Harbor Freight Generator Coupons

[JRTJH]

This is not an endorsement for these products. I do not own them, have only seen them from a distance in campgrounds or on the shelf at Harbor Freight.

That said, a number of members are happy with their Predator generators and have said they are functional additions to their dry camping. So, this weekend, Harbor Freight sent out coupons for their two "RV sized generators".

I thought I'd post a copy of each, so anyone who might be interested in getting prepared for the upcoming season or is planning to buy either of these.

So, if either coupon might save you some money, enjoy.

[jasin1]

I have the 3500 and it’s been good so far. I use stabil but the other day I exercised it and noticed it has a slight surge in the idle. Saw this today

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fYoBS2kQEOg

[JRTJH]

That is the "weakest link" in every small engine when using "ethanol gas".... All of the small engine carbs have "tiny jets" and the "gunk in the gas" as ethanol gels, plugs the jet and the result is "surging" (if you can even get it started)....

Stabil or some other brand of ethanol stabilizer in EVERY can of gas that you buy at a gas station or "non-ethanol gas" if you can find it in your area....

Since I swore off Ethanol, I haven't had to rebuild a carburetor on any of my "small engine equipment"...

Maybe we need to include "ethanol gas" at AA meetings ???

Hi, my name is John and I haven't bought Ethanol in 8 years.....

[jasin1]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

That is the "weakest link" in every small engine when using "ethanol gas".... All of the small engine carbs have "tiny jets" and the "gunk in the gas" as ethanol gels, plugs the jet and the result is "surging" (if you can even get it started)....

Stabil or some other brand of ethanol stabilizer in EVERY can of gas that you buy at a gas station or "non-ethanol gas" if you can find it in your area....

Since I swore off Ethanol, I haven't had to rebuild a carburetor on any of my "small engine equipment"...

Maybe we need to include "ethanol gas" at AA meetings ???

Hi, my name is John and I haven't bought Ethanol in 8 years.....

Yep I might need an intervention lol…hard to find ethanol free gas around me unless you buy in prepackaged 1 gallon cans..I use that for our Stihl weed eater and blower and chainsaws

I use stabil in the generator and only have maybe 6 hours on it..surprised it is getting gunked up so fast…ethanol is FANTASTIC

[dutchmensport]

JRTJH,
Your last statement just absolutely confused me. OK, I'm not the brightest bulb in the box either, you know. But what are saying? Ethanol is a good thing or a bad thing?

For what it's worth, I have an old (probably 20 years old now) King Craft generator that everyone, (and I mean everyone) at the time said was nothing but junk, I needed to get rid of it and those King Crafts were so horrible, even the city dump wouldn't take them. I hung on to it all these years. Used it a lot. Never had ANY problems with it. Always started on the second pull of the cord. I've kept it clean and dry.

It has a petcock so I can turn the gas off to the carburetor. When I shut it down, I always turn the petcock off which eventually starves the carburetor of fuel and it shuts down. This is the only way I shut it off. I've never deviated. And the generator is still running flawless after 20 years.

Not bad for a piece of "junk", hum? I attribute the success of this generator to the fuel cut off at the petcock. Just that simple.

I now (also) have 2 Cummings Onan P4500i inverter generators I run in parallel for my 50 amp Montana High Country. They also have a gas cut off. I shut them down, always, with the gas cut off. I've had them for about 2 years now. They work flawless, even in very cold weather.

I think there is something to be said about not being able to drain the fuel from the carburetor, as stated in that video.

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by dutchmensport

JRTJH,
Your last statement just absolutely confused me. ....

??? Ethanol is "bad, Bad, BAD for small engines in storage"...

I haven't bought ethanol/gas for small engines in the past 8 or 10 years.

That's why I ended (my last statement), "Hi, I'm John and I haven't bought ethanol in 8 years"... If you've ever gone to an AA meeting, you'll understand... If not, it's the way everyone introduces themself when they speak to the group... "Hi, I'm Bill, and I've been sober for XX days, weeks, months, years"..... The response is, "Hi Bill"...

As for draining fuel from the carb or running it dry, if there is "Ethanol fuel" in the tank, it will separate and when you start the engine "next month" that gunk in the tank will be drawn into the carburetor, foul the jet and you're in the same situation as when you leave fuel in the carburetor bowl.... Ethanol gas, regardless of "where it's stored" will separate and the GUNK in the fuel storage vessel will damage/plug small engine carburetors, leading to repair/replacement...

Fuel/ethanol additives will help, but, even then, it's still ethanol and it will still "degrade eventually".... Might take a season rather than a week, but even with additives, it's problematic... To be fair, so is "non-ethanol fuel" a potential problem, but that said, I've had gas in cans that's 2 or 3 years old and it still runs my small engines without problems... Maybe I'm "just lucky" ??? Don't know, but: "I'm John and I haven't bought ethanol in 8 years" is my "mantra" ...

[hankpage]

"I'm Hank and I haven't bought ethanol in 5 years". Since I moved south I have been using ethanol free gas in both of my generators. I am under the impression that stabilized ethanol gas can be stored for one year max and stabilized non-ethanol gas can be stored for 2+ years. My home emergency gen is bi-fuel so I exercise and short uses on propane and keep the tank and carb drained. My 2000i Predator is used all the time. I find it easier to use it than to drag out an extension cord when working outside.
Every two years I use the stored non-ethanol gas in the DW's car. ( She doesn't know since she is a Jersey girl and has never pumped gas in her life.) For the price, Predator has been great for me. In power failures it will run an 8000 btu window AC for over 9 hours on one gallon of gas so we have one cool room and barely use the big gen.

P.S. If Bourbon counts as ethanol than my opening statement is a lie.

[wiredgeorge]

I use ethanol gas (87 Octane) in my generator as we have little non-ethanol nearby. I add Stabil red stuff to all my gas containers (have 5 five gallon) in the even we go dark during a rain or (heaven forbid) snow event. Since it doesn't rain a whole lot, dirt collects on transmission wires and when it does rain the dirt turns to mud and gets heavy and the lines snap; at least that is my theory. Our electrical grid has us on one big transformer and it is at the end of the line. A few years back, it blew and it took them 3 days to haul another in and get back on line.

[jasin1]

Does anyone know if stabil goes bad sitting on the shelf? I have quite a few different containers of it

[JRTJH]

From the manufacturer of Stabil, Goldeagle Products:

THE STA-BIL FUEL STABILIZER® SHELF LIFE DEFINED
If you have an unopened bottle of STA-BIL, it will be good for up to five years. Then once you open the bottle we recommend using within two years for best results. However, after the two years you may still use the product as a fuel system cleaner as long as there is no sediment or flakes. After the two years the product will no longer be effective for storage purposes and we recommend a fresh new bottle.

https://www.goldeagle.com/tips-tools...el-stabilizer/

[jasin1]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

From the manufacturer of Stabil, Goldeagle Products:

THE STA-BIL FUEL STABILIZER® SHELF LIFE DEFINED
If you have an unopened bottle of STA-BIL, it will be good for up to five years. Then once you open the bottle we recommend using within two years for best results. However, after the two years you may still use the product as a fuel system cleaner as long as there is no sediment or flakes. After the two years the product will no longer be effective for storage purposes and we recommend a fresh new bottle.

https://www.goldeagle.com/tips-tools...el-stabilizer/

Thanks John Appreciate

[Jim Aitken]

I think the best solution is to never leave fuel in the carburetor. I have a Honda 2000 that frequently clogged its jet because Honda's dumb design uses the same switch to shut off the fuel and break the ignition circuit. So there is always fuel left in the carb.

I made a simple modification to installl a separate switch for the ignition. Now I can turn off the fuel and let the generator run for a couple of minutes until all the fuel is drained Never had a problem with clogged jets in 10 years since.

[bsmith0404]

Ok, getting back to the gens, I’ve heard good things about the Predator. One of the few things that HF seems to have gotten right. My biggest question/concern with them is the ability or inability to parallel them together. Being able to use a standard parallel kit/cable just makes everything so much easier.

[Ccrew]

Originally Posted by bsmith0404

Ok, getting back to the gens, I’ve heard good things about the Predator. One of the few things that HF seems to have gotten right. My biggest question/concern with them is the ability or inability to parallel them together. Being able to use a standard parallel kit/cable just makes everything so much easier.

They sell a parallel kit for them.

[wiredgeorge]

When buying HF stuff keep in mind there is often little or no parts support. When you go to a site like www.generatorguru.com you can see the parts they offer for the Predator series somewhat limited. I have a Wen generator and there are many more parts listed especially hard engine parts.

I am not suggesting purchase of a Wen generator. I bought mine as a backup power source for our home but I would suggest consider which parts are available for whatever prospective brand in the event that generator needs fixing down the road.

[jxnbbl]

I just had to rebuild two snowmobile "fuel supply systems". These had been sitting in a trailer for 10 years with gas in them. I siphoned the tanks, new batteries new gas and everything started up fine...then smelled gas! Shutoff and then the fun began. The fuel line/filter in the tank had deteriorated to nothing, the fuel line grommet to a mushy rubber thing that reminded me of chewing gum (source of the leak) and replaced the line to the motor for good measure. It was the worse case of ethanol decomposing (another word??) that I've ever seen.

I basically have 3 things I do with all my engines that never fail.

1. Shut off the gas and let it burn out of the carb (if possible).
2. Put stabilizer in at the end of the year
3. Put sea foam in at the beginning of the year and in any gas storage tank that has been sitting for more than a month.

Very rarely even have to clean a carb. For friends that don't follow this they never understand why they have to annually send their snowblower off to get the carb cleaned.

[jasin1]

Originally Posted by wiredgeorge

When buying HF stuff keep in mind there is often little or no parts support. When you go to a site like www.generatorguru.com you can see the parts they offer for the Predator series somewhat limited. I have a Wen generator and there are many more parts listed especially hard engine parts.

I am not suggesting purchase of a Wen generator. I bought mine as a backup power source for our home but I would suggest consider which parts are available for whatever prospective brand in the event that generator needs fixing down the road.

This is what HF says they have in stock on their website for this generator

The place you referenced is probably the true available parts

I’d probably have a better chance of calling up today and getting a two week reservation for next month at Bahia Honda State park then I would of getting all of the parts on their list

[bsmith0404]

Originally Posted by Ccrew

They sell a parallel kit for them.

It works if you have two predators, but doesn’t work with other brands that have the pin style connections. Unfortunately, Predator doesn’t make a suitcase type 4500w gen (that I’m aware of), so it’s difficult to parallel their 3500 with a 4500 to run both ACs. I found a 3500 isn’t enough to run the microwave with other items on, especially at 8,000 ft. Probably do better if you rejet them for altitude, but then you run into lean conditions at lower altitudes.

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by bsmith0404

It works if you have two predators, but doesn’t work with other brands that have the pin style connections. Unfortunately, Predator doesn’t make a suitcase type 4500w gen (that I’m aware of), so it’s difficult to parallel their 3500 with a 4500 to run both ACs. I found a 3500 isn’t enough to run the microwave with other items on, especially at 8,000 ft. Probably do better if you rejet them for altitude, but then you run into lean conditions at lower altitudes.

The Harbor Freight owner's manual for both the 2000 watt and the 3500 watt Predator inverter generators state that the parallel kit can ONLY be used with two generators of the same model/power output. You can not "parallel connect a 2000 with a 3500. You'll burn up the smaller generator (according to the owner's manual)....

If you're trying to connect a parallel kit to two "different brands" or two "different size" generators, you'll need to do some extensive research to make sure you don't destroy one or both of the generators... As an example, you can't use a Honda 3000 and a Champion 3200 with a Predator parallel kit. The "electronics" don't match and the weakest link will certainly go up in smoke.

Champion Power Equipment has a "parallel kit selection website" where you can enter the two Champion generator models by model number and the website will provide you the parallel kit needed to connect those two models.
https://www.championpowerequipment.c...-kit-selector/

As a "general rule" different brands aren't considered compatible for parallel connection, although there are "SOME" that are identical and will work. I wouldn't recommend "experimenting with a parallel kit and a couple of "orphan generators from different manufacturers" to try to get a compatible system to power an RV.... It might work for a few minutes in the driveway, but when you get 50 miles from the closest fire station, in a national forest and suddenly smell smoke and look up to find the smoke is coming from the trailer circuit breaker panel..... Who do you call ?????

[wiredgeorge]

My point is to check actual availability of spares if needed in the future. If all those parts are truly available, not a problem. I have an old Campbell Hausfeld compressor and the original elecrical motor and original mechanical pump motor died many years ago and have been replaced. There are absolutely NO spares for the mechanical pump motor. You would think at least gaskets are available but not so I have to cut my own so I have grown distrustful of HF's repair parts availability.