Customer Reviews

Briggs & Stratton Power Products Model 1654 5500 Watt Portable Generator

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Good amount of power for the price....

What I like....
great on gas for the amount of power it puts out
good amount of power for the price
fairly lite compared to other equivalent units
sturdy and easily transported
starts fairly easily in warm weather
decent gas tank capacity
low oil detection device is a nice insurance policy
2 year warranty
gas gauge on gas cap
good surge capacity (8500 watts or 55% more the rated load capacity)

What could be improved....
noisey little bugger!
handle is a little flimsy
no electric start

Unknown as of yet.......
not sure how this will start when it's colder, I'm sure I'll wish it had the electric start though!

I was more than satisfied on this generator as a backup power supply unit. The 5500 running watts along with the 8,500 starting watts more than supplied my needs. During Hurricane Jeanne, I was able to power a 230 volt 12,000 BTU window air conditioner unit along with 2 refridgerators, a 27" television, cable TV, and three lights. I felt the unit could sustain a bigger load since the generator ran for 10 1/2 hrs on the tank of gas. The only time that I was aware that the generator was loading down was when the compressor would kick in on the air conditioner. The built in regulator kept the unit at a sustained output.It was obvious I did not run the unit at full loading. This unit ran for 48 hours during the outage and we expierenced no problems with the unit. It did not use any oil and was extremely reliable.

On unpacking the unit and setting the unit up was a quick and easy matter. The initial start up took two pulls on the recoil start. From that point on, everytime I started the generator (even after it had been off for 4 hours) one pull was all that was needed.

The neighbors advised me on how quiet they thought the unit ran.

The only draw back was that due to the size of the unit, even though it is on wheels, makes it difficult to move around. Most women would never be able to move it around. The wheels set towards the back so the majority of the 180 pounds are situated directly on the front feet. I would have preferred to have the wheels and handle on opposit sides so when you would pull the unit out from under a protective cover (during the rains), you would not have to pull it all the way out to shut it off to refuel it.

Unit did the job during the short period of power disruption caused by hurricane Jeanne. Started on first pull out of the box and any other time I have started it. It has more than enough power to handle a freezer, two refrigerators, a few lights, fan, and TV. Despite the oversized muffler, it still produces a pretty good amount of noise (thus four stars). But, it sure cost a lot less than a quieter Honda.

I bought this from Home Depot using a 10% card, this is the one top rated by Consumer Reports, but as usual no longer manufactured by Generac (Briggs and Stratton now makes it) It started first pull, and I ran a compressor, chop saw, and battery charger and the voltage never dropped below 113 volts, except on the compressor surge where it dropped to 109. It is big and bulky, and I would recommend a transfer box if you were going to rely on this, in my case its a true emergency generator so i can run my tools directly to it.

It is loud, even with the silencer, but no more so than a large pressure washer.

When we leave Hurricane gulch in a few years look for it on eBay....

My powers out after a bad electrical storm, power company should fix it sometime this week, what they said. After sitting in my garage for 2 years it started on the first pull (after numerous pulls with the power switch OFF). The power switch is in a bad spot, hidden way under the gas tank. You can't see it unless you get down on your knees and look for it. I have it plugged into my dryer plug powering my whole house. My 2 year old watching the 55" projection TV, my son playing the Wii on another TV, 2 refrigerators, water heater, pool filter, this PC and wife on the phone all day. I turned on my A/C unit and it blew the generators fuse (everything else turned off). It's gonna be 100 today so there are fans blowing full blast all day. Last night with a full tank it lasted 8 hours, 3 ceiling fans and one box fan.

I also left the choke on half way all night by accident. I had a terrible night sleep because of the noise it makes. I don't know what everyones talking about when they say it's quiet. The only way I could sleep was with ear plugs.

If I had to buy another generator I would buy this again. Now if I can only get a better muffler for it.

I purchased this over 5 years ago and it works like a champ. I purchased it when I was building my house and it has powered everything.. Saws, vacuum, air compressor and welders. It's also been used to charge batteries while camping for an RV. Air compressors and Welders usually trash generators, but I've never had any issues with this welder. When I purchased it new i was $700.00 and it was well worth it.