Westinghouse 5000 Peak Watt Super Quiet Portable Inverter Generator, Remote Electric Start with Auto Choke, Wheel & Handle Kit, RV Ready, Gas Powered, Parallel Capable

When you see this go on sale, don't hesitate, just but it! I don't know how often it goes on sale but it did at least once when I bought it pre-black Friday sale for $300+ less than normal list price. Wish I had bought 2 before they went out of stock. I'm replacing a champion 3100w remote start Inverter generator that has faithfully served me for many camping seasons without a hiccup other than a failed battery. But it would only run my AC and battery charger, but not enough juice to run the microwave and had small gas tank. Enter this Westinghouse unit. This baby will run the AC, all my lights, and the microwave at the same time. It's a real beast literally and figuratively. It's bigger, wider, and heavier than the unit I replaced it with so I have to find another storage spot for it since it won't fit in my rv bathroom like the champion did. That's all worth it though This unit is stupid quiet at idle and will run many more hours in between fillups because of the larger fuel tank. I only wish I could have gotten the dual fuel version but for the price I paid, I'm happy just the same. It comes with .6 quarts of 10w30 oil and a nice funnel that screws into the oil fill hole with rubber oring to prevent leaks. The instructions say to dump it all in, but it won't all fit and some will leak out when you unscrew the funnel. Be prepared by stuffing some paper towels underneath the funnel prior to filling it up to catch the excess. Other than that, I put half a gallon of ethanol free stabil treated fuel in, plugged in the battery SAE connector inside the battery door, and pushed the start button. It fired right up! I had removed the side panel to observe the auto choke lever moving at startup as some of these shipped in the past with the auto choke unplugged from the front panel. Plenty of YouTube videos showing how to plug it back in again but I think they've since remedied that issue. I plugged in my rv and turned on all the lights and fans and a shop vac and ran under load for an hour for break in. This unit ran perfectly, adjusting idle as needed for the power demands. I then plugged in my Sawzall and used it to cut up a pallet I had laying around and it ran that too. It had to really scale up RPM for the Sawzall at full tilt but it worked (Sawzall says 7.5amps). The power guage indicates my RV AC (13.5k BTU) to draw less than 1600w while running which surprised me. It takes 2500 surge to start the compressor and then the generator quiets right down. The handle and rubber wheels make moving this thing around a breeze, though I wish it were a top mounted handle like my champion rather than having to bend down and push the release button down on the ground. Also be aware this is the SAME generator as the Cummins branded unit the camping stores are selling for $1300 so save your cash and buy this version instead. It arrived flawless in the box from shipping although the delivery guys left it in the middle of my driveway instead of wheeling it up to my porch like every other delivery from Amazon. Good thing I was home when it was delivered or it could have easily grown legs and walked away since my ring doorbell can't see the driveway where it was left. Also, Remote start works great and I'll never own a generator without it again. Great for starting the coffee machine on cold mountain mornings when camping off grid.

I live on an isolated Island off the grid in the Pacific Northwest and depend on solar for all my power, but during the winter months there is not enough sun to supply our power needs, so we depend on a generator to give us power and charge our battery bank, I have been using a Honda EU3000iS for over 15 years and have never had a problem with it until now, so I started to research other generators and liked what I saw in the Westinghouse IGen 4500, I did a long break in period varying loads and changing oil often and hope this will help the engine last a long time. What I like about this generator: 1-It's very quiet, maybe even more quiet than the Honda, 2-Has more output than the Honda in about the same size and weight, 3-the remote start is a great feature, 4-the digital data center is really helpful and is lacking in the Honda and will help with maintenance, 5-the automatic choke is great, and it starts right up every time, on the Honda you always have to choke it manually for it to start, 6-I like the wheels and handles to help move it around. Things that could be better, 1-the charging system for the starting battery, they could have just made it charge the starting battery automatically like the Honda and a 12 volt outlet would be nice, 2-Draing the oil is not the easiest, 3-the plastic case could be made to fit together better, these are just minor issues that I can easily live with, the question now is will it be as dependable and as long-lasting as the Honda, only time will tell that, but for now I couldn't be happier with this generator, I don't think you can go wrong for with you get with this unit. UPDATE-12/30/2023, After using the generator for about a year now I can say it's a real workhorse, this time of the year I use it almost every day, I charge my battery bank and at the same time I can run the microwave or washer-dryer or the dishwasher, when batteries are charging I run only one at a time, but it is also running the rest of my house, light, frig and other smaller loads, the Honda couldn't handle those kinds of loads, I did a long break in period with gradually increasing loads and changing oil often, now I have over 200 hours on the generator and change oil with a quality synthetic oil every 50 hours, the only issue I have had is the data center stopped working, I contacted customer support, and they sent me a new circuit replacement board, the generator worked fine, but I really like knowing the output and hours, now everything is working fine again, starts right up every time and the remote has changed my life, now I don't have to go out in pouring rain or snow to start and stop the generator, I'm hoping the engine and bearings are machined well enough to last for years, and changing oil often with quality oil should help.

Very quiet for its size, from inside the house I really needed to listen to hear it running. Easy set up, poured in oil and gas and it started on first push of the button. I bought this to replace an inexpensive Champion 3500/4000W generator that I bought at BJs a while ago for $269. We have some expensive home appliances and I was really nervous about the voltage regulation on the old generator, the inverter should alleviate that concern. This also gave us a few more amps to add a few more circuits through the load side transfer switch I installed in our house. A few comments - It’s heavier than I thought it would be but the telescopic handle makes it manageable to move around, my 110lb wife should be able to man handle it if necessary. The digital display cycles through voltage, remaining run time, fuel level in liters, output in kilo volts, and lastly total run hours. The display is more of old school 1980s style LED calculator lights but get the job done. I saw a fancier LED display on the cheap Predator generators that I think would be more at home on this more upscale unit. It continuously cycles and you can’t just choose which you would like to see. My unit hasn’t experienced the choke issues or upside down 30A TT-30 connector others previously mentioned so hopefully those issues are in the past from a manufacturing standpoint. Not mentioned in the description it come with a charging cord for the onboard battery so you can just plug it into wall without disconnecting anything. The oil recommendation chart is sort of odd in that it recommends 5W-30 below 35F degrees, 10W-30 from 35F - 80F, and 15W-40 over 80F. Since most of us in the USA and Canada live in areas that are both below 35 and yet also above 80, the recommendation seems difficult to follow. I'll probably just put 5W-40 in it and be done with it. Overall I’m very happy with the purchase so far.

After reading many reviews and doing a lot of research like many on this and other generators that are in the range of what I need for wattage and power and price, I decided to go with the Westinghouse I-Gen 4500. I believe the features that it has, fits everything I need including a fuel on and off switch, remote start, pull start, and digital display of the fuel gauge, and the consumption of power from 0 to 100 in increments of 25. So I was informed of its every move and what's going on with the generator. The Eco mode was also quite nice considering it burns fuel slower so if you're using lower wattage things like laptops computers phones lamps etc, It would only make sense that the engine needs to run slower. And also a nice feature is the luggage style arm extension so you do not have to pick it up, and just roll it to your destination. The rolling is quite smooth they are made of plastic wheels, but one upgrade I could tell you that they could make is putting a rollerblade style wheel on it just for durability because I could see this thing taking a dent or two and then not being able to roll as pleasantly as it used to. After I received the product I read the directions thoroughly I have seen some other YouTube videos and one of my concerns was to check to see if the choke connector was plugged in prior to shipment. I have heard that while trying to start the choke was not engaging because it was not plugged in and I did check and it was plugged in so that was a nice surprise seeing I didn't have to get into that. I took apart the side panels and the battery panel in the back just a look and see what I was getting into and I did notice the oil fill and discharge was quite a knuckle buster to get to it's there you can see it but getting in some kind of a 10 mm ratchet to loosen it up is quite daunting and kind of a pain in the butt so I loosened up more bolts on the bottom panel just so I could bend the plastic out so I could get my hand in there to loosen this bolt up for the oil when it comes time to change it. I can tell you that it is going to be a little bit messy the first time you do it so have some towels ready I had also noticed that it would probably be best even though the pan on the bottom has a rubber plug to pull so the oil drains through the half dollar size hole it would be a lot easier to get a very small funnel to line up with the drain plug so it drains nicely through the funnel into something else underneath of the generator and I believe that would be the best way to avoid any spills anywhere. I did fill the oil and it took all of what they gave me. I will be breaking it in as they recommend 25 hours then 50 hours or every 6 months depending on how you use it. Upon putting the oil and just a little bit of gas in there I just wanted to fire it up and break it in for about an hour just so I could listen to it run watch it react and watch the digital display do what it does for a break-in. And just an information point of view lightly running on about 25% capacity. I was very impressed after connecting the battery putting gas in and oil after turning on the fuel line turning off the eco button turning the power button on and pressing the start button it fired right up and it sounded good and it felt like a strong good running engine for years to come. This is all preliminary I've only run it for about an hour and since there are no hurricanes at this time in Florida I'm hoping to get a cover for it through the company for leaving an honest review so I can store it until the next time. I did burn the fuel out until it stopped running for storage purposes. You don't want any old gas sitting in the carburetor in the floater for months and months and months for when you try to start it again you will have some issues unless you remember to drain it from the floater the carburetor when it's time the next time. It is awfully quiet and even quieter and eco mode I'm quite happy with the purchase so far I would recommend getting one I will do another review when I get a chance to use it It may not be for at least another year or it could be 5 years. 10-26-22 ***UPDATE*** OKAY HURRICANE MILTON CAME THROUGH FLORIDA AND IT WAS TIME FOR WHAT I BOUGHT I BELIEVE 2 YEARS AGO THE WESTINGHOUSE 4,500 INVERTER GENERATOR. I WAS ABLE TO START THE GENERATOR AND RUN IT FOR ABOUT 18 HOURS OFF AND ON. IT WAS UNFORTUNATE THAT THE BATTERIES IN THE KEY FOB DIED SO I HAD TO ORDER NEW ONES NO BIG DEAL. THE START STOP BUTTON WAS AN EASY PUSH OF MY FINGER AND THAT DID THE JOB ONCE OR TWICE AND THEN IT STARTED. THE DIGITAL DISPLAY WAS NICE TOLD ME HOW MUCH GAS WAS LEFT AND HOW MUCH TIME I HAD LEFT WITH IT USING THE CONSUMPTION OF THINGS PLUGGED INTO IT WHICH FOR ME WAS ABOUT 38 0 W OF A REFRIGERATOR TURNING ON AND OFF AND A PORTABLE AIR CONDITIONER AT ABOUT $300 TO 400 W CONSTANT. I DID MANAGE TO HOOK UP AN AIR FRYER TO IT TO COOK MY CHICKEN FOR A MEAL AND IT HANDLED THAT WITH NO PRESSURE BUT YOU ALSO HEARD IT FLUCTUATE IN POWER TO KEEP UP WITH STILL PLENTY TO GO. POWER CAME ON AT ABOUT MIDNIGHT AND I CONTINUED TO RUN IT UNTIL I BURNED IT ALL OUT OF THE GAS SO I CAN PUT IT BACK IN STORAGE. AT THAT POINT BEFORE STORAGE I DID CHANGE THE OIL IT WAS RECOMMENDED AT 20 OR 25 HOURS AND THE SAME AGAIN THE NEXT 20 OR 25 HOURS. NO BIG DEAL TO CHANGE THE OIL I'VE HAD BIGGER MESSES ON CARS THIS SHOWS A FEW DRIPS HERE AND THERE. THE WEIGHT WAS ABOUT 100 LB GIVE OR TAKE WITH OR WITHOUT GAS KIND OF AWKWARD HEAVY IF YOU HAVE TO LIFT IT UP BUT IF YOU'RE JUST WHEELING IT BECAUSE OF THE ARM BAR THAT COMES OUT IT'S REALLY EASY. I WISH I HAD A COVER FOR IT I THINK THEY SENT ME ONE BUT THEY SENT ME ONE FOR A BIGGER UNIT AND IT WAS RIDICULOUSLY BIG SO I JUST THREW IT AWAY AND TRIED TO USE A TRASH BAG TO COVER IT UP AND KEEP IT NICE BUT I JUST CAN'T FIND ONE THAT'S BIG ENOUGH FOR THIS UNIT. PEOPLE SAY IT'S REALLY QUIET I GUESS I'M JUST USED TO IT AND IT IS QUIETER THAN MOST BUT IT'S STILL AN ENGINE AND IT'S STILL KIND OF LOUD BUT NOT REALLY YOU'LL SEE WHAT I MEAN I CAN'T SAY THAT IT'S QUIET THAT'S JUST STUPID CUZ IT'S NOT IT'S A BIG ENGINE COME ON PEOPLE. OVERALL I WAS PLEASED AND I WILL POST ANOTHER REVIEW ABOUT THE NEXT TIME I USE IT AND LET YOU KNOW HOW IT'S GOING

I discovered this gene completely by surprise, I didn't even know it existed. I had in mind to get one of the competition (if it can even be considered competition) in the Red (H) or Blue (Y) BIG NAME brands but I was going to have to do it another time as these brands tend to be a bit pricey. The closest H makes is a 3 kW peak 2.8 kW running wattage, the next is a whopping 7 kW so it's not even a consideration for our needs. The Y is the same peak kW @ 4.5 kW, so it is a closer match. The H retails for about $2300.00 and the Y for about $3,000.00, both more than I was ready to pay. I will not take away anything from either the H or the Y, both are very respectable units. That said, the Westinghouse brand gives them both a run for the money. It is quieter, 52 dBA advertised vs. 58 dBA both H and Y, it is lighter at 97 lbs. vs. the H at 131 lbs., Y at 194 lbs. The Y does have a higher rated running wattage but the Westinghouse is more than adequate for our needs. It is clear that the Westinghouse is going after that "midrange" to higher kW market and they've done an excellent job of it, the retail price being about $950.00. The Westinghouse has an excellent warranty comparable to the H and Y models as well. I'm really impressed that the Westinghouse model with the owners manual comes with information I would think would be "proprietary" in that they give you maintenance information I'm not sure H or Y would give. Valve adjust info and how to do as well as a complete schematic including the wiring diagram and engine exploded view with parts and part numbers. That seems to me to be unheard of these days. MFG's want you to take their equipment to their dealer for maintenance & repair, that to me is HUGE that Westinghouse would do that! I unboxed my new gene yesterday, performed the necessary setup requirements which really just included adding oil and connecting the battery at the "quick connect," filling it with gas and simply hitting the start button. Started right up without hesitation. I wasn't sure if I was going to have to charge the battery first but it proved itself in that I didn't. I connected an external earth ground (just to be safe, questions about that) and connected my travel trailer to it. I turned on the 15K BTU A/C unit and it picked up the load no problem, I then proceeded to turn on the microwave oven and again it picked up that load as well, no problem. I so far am very impressed with this Westinghouse gene and would highly recommend this unit to anyone looking to purchase a mid to high range kW inverter generator. I got this for two reasons, originally as a backup to keep my refers running God forbid we have a power outage for any length of time and 2nd for my TT to take with us for camping (RVing). For the money, you really can't beat this unit. If you are considering, read over the spec's and see if it is something that meets your requirements and then check out the competition. It speaks for itself!

Overall this is a great unit and I highly recommend it to anyone. I received it very quickly. When I took it out of the box I discovered that the right side plastic cover was cracked and a piece was missing which I found on the bottom of the box. I immediately called customer service even before putting gas and oil into it. After having to wait a couple of days for CS to get back to me, they quickly handled my problem and shipped out a replacement side cover. It was quite simple to remove and replace. I finally got the unit fired up and connected it to my 50amp Montana 5th Wheel Trailer. It ran everything that I wanted it to run. Of course, it won't run both AC units at the same time but I didn't expect it to. It runs an electric heater, microwave, TV, and lights without any problem. This will be ideal for quick stays as we travel across the country as this is what I wanted it for. I do have a large and very loud 50amp Champion generator which weighs 200 lbs and I could not lift it in and out of the truck bed without help. the IGEN 4500 weighs only about 100 lbs and I can lift that by myself if needed. However, I was embarrassed to use the big Champion generator because it was so loud. The only place that I would use it would be in a truck stop or when we were stopped in the boonies with no one around. But even still, it was annoyingly loud. But my new Westinghouse IGen 4500 is so quiet we can have a normal conversation even while standing next to it. I love this new generator and I recommend it for any RV'r.

If you want to be able to run your RV/Travel Trailer on full 30A load, remain quiet, and for a great price, the iGen4500 is the unit you want hands down. The unit ran better than advertised in my opinion. Most important to me was being able to run the two most power hungry appliances in the trailer - the A/C and the Microwave - simultaneously. It did that without any issues and only ran the generator at 70%. The better part is I don't think the noise level got much higher than 60dB once it had both units up and going. With both running and the generator parked next to the rigs back bumper, you could barely hear the generator from inside the trailer. I'm borrowing a decimeter from a friend because I really want to know. When it was only the A/C running which is 99% of the time since the microwave is only a few minutes when cooking, the generator was only running at 30-40%. Either way, gone for me now are the days you have to walk the generator out 20-30 yards away. I plan on buying a bumper mount and locking the generator onto the back making it a more permanent part of the rig. And even with that, a tank of gas lasted almost 24 hours, keeping in mind we didn't need to run it overnight. They advertise 18 hours at minimal load but I think its better that. The electric start works great, and the remote start makes it even better. The built in gas gauge eliminates having to open the tank to guess how much time you have, and the built in power/timing meter is pretty dead on telling you how much time you have left. A friend has the 3500 Predator from Harbor Freight. The Predator is not as quiet (although I was impressed how quiet it was until I bought the iGen4500) and it won't start the A/C or Microwave while the other is on due to the initial peak load both pull. So for the same $$, the iGen4500 gives you the room you need to run it all, and the extra bells and whistles to tell you how much time and fuel you have left without having to open up gas tanks. The built in retractable handle is a nice feature they don't demonstrate in the pictures. But it does have it and its pretty durable. It also comes with a tool kit for spark plug changes and tuning, along with an oil filler so you don't have to worry about getting oil everywhere. 5 minutes after opening the box, I had the oil in, tank filled, and the 5 hour break in period started.

The product arrived in a well-protected shipping box and appeared exactly as pictured. Today I fired it up for the first time after connecting the battery and adding oil and fuel. I am very satisfied with its ease of operation, user friendly control panel (see pic), and easy to follow instruction manual. The generator is enclosed in a hard plastic shell (which greatly reduces the noise level) and has two panels to access the battery and add oil. This machine weighs in at over 90 lbs., so the rear wheels and retractable telescopic handle (similar in design to those on large pieces of luggage) are greatly appreciated for moving it around. I tested the 3 ways to start the generator and they performed flawlessly. First with the manual pull-cord, then the electric start, and then the remote electric start (my favorite method!). The generator comes with a 0.6L bottle of 4-stroke small engine oil, an AC power adapter to charge the battery if needed (though once the generator is fired up it automatically charges the battery), a funnel to add oil, and a socket tool for changing the spark plug. I purchased 4 extension cords: (2) 25 Foot Lighted Outdoor Extension Cord - 10/3 SJTW Yellow 10 Gauge Extension Cable with 3 Prong Grounded Plug, (1) 25 Foot Lighted Outdoor Extension Cord with 3 Electrical Power Outlets - 10/3 SJTW Yellow 10 Gauge Extension Cable with 3 Prong Grounded Plug, and a 50 Foot Lighted Outdoor Extension Cord - 10/3 SJTW Yellow 10 Gauge Extension Cable with 3 Prong Grounded Plug to ensure they will handle the loads without getting hot. The 10 Gauge size was recommended by Westinghouse for the load I'd be drawing in relation to the length of cord (see pics). One final note, though the generator is encased in a strong plastic cover, the manual warns not to use it in rain or snow. I therefore built a wooden enclosure to house the generator since I live in the Pacific Northwest where we have lots of rain and wind storms. I added breathing vents and a large vent for the exhaust. I then covered the entire box with Flex Seal to protect it from the elements. All in all I am very satisfied with this generator rated at 3700 Running Watts/4500 Peak Watts which will allow me to run my full-size refrigerator, operate an indoor ceramic heater and some smaller appliances and/or lights.

Only 5 hours on it but runs great. Could be a bit quieter but it doesn’t cost 3500 like the Yamaha equivalent. Remote and electric start work well. Only issue I had was the auto choke wiring came lose in shipping so it wouldn’t start on a cold morning but I manually choked it and it was fine and after connecting the auto choke harness again it never skipped a beat on a zero degree day.

Loved it but it quit working within a year. Took it to the repair service they referred us to four months ago. Still not done. Says its a parts issue. Will research repair options before I buy another Westinghouse product.

UPDATE: Received a new gas cap under warranty this week from Westinghouse directly. Their service is awesome as they sent me the part right away without any hassle or questions. Fill it with gas and it started up right away. After letting It run for a bit with a 10% load I hooked up my portable air compressor that pulls 15 amps initially on startup. This generator handled it like a champ. I’m giving this review 5 stars now. I like the generator, however the gas cap was on too tight and broke while trying to add gas to it for the first time. Very flimsy plastic that could not take the stress. Wish it was a better design with a steel interior instead of flimsy plastic. How am I going to get a new one to replace the broken part?

I really like the product but have been trying for three weeks to get a new battery tether as it was in pieces and have sent 3 or 4 emails and have had no response.

This generator arrived just in time for a snowstorm that had our power off for 12 hours. I had ordered it so we could use it with our travel trailer this summer. On the day it arrived a snow storm hit and we lost power for about 12 hours. I hopped out to the garage, opened the back door for ventilation and after just a few minutes of setting up the generator it fired up right away and we had power and heat. I have no doubt that this summer it will be perfect for our trailer when we boondock.