ALDI Ferrex 4-Stroke Inverter Generator 3300W (Mar 2021)

A CHINESE LEMON – If I could give zero stars I would. Purchased on clearance from ALDI in May 2023. Boxed and unused until Christmas 2023. Many failed attempts in the past two weeks to make use of it. Read manual thoroughly, filled with correct oil and 95 unleaded fuel. Switched it on, turned fuel tap, pulled choke, Started well after a couple of pulls. Waited a… Read more

bit, put in choke, plugged in and switched to economy mode. Ran a small fridge (light flickering within) and TV for 45 mins before overload protection suddenly cut the power. Unable to restart it despite multiple attempts and routine check for appliance faults. Had to borrow another generator to finish camping trip. Got home, tried again a few days after. Started up, plugged in a lamp. Flicker, flicker (sine wave where are you?). Plugged in TV. Overload tripped again. No apparent reason. Unable to restart generator despite a few false starts. Cord pull not engaging most of the time. Injured back and shoulder in process. Turned it on, turned it off. Let it cool. Tried again and again. Hours and hours in high humidity. Tremendously frustrating. Clearly a Lemon. When it did run it shuddered and danced all over the concrete surface under it, pulling earth wire after it. Would have been less trouble if it had never started at all. Hoping to get a full refund from ALDI. Others on this forum have had positive experiences with this item but not me. It was cheap and it shows. Does the manufacturer even bother to properly test these units before shipping them?

Never missed a beat – During the recent power outages in the Adelaide Hills. We were without power from Saturday afternoon to Monday night. I bought this generator back in 2021 because it was reduced to $299, I presume to clear them out. Anyway thought I would give it a go for the money, and would be good to take camping. Never took it camping. But so glad we had it… Read more

for the recent power outage. Filled it up, it took a few pulls to start it, but once running, it kept on running until we needed to refuel. We ran the genset fro 07:00 to 21:30 both on the Sunday and Monday. That's 14.5 hours each day. We powered fridge and freezer, modem and device chargers and a TV. Cannot fault it, but probably time for a service :)

So far so good – Well once I filled it with oil and fuel it started up first go except I see that the choke cable is too short and it keeps the choke half on which makes it blow black smoke and makes it run erratically .. I am surprisedno one has noticed that at the factory...so I disconnect the choke cable and it still runs a little erratic but smoother..looks… Read more

like I will be using the choke manually.. but anyway we'll see how it goes further down the track ...seems to produce enough powder run drills and everything though.. just so as you know I'm an ex toolmaker and a mechanic

Started first pull and it was quieter than expected – I purchased the ALDI Ferrex 3300w generator on sale for $349. I think people were reluctant to buy them so they have been marked down from $399. ALDI generators have had a few bad reviews. I though I would give this new model Ferrex 3300w unit a try as most reviews were of older units. It's a small unit, smaller than I thought it would be. It… Read more

suits my needs as I won't be running it continuously. I'll use it for a back up, a portable 240v generator is big enough to run my large fridge freezer. I'll also be using it on the odd camping trip.

I filled it full of 5w-30 oil and 91unleaded fuel then pulled the cord. It started first pull, a little rough for 10 seconds then steady. I was anticipating half a dozen pulls to get the fuel circulating before it fired up. It was a pleasant surprise.

It was powerful enough to run 2 fish tanks with lighting, water and air pumps. It wasn't a very scientific test, but it did make power.

My Makita lawnmower has a Briggs and Stratton e500 4 stroke ohv engine and the Ferrex was quieter than my idling mower. I would of been happy with that, but then I noticed a power saving mode switch. I pushed it and it dropped the revs 30% (guestimate). It still made enough power to run my fish tanks. It is quiet enough to run in my backyard during the day. I probably would only run it after 9am till around 3pm. It would be an annoyance to my neighbours outside those hours.

I've run it a couple of times since and what I've noticed is it likes the choke pulled and the 240v switch turned off whenever you pull start. Make sure you have it turned on and the fuel is on. It also likes a long strong pull not short and uninspired. Even if already warm I choke it and pull long and steady.

Overall build quality is very good. I only have one issue with the package and that is the earth spike. It doesn't come with 1, but states you need 1. I'd be happier if they dropped the included empty oil bottle and put in an earthing option.