Harbor Freight Predator 8750 Watt Open-Frame Inverter Generator Troubleshooting ideas

[5030]

I went to harbor freight ro get a few throw away hammers, some nitrile gloves and a look thru the store. Still, the only things i see there that i really like are their line of rolling tool boxes. Those are built real nice. I will not buy anything with a cord or a motor from this place.

You are missing out of some great tools.

 

[5030]

I own and use their Pro-Tig 205 Tig welder and a pair of plasma cutters, one high amp for the CNC plasma table and the other for general shop use and my employees use them all the time as well. So far, 3 years and 0 failures.

 

[5030]

Far as the inverter genny is concerned, I bought a Champion years ago and it runs like a top. Sounds like it's a motor issue not the inverter head.

 

[BryceSteiner]

I own and use their Pro-Tig 205 Tig welder and a pair of plasma cutters, one high amp for the CNC plasma table and the other for general shop use and my employees use them all the time as well. So far, 3 years and 0 failures.

I used to despise HF but I needed something one time and got something, then started going some more. Now I'm there all the time. I recently bought their hammer drill, works great. SDS Max, works great. Got a small DC welder - love it. Now I'm beginning to replace my DeWalt tool collection both at home and at work with Hercules. They work just as good (or better in the case of the Impact driver) and I like that if something craps out I just take it back. Their hand tools are generally good. Their fluid hand pump has worked phenomenal compared to the cheap one from Napa. And their impact sockets? Yup. I weld them on to things, cut them to make new tools, etc. Their cheap enough and no problems.

 

[5030]

Never broke one of their impact sockets even using them on my IR 1" air impact driver

 

[bcs001]

I finally got back to some of the initial troubleshooting today but didn’t make much progress. Removed the plug and put a little oil in the cylinder. Also checked oil level which was good then drained. It didn’t look to have much metallic or smell unusual.

With spark plug and oil drain plug removed I did notice a very slow pull on the starter rope seemed to feel somewhat normal but with any harder/faster pull, the friction level goes up significantly. This seems like it’s the opposite of what to expect with the auto decompression.

Does this point to a mechanical problem with the cam/decompression mechanism and would it explain the difference in friction based on the pull speed or are there other possibilities that could cause this.

 

[gengine]

The decompression shuts rather quickly. Once there is compression, even with the plug removed, it shuts "thinking" you have momentum. I think you should take off the recoil starter, make sure the coil lines up with the magnet on the flywheel at top dead center of the piston.

 

[gengine]

Any luck?

 

[bcs001]

The decompression shuts rather quickly. Once there is compression, even with the plug removed, it shuts "thinking" you have momentum. I think you should take off the recoil starter, make sure the coil lines up with the magnet on the flywheel at top dead center of the piston.

I finally had some more time to dig in a little deeper and its looking more likely to to be some type of internal engine failure. Removed the recoil assembly, engine/flywheel shroud over the generator coils and plastic fan assembly. Verified there is no rubbing contact with the generator coils to flywheel magnets and with engine coil pick-up to the flywheel. I did note a little crankshaft end play that seemed unusual but maybe normal on these Chinese motors.

I also spent a lot of time on the phone with Harbor Freight's technical support subcontractor AWS going over the symptoms and their conclusion was most likely an internal journal or bearing failure. I then contacted Harbor Freight customer service directly to request some kind of compensation for an obvious product defect and I was sent the following reply:

Per our call earlier today, i was following up on the product issues you had with item#71340 - PREDATOR 8750 Watt Open-Frame Inverter Generator with CO SECURE Technology, EPA purchased on 10/7/2024 at store# 3381 under tran#: 081974.
Unfortunately , after careful consideration, we are not able to offer a replacement or refund in this case.
I truly understand how disappointing this is, and I'm very sorry we couldn't provide the resolution you were hoping for. Please know this decision is based on our warranty policy, and while we strive to assist whenever possible , we also must follow these guidelines.
We truly value your business and hope to have the opportunity to serve you again in the future under better circumstances.
Best wishes,

Yes, I know the purchase was made voluntarily from Harbor Freight and not a Home Depot or equivalent and without warrantee but in my experience, reputable large companies still stand behind their product even when out of warrantee and when there is very little use on the product before total failure.

At this point I guess I'll tear it down and try to determine if it is salvagable/repairable. Not sure if the Predator line of engines have replacement parts available but I'll determine that once I get into it.

Live and learn and maybe posting this will help someone else avoid the same problems.

 

[nyone]

Try adjusting the valves before you tear to much more into it.