Harbor Freight 3500 Watt Inverter Generator - MUST SEE Tips & Tricks

Today we look at the Harbor Freight 3500 Watt Inverter Generator and check out some MUST SEE Tips & Tricks

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[FloridaBoyBushcraftSurvival]

PLEASE LIKE, COMMENT & SUBSCRIBE BELOW. I answer all comments...

[cirwo]

FYI EVERYONE WHO HAS HARD TIME RESTARTING THESE WHEN ITS HOT OUTSIDE... All you have you have to do is remove the gas cap and it will start right up. Just needs to vent. Somehow it took me almost two summers to finally figure this out lol

[kyleblankenship]

Thanks for the tips. I'm in the Orlando area, I bought this generator a week before Irma and ran it 100 hrs continuously to power a portable A/C, fan, lights, refrigerator and tv. No complaints.

[deemacloud]

Why didn't I find you earlier! Just ran my brand new Champion inverter generator for 5 hours to break it in without a load! When I realized I should have worked the little guy, I immediately plugged the frig and washer and did a load of laundry. Then I changed the oil to synthetic, patted its little bum and put it in the garage. Oh, well... I'm learning and really appreciate your video.

[pay-tray-it]

Great products!!
I've used the 2000 watt inverter to power my work van
EVERY DAY for the past 5 years!!!
typically 5-7 hr's per.
Living in Michigan in the winter when its -10° to 25 it starts a bit rough but NEVER FAILES to fire.
Now mine you this, i buy the 3 year replacement warranty and have had to replace this 3 x's
Only because the rope rubs and eventually breaks, it's merely impossible to get into to fix.
So I end up returning them for a new one.
Be mindful of your Fuel, oil changes, keep both the spark arrestor and air filter clean and this little thing will run forever!

[tankfu]

I'm in the process of buying rural land and the 40 acres I'm looking at doesn't have electric service anywhere near it. I've found several of these videos about how good the Predator is. Thanks so much for contributing with constructive criticism and useful tips!

[dmyers]

houseboat living on the st johns river I run my predator 3500 12hours per day. Love it. though i am on my third unit this year. all failed from high temps this summer. now i remove the side panel and keep it in the shade. always get the extended warranty at HF.

[briank]

Great video !

I bought one just a couple months ago for hurricane outages, I did a test run, and this genny will run a 6000 BTU AC window unit, my “newer” 25 cu ft fridge, and a couple lights and the TV at under 2500 watts and 18 amps on load.

Like you said, the main thing if buying one is breaking it in, use non ethanol gas with “Stabil” if it might sit for over 30 days. Use a space heater or any 110 appliance that pulls some wattage and/or amps and run it for at least a couple hours. Then change the oil after 8 hours of use, then keep dealing with the “breaking in” period under a 3rd load until you at least have 15 hours.

Mine ran a little rough even under load, but I found out that the more I broke it in under a few hours adding load, the better it ran. I thought about changing the spark plug but after 15 hours it’s running really smooth now. You’re right about running it level, I found mine ran better on a porch with a pitch if I put a half inch wood strip under the wheels to level it out.

I’ve found that slowly increasing the load when breaking it in, (space heater, fridge, AC window shaker) over a few cycles, the genny smoothes out over time. Mine was a little rough at first when I bought it, (seemed like it wasn’t idling well) then after 15 hours it’s a smooth running genny.

[randydrake]

I bought one 3500i last fall. Haven't used it yet its still in the box. I appreciate your tips & tricks and will apply them asap. One more thing: when I bought mine HF told me that they would be developing and selling a kit to link TWO 3500i to each other like they did for their 2000i (like Honda). I expect to buy another 3500i when they release that linking equipment. Thanks for a great video !!!

[Jeffbob]

Hey florida… I DRILLED A 3/16 VENT HOLE IN MY GAS CAP AND MY 3500 NOW IDLES SMOOTH, ALWAYS!

[chrismully]

I just used mine for over 10 days, traveled everywhere from the beach to the mountains. Ran everything in my RV, AC, TV, lights ect at once. Never had a problem. Great product.

[stuffyoucando]

Great video, I bought one of these for my RV and recently did a review on it as well. I don’t generally worry about running ethanol free gas in my newer equipment unless it’s my 2 stroke saws, trimmers, etc...but I do run it in my older equipment such as classic John Deere and Cub Cadet tractors featured on my channel. The newer equipment is at least designed with E10 in mind unlike the old equipment.

[bobbyhenson]

I’ve been looking into buying a generator because I just bought a travel trailer. After seeing your videos I am sold on this generator. Thank you.

[haulinashoutdoors]

Currently I’m looking at purchasing a new generator, I found your video to be very helpful....thanks!

[billjenkins]

Bought one today. Got the three year warranty. Joined ITC and got it for $699 (plus warranty of course, well worth it). FYI- Harbor Freight manager in Las Cruces told me the only time these generators come back broken is when the customers ran them without oil. Customers then try to deny this but the cause is clear and it is NOT covered by any warranty.

[MJames-qere]

Great video. You do a good job on your reviews. Easy to understand and good editing. No over the top introductions. Thank you. Your video helped.

[wrestlepetey]

Checking in from St Augustine FL. Used this generator last year for Irma. Runs like a champ. Great info about air being sucked into the plugs. 👍

[k.r.v.]

Hello there! Thanks for a couple tips I never thought of, particularly rotating the 30 amp plug! Plus plug covers. I have a great tip for you to help quiet yours down. I found a section of HVAC ducting that looks like a foil covered box, that fits just right over my HF Predator 3500, with at least 1” around all the sides, plus I made a lid from the same material that has a 1” insulation on the inside walls. I cut a hole where the exhaust goes adding a nice high temp adapter that I can screw a lawn mower type of muffler as a last step after covering the whole thing with what looks like a miniature RV. I also had to add a thermostat controlled small computer fan that sucks in cool air if the temps get too high, plus a dedicated intake snorkel that looks like an exhaust stack in the RV. All together it takes about 5-10 minutes to fuel an set up the generator, get it running and plugged in, then fit my sound deadening cover fake RV over it that I also must plug in the temp control fan in. It may seem like a lot of work, but it really works great! Getting the dB down at full load of TV, A/C and refrigerator hot water heater of 67 dB uncovered to an incredible 53 dB!! To the point we cannot hear it at all over just the A/C running on low or high! With the generator set up at the end of the 25’ cord. The biggest issue I have are fellow campers stopping by to ask questions, especially when they happen to walk by and understand what it’s doing! I bet I could make a living making them for others, but mine was so inexpensive due to the fact I got most of the materials out of dumpsters in the community we live in for free! Plus it all takes up a lot of space in my truck bed.

[zweg]

Update on my unit
I purchased mine about 6 months ago
Sorry to say mine gave out yesterday
Couldn’t get it going again so I had to take it
Back on the extended Warentee I got
No hassle with harbor freight
Until yesterday the only problem I had was it used oil not a lot but enough
You also need to add a 6th tip
Clean the spark arrest on the rear mine tended to plug

My unit ran a lot I’m off grid the wife has pap Machine so when it is 20f outside it ran all night With apx 30% load
This is the first inverter generator
The other 2 are just the normal style

Thanks for your videos

[mikekennedy]

Thank you very much. Seems like the harbor freight predator is the way to go. Thanks for your tips. I never thought about the fuel.