Frequent and sustained Power Failures in Eastern Pennsylvania required decisive action. In particular, I needed a Generator that is reliable and easy to use in order to provide emergency power to my Sump Pump. The ability to add on additional appliances was also important, but the Sump issue was becoming the Center of My Universe. The WGen9500DF seems to have all the attributes I need, and more.
It arrived perfectly boxed and undamaged. I was already aware due to other reviews, that the engine oil that ships with the unit was not quite a sufficient quantity to fill the oil reserve, so I did purchase additional oil before I could test and use the Generator. The Generator is a heavy monster (200+ lbs). In order to put the wheels and peg legs on prior to filling it with oil/gas and making it moveable, you really need to have a second person to help lift it. The actual process of putting the legs and wheels on is very straightforward, but without additional help, there was no way a 67 year old woman was going to accomplish it. So its important to factor that in as a critical step in finalizing use of the Generator.... don't wait for the emergency.
The battery connection plug seemed a little tough for me to squeeze together because I was squeemish about bending anything and it didn't exactly glide in as easily as I expected, so an extra strong push is required. The oil descrepancy between the amount shipped and what is eventually required is a bit disconcerting because you are cautioned about overfilling the oil reserve, so you have to ease your measure of additional oil by constantly using the dipstick.
Finally, I poured some, but not a lot, of gas into the tank to give the WGen a test run. After turning the fuel selector to "Gasoline", moving the fuel tank valve to ON, Pushing the battery switch to ON, I hit REMOTE START. The Gen tried 3 times to turn over but didn't. So I shut everything off thinking maybe I was too timid about the amount of gasoline in it. I added some more gas. Reset all my start buttons. And the WGen started right up. The outside temperature was about 19 degrees at the time, so that might not have helped either.
The Generator ran like a charm, so I let it go for about 5 minutes to circulate everything. I did not hook any loads onto it at this time.
For me, this is the kind of purchase where I hope I don't have to use it that often since its strictly for emergency power backup, and not recreational use. However, the Push
Button Electric Start is already worth the price of admission since pulling recoil starts is becoming very difficult. I also don't think the noise level is excessive, but there's been so many Generators running in the area lately, perhaps I have become immune to the sound.
So far, I am very pleased with my purchase, and think it was relatively easy to get the WGen ready for action from a person not too familiar with engines.