About GeneratorJungle

This type of generator is essentially for people who want or need to have a substitute source of electrical power on hand that's easy, or at least fairly easy, to move around. The smaller and less powerful models are great for, say, camping and tailgating. The bigger ones can power a lot of appliances during power outages and emergencies. And the most powerful can (almost) compete with more expensive static backup generators that power all of your home.

But remember, portable generators are not designed to be run 24/7. Those kind of static generators can cost many thousands of dollars, and are often diesel powered. So if you are looking for one of those, a portable generator is probably not for you.

Portables come in two basic technologies, traditional and inverter, and in a range of different wattages, sizes and prices. What you actually need depends a lot on what you want to use one for.

You may come across the terms "surge", "starting" and "running watts". Surge/starting watts relate to a generator’s ability to handle a momentary increase in power, which is needed, for example, by motor-driven appliances. Running watts are how much power a generator can deliver continuously over a longer period of time.

When buying a generator you will also need to think about the kind of accessories you will need. These include cable extensions and adapters, safe storage containers for fuel, covers to protect your investment, carbon monoxide alarms, first aid equipment and even fire extinguishers.

You can see a selection of accessories by following the options in the above menu above.

A lot of people lack information on how to calculate their power needs, which is an essential first step in deciding what model to buy. That's why we recommend first having a look at what we say about CHOICES to help narrow down the options.

Buyers also often have to rely on the real experiences owners have had with their generators, and nowadays, more than ever, they look for this sort of information online.

However, for anyone trawling the web, finding a convincing pattern among the numerous options can be hard as well as confusing: one owner might lavish praise on a generator while another says whatever you do keep well away. Sometimes this may be more to do with the type of customer service or warranty treatment they received.

We collect information on a wide selection of models, big and small, from major manufacturers. We aim to continue to  expand our selections over time by researching and providing reviews on some of the lesser known brands that appear to sell well.

But where we differ from others is that our reviews concentrate information in one place not only on the detailed specifications, but also summarize what owners have to say about their models.

While our consolidated reviews contain a lot of useful information, we need to keep in mind that some of the owner comments have been based on first, or at least, very early impressions.

In part, this is because some manufacturers offer encouragements/incentives, such as a free cover or a sweepstake participation, in return for new buyers submitting quick reviews. And it's also not uncommon for buyers to give positive comments while admitting they hadn't yet started the generator. Some, understandably, and optimistically hope they will never have to use it!

There is nothing new in companies offering encouragements to clients. All we are saying is that this may have influenced some overly positive comments. You decide.

In spite of the above, we think it's worth giving you a flavor of buyer comments along with factual information and data on individual generators. It's just a pity we were not able to identify more owner reviews of regular use over a longer period. Unfortunately, there aren't many of those around.

Those who buy a generator hoping they'll never have to use it are, in effect, buying an insurance policy against the time when circumstances change and they may have to. Unfortunately, we notice a few complaints from such customers about their generator failing on first use, and sometimes quite a long time after having bought it. This underlines the reason why running, testing and maintaining a generator from the moment you receive it is really important.

Once you've bought a generator, the inclusion of a long warranty may give you some assurance of help when trouble occurs. But, as you probably know, warranties are generally not that easy to understand, and the conditions imposed are open to interpretation by a manufacturer. Many of us don't bother to critically read every word and consider all the implications. And unfortunately that's where we can come unstuck when trouble happens.

We don't doubt that legal language is needed to protect companies from abuse. But it could be helpful if they  provided a preamble in plain English along the lines of "what we can do and what we can't do" before the start of the legal language.

We think this is especially relevant because we see examples of buyers frustratingly claiming a company's warranty is worthless. This is more often than not a result of restrictions. These include companies expecting customers to make repairs themselves on faulty units with parts they despatch. And this may be in spite of warnings that repairs have to be carried out by qualified technicians so as not to void the warranty.

Buyers can also be lumbered with expensive transport costs when returning a faulty unit for repair, even when it's a dud from the word go.

None of this encourages a long-term customer relationship, if that is indeed what a company is trying to achieve.

We have some additional information about warranties here.

Take your time and don't be rushed into making a decision. But do plan ahead, especially if you live in an area subject to severe weather because when the power does go down you might just find your choice of a generator has all but disappeared.

Finally, for those unable to operate a portable generator there is an option of a portable power station. You can read more about these models here, and see a selection here.