The perfect generator for outdoor use should be portable, easy to use, quiet, and at least powerful enough to power appliances such as the refrigerator. A good portable generator must also be safe for powering sensitive gadgets. The Generac GP2500i from one of the best manufacturers of power equipment is also regarded as the best outdoor generator from Generac. But does it live up to all the hype? How efficient does it perform? For whom and for which purpose would this be suitable? In this Generac GP2500i review, we’ll break down everything about this portable RV-ready power equipment.
The Generac GP2500i is a budget-friendly generator for recreational uses. It is ideal for camping, on-the-go use, as well as for tailgating. In this review, we’ll see what its overall performance is like as well as its fuel tank capacity, runtime, ease of use, safety features, portability, noise level, and price, among other features.
The Generac GP2500i is a powerful generator with inverter technology Trusted Source Pros and Cons of Inverter Generators - Consumer Reports Consumer Reports shares what you need to know about inverter generators. These machines come at a premium price, but they run longer, quieter, and more efficiently. www.consumerreports.org . It’s equipped with a small 98cc, four-stroke, single cylinder engine that gives the generator a starting and peak 2500 watts power output. Meanwhile, it produces a steady power of 2200 watts continuously.
Also, its peak amperage is 20.8 and the running amperage is 18.3. This is sufficiently enough for running and charging small devices or fairly larger appliances.
However, it will not be able to power your air conditioner, refrigerator, TV, and microwave all at once. For simultaneous use of these appliances, you can however parallel it with another Generac inverter generator like this to double the power. Nonetheless, without parallel, it will run several appliances simultaneously. Just make sure the appliances don’t have more than 2000 watts of energy consumption in total.
What we liked about the generator is the True Power technology. This is a stabilizing feature that ensures sensitive electronic equipment are not damaged by power fluctuation or power surge.
First, the generator runs on gasoline. There’s no input design for gas. It’s not designed for that. However, the generator has a small gasoline fuel tank. It can only take up to one gallon of fuel at once. But this is a fuel-efficient device. It consumes just around 0.13 gallons of fuel in an hour. This means you will be able to use this portable generator for up to 4.5 hours at half the load capacity. At Economy Mode and 25% load capacity, you’ll be able to run the generator for 9 whopping hours. This means you can run the generator overnight. Just make sure the total load connected to the generator is not up to 550 watts. This way, you won’t have to wake up to a hot atmosphere and then go out to refuel the tank.
On the Generac generator control panel, you will have access to a lot of outlets and other functional features such as indicator lights. The status lights indicate power, low-oil, and overload alerts.
Having a data center on the control panel doesn’t affect the performance of the generator. However, it ensures you find it easy to monitor the performance of the generator and detect when things are not right. You will be able to see when the oil is getting low when the device has reached its power capacity limits or is overloaded.
There’s also the integrated off/run/choke knob. The run and off choke lever is designed to be simple to use. There’s also the 12V DC outlet to charge your accessories and batteries. You don’t need to look for wall adapters or outlets. There’s also the economy mode control on the control panel. When switched on, this provides excellent fuel economy and noise reduction. The USB outlet also lets you charge smartphones, tablets, and other electronics.
The parallel ready connection also ensures you can connect two inverters for twice the power. Meanwhile, the parallel kit is sold separately.
We will rate the generator 6/10 in terms of ease of use. First, the generator does not have an electric start technology. It’s too small for the manufacturers to integrate a battery for starting the device. So, you have to make do with the recoil starting feature. Starting a generator with a recoil rope isn’t always easy.
However, once you get it started, you wouldn’t have to worry about frequent refilling as the device is a low fuel-consuming one. So, this is a plus for ease of use and maintenance.
Another feature that makes it easy to use is the design of the generator. It consists of a plastic body, has a carry handle, and measures just 48 pounds on the weight scale which ensures ease of transportation.
One of the safety features of the generator is the True Power technology. This is a stabilizing feature that ensures sensitive electronic equipment is not damaged by power fluctuation or power surge.
Another safety feature is the low oil shutdown technology. This ensures the engine is not damaged in the event of low oil. When the engine senses low oil, it simply shuts down and indicates on the control panel.
This portable generator is not the quietest generator on the market. But it’s not the loudest either. It emits a sound level of 60 decibels at 25 percent of load capacity. We however feel the generator can be quieter, considering it’s an inverter generator with an open frame design. At 50 to 70 percent load, it’s going to be louder than this power rating – expect around 65 decibels. This is getting close to what you get with an open-frame conventional generator. So, you may want to install it several feet away from your motorhome
To get a quieter operation, especially at night during sleep time, you can put the generator on Economy Mode. This ensures quieter use.
This generator is one of the most portable generators on the market. First, it has a small dimension of 19.7 x 11.4 x 17.9 inches. It wouldn’t take up a lot of space during your travels. It’s also very lightweight in design as it weighs just 48 lbs and the external body is built of plastic. The carry handle on the top also makes it more portable.
Maintaining the generator is easy. This is because there’s a control panel with an LCD data center that lets you monitor the performance parameters so you can act when you have to. The generator tells you when to reduce load with the overload protection, and when to refuel the oil tank. Asides from these, there is not a lot of maintenance effort needed from your end.
However, the generator comes to the market with three years of manufacturing warranty for residential users (whether you’re using it at home for emergencies or in your motorhome for camping). For commercial uses, the warranty is one year.
The product is currently sold for less than $600 on Amazon and by the manufacturer, Generac. However, there are many similar models on the market that are less expensive.
The 2300 watts Pulsar G2319N is sold for $200 less. However, its like for like, the Champion Power Equipment 200961, which is also a 2500-watt generator is sold for the same price as the Generac model. However, the Champion model is more valuable as it is a dual-fuel generator.
So, in conclusion, the Generac is not so expensive, but the price can be beaten down a bit by some dollars.
Despite its small size, the Generac GP2500i comes with a lot of features. The most important are:
| PROS | CONS |
|
|
The Generac GP2500i is a portable inverter generator that would be suitable for camping or other outdoor use. It’s portable, fuel-efficient, and includes several safety features. It is therefore highly recommended for tailgating, camping, and emergency uses. We hope that this Generac GP2500i review has helped you make up your mind regarding whether or not you should buy it!
