Yamaha Inverter EF1000IS Portable Generator - Product Review

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION AND PHOTOS

• Retail Price - $700
• Weight (dry) - 27.9 lbs (12.65kg)
• AC Rated output - 900Watts
• AC Max output - 1000Watts
• DC Rated output - 12V 8amps
• Decible rating - 47-57dBA
• Fuel capacity - .66 gallons  (2.5L)
• Run time at 25% load - 12 hours
• Displacement/HP - 50cc/2.2HP

We'll call this the front of the unit since it has the control panel.  Everything you need to know about the health and happiness of the generator/inverter is right here.


The right side is where the exhaust comes out.  Nothing special, just a warning sticker and the muffler over the end of the pipe.


The back has an access panel for adding oil and a secondary shut off valve for the fuel tank.  Also noted near the bottom are two blow by tubes for making sure excess oil or fuel is expelled from the unit.


The left side is pretty boring.


The top is where the fuel goes as well as an access panel for the spark plug.  Instructions on starting the unit are printed on a heavy duty mylar sticker for hopeful long lasting use.  Also on the top are the emissions ratings with this unit scoring a 3 out of 10 (1 being the best emissions).


A close up of the sparkplug access.  Notice the rubber seal on the door to help keep out water and dust.


The control panel consists of(generally left to right, top to bottom):

• Overload light
• AC Ready light
• Low Oil light
• Choke pull
• Fuel cock dial
• 2 120V 60Hz 1Phase AC outlets
• Main on/off switch
• Ground connection
  
• 12V 8amp DC power outlet
• DC reset switch
• Economy Switch
  

The hand pull, when new, is very easy to grasp and use with rubber located at the top of the cavity to reduce it getting broken on retraction.


The unit is shipped without oil which is filled in this location in the rear (more on that in a moment).


Along with the generator/inverter you get some useful items.  On the left are the DC charging cables.  The special plug fits in the DC outlet on the front of the unit and aligator clips grab on to your battery terminals.  The double ended socket fits the spark plug and I'm not sure what else.  The wrench works with teh socket so no additional tools are required to remove teh spark plug.  The oil pan fill bucket is a well thought out addition that makes a world of difference.

REVIEW

    My initial review is a traditional "out of the box" look at the unit when it arrived brand new.

    Packaging: This unit thankfully comes with a minimal amount of wasted packaging.  Only two pieces of interior cardboard help keep the unit in place and damage free when shipped. 

    Appearance:  As you can see from the pictures, the unit is a cobalt blue color with a tint of purple in the right type of light.  The pieces are all fit well and nothing rattled or seemed out of place.  Wrapped in plastic for shipping, the unit was clean and free of any signs of handling.  Not a drop of oil was seen.

    Directions: The owner's manual is written well enough and easy to understand without being too simple.  Some warnings are repeated more than they need to be, but all in all, it's a very useful, thin manual and should be read before using the unit.  Here is a link to the manual, see for yourself.

    First use:  Now's the fun part.  I've read the manual (it takes maybe 15 minutes) and understand hwo to start it.  First task is to fill it with oil.  The manual suggests 10W-30 SAE be used.

1. Remove the oil filler cap.  they made the cap rubberized and easy to grasp.


2. Now slide in that little oil tray I mentioned before.  It fits well but can be bumped out if you aren't careful.


3. Pour in the oil.  This part takes some patience as you can quickly exceed the capacity of the oil tray if you pour too fast.  The manual states .34 US quarts as a capacity and this should be just up to the bottom of the hole.  There are two problems with this: 1. It's dark in there.  2. New oil is pretty clear.  I had to use a flashlight to help tell the level and even then, I spilled some from over filling.


4.  Yamaha thought ahead in case of slobs like me.  You'll notice the extra oil ran into this little tub in the bottom.  That tub actually comes off the bottom (second picture), is made of rubberized material and is used to help DRAIN oil when changing.  I don't have a picture of this set up, but basically that unit fits around the fill hole and acts as a funnel.  You then tip the unit and that rubber piece will help funnel the oil into a proper drain pan, making oil changes hopefully very clean.



    Put the fill cap back on and you're done with the oil!!  For me, even with the slight overfill, it was a very clean process.  A rag was needed to wipe out the fill funnel but other than that, I can't complain.  As the oil becomes dirtier, I suspect it'll be easier to check the level before operating.

    Next up is the gas fill.


    That red collar on the inside is the fill line.  Below that is a screen to help keep out large particles and that whole unit is easily removed in case something drops in while filling.  The fuel capacity is .66 US gallons so a smaller canister works better.  The generator is advertised to run for 4 hours at 100% output an 12 hours at 25% output, or about 225 watts of output.  With the fuel hole being straight up and down, I needed to be more careful about the fill rate so extra splashing didn't occur.  Some patience is needed here to not make a mess.

    Gas and oil in:  CHECK!  We're now ready to start the generator!  Yamaha kept all the controls you need close together on the control panel


To start the unit (these are the instructions on the top of the unit):
1. Check that no loads are connected


2. Make sure the Economy Switch is turned off (and clip your fingernails if you are going to be taking pictures of them  )


3. Turn the air vent on the top of the fuel fill cap one full turn counterclockwise


4. Turn the fuel cock dial to ON (this dial restricts fuel from the tank to the engine)


5. Switch the main power ON


6. Pull the chock out all the way


7. And then give 'er some yanks with the handle!!


    It took me quite a few pulls before I realized I wasn't pulling the cord ALL the way out.  That last 6 inches or so of pull is what gets the unit to kick over.  Once I realized that, the unit sputtered to life!!  Within 10 seconds I was able to slowly put the choke back in and the unit settled down to a revving kind of rhythm.  The generator will warm itself up if cold and keep the RPMs high while it does this, so don't be surprised if it seems loud at first.

    After the unit calmed down I started playing with Economy mode and hooking things to it.  WOW does the unit go quite when you turn that mode on!   Not silent, and it still makes a revving noise, but compared to anything else on the market, it has a GREAT idle speed and sound.  The most logical things I believe I'd use this for on a trail are fridge and laptop, among others.  I'd also use it for things like portable blenders, LED string lights and other general goofy, non essential items I might take.

    The unit handled the additional load of the laptop and Engel on Economy mode without making any noticable increase in speed or noise output.  I was really impressed by the seemingly total lack of draw from these two items that had previous run my Powerpack to the ground in 2 hours.

    The most important need we have for a generator is the frequent power outages at our home.  While it'd be nice to power the whole house, the cost, noise, fuel consumption and fuel storage to fill those needs didn't fit in with most of our plans.  This little unit will be enough to run our house refrigerator, computer and internet connection.  All the things a house needs.    When hooked up it did make more noise and ran higher than with just the laptop and Engel, but it had no problem with starting the 7.5amp AC fridge and keeping it going which was one of the main goals we had when purchasing it.


    Now then, on to the demonstration videos!!

    The first video is an attempt to show the noise output when the unit is idling, then with the Economy Switch turned on.  Some loads from an Engel 45 fridge/freezer and Dell 620 laptop are attached.  You will note there is very little, if any, noticeable increase in engine speed and noise output.  Lastly I backed up 8 feet from the unit to give you an idea of how noise drops off when you walk away from the unit.
    That video is located here. (3.7MB)

    Next, I plugged the unit into our house fridge.  The noise is increased but when inside the house with the fridge running, the noise is barely noticeable over the fridge's compressor.
    Video of the unit running under this load can be found here. (.8MB)

    Lastly, this video is shot around the corner from generator running the fridge.  This is approximately 12 feet from the unit with the muffler facing the horse barn you see.  I am standing right around the corner to give an idea of how it sounds.
    That video can be seen here. (.8MB)

    From now, that's all I have.  I'm happy with the unit so far but have yet to take it on a trail or give it a test by fire.  When those times come, I'll append this review.