Porter Cable 5 250 Watt Portable Generator BSI525 WH
The Porter Cable 5,250-watt 10 HP portable power generator delivers up to 13.2 hours of run time at half load and 8 hours at full load with its 7-gallon gas tank. It’s powered by a 10 HP Briggs & Stratton GenPower OHV engine with a brushless alternator to deliver clean, consistent power. Compression release provides easy recoil starting, and the included 9-inch wheels and handle make this generator portable. It produce just 76 decibels of sound and has a surge capacity of 6,500 watts. Porter Cable backs its generator with a 1-year limited warranty.
User Ratings and Reviews
3 Stars Not a great deal.
Got this generator last year the morning after Katrina hit out area and the power was out. Bought it mostly because there wasn’t much to choose from at Home Depot and for the Porter Cable name.
Most generators this size & wattage usually come with a 30A generator extension cord included. Have had not problems with it. I just think there are better deals on generators with more features for the money.
5 Stars Saved Us After Hurricane Ike
Bought this after Hurricane Katrina back in 2005. Didn’t need it then but it was enough to scare me into buying some backup power source. It sat in my garage for 3 years and I was beginning to regret spending the money on it. Hurricane Ike hit in Sept., 2008 and I lost power for 2 weeks. This generator was a life saver, it worked 24/7 for two weeks straight with no problem. I had a full sized freezer, my kitchen fridge/freezer, two 32 inch TVs, a VCR, a DVD player, a wii system, and 3 fans plugged into it all at the same time (tons of extension cords) and was even able to also use the coffee pot, microwave and charged our Nintendo DS games and cell phones as needed without having to unplug any of the other items listed above. I am so happy I bought this and would recommend it highly, couldn’t think of much more I would have wanted to plug into it. It was loud but well worth the noise for the relief it gave us for those two weeks!
4 Stars Great for the occassional power outage
I’ve had nothing but success with this unit. I’ve used it a half dozen times over the last year or so and it’s more than met my expectations: 1) starts easily, 2)gives out plently of juice for the fridge, tv, satellite box and some lights and 3) doesn’t sound like a jet engine parked outside the front door. Can’t speak to its effectiveness on a jobsite, but it works fine when the power goes out and for the occassional outdoor party when I’ve needed power for appliances and compressors away from the house.
4 Stars Works fine… start very easily.
Bought this generator in 2004 after Hurricane Isabel primarily to provide some power to the house in the event of long power outages: and occasionaly for site work at some mountain property. Have used it maybe two dozen times.
Am always surprised how easy this is to start. One or two easy pulls and its running. Just be sure its on reasonably level ground as it has an “low oil” shut-off mechanism that’s rather sensitive. I’ve also been very careful to roll it out of the garage every month or so for a test run of about 15 mins. And, I ALWAYS use gas stabilizer (e.g., Sta-Bil).
Have used it to simultaneously run; 3/4 HP well water pump, two large refrigerators, a deep freeze, microwave, and various lights, TVs, phones, computers, modems, etc… The only “lugging” occurs for a split second when the water pump kicks in, though you can’t detect dimming of the lights when this happens. My longest run was for about 48 hours.
Obviously you can’t run whole-house HVACs, electric water heaters, electric stoves, etc. on this size generator.
This size generator is never quiet, about as loud as a lawn mower… though maybe a bit lower in pitch, so after a few minutes the sound will blend into the background a bit.
Paid about $650 at BJ’s in 2004… have seen them for $699 recently on sale (2008).
This is a heavy unit… was able to get it in and out of the truck on my own… but really takes two people to lift. With the large wheels and handle it is very easy to roll around. I can even pull it up steps with a little finesse and effort.
I am 100% pleased with this unit… well built, clean steady power, very very easy to start, easy to roll aound, and very well priced in comparision to other options.
Has a nice and simple power distribution panel with 240v and 120v outlets with individual breakers. Wish it had some kind of power meter to better guage how much juice its supplying, but haven’t seen that option on generators of this size. You can buy an external meter for about $75 and I’m thinking about that.
As I have twin 200 amp power panels in my house, I am seriously thinking about getting a second one of these to essentially power all the rooms and circuits in the house. Again, if you want HVAC capacity you’ll need to go with one of the “big boys”…
Its one of those things you buy and hope you’ll never need… but you’re real glad you have it when the meat and the ice cream in the freezer starts melting.
5 Stars Generator
Exactly what we need for power outages here in the mountains. Porter-Cable is an excellent brand name. Have always had good luck with any product made by Porter-Cable.
