of metal stuck to those magnets. At the 30 hr mark you'll be free and clear to get on a normal routine maintenance schedule.

Also, only burn ethanol free gas in it and use some marine stabil in the tank.

I learned this lesson with a 3500 and a 5500 by a mechanic in our preppers circle.

Also, get a battery keeper connected to the starter battery if you're not going-to use it much but don't wait to break it in until you need it.

These are good generators.

Oh, and one other thing. When breaking it in try to keep it ln energy saver and don't stress it enough to get it up past 75%. You can increase that between 4 and 8 hours. Once you've got all the itsy bitsy pieces of metal out of the oil ... run that bitch hard and put'em up wet.

You're going to love these generators.

I borrowed the regular version in 3500 for Ida and it worked well and started very easily. Seems to be a solid machine.

I’ve had the 2000 watt for 4 years. Use it for tailgating mostly. I run it dry prior to packing it up. No issues at all

I’d buy one if I needed it at that price, especially 20% off.

I have the 9000 and did an extra break-in as mentioned earlier. Highly recommended as the medals accumulate.

I need to run it, change the fuel, and test the plugs.