Generac XD5000E- 5000 Watt Electric Start Portable Diesel Generator (CARB)

If you're running large pumps or multiple refrigerators/freezers, consider stepping up to our "Best" recommendation. The extra power will come in handy when two large loads start at the same time.

A little loud and heavy, but dependable. Running a 10k btu portable ac, it would use about a quarter of fuel per hour.

So overall it seems well made and robust, I've just test run it for an hour or so, but so far so good.

Big mystery with the oil the manual clearly says 1.7qt They give you 2 quarts of 30w with the generator.
when i went to add the oil it only took 1 qt before overflowing the port. This was strange, I closed it up thinking I just needed to circulate the oil so without starting it I rotated the motor with the recoil starter to make sure oil went into all voids. I then re-checked the level and it was still full, checked to see that the machine was level, it was. I then ran it for about 3/10 hours and rechecked... still full. So I'm guessing that they shipped it with .7quart of oil in it.... or the literature is wrong as someone else said in another review. I'll let it break in for 10 hours or so and then do the first oil change and find out for sure.

Its crazy big and heavy for the relatively low capacity, I guess that's the diesel engine and the 12 gal tank, its larger and heavier than the gas the gas powered Generac I have that is almost twice the power of this one.

One of the features that I was most interested in was the recoil start feature as a backup to the electric start. I'm a good sized guy, 6' 230lbs and work with equipment of some sort every day. I can start anything, but I can't start this on recoil, even with the decompression switch engaged the pull starter is brutal and hard. Tried for 15 minutes to start it with no luck, just a sore arm.

Great power plant no expect less. I loved good craftsmanship.

We just installed and started it today. The metal seems to be good, The engine sounds strong. The carrier the delivered the generator lacked communication. The shipping was free so can't complain. The fuel shut off valve is leaking right out of the gate. We have not contacted Generac about the issue just yet. So we don't know how that will go.

I have 6 generators that I use on my ranch and I use some 24 hours a day for a good part of the year. I have bought cheep china generators that I like better then this one.

I received my generator and it was delivered by Old Dominion on a well made pallet with cardboard box over it. The delivery was much better than I expected. No damage, not even to the cardboard and the driver was great.

A couple days later I got the wheels and handles. Fortunately I had a fork lift and lifted it up off the pallet and installed the wheels and stand plus the handles. The handles fold down but the ones that attach to the tubing and latch in extended position are much better. The quality of the generator deserves the better handles. But I don't move it often so it really is not a serious flaw. The other handles were actually less expensive than these.

Now to the diesel Generator. I like diesel power. It runs air cooled at 3600 rpm. It runs smooth. Started easy first try. Oil capacity was a guess as manual had 2 different capacities and no way that I saw to determine which one it was. So I kept going using a portion of the 2nd quart supplied. When it appeared at the edge I tried the dip stick which says to insert it and screw it all the way in to get the measurement. Most others you insert the dip stick to the stop and take your measurement. No biggy. I read the manual and called Generac but nobody seemed to know just what the rocker switch 120V/off/120/240 switch did.

Anyway, I bought a battery and installed that which went very easy. Put some regular diesel fuel from the service station in it and turned the fuel on pressed the fuel bulb a few times until it filled the fuel filter and set the circuit breaker to off on the panel and put it in run position and hit start. It made a couple turns and started right up. No smoke even on startup. The engine ran very smooth. This is a one cylinder air cooled YANMAR diesel engine. My John Deere has a 2 cylinder diesel and my Kubota has a 3 cylinder YANMAR diesel and they are fine durable engines per my experience. They are made in Japan.

I ran it only about 5 minutes so far. I put a trouble light into the 120v receptacles one at a time. It was then that I found out the that rocker switch had to be in the 120volt position to operate. The light was bright and no flicker at all. The engine ran steady with no variations in speed. At this time I have not tested the 120volt Nema outputs or the 120/240 volt NEMA 15-30 receptacle. I suspect that the switch must be set to the right side for either of those 2 to work but haven't tested that out yet. I have not tested it under any loads other than just the trouble light. 100watt bulb. The book is the thing with shortcomings. I'm very happy with this generator so far.

I am using it for an irrigation pivot that needs 3 days of continuos operation