Westinghouse 11000 Peak Watt Dual Fuel Portable Inverter Generator, Remote Electric Start, Transfer Switch Ready, Gas and Propane Powered, Low THD - Safe for Electronics, Parallel Capable, CO Sensor

The inverter generator arrived a few days after my order. The box was in good shape and there was no damage when I unpacked it. It is heavy but I was able to remove it from the packaging myself.The wheels and foot pegs were easy to install. Since there is no gas or oil in the generator yet I rolled it on its side to install them. Filling it with oil is the biggest challenge. Be prepared for some spillage. The provided funnel is long and has a swivel at the outlet but the oil filler hole is in a very awkward location. I'd suggest Westinghouse engineer a better design for oil filling, I'll probably come up with something better on my own. The handle unfolds easily and can be locked in the upright position. I find the unit moves and maneuvers pretty easily.I added gas and tried the recoil start to see how difficult it was to pull, and it takes a strong pull. Perhaps this will loosen up after the inverter is used and broken in. The electric start is wonderful. I pushed the start button and starter spun immediately but it didn't start, a few seconds later the starter engaged again (without my touching the button) and the motor fired up immediately and settled quickly into a smooth idle.I plugged in a shop vac to test the electrical power, and nothing happened, no power. I was disappointed thinking I'd gotten a dud. I had read the owner's manual completely, so I was stumped. I took off my glasses and looked at the 3 breakers at the top of the control panel. The markings are small, but sure enough all 3 breakers were in the "OFF" position. When I flipped them to the "ON" position now we got power. So, check the breakers as my guess is they are in the off position when shipped but not mentioned anywhere in the manual.I ran the inverter for about 30 minutes. In the eco mode I did notice the engine speed changes with the load on the generator. I plugged in various appliances to vary the loads, as this was recommended to help seat the pistons rings in the motor. I tried the remote start feature and it worked so the fob is "paired" as it comes from the factory. I have an electrician coming to install the proper switches and an outdoor box to connect my home wiring to the 50 amp outlet to complete my backup power system. I may post an update once the system is up and running.My old generator was not an inverter type and about 4000 peak watts. It worked pretty well, but I had to run many long extension cords all over the house which just was getting to be too much of a hassle. This inverter should handle my needs. I'm hoping it will power my mini splits which provide heat in the winter and AC in the summer, lights, fridge, etc.

I purchased a 9500DF in October of 2021 after a 3 day blackout earlier that year. The delivery did not go well with the first unit being significantly damaged and the replacement also being damaged (but not as bad and I ended up keeping it). Luckily, I've only had to use that generator about 5 times in the last 3 years, and never for longer than a couple of hours.At the time, friends were getting smaller inverter generators, but as my pool pump needed about 10 amps, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to run much else on a smaller generator. In the last 3 years, inverter generators have come out with more and more power, and when I saw the 11000DFc had almost the same power of the 9500DF, I decided to give it a try.The 11000DFc arrived undamaged. It was very easy to assemble the wheels and feet, and a very similar assembly experience as the 9500DF. I vastly prefer the oil funnel and key fob included with the 9500DF, but that is a minor thing, and I assume that a modern 9500DFc has the same funnel and fob as the current 11000DFc.I have to say that overall, I think I prefer open frame generators. I can attach a piece of plywood to the top, it is easy to secure, and it clears the fill cap of the gas tank. I can't do that with the 11000DFc. It is much easier to weather proof the 9500DF.The 11000DFc started right up on propane. I did not not try is on gasoline because I don't plan to use it and don't have any. Plus I don't feel like trying gasoline and draining it all back out once I do. So I'll take it on faith its good to go if I ever need it, and that it won't leak gasoline all over the place. The 11000DFc is easy to pull start, and once I started trying, I was able to pull start it on propane every time. I've never been able pull start the 9500DF on many attempts. The LP connection to the generator on the 11000DFc seems like an afterthought as it is in an odd place and the regulator is not on the generator like it is the 9500DF. Having the regulator on the tank hose is awkward, and I smelled propane the first time I started it so kept checking the connection of the hose to the generator and the hose to the tank and they were fine. It turned out the be the connection of the hose to the regulator that was very loose. I think just rotating the hose by hand when hooking it up to the tank is enough to loosen this connection. It is something to keep your eye on.The quality of the power is obviously a night and day difference, and if anything, I am much more of an inverter fan now than I was a couple weeks ago. The thing that shocked me is that my pool pump draws 8.4 amps when connected to the 110000DFc, and draws 9.7 amps when connected to the 9500DF. I firgure the extra 1.3 amps are heating up my pool pump motor. I put a scope on the lines and on the 110000DFc, there was a perfect looking sine wave at 242V and 60Hz. On the 9500DF, it was a visibly distorted sine wave (on the top half) at 243V and 63Hz. Nothing I've read about inverter generators vs. AVR generators affected my optinion as much as this one experiment. 8.4 amps vs. 9.7 amps is more of a difference than I thought would have been possible. I guess the distorted sine wave could also be affecting the amp meter.I also tried the Eco Mode switch on the 11000DFc. It clearly idles down significantly in this mode with no load, but with just a 2500 watt load, I couldn't tell if flipping the switch was doing anything. I didn't go higher than that because I'm still in the break in period.Reasons to prefer the 9500DF:- Cost (obviously)- I prefer the open frame- The wheels are larger on the 9500DF and its a bit easier to move over lips and bumps.- I preferred how the LP tank connects to the 9500 generator, plus the hose doesn't need a pressure regulator on it. It is a clearly superior setup compared to the 110000DFcReasons to prefer the 11000DFc:- It might be a bit quieter. I'm not even sure. They are both loud.- Easier to start- Everything about the power supplied is clearly superior- In theory, it should use less fuel because the engine is not forced to always run at 3600RPM to create 60Hz powerSo in the end, its all about the power. So if price is not a consideration, I would take the 11000DFc every time just for the better quality power. If Westinghouse offered an open frame inverter more in the physical form factor of the 9500DF, then I would probably prefer the open frame. The noise reduction just isn't worth what I give up in the convenience of the open frame.

The good: It's quiet. It's not "whisper quiet", but enough that I can talk while standing next to it. I am willing to run it in the wee hours without undo neighbor annoyance. It comes complete, minus fuel. It even comes with a decent quality set of tools for assembly and maintenance. A hefty 22/24mm boxend wrench just to install the wheels. The power delivery is far more stable than my previous (and extremely loud) generator. I ran this under varying loads from under 1Kw up to 5Kw during break-in. This generator immediately responded to the load change and maintained 60hz.The weird: Mostly the manual. While it is an excellent manual for a Chinese product, it is not without errors. It appears they copy/pasted from previous manuals. One place it lists the fuel capacity as 1.1 gallons. The parts list mentioned the fuel cap has a vent valve that most be opened while running and closed while off. The operation manual does not mention this. The vent does not exist. The operation manual says you much open the fuel control valve. This valve is not in the parts list. It, too, does not exist. The final thing is to be careful adding the oil. They say it holds a liter. They give you a liter. But when I blindly added the liter, I was way over full and had to drain 0.25 back out. They do mention there may be residue oil left from testing. I was not expecting a quarter liter.