Westinghouse 18000 Peak Watt Dual Fuel Home Backup Portable Generator, Remote Electric Start, Transfer Switch Ready, Gas and Propane Powered

This generator is a beast in all the right ways! It was well packaged on a custom sized pallet and came with everything (except fuel) needed to get it ready to generate. Assembly was very easy. It is recommended you have two people to get it off the pallet. However, one person can do it if careful. All I needed to do was install the wheels, fill the oil (provided), connect the battery ground wire and bolt on the top lift bracket. The Quick Start Guide is easy to follow. After adding fuel it started very easily and runs smoothly. I tested the outlets with a Kill A Watt Electricity Usage Monitor and a Generator Adapter 4 Prong Locking Cord, 30 Amp to 15 Amp Adapter, NEMA L14-30P/Four 5-20R Household Outlet Splitter, and both 120 volt legs were at the correct voltage and hertz. For running the house I have cord for connecting to a Generator Power Inlet Box, NEMA 3R Generator Receptacle 50 Amp, NEMA SS 2-50P PB50 Weatherproof Inlet Box, 125/250 Volt,12500 Watts Generator Transfer Switch. The push button start/stop is nice. The remote fob works well too. I have only tested it with gasoline. Even though it comes with the hose for connecting to propane cylinders, I have not tried to run it on LPG. The ability to use either fuel is great, especially during prolonged outages when the local gas stations may be without power as well. Being able to grab a LPG cylinder is a fantastic option. It will run my entire house which is a 3 story, 5 bedroom with an unfinished basement. I have a forced hot air oil furnace in the winter, two window air conditioners along with some oscillating fans in the summer, a water well pump all year round, the refrigerator/freezer, stand alone freezer, washer/dryer (LPG) and the assorted small appliances, entertainment electronics and lights (mostly LED and a couple florescent). My hot water heater and stove are propane and only the oven controls and clock require power. I estimated my load to be somewhere in the 8KW range with an occasional peak to 9-10KW. This generator should give me ample power while operating below its ratings. There are times when the fridge compressor, air conditioner(s)/heat, washing machine and the well pump are running that put a demand on the system that a lesser generator struggles with. I anticipate the efficiency will be within the estimated fuel consumption ratings. During testing, while being what some might consider loud, I found it to be quieter than my old 10KW generator and quieter than my portable 5KW generator. Being as heavy as it is, I found the wheel size and folding handles allow for nice leverage and it is fairly easy to move around on flat and mild inclines. I spent a lot of time researching and comparing various brands and models and feel this one provides me what I need and is the best value for the money of them all. Follow-up: I just spent 6-1/2 hours (6am-12:30pm) on this generator due to a power outage. It looks like it used about 1/3 of a tank of gas and it ran the whole house fine. It never sounded like it was under load and hummed along beautifully. I am happily impressed with the initial performance in a real world situation. I did do the 6 hours break-in using two space heaters and a window a/c unit to give it an approximate 4kw load during break-in. I had them setup outside on extension cords. Break-in was completed before I needed to use it to power the house. I also chose the first Saturday of every month to run it under the same 4kw break-in load to exercise it and keep me familiar with start/stop procedures and turning on/off breaker/switch for powering different outlets.

I bought this mostly for the HVAC when we lose power. this alone consumes 5000watts, i came up with about 9000watts running, the startup power for the appliances will increase then settle down. Tried using 2 gallons of gas to start, had trouble getting the gas down until i removed the air from the line and added 2 more gallons of gas. I connected the propane tank, that worked flawlessly. It does weigh 352 lbs, it does come with wheels so it can be moved, i am able to keep it out of the way and store in the shed. i believe it is at a great price of $2300, since we can stay comfortable and not through any food out. I will buy some 40lb propane tanks to keep around rather than the gas jugs. i will fill those when the weather forecast warrants it.

My gas and electrical are on complete opposite sides of the home, so a GENERAC is very expensive install for me. So I wanted to get something more cost effective until I knew if I was going to be staying in this home long term. After a ton of research I purchased this unit, and boy am PLEASED with the results. Easy setup, heavy but I had no problem wheeling it to the back yard around tight corners and obstacles, the noise is no worse in fact i believe quieter than my 5000watt husky. My home is about 3800 square feet, I have 3 AC units (3 Ton, a 3.5 ton, and a 1.5 ton AC) Inside I have a wine room with a 15K BTU wine cooling unit. I wired it the appropriate generator cable into the pools outdoor panel box using a 50AMP breaker. The following test used Gasoline: I isolated the home from the meter turning off power to the home. I turned all the breakers off in the home and then turned the generator on. Slowly I added load, first lights, fridge 1, fridge 2, then the wine room cooler. NO HICCUPS WHATSOEVER!!! I then turned on the pool pump, then turned on the remainder of the breakers but kept lights on only in the essential areas we use. THEN....I turned on the 3 Ton....not a hiccup! Then I turned on the 3.5 Ton just a little hiccup the entire home was running except for the 1.5 ton which I really dont need on if we had a power outage. I was IMPRESSED!!! I tried the toaster and the microware and no issues, they performed just as if they were on utility power. So for anyone who wants to know what you can run on this baby here ya go....tested and done! I've since installed a Natural gas conversion kit and hooked it up using 3/4" pipe, 5 feet from meter. The generator performed perfectly, however I recognize that Nat Gas will generate a little less wattage but I believe I had plenty to spare, and I could cut down on AC if I had too. Do not hesitate to purchase this generator, its not as convenient as a Generac but its just as powerful in not more and 25% of the price! UPDATE********** 08/2023 I am still ecstatic about the running performance of this unit. HOWEVER after it was used in Hurricane IDA it was turned off to change oil. When I went to restart it, to my horror, it would not roll over, just a clicking noise. Then it kept blowing fuses, and you can imagine what I had to go through to find a 20amp fuse after IDA. But finally I found one in a fuse kit from Home Depot. TIP: BUY LOTS OF 20 AMP U shaped FUSES!!!!!!!!!!!! After that I was able to get it running after several attempts. Once it actually turned over, it started immediately!!! After IDA I turned it off and then tried restarting....NOPE! A call to Westinghouse said that the starter/selenoid was likely the culprit. Since we were still in an active hurricane period I had them rush me one. Replaced it and bingo...started right away. In 2022 I took the unit out and tested it, started up right away, so sigh of relief and back into storage. 2023 I took it out to use it after a wind storm and loss of power....SAME PROBLEM....CLUNK! over and over again and then FINALLY it turns over and runs! After power restored, turned off and back on and SAME DAM thing CLUNK and a fuse pops!!! replace fuse, SAME THING!!!!! I've contacted Westinghouse and await their response. The starter is the WEAKEST LINK, there is no pull cord, so if it fails and it appears from a LOT of other reports that it is a common issue, then basically you have a USELESS generator. Hoping there is a fix for this, and what I would do in the meantime is 1) keep LOTS of 20amp fuses handy 2) an extra larger battery and 3) an extra starter/selenoid for backup PS - check your wires going to starter, I found some fraying and wrapped them with tape so they dont arc *******UPDATE 8-21-23************** Within 3 hours of contacting Westinghouse they got back to me in an email. The tech told me that they discovered an issue with the design of the starter, and that a new redesigned one is now available. They said they would send the new one out to me in a few days, and sure enough I just got an email saying it was shipped with tracking!!! One final comment, I continued to play with the unit and discovered it will RELIABLY start with some patience, a few fuses and a charged battery. Every time after 4 or 5 tries and a couple of fuses it turns over and starts immediately. So in a pinch, it will start and once it starts its a wonderful generator, but I'm hoping the new starter will solve this permanently.

Haven’t had to use it yet, but no problems setting up and ran fine.

Works good. Easy setup.

This unit (18,000) was delivered without any issues. It came in a crate that made that possible. It is heavy but also portable. After set up, tried to start but no ignition. Make sure and check the battery connections. Even though the instructions don’t say the factory purposely leaves the ground unconnected, it makes sense to while being transported. The unit powered everything I needed it to (ac, water heaters, window unit with heat strip, fridge (2), lights. Being an open frame generator, it is on the noisy side. I will use it in the country and away from the main house so not a problem for me. All in all, seems to be a well built unit. It will come down to maintenance and running it on a consistent basis so it performs when I need it.

Running really find, have nothing bad to say about. I switched my champion 11kw for this one. I now have remote controller and run on propane. Its really useful for my offgrid house. Update: Do NOT get it if temps gets under -15°C in your area. It will hardly start when it's freezing and needs to be heated below -20. Bad bad move as we live offgrid and really needs it to charge our batteries. No manual choke. January 2024 the speed regulator have failed, costed 100$ to replace it. Had to wait 6 months because the part was backorder and had to use a redirect US postal service because they cant ship the part to Canada and theirs service point in Canada dont sell that part.

Dead on arrival. Doesn't start. Stater motor grinds against flywheel and Doesn't turn over the motor. don't buy from Amazon they have been no help and looks like they won't let me return this $4000, 400 pound, boat anchor. Poor showing Amazon. Will not be making big purchases with Amazon in the future.