A standby or portable generator is a fantastic investment. Ensuring your family has reliable power when the grid goes down brings peace of mind. Whether you’re looking for a large standby home generator, a portable RV generator, or a portable job site generator, we have the products to fit your needs!
It’s a common belief that paying less for a generator will provide savings over the long term, but always remember: you get what you pay for. Not all generators are created equal. As a power generator tool you don’t want to skimp on your initial investment as paying for a cheap generator often leads to problems farther down stream.
While we don’t recommend overpaying for your standby or portable generator, we do recommend investing in name-brands that come with customer support should you need the help. If you decide to go with a cheap standby or portable generator, the below issues are things to keep in mind.
1. Poor Efficiency Means Higher Running Costs
If you buy a cheap generator there is going to be higher maintenance and running costs than compared to investing in a higher cost standby or portable generator. The reason is because a higher priced generator comes with higher quality parts.
Cheaper generators will also not be designed as advanced or as innovative as their more expensive counterparts. Cheaper generators can burn motor oil at a high rate forcing you to keep engine oil levels replenished to ensure the portable generator’s engine is not damaged.
2. Cheap Generators Have Shorter Lifespans
A high quality, well maintained, portable generator has a useful life of 3,000+ hours which cannot be said for a cheap generator. It’s a wiser investment to buy a quality generator once than three sub-par generators over the course of the same time frame. Plus you’ll most likely start running into engine problems with cheaper generators that can be costly to repair or even replace.
Thus in the long run it’s better to invest in a quality standby or portable generator than it is to price shop and go with the lowest bid. One quality generator can last 30 years whereas a cheap generator might last 5 years.
3. Warranty Will Not Be As Good
Having a high quality warranty is another reason to invest in in a standby or portable generator for your power needs. The leading brands we partner with have support and useful warranty programs should you need to pursue this path.
This cannot always be said about suppliers of cheap generators. The information may not be as reliable and the customer support could be non-existent.
4. Cheap Generators Are Usually Noisy With Higher Emissions Levels
All generators do produce some level of noise. However, it’s common for cheap generators to be much louder than their higher quality counterparts. The internal combustion aspect of the generator ensures some noise will be emitted. But when the portable generator has higher quality components and parts will produce a lower decibel output than a lower quality component cheap generator.
The same story follows emissions. Generators emit carbon monoxide which is a deadly gas at high levels. Always run a portable generator outside or in a well-ventilated area. However cheap generators typically use inefficient carburetors with low compression rations which increases the emission toxicity than a high quality, more expensive, portable generator.
5. You May Damage Your Appliances And Electronics
If a standby or portable generator malfunctions, it’s not only going to damage itself, but it can damage any appliances that are connected to the generator. Examples include A/C, light fixtures, TVs, your RV, and a stove. Any failed standby or portable generator can cause electrical damage due to improper wattage outputs.
Modern day electronics are very susceptible to electric overloading. When the generator malfunctions and sends too may watts to your appliances, this can destroy our appliances. For these reasons be sure to consider the cost of replacing your appliances if the cheap generator you opted for fails.
6. The Standby or Portable Generator Could Fail When You Need It Most
Perhaps the most important reason to invest in a high quality standby or portable generator is having the peace of mind the generator will perform no matter what. Whether you need power for medical appliances, ACs, refrigerators, lights, or an RV. A cheap generator will ensure you’ll always be wondering if it will run when you need it most. This isn’t a worry to have when you invest in a high quality, powerful, and reliable standby or portable generator.