Customer Reviews

Guardian 7,000 Watt Standby Generator 5240

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

 

 

Bought it at Home Depot, for considerably less money. Don't know if they still handle them. Made by Generac. Comes with transfer switch and everything you need to use it. So far, has worked flawlessly. Within seconds of shutting off the electricity the generator is up and running and it automatically shoulders the load. When I turn the power back on it transfers the load, runs for a few more seconds in case the power fails again and then shuts down. It runs once a week for 10-15 minutes to keep the cobwebs out and the battery is automatically kept charged.

I use it at my vineyard in California's Anderson Valley. It supplies power to the main house through the transfer switch and also has 240 & 120 volt outlets for use with an extension cord.

This is Generac/Guardians smallest unit. Both Home Depot and my electrician thought it would be too small, but I am kind of an energy freak, with CFL bulbs, Fujitsu high efficiency heat and A/C air pumps, EER 20, COF 11, and propane stove, Oven, Dryer, etc., When we installed it the electrician had me turn on all available electrical stuff in order to overload the generator and learn the drill for using it manually.

I turned the Fujitsus up to 86*, turned on the bathroom heater, two bedroom heaters, the microwave and an iron, but it wouldn't shut down. The electrician, who was measuring the load said that it would eventually shut down, but the switch was a "slow blow" setup. The voltage did drop and it would have harmed things like the tv eventually.

In any event I will never have all that stuff on together again, and it is clear that this generator will easily handle any normal load, including the Fujitsu heat pumps.

All bets are off on this small generator if you have electric hot water heating, and/or an electric heating system.

According to the specifications this unit uses around a half a gallon of propane per hour under a moderate load. Since it is hooked up to the residential propane tank I could withstand a very lengthy power failure.

The case is substantial and weather proof. It is the same as the larger capacity units. The only difference is the engine and generator head are smaller, and, incidentally more fuel efficient. The rest is the same as the larger units.

Anyway, I am quite pleased. In the past I would drag the portable generator over to the house, get it running, and run extension cords for the reefer and freezer. Now I don't do anything. Home Depot was selling the unit for $1,800, less another $200 if you opened a credit account with them. I did that and haven't used the card since. The electrician cost $300 and I had to run a gas line to the generator (did that myself).

As you can tell I am quite pleased and my wife is dying to have a party the next time the power goes off in the valley.

Easy to hook up, Hardest part was rolling it to the remote location for installation, It is heavy.
Good instructions and easy to wire in and works great, Hardest part was picking the circuits to move to the genset.

We're happy with this generator. With an outdoor boiler that over heats in minutes without power, this thing is just what we need! It fires up on its own in a few seconds.