Customer Reviews for Generac 5500-Watt Recoil Start Gas-Powered Portable Generator

I bought it at Sam's Club (06 JUN 22) and assembled it per the instructions. I fired it up once and it ran for a few minutes. When I shut it down and attempted to restart it, it wouldn't fire. It just makes backfiring noises. It still doesn't start or run. Needless to say, I am not pleased! Your phone rep was supposed to forward me a list of authorized repair shops, but I have yet to receive it. I want my generator to run in event of a power loss. Please help me to reconcile this situation.

First unit had air cleaner crushed. Returned for replacement during emergency outage. Mixed fuel stabilizer in fuel each refueling. Present unit ran flawlessly for 30 hours while performing service on the main breaker box. Shut it down & stored for 6 months. Pulled it out to start it & keep it loose; wore myself out pulling that rope! Found the exhaust valve was remaining open. Fixed that and it ran fine. Want to convert it to electric start but Generac doesn't make a kit for it!! Yeah, it voids the warranty but it's already out! Getting too old to be yanking ropes!

Have not used equipment to date but assembly was routine and test run was successful.

It was very easy to setup and it started immediately. I bought this as a backup to use for sump pump and refrigeration. I feel Generac was the safest way to go because if reputation. I can feel at ease when we need it. The sticker with product info needs to be moved to make it easier to see.

This product has great features and good reviewsHave yet to use it but so far it meets all the standards that will be needed at a reasonable price

While I was very happy to find this generator during the middle of an ice storm where at the time we didn't have power for over 40 hours and didn't gain it for another 6 after that. Generators were impossible to come across within about 100 mile radius. Seeing this one advertised with a cord I was excited and didn't give it a second thought. I knew I'd have to change the house end over to an older 220 plug, so I grabbed what was available (dryer cord 3 straight 220 cable) will be swapped to a proper plug in future. Never have double male end xord unless an emergency and extremely careful. I then headed home got the generator set up then saw the cord that was included in it. I was disappointed to see what was included was a 110 volt 20 Amp 3 way split extension cord. Nothing remotely close to what I needed, luckily being a heavy truck tech and numerous welders and other odds and ends I was able to get the nema L14-30 plug from a welder to work. While I should have paid more attention to what I was purchasing having the cable shown on the box would limit confusion. The generator worked great and was able to run 90% of the house on it as it was only 20 degrees. In short please advertise on the box what the cord looks like because when people are in an emergency situation they may. It pay attention to what they are purchasing.

Bought a generac 4000exl in 2007 and had a great user experience with it. This unit still runs great and is a generator I will never sell . I decided to buy the gp 3600 for backup ( two daughters have houses now) and was pleased with the build quality. Thanks Generac

We used this for about 100 hrs nonstop through an outage, then restarted months later, changed oil, and put away following long-term storage guidelines for the next time. It performed great through an emergency for us.

Generator was delivered within a short time after ordering. Put the wheels and foot assembly on. Connected the battery cables, added the oil, filled with gas. The unit started right up. Connected it to my house and it ran very well. Nice product.

Wife and I have been talking about a Generator for 10 yrs. WE lost power at 3 am. This yr we switched to a Pellet stove and she has a Cpap Machine to sleep with. Went to the Lowes in Ludington Mich and got the last Generac that they had. The unit was awesome ran the pump, frig, pellet stove Cpap. In the spring I am getting the manual bypass switch/breaker/cable and back feed the House.

The battery wire on the red side came off up by the solenoid the wire was not pinched from the factory it was an easy fix I love the electric start credit out of my house it works fantastic

Had ready to put power to the house within an hour. I love the electric start. It gives power to the complete house, well pump, sump, stove, furnace, everything else. I am glad I purchased the GP8000e for my home.coop

We purchased item and it took longer than expected to receive it and that was frustrating considering the price we paid for it. We haven't got to use the product yet as we just picked it up from the store on 12/08/2021 which was more than a month since we purchased it. We will update more if we actually get to use the generator this winter more than just starting it.

It was easy to put together, add wheels, handles, added oil/gas. Even though it has electric start, just before starting, I pulled the cord very lightly just to ensure the oil was distributed, the unit started! Very reliable! The electric start works too. Would recommend.

Great Looking Unit! The electric start is why I chose this unit. I installed the wheels, handle, put the oil in & connected the SUPPLIED BATTERY, put the gas in, hit the start button and it started right up. No more pulling the rope for this old guy! It does have a backup pull rope by the way. The unit even comes with charger to keep the battery charged also when not in use. Didn't see that with the other ones out there. This is a great generator and I'm glad I bought this one!

The best home investment to have in case of rain or snow storm

I have the above model Generac portable gas generator, still in the box. I am very familiar with this unit as a good friend of mine has the exact same unit. I assisted him in building a house for his family. We used this unit for about 3 months and it fulfilled all of our needs in this house building project. It was used for long periods of time and only turned off for lunch time and never left us without power. After the power company finally installed a temporary pole and electricity to my friends property, we did stop using the unit. Because of its flawless performance I purchased the same generator and I am looking forward to using it...

Just a bit loud. But it is a combustion engine. Touch quieter and I would have rated it 5 stars. Pull start but starts easy on first pull!

I had purchased a Westinghouse Generator and it had all kinds of issues. Before I took it back I did finely get it to run. I don't know who makes there motor but it just sounded very cheep, loose and claney took it back Fast forward I decided after researching several other top notch units I decided on this Generac GP8000e. I was missing things not in the main box but the place I bought it from supplied it all so all was good. I connected the battery, it was charged up, added the oil added mid grade gas, turned on the gas flow to the carb and it started right up and this motor is tight and sounds like a top notch motor. My only regret would be the tool kit that Ace gave me was the cheapest 2 wrench's I think I have ever seen in my life and I don't think they are relevant to anything. i was also missing oil and they gave me Pennzoil and not Generac oil and I heard Generac is the best. Buy it you you wont be disappointed!!!

Purchased about 4 years ago During power outages and I get a lot as I live in remote area I run my A/C 3 deep freezers. And 3 frigerator freezers also my well. Plus lights and power equipment if I’m in wood shop Quite the machine I know gas tank will run at least 14 hours I never shut off just refill with gas as it doesn’t splash out with the filler screen Definitely worth it

This generator is easy to set up and use. Had to purchase a new one when our old one went out when hurricane Ida hit. Very good product and happy with it. I highly recommend it.

Assembly was rather easy, unit started right up with the electrical start. Was disappointed that the unit does not have a load monitor that tells you how much of output is being used. This should be an important addition to the unit. The breaker switch technique just tells you when you have over loaded the unit.

Purchased this model day before Hurricane Ida 8-28-21. Knew power would go out like it always does. Generators were hard to find with long lines everywhere. Me and two neighbors got lucky and picked up 3 at big box store as a truck just came in. I really wanted something larger to power more stuff, but all they had. We were out of power for 4-5 days and all 3 units performed well. The only negatives is this unit is noisy, I guess like many generators, and fuel thirsty. Went through 10+ gallons a day without any ac unit connected. Don't know how well this unit would do with a portable ac connected. If I had the time, would have picked a larger unit, and one without Cosence or that 50 state California CARB compliance nonsense and saved a few bucks there. Don't know the long term reliability because this is my use, but so far satified.

So far it has performed well, Cosense got me so I turned generator 180 deg and didn’t have issue, gas nozzle would be better set off to side of tank for easier fill, bought after hurricane Ida

When in need after a hurricane this was our best bet of keeping our house cool and fridge running!

I only have two hours on mine, however my bro-n-law bought one same day. He put 52 hours on his and it quit running. We brought it back and they told us we were the 38th returned generac that day. They said the co sensor will not reset so that's why they stop running. It was outside in the yard, not inside....so yeah. Safety features aren't safe when you have an elderly mother about to die from Louisiana heat and you depend on a generator and a window unit. Now question is how long will mine last, I have power back and won't know until or next hurricane. Mom-n-law surving off my coleman with Subaru motor that I bought during Katrina in 05. Almost 20 years old and still running like a champ. This generac couldn't make it 52 hours.