WEN 56200i Generator Review

Review #2
I love to camp but I still like to have creature comforts . And one feature this Geny has over others is its built in Inverter which makes it safe for Laptops , tablets , and phones.
There is no need to run a extension cord way off from camp anymore because this Geny is only a mere 51 decibels idling with a load on , which is about as loud as a window air conditioner
Another plus is the ability if you have more than one , you can connect them in parallel to double your power , and they will run as if they are one Generator.
So I ordered this generator for the specific purpose of powering up my 18 ft. camper batteries (2 deep cycle 6-volt golf cart batteries) during the day so that my lights, water pump and heater would work overnight, so that I could dry camp in the mountains. I took it out for the first time on our 10 day / 9 night family vacation recently. Five of the nine nights we camped without electric and water and the generator operated flawlessly.

First, it was easy to get ready. I did have to add oil, but as I change oil in my cars and other smaller equipment regularly this was easy. The oil fill area is easy to get to and well marked. It was easy to learn how to start, and it is easy pull to start it. My 17 year old son easily learned to start and operate it as well.

Second, it runs fairly quiet. My in-laws own a Honda and I don't make any claim that this runs as quiet as theirs (but the Hondas are also much more expensive), but it still ran really pretty quiet especially in economy mode, which I used most of the time. Four of the nights we camped in forest service campgrounds with other campers and I was trying to be considerate of them, and for the most part, I do not think they were bothered or even noticed much (I did make sure to run it most of the time during the day). I was running it about 20 ft from our campfire and was still able to have a comfortable conversation with my family.

Third, it charged and ran most of my appliances. When it was running all of my camper appliances including our small Microwave worked. The one exception was is the AC unit, but as most of our camping is in the mountains we don't use that unit much, and did not need it at all on this trip. I think it would take 2 of these units hooked up to run our AC. It charged the batteries from about half full to completely charged in under an hour every day.

Fourth, it was exceptionally fuel efficient. I filled it before we left on vacation, and I took an extra gallon of gas along. I did not need the extra gallon, because in about 5 hours of running on economy mode it used only 1/4 of the tank of gas!

On the whole, I am very pleased with it. As long as I take care of it, I think it will probably last for years to come and make boondock camping much easier. If I run into maintenance problems or if it breaks down in the first few years of use, I will come back and revise this review, but for now it is just what we needed without having to pay the Honda price.