Customer Reviews

ETQ IN800I 800 Watt 4-Cycle OHV Gas-Powered Portable Digital Inverter Generator (CARB Compliant)

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

 

 

I bought this generator to power a 25 amp battery charger to keep aboard my boat. The battery charger is rated at 490 watts or about 4 amps at 120V. It trips the circuit breaker as soon as I plug it in everytime. I wanted a refund, but Amazon would not help me and said I had to go to manufacturer. ETQ said they do not give refunds and that I had to go to Amazon. After several calls back and forth to each, ETQ is swapping it out for another one. In conclusion I am stuck with all the extra shipping costs and a generator that won't power what I need. Bad experience from both Amazon and ETQ....I will look else where for another product.

If your power needs are minimal, this unit may fit the bill. If you need to power something with a motor, you'll probably want to keep looking, as at only 800 Watts peak, starting anything but the smallest motor driven tool will likely trip the overload circuit.

It's louder than the more expensive "super-quiet" models, but not by much, and it does have some annoying design elements. The oil reservoir is a pain to get to, both for checking level and filling, and it's difficult to tell when the tank is getting near full when re-fueling, making it very easy to over-fill.

Also, in the manual I received, the NGK CR5HSB spark plug number given as a replacement is not correct -- it should be an NGK CR5HSA. The CR5HSB has a solid terminal end, and this unit's plug connector only works with a threaded terminal end, which the CR5HSA has. And the odds are you may need a replacement plug soon, as my unit came supplied with a Torch A7RTC, which carbon fouled after only a couple of hours use. So far, the NGK replacement has been working great, and it should be readily available at any motorcycle shop.

But overall, this little generator has met my needs, making it a good value.

I am a photographer who bought this generator to power a couple of computers and maybe a printer. It works great for that, but you have to trick it into working. Meaning you have to be very specific in the way that you plug things into it or else the overload light comes on. It seems to be very sensitive to which extension cord you use, 15ft seems to be the limit. Also, if you use a power strip don't even think about using the switch on it as it will trip the overload every time. The overload situation wouldn't be so bad if you didn't have to stop the generator each time to reset it.

After about 20 restarts I figured out you pretty much have to go in order from largest load (My 17" DELL XPS) to the lightest load which was a cheapo Lexmark printer. Any variation caused issues. On the plus side you do feel like you have accomplished something when you get everything up and running. My peak load was 4.7AMPS and it handled it fine, this included a 17" Dell XPS (often running at full load processing pictures), a toshiba 15" Laptop an LG 19" monitor, netgear wireless N router and a cheapo lexmark inkjet.

I have used this generator for 1 event and I am thinking real hard about returning it, there are just too many bugs with it. I wasn't expecting the world with this generator, I was expecting something that would be for the most part hassle free with my small electrical load. What I got was something that is great when it works but frustrating to no end when it doest.

*Update MAR 2009*

I have replaced this generator with a Yamaha 2400IS, the Yamaha is simply amazing. Although it is substantially more expensive at $1200 I must say the price was worth it. The Yamaha performs flawlessly with none of the quirks of this unit. Tests show that the Yamaha puts out a perfect sine wave with no signs of broadband noise.

While the IN800I still runs great I was simply fed up with all of the quirks, it is also quite a bit louder at idle than the Yamaha is under full load.

Received the shipment on time and in good condition. Well built and runs great. Hard to start, alway takes at least 10 pulls. You have to pump up the gas tank to pressurize it before starting, a pain. Hard to get at the oil fill location. The generator will power a TV but the the picture shows a lot of noise from the generator. I have not been able to find anything with a motor that the generator would run. Great for lights or for keeping my battery charged on my RV and cordless tools (that's what I bought it for in the first place). Light weight and looks good. Just don't by it if you have a tool to run. I'd really recommend you spend a little extra and buy a Honda EU1000 or EU2000, you will be much happier. I bought it because of the 60db noise rating but I'm sure that the must have measured the noise level for at lease 30 feet away and with no demand on the generator at the time. This is a drop ship Amazon item and you can't cancel you order if you change your mind. I'd advise you change in to warranty service options because you will probably have to ship it for service work and shipping could be expensive and you may find restrictions on shipping a generator that has been filled with gas and oil.

It arrived ready to use. Started quickly. Very quiet and seems to be built well. I'm a mobile DJ and I got this to run 2 laptops and 2 hard drives. Could power lots more. Very clean power. Many places I perform have "dirty power" and that affects sound quality. Eastern tools and equipment sent it fast. Has a good owners manual, and a small tool kit with an extra spark plug.
"UPDATE" 07/06/09
It is now collecting dust in the garage. Isn't reliable enough. It is kind of buggy, and trips the overload way before rated output. I have also replaced this with a Yamaha 2400IS. It even runs the air conditioner in my RV! This generator is only good for very low power demands. Also it floods too easy. Save your money and look elsewhere

For the price it is ok,I was thinking 800 watts would do more than it can,so you are limited to what you can plug into this thing.
The oil is tricky,the manual is unclear.
Put in gas & put oil in the oil reservoir.
IT IS A GAS ENGINE (not a 2 cycle like some think)

3 or 4 pulls and it started up.
Ran smooth and sorta quite.

If you try to plug in a high watt or high amp tool (chainsaw)
The overload light will light will come on,shut it off,wait 1 min,restart it and plug in a lamp or low amp item..then it will work fine.

had genorator for a month used it on my camper made the mistake of trying to run a coffee maker BIG MISTAKE!! it has never run again it it triped the breaker and would not reset so it is just sitting in the garage now and will never be used agian it would cost me more then i paid to fix it so please becarefull when buying this genorator it is a cheep one!!!!

Good news to people considering this generator. It is on sale for $199 at most Menards locations.

For the price its not to bad. If you plan on running power tools go with something else. The Honda EU1000 wont even power a circular saw and that's what, $700+! The motor is quite compared with other generators. I use mine for my ice shack. It runs all the lights, fans and TV without revving up and the tiny gas tank will run for several hours. Their is a switch on the side that slows the RPMs and quiets down the generator a bit, that's a nice feature (I think its like Honda's Eco switch). It is not heavy at all, east to move around. A big plus is that it is a 4 stroke and no need to mix oil and gas together. I run 5w30 and that seems to do okay in the -15f temperature. All in all, I like it.

I just noticed that several reviews complained about the fuel system. I purchased a fuel extender for mine at [...] for $100. It can run the generator for 3 or 4 days without refueling.