Customer Reviews

ETQ DG6LE 6,000 Watt 10 HP 418cc Diesel Powered Portable Generator With Electric Start

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

 

 

Bought this generator without shopping around due to an emergency, but am very happy with my purchase. I didn't want a diesel generator, because I don't have anything else that runs on diesel, but this generator has changed my mind. The extended run time of a diesel generator over gasoline is reason enough to go with diesel. This thing runs for 12 hours on a 3 gallon tank of diesel! It is quite loud, but no more so than any other generator. I tried to run it in my detached garage, but the fumes quickly starved the generator for air and it died. This thing is a tank at 350 pounds, it is quite heavy. It runs both my sump pumps, fridge, lights, furnace, and television without a problem. My only complaint, and this is a small one, was that apparently they test them at the factory and then shipped them with diesel in the fuel line, which during shipping clogged the injectors, and initially it would not start. The dealer did replace the injector for free at purchase, and it runs great since then. I guess I would recommend monthly startups for maintenance to keep the injector clean, and it wouldn't hurt to add some diesel fuel additive.

I just started it for the first time today and I think I'm about an average adult male and I managed to get it going with the recoil start--slow pull to compression stroke, depress decompression lever, two hands, foot on tire, get around that frame tube, pull hard. A few pulls to get a chug or two then increasingly more chugging time per pull until it was revving and dying continuously and belching smoke for a minute and then finally running steady with clear exhaust; probably clearing air from the fuel system caused all the roughness and smoke.

I didn't wear earplugs at first and noticed things were a little too quiet when I left the generator so I put some in.

It was 80*F today so I think it'll need a battery for cold weather; I see a "preheat" setting on the key-switch.--NO BATTERY INCLUDED--is conveniently omitted from the info. The manual recommends a battery of 36-38 amp/hours though I just got the most powerful battery that fit the tray. A supervisor at Lowe's wouldn't wave the $7 trade-in charge saying their generators came with batteries (nyaa,nyaa,nyaa for not buying ours), the jerk. Starting with the battery was quick and easy.

A sticker on the generator says 5,000 watts continuous so I'll consider that the real rating instead of the 5,500 sometimes claimed. If I remove the water heater fuses it should handle everything in the house though I'll need to restrict the stove/oven to single burner/heating element use.

I'm using regular home heating oil (from downstream of the filter) which in my area is presently formulated the same as offroad diesel fuel but I'll keep an eye out in case the EPA decides to reformulate that the way they did highway diesel.

Didn't need a key for recoil start but did for battery start and I couldn't find one in the nuts & bolts bag but found that my truck cap key worked and could be removed with the generator running.

Diesel engines are supposed to make very little carbon monoxide so I got 7' of 1.5" dia. steel flex-tube to plumb the exhaust into my flue and run it in my basement so scumbags can't snatch it from the yard the way they've done to others during catastrophes and also to make use of the heat in cold weather. Soundproofing will be desirable, and probably a CO detector.

The manual is somewhat confusing which is why I gave the generator 4 stars instead of 5, but it's not as bad as many chinese products and I know a little about engines so I think I'll manage the maintenance ok.

Now I have a genset we have no Hurricanes!!!! I've powered up the gen a number of times, it's noisey but not crazy, it takes load very well and barely uses fuel.
Very good buy.
NOTE It comes with a cover.

i normally don't do reviews, but they helped me, and i hope this helps you.


PROS-
on the electric start, it starts up great. coldest day so far was about 10 degrees, and it takes about 4 spins to hit, and a few more turns to sustain. a big puff of black smoke and some loping, and then you are off to the races. the starter whirs without engaging sometimes, but catches the next time.

the frame and chassis are adequate. too often they skimp on wheels, etc. this bitch is heavy and needs the rugged frame.

it seeems to sip diesel fuel, as advertised. i don't let it get close to running out, but i've gone 6-7 hours without refueling. the fuel cap is well positioned and easy to access (can't say the same for the oil).

i haven't challenged the electrical side but i think the outlets work as advertised and don't overload prematurely. i'm running a well pump on it, 50 hours continuous at 230v 15 amp no problem.

CONS:

so far, biggest complaint is how unfriendly it is to drain and refill the oil. the drain spills oil all over the frame and filling gets it all over the tires. i think a turkey baster might solve the filling problem next time.

it seems awful noisy to me, but i'm not used to being around these things.

GLITCHES:

i tried to man up and start it with the rope the first day, since i didn't have a battery on hand. i could not get it to start, and it had me worried. it still wouldn't start with a battery, so i pulled the fuel lines and bled the air out, and it started. i haven't tried the pull rope since. i pulled all the lines, but i think you only need to pull the rubber line which is not hard to do.

the factory settings were too low for engine rpm and the voltage wasn't high enough. my pump man said i needed 215 v. minimum. we reset the idle speed and got 230v right off the bat. no issues since.


comments:

i did the math and decided the payback point was only about 200 hours for the fuel consumption and the extra [...] bucks to get the diesel version. i would already have hated to haul as much gasoline as i've used so far but i have a diesel tank, and that helps.

at one point before he became a failed presidential lecher candidate, john edwards asked: what have we ever got from china, besides lead in our toys, blah blah. i thought then, we all have toys like this (and cordless drills, and on and on) that we never would have had a generation ago. not saying it's a good thing, but there it is..

good luck.

I received this generator on time, but it hasn't worked since I received it. Initial issues were addressed by manufacturer mailing me parts (Oil pressure sensor and starter recoil assembly) which I installed. However, that didn't fix it, as it initially put out very low voltage, and now won't start at all, and has developed a fuel leak at the fuel switch. After an approximately 6 week search, the manufacturer (Eastern Tools) cannot seem to find an authorized service location in Phoenix AZ, a rather large metro area. (I recently found a place that will fix it, and sent the firm's info to them, and am still awaiting a response.) The distributor (Tooltopia) says they cannot do an exchange since they have no more in stock (I got the very last one? Ooookay.), nor will they refund my money. So I have a 300 pound paper weight, that leaks diesel fuel, sitting in my garage unsued, where it has been since I received it, over two ago months now. I guess that's the risk you take when you buy a Chinese made generator, "made" and distributed by two U.S. companies, neither of which is able or willing to honor their warranty, at least so far. The saga continues...

UPDATE: Eastern Tools eventually replaced it after 4 months, but only because they did not have a part in stock (fuel switch). I had to box it up, palletize it, and take it to the airport at my own expense (lesson learned: save the box AND the pallet). The new generator works just fine.

Ok, so this is a long story. There were enough people on here that had good reviews that I took the chance and purchased the unit. That was March 2011. It is now Jan 2012 and I have yet to power a SINGLE thing with my generator.

I was in Afghanistan until July, so I didn't get a chance to check out the gen until July. When I did get home, I was very busy and so July became August. In August, I finally fueled it up, and put oil in it and tried to start it. OUCH! Ok, so diesel engines naturally have very high compression rates and I think that if I was in a "Life and Death" situation, I think I could EVENTUALLY start this thing with the pull cord, but after the thing pulled me back and almost broke my arm; I quit!

August became September and I purchased a battery from "the battery store" for $80 and it fired right up! I am running bio-diesel through it and it worked great, and smells great to boot. I was so excited and got all my extension cords out. The first thing I was going to run on it was my microwave and TV. (Essentials in an emergency situation, right?) So I plug in the microwave and the light inside is about half as bright as it's supposed to be. I try to make it work, and the turn-table turns (slowly) but no "microwaving" happens. Now I had read the complaints about voltage regulator, but I thought that they must have been isolated incidents. Unfortunately, I was dead wrong. I hooked up my multimeter to it and found out that it was only putting out 69 volts.

So I called ETQ and they were very helpful, very courteous. However, the guy I talked to (who know longer works there) sent me a Voltage Converter (to convert from 12VDC to 110VAC) but not the proper voltage regulator. 2-3 weeks later, I got the part, changed it out, and there was no change, of course.

Long story short, Eastern Tools doesn't stock enough parts for this (or any of there generators) to be able to send them out when (And I mean WHEN) they break down, so they had to come and get it so that they could send me a brand new one. Kinda stupid in my opinion instead of just having a $20 part on hand, but that's what they wanted to do.

So now I'm waiting for my new one. I'll keep ya'll up-to-date on whether or not the new one works...

I keep this gen around for backup in case of power outage .. we typically get 1 - 2 outages a year due to heavy snowfall ... of coarse since I've had this we've had none! I'm gonna get a snowblower to make sure it snows no more next year??!!

But seriously, I've run this for some power tools (only a small 4" grinder) at the end of the drive way, and it works great. When I first got it the Oil Filter was a bit bunged up from the factory .. looked like it was installed a bit crooked .. I emailed ETQ and they sent me out 2 new ones no charge very quickly. Make sure when you store it you pull the pull start cord until you feel sig resistance .. this will make sure both valves are closed and will keep moisture from accumulating in the Cyl.

Overall Very happy with it. I would have given it full stars ... but I just don't have enough "real time" hours on it to say for sure.

Tractor on.

nothing but good things to say about this generator. Everything works. It starts easily. The wheels are large enough that it's very portable. All is good.