The WEN 56200i Inverter Generator is a portable (yet heavy!) generator that will deliver a surge power of 2000 Watts. It’s a great generator to power up home appliances during a power outage, and it’s portable so it can be used for camping or for powering up a fan or even an air conditioner in an RV. It’s also very safe to power electronics like laptops, cell phones and tablets. The beauty of this generator is that it doesn’t have to run full capacity all the time, so it will save on gas.
Power and Performance
I bought the 56200i Inverter Generator for my RV. From the reviews I read, it’s supposed to last for 4 hours at maximum capacity. I ran my television (flat screen) a light and a fan for about 5 hours and it lasted the whole time. I tried it out at first with my wife’s hairdryer at 1250 Watts with a lamp plugged in at the same time and there was no overload. There’s a display that shows you what the charge is, how much oil is needed, and how much fuel you have and it gives you an overload warning. As far as pulls to start, I’ve used it seven or eight times now and it normally takes me two pulls to get it going.
The generator itself is small and portable but it’s really heavy. It weighs 50 pounds without the gas, so be sure to have someone who can lift this much weight when you’re taking it camping or when you’re mobile with it. It has a handle so it can be carried by one (strong) person.
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This can be doubled with the WEN 56200i Inverter Generator for 4000 Watts of power as well, but I don’t have the pair. It’s tempting though, but I believe this generator is powerful enough for my needs. The ESC setting will allow it to only need the juice you need, and it saves gas- which makes it last longer- which is awesome. (It only takes 1 gallon of gas in the first place). I live in Kansas and we had a very bad storm which took my electricity out for four hours and I plugged in my fridge and my kids’ various electric appliances and it worked perfectly.
Safety Features: The WEN 56200i Inverter Generator is EPA III and CARB compliant.
Control Panel Features
The panel has two three-pronged 120V outlets, one 12V DC outlet, and one 5V USB port. It has the speed control throttle as well. It also has the overload, output, and oil lights as well. It’s very simple and easy- anyone would be able to read it/use it.
Pros
- Great power output
- Compact and portable
- Uses just one gallon of gas
- Extremely quiet
- Easy to use
- Energy savings mode saves on fuel
- Lasts more than four hours at full capacity
Cons
- Weighs 50 lbs, although it does have a handle which makes it easy to carry
- Uses more oil than other generators
The Bottom Line
The WEN 56200i Inverter Generator packs a lot of power. It’s an excellent small generator for small or big jobs. I think it’s probably one of the smartest $500 purchases I’ve ever made. I use it for camping and my RV mostly, but I have used it to back up my fridge and other appliances during a power outage at my home and it worked like a charm.
The fuel saving mode is really nice, and the generator barely makes any noise. I am so used to my fellow campers using generators that make me crazy at night- but my wife doesn’t even have to wear her earplugs when we use this! This takes little fuel and I’ve proven it to be powerful and efficient.
I feel more confident knowing that I have this generator at home in case of an emergency, and it’s a wonderful luxury in the RV. The only thing I would say that I don’t like about this generator is the weight, but it’s a lot better than lugging around a heavy and BIG generator.
I would recommend this with 5 stars to anyone who’s looking for a quality generator for power outages or for traveling, as the price is great and the performance is just about as good as it gets. I am extremely pleased with my purchase and the WEN brand.
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