Small generators on sale at TSC from $179 and up

geteh · Jan 6, 2025

Rmart30 said:
Ran the $179 one this weekend at the cabin. Ran my 2 electric blankets over night for 9 hours and did not even burn a full tank of gas. (less than a gallon)
previously the wife was running a 4000w inverter generator overnight and running the same load it would use over 2 gallons of gas.
So, good savings with the small one and it will pay for its self.

I actually ordered another of the $179 for a spare, and bought 2 of the $199 models for spares and to let neighbors or friends borrow when needed.
Picked the genny up yesterday and checked everything out - put oil in today cranked over w/o gas - then gas and it started first pull !

Eco mode is great -plugged in kilowatt and applied a load and has 121VAC at 59.9 Hz and 65 DB at 15' so very quiet - I’m impressed with this little generator. Funny Holiday Gathering Names

I've been reading a lot of old threads here about generators, and it looked like the Champion line was fairly well-regarded. Our Generac 5550 which we've had since 2003 finally quit in the fall, it runs but won't put out 220. I was surprised it had lasted this long. I'm looking at the Champion 5500 size generators and the non-CARB version is available at TSC, which is only 7 miles away and the price is right, but I didn't know if they were some kind of box-store cheap version that wouldn't hold up as well. We use the generator mainly during power outages, which happen somewhat often here, to run the freezers and the boiler and the well and such. I will be very grateful for any advice about whether this is a good choice, or if not what I should look at instead.

ponytug · Jan 7, 2025

geteh said:
I've been reading a lot of old threads here about generators, and it looked like the Champion line was fairly well-regarded. Our Generac 5550 which we've had since 2003 finally quit in the fall, it runs but won't put out 220. I was surprised it had lasted this long. I'm looking at the Champion 5500 size generators and the non-CARB version is available at TSC, which is only 7 miles away and the price is right, but I didn't know if they were some kind of box-store cheap version that wouldn't hold up as well. We use the generator mainly during power outages, which happen somewhat often here, to run the freezers and the boiler and the well and such. I will be very grateful for any advice about whether this is a good choice, or if not what I should look at instead.

Sorry to hear about your Generac. Are you sure that it is dead, as opposed to needing something like a voltage regulator?

Well pumps are generally hard on generators due to the starting current. (FLA) You may need a much larger generator just to handle the well, unless you have a variable speed pump controller, battery powered pump, charged by a generator.

Have you considered what fuel is easy to come by / cheap?

All the best,

Peter

Carl_NH · Jan 7, 2025

Geteh - yes the Champion generators are well-regarded and get consistently good reviews. Also the TSC 5500W Champion Inverter at $699 is only 120V RV style - maybe I-m looking at the wrong one..

As Ponytug stated, well pumps pull a lot of current on starting. We had a 5500 starting 4500W running genny and which at 22 AMPs max was the starting Amperage for our 1.5HP well pump - so we only ran select circuits. 10 years ago upgraded to a 9000/7500W which has enough amperage to start the pump and run all the other 120 circuits.

So depending on your pump size, you might want to consider bumping up to a 7500W unit - and go inverter as they are quieter and burn about half the fuel when full power is not needed which is 90% of the time typically.

Rmart30 · Jan 7, 2025

I will second getting a inverter type if you can. There are some good deals out there right now on generators. Northern tool had some of the larger conventional type generators on sale. iirc they had a 10,000w for $799. Only down fall is on a lot of these its manual start and the larger motors are harder to pull. Anything I can get electric start on , I do.
The harbor freight inverter generators seem to be holding up pretty well from what Im seeing online. You may end up spending $150 more for one of theirs but, if it messes up its only a drive to them to swap it vs what do I do with it from a online only store.

jyoutz · Jan 7, 2025

Rmart30 said:
Thought someone may be looking for a cheap small generator. Ive purchase the $179, and the $199 model and they work good.
I use the $179 for running my cabin lights, tv, small fan and electric mattress pads. it will run about 5 hours on less than a gallon of gas.

Several on the TSC site for sale. Couple of dual fuel and LP only models also. Shipping to home was cheap when I got mine. Was around $25.

800/1000w $179 https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/p...inverter-portable-gasoline-generator-gen1000i

900/1500w $169 https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/p...-watts-portable-gasoline-generator-genmax1500

1400/2000w $199 https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/sportsman-2-000-surge-watts-gas-generator-green-gen2000

2850/3000w $249 https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/p...rtable-gasoline-inverter-generator-gen3000iof

3250/4000w LP ONLY https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/sportsman-series-4-000-watt-portable-propane-generator

You can also save the shipping costs by ordering it for pickup at your local store.