DuroMax Elite MX4500E 4,500 Watt 7 HP OHV 4-Cycle Gas Powered Portable Generator

DuroMax Elite MX4500E 4,500 Watt 7 HP OHV 4-Cycle Gas Powered Portable Generator

DuroMax Elite MX4500E 4,500 Watt 7 HP OHV 4-Cycle Gas Powered Portable Generator

Home Generator DuroMax Elite MX4500E 4,500 Watt 7 HP OHV 4-Cycle Gas Powered Portable Generator With Wheel Kit & Electric Start

The wifey wanted something in the face of Hurricane Earl (which thankfully did nothing more than give us about a 1/2" of rain in these parts), so after researching what was available at the home stores and seeing the number of positive reviews of the DuroMax 4400, I decided to buy. I went for this slightly larger model primarily for the "automatic idle control", and the slightly higher output of the engine.

After unpacking (and while the box had heavy foam to protect the generator, the tape on the box flaps didn't survive FedEx so it arrived open) I put it together in about 10 minutes, then discovered I needed to go out and get a grounding rod. (There seems to be some debate about this online, but it seemed to make sense for safety reasons). Fortunately cheap at home depot (under $10.) and surprisingly easy to install (got about 6' in by hand, then pounded in the rest with a small sledge).

Following the directions, I added oil (and you WILL need a funnel and you SHOULD pay attention to the amount: it's hard to do it by sight), gas and connected the battery. Turned right over and didn't start. Ah, the choke is "open" or "closed" in the manual, while "on" or "off" given the labeling on the device. So after switching it to "on", it started right up, off the battery (despite warnings I'd need to pull start it). After running a few minutes and turning "off" the choke (open), I connected up a few loads, and it ran them just fine. A 1800 watt heater did cause the engine to labor very slightly, but of course I was using only one "arm" of the generator, so presumably I could have hooked up another 1800 watt load to the other 20A 120V outlet without much additional load.

All in all, it seems to have been a good buy; I'm pleased with the quality, and even more so with the quality for the money - other generators of this caliber run $800 and up. 

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DuroMax Elite MX4500E 4,500 Watt 7 HP OHV 4-Cycle Gas Powered Portable Generator