Normally I would shy away from product reviews, but I hoped to add some useful info for consumers. I purchased the PowerPacPlus+ generator from Pep-Boys after I saw that they had dropped the price from $150 to $99.99 after a mail in rebate. The market is currently flooded with this model of inexpensive Chinese made two cycle (40:1 mix) 1200 W (peak) generator. They are sold under many name brands, but appear to be identical. The lowest online price I found for a new unit was $120 with free shipping.
The generator provides up to 850 W continuous power, and can handle surges up to 1200 watts. I followed the manual's suggested 300 W max load burn in procedure by powering two laptops pulling 150 W each, and it kept them up for four hours with the batteries removed. Next I removed a laptop and added an 800 W heater and the motor surged, but powered both heater and laptop without a problem. The laptop never went down. I cycled the heater several times and the generator responded well enough to keep the laptop up. After about 5 hours of run time, with the last hour at 950 W, the motor ran out of fuel. Using a 1.1 US Gal tank, fuel costs are less than $1 per hour, at the current $3.55 a gallon price.
Two minor annoyances:
The motor will run out of fuel before the fuel tank appears to be empty as the internal fuel filter sits a bit high.
YOU ABOSOLUTELY HAVE TO TURN OFF THE FUEL VALVE AND RUN THE CARB DRY OR THE EVAPORATING GASOLINE WILL LEAVE BEHIND 2 STROKE OIL, FOULING THE CARB AND YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO START THE UNIT.
Positives:
Has 12 DC out for charging car batteries.
Is simple to use, starts on second pull.
Weighs less than 50 lb.
Proven to produce 2.2 kWh of electrical energy from 1.1 US gal of gas.
Runs well on 10% Ethanol/Gas mix.
2 comments:
Pretty neat. I'd like to borrow it for a bit and do my own testing. (Tornado season is coming up)
Dad
I'll tell you what. You run an extension cord from my place to yours, and if you need power, give me a call and I will plug it in.
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