Patrick—August 10, 2025
75 hrs in and this thing has been a life saver. I bought it as a just in case for a trip we were taking our camper on to run the A/C and charge the batteries because we didnt know if there would be a power hook-up, since our campers A/C unit only uses ~500 watts the GM1200i was the perfect size. The morning that the generator was set to arrive a plane took out some power lines leaving us without power and to make things better it was the hottest day of the year. The generator showed up about 1PM and I spent the next couple hours doing a break in of it. 1hr zero load, oil change, 1 hr 25-50% load, oil change, and then 1 hour 50-75% load and then an oil change. That was perfect timing as it was getting to the hottest part of the day when we could plug in the camper and use the camper AC and watch some TV to cool down and this generator did perfect. We did have it at about 900w for about 30 min while the camper batteries recharged and we ran the AC and the TV but once the batteries charged we went back down to about 550w and it ran all night until ~4 am when the power was restored. We did also end up needing it on our trip and we ran it at night and for an hour or so and during the day when we had to plug in laptops and such to do a little work and this generator handled it like a champ. It is very quite as we are unable to hear it in the camper even when it is just out side of the door, we even had someone stop by and comment one of the times we were running it during the day and about how quite it was even under 50-60% load. This generator is also really good on gas for the entire week we were out we only used right about 4gal of gas ( 4 of the 8 nights we just used to charge the batteries to run the inverter since it cooled off and we didnt need the AC at night). When we got there we had about 14hrs on it and we left with 74 hrs so that is about 15hrs on a gallon of gas at 25-60% load. The only con I have about this generator is that the plastic access panel for the air filter is very loose and will fall off while running, I put tape over the clips to hold them it just it was be nice if the clips were spread just a little bigger so they would catch better. TDLR: Very quite, does it job very well and it very fuel efficient. I do recommend doing some kind of break in process on it as the first 4 oil changes did have a good amount of glitter in the oil but by the 4th oil change it looked normal. I personally did oil changes every hour for the first 3 hours and then about every 25 hours after that. If you need a small generator to run lighter loads I don't think you can go wrong with this one. Read more
Eric V—March 20, 2024
*UPDATED 6 Months Later* I am so pleased with this little generator. Since my original review of using this generator for running compressor and power tools, I finally had the opportunity to run it for the purpose I bought it for; running a small air conditioner at my no-power hunting camp. The generator performed exactly as expected, and was able to run the small 5,000 BTU air conditioner as well as some lights and providing me an AC outlet in my hunt camp camper for my phone charger for 6+ hours in 90 degree temperatures on the one gallon of gas. The generator is light enough for me to transport wherever I need it, so I have used it to run power tools on other "in the woods" projects to run my saw and nailer, electric landscaping tools and other plug-in equipment at my hunting stands. My latest experiment involved trying to run the electric systems on my 17" popup camper on this generator. With the 13,500 BTU rooftop air conditioner, as well as the Absorption-type fridge, and the main lights (2x LED banks) the generator was able to run everything. Once the AC ran through its start up cycle (large, temporary draw) and went to steady draw of about 1300 watts to run, I was able to run everything in eco mode, and did not overload the generator. I am incredibly pleased with the output of this generator and the small fuel consumption, small footprint, and relatively quiet operation. I would definitely purchase this again if I had need to replace this unit, or if I had increased power consumption. *ORIGINAL REVIEW* I purchased this generator on a Lightning Deal. It was a little bigger than what I wanted. I needed a small generator to run a 5000 BTU window AC on a camper I use at hunt camp. I was looking at the smaller Genmax generator (1200) but saw this one at basically the same price. This last weekend I had the opportunity to put it through its paces helping a friend build a cabin on a remote property he has. This generator was able to run a compressor (to run a framing nailer) as well as a chop saw for cutting dimensional lumber for framing, and a circular saw for cutting zip board. We even had an extra outlet we used to charge power tool batteries. The generator would struggle just a little bit if the air compressor and the chop saw ran at the same time, but it would catch up quickly and push on through. We ran the generator continuously for 6 hours on the single tank of gas. While its primary purpose will be to run the AC unit, I am now confident that I will be able to also run lights and perhaps even some appliances at the hunt camp trailer. The generator was quiet enough to be able to have a conversation standing next to it without really raising your voice. In fact, it was quieter than either the air compressor or the chop saw when they were running. All in all, I am very happy with its performance over the weekend, and I'm sure it will be more than adequate for what it was originally purchased for. Read more
