Westinghouse Ipro4200 Inverter Generator - Unboxing , Full test and evaluation - Wheel Kit

Today we unbox and evaluate the new Westinghouse Ipro4200 Hybrid Inverter Generator.   and when I say Hybrid, I mean an Inverter Generator mounted in a conventional generator frame.  As such I begin with the unboxing, which with this company seems to show one of the weaknesses, which is packaging.  Full disclosure, this being the second I've received, the first being DOA, Im willing to bet the reason was 50% the shipping company, and 50% the paper thin cushioning this thing was wrapped in.  Furthermore, this was made worse by the fact that the unit which is supposed to have the oil drained for shipping, well, ............. doesn't.  This left me with quite a mess, for both units upon arrival.

     The oil not being emptied is further displayed during filling time after the unboxing as it is shown that by the time the unit is at the correct level, 30% of the oil in the .6 liter container is unused. Let alone, what spilled out during shipping.  Another thing worth mentioning about the oil is the ultra cheap cap/dipstick that is hard to access and easy to cross-thread.  Quite possibly the worst case scenario in oil management on a generator.  I realize this setup is not unique to Westinghouse, but this is the generator i'm reviewing. I will point out that the entire unit has rubber mount isolation to the frame which is nice.

     After a quick filter check, Gas is added, noting that sadly, the advertised fuel gauge does not exist.   The unit turns on easily and runs smooth, requiring little to no choke here in Florida.  Ive found the meter on the unit is off by a few volts but no matter. 

     What I did notice is that the voltage unladen is at 125VAC.  To be fair, however, nobody runs a generator just for fun, and these units should expect a load, ideally though an extension as I wont be running it in my living room.  Another observation was the spike to 128vac when the voltage was removed.   This is also normal during recovery but i wanted a quick comparison. Note that my harbor freight heat gun is used as a load for these test events.

     To prove this point we go over to Jose's house and look at the input of his Predator generator, which we will be using in the comparison video.  The unladen voltage was also higher, about 124 but not far off.  Also when doing a comparison between the two from what they dropped to and what they spiked to, interestingly, the difference was to the tenth of a volt.  Also we do the first of the tests to see voltage drops across extension cords across the load.

     Back at the house tests are conducted in the same fashion through the extension cord, using the heat gun, also connected to the AC unit as well.  We get to observe the generator the moment the compressor kicks on as well.

     Due to the fact that I had to return the old generator I was able to include in this video the procedure I put together to do an oil change/removal for this unit without making a mess.  Also, gas removal for long term storage as well as issues I found with the tank where it does not completely drain.

    Though I was waiting for the next video I decided to do some quick sound checks using decibelX on the Ipad.  I point out that this is not calibrated but gets in the ballpark.  The test is done in both the covered area as well as the open area at different distances from different angles.  Interesting, the loudest sides are the side with the carb and the pull start, the quietest, the exhaust side and the control panel side.

     Finally I give my final thoughts on the matter, and we will wait to see what specific tests come in the next video

WEN Wheel Kit Addition

  The Westinghouse Ipro4200 does not come with a wheel kit. To make matters worse a search for a wheel kit for this unit from the company cannot be found, yet a close inspection shows that provisions exist on the frame for a kit, so why is one not available?

  In my search for one I happened to notice a similarity to this frame and that of the Wen generator, so I purchased the Wen kit to see if this would be a quick solution. I couldn't find it on Amazon, so I bought it at Lowes.

Starting with the stationary feet I can see that the lineup is too perfect to be a coincidence. the sizes though are a bit off, requiring a few washers to correct. Moving to the wheel side all of the parts seem to fit perfectly except for the fact that the locking pin is a bit too short so i took some material off the wheel to fix this. I could have just procured a longer locking pin or elongated the hole in it but it didn't matter.

  Finally, the handle, fit perfectly, the only modification to the generator was the drilling of the two holes to secure the handle locking bracket. An almost perfect fit of so many parts cannot be a coincidence. a cheap and easy solution for a wheel kit for this generator.