Powerboss 2000W Inverter PB2000i
5 reviews
Great. I paid $1100.00 at a show – Does exactly what it is supposed to. Had it for 5 years and never let me down. Ran my house for ages with a 2 day black out.
Purchased for $1,100.
No spark – Just bought a pb2000 got it home tryed staring it nothing.... checked spark plug no spark tried another spark plug yes spark added oil as was bit low started den cut out 3x put a little bit petrol down da spark plug yep she ran left her run a little den she wooden stop had to use choke to stop her dat was all good put her in da car den went around to an ole mates 5min away wooden start found no spark frm spark plug lead
Once electricals go bung throw em out! – Briggs and stratton motor, beautiful, no problemo! Unfortunately, one buys generators to supply electricity so when the electricals go haywire, having a well known highly reputable engine does not really count for all that much! Once the overload hazard light comes on with these, and there's no power coming out of it, save yourself the heartache and frustration and throw it away!! I've had endless toil and woe in my quest to find someone to fix the electrical in this thing.
I enclose a gif file (uploading an mp4 didn't work so I converted it to gif) of the generator running with the overload light clearly active a few days after it was serviced to show you what to look out for. I have (also) previously enclosed my servicing receipt to Product Review for this generator.
The electrical went bung on mine days after I coughed out 90 bucks to service it!! The mechanics ran well but the electrical gone KAPUT!! It was no fault of the business that serviced it. They service the mechanicals on generators not the electricals and this is quite common.
I could not find anyone up here in Townsville, or anywhere near here that would even look at the electrical!
Be careful with inverter generators, they run really well for a while and when things go haywire they are fidgety things to get into and work on to repair or replace something.
It's all fine and dandy getting a generator with a top brand reputable top of the wazza motor, but at the end of the day it's the electrical system that needs to come to the party!
I replaced this generator with a briggs and stratton p3000 yesterday. Purrs like a kitten and as quiet as a disgraced politician in parliament at question time!! See my review on briggs and stratton p3000 inverter.
An important note!! When using these its best to buy a few carbon monoxide alarms to put inside the home at points near door, windows closest to the position of the OUTSIDE generator. I use the Quell PD04 (Part 130415) carbon monoxide alarms. They with batteries included last ten years! See my review on these in my profile page. Better safe than sorry!
Purchased in .
Good machine great price tag – Brought my machine back in about 2011/12 had minimal use brought it on sale for $800 in comparison to other comparable generator that was a great price. Has been great every time I have had to fire it up takes about 5 pulls, reasonable weight although could be a little quieter. Still see them around for a good price I would recommend to others.
- Date Purchased:
Powerboss 2000w Inverter generator – I bought a PB200i generator in 2011 when they were first advertised. I had other Briggs & Stratton products and was happy with them. When I tried to register the product on the Briggs & Stratton website the Product Id wasn't recognised. I phoned the retailer who agreed that I could fill in the registration card and post it to them. The generator developed an oil leak under the crankcase after a few hundred hours; it was replaced with a new generator without question. This happened 5 times (yes, they kept exchanging a used generator for a brand new one). I have been using generator #6 for 2800 Hrs.
In use the generator starts on the first pull of the starter cord every time whether its hot in summer or below zero.
I checked the voltage and frequency of each generator using a power meter and all were as expected. Some of the generators produced RF interference (RFI), some didn't. One of the good ones started producing RFI one day as it was running (I presume an electrical component failed?).
Servicing the unit is easy. Emptying the crankcase oil is simple; tip the generator on its side and drain the used oil into a container (a 2litre plastic juice container is ideal). The generator toolkit includes a plastic 200ml container with a flexible spout which makes it easy to refill the oil.
Country owners who are familiar with wasps packing every available hole with mud will appreciate the wire mesh spark arrestor protecting the exhaust pipe. The moulded clamshell body has recessed holes for the screws which hold the body together, and although wasps make use of these holes their mud is easily removed.
My PB2000i has a problem where the starter cord frays at the point where it enters the recoil assembly. This becomes noticeable after about 700 hrs operation. The cord is easy to replace but to do so requires partial disassembly. My local B&S dealer advised that if starter cords are allowed to fray until they break, the rewind spring generally self destructs.
General comment: the generator requires an oil change every 100hrs. I would be willing to pay extra to have an hourmeter on the generator so I don't have to maintain a daily logbook.
Conclusion: The B&S engine is reliabe. The RFI generated by some units is disappointing particularly as one "went noisy" as I was using it. I would not buy another one. Engine reliability Creates RF interference. Noisier than its competition. Starter cord frays. No hourmeter.
Extra Information
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5,000 hour update. Regarding the fraying starter cord: I retied the cord's knot in the pull handle several times, which effectively moved the worn part of the cord away from the friction points. Eventually the cord became too short for comfortable use, so I replaced it at 2310 hours with a smaller diameter cord that I bought at the local mower shop. After the next 2700 hours use this cord has frayed a little, though much less than the original cord.
The top of the clamshell body has a clip-on removeable panel which covers the spark plug. After 5,000 hours this panel is no longer a firm fit and it vibrates with an audible noise when the generator runs. Unfortunately the plastic parts will continue to wear, probably at an ever-increasing rate as the parts keep wearing.
I buy oil in 20 litre drums, so I used one of the empty drums to carry petrol. After a couple of years the inside of the drum started to rust which of course ended up in the fuel tanks of my chainsaws and the generator. The chainsaws have effective fuel filters; the generator does not. The tiny rust particles play havoc with the needle valve in the carburettor, resulting in the engine surging. Its a simple matter to loosen the drain screw on the carburettor float bowl and drain the debris; the entire operation only takes a couple of minutes. I only mention this because when draining fuel from the carburettor float bowl, the fuel drains via a transparent plastic tube which originally passed through a hole in the bottom of the generator's clamshell body. Unfortunately this plastic tube has shrunk at least 2cm and no longer reaches the hole in the body.
I originally commented that the wasp mud was easily removed: I shall retract that comment because I've had a visit from a wasp which packed the heads of the Phillips head screws with very hard mud. So hard in fact that I had to use a long sailmaker's needle to pick the mud out of the screw heads before I could get enough purchase to undo them. I have now covered all screw holes in the clamshell case with duct tape.
I have used Castrol Edge synthetic oil in the generator from day one in the hope of protecting my investment. After 5,000 hours the engine doesn't seem to use any oil between changes. I found that the price of this oil varies significantly between capital city and country outlets, though given the small amount of oil required I think the cost is worth it.
7400 Hour Update. Then engine still doesn't use oil between changes. I tied bungee cord around the generator body, making sure that the spark plug cover was securely held in place. This stopped any further wear due to vibration, though it interferes with oil changes.
Instead of using oil drums to store petrol, I had bought some new metal jerry cans. These too began to rust and eventually the rust flakes clogged a plastic mesh filter in the outlet pipe on the bottom of the fuel tank. After washing this mesh filter in-situ, flushing the fuel tank and filling with clean fuel, the engine ran OK for half an hour under no-load conditions. I would have preferred the fuel filter to be an inline replaceable type, like the ones used on lawnmowers or motor cycles. Next I ran the generator under a light load whereupon it would run for 2 minutes and then stop. I will disassemble the fuel lines and start again. In the meantime I bought new plastic fuel cans and a Yamaha ef2000is generator which is quieter than the Powerboss. It also has a bigger fuel tank incorporating a fuel gauge (very useful), and a larger diameter fuel filler pipe that doesn't suddenly overflow when you least expect it.