"Bought one in "used once" condition for $700 with electric start & battery as a backup for my home. Seems well designed and sturdy. Starts up easy, but is loud, like a large lawn mower. Standing next to it you have to shout to be heard over it. My garage is below my bedroom and it's far too loud to sleep over when running in my garage, so I'm going to have to build a sound enclosure to make it something that can run as permanent part of my home's standby power."

"I just bought it and have not used it yet I would like to hear from other owners who have used theirs."

"I used my Homesite Power 6500 for the 1st time this weekend. It started and ran a 3/4 hp submersible well at 5600' elevation without any problems. However, the electric starter did not work."

"I'm considering purchasing one but I’d prefer to have a unit that would support 30A 240V instead of 20A. Costco is selling them for $679 until 1/31/07."

"I have not received my 6500 yet however, If you are an Onan supplier you can get it fully loaded (wheel kit, battery for electric start)for about half the Costco price. "

"I'm considering purchasing one but I’d prefer to have a unit that would support 30A 240V instead of 20A. Costco is selling them for $679 until 1/31/07."

"I just started mine for the first time this morning. It started very easily with the electric start. It ran very well but is extremely loud. Too loud for neighborhood use."

"Costso sale ends 1/21/07. Check your online coupon. "

"i bought the homesite 6500 from costco last summer . so far as of 1/2/07 ive put approx 90 hrs on it . lots of power problems this year , one time power was out for 5 days . has performed well , not too bad on gas , easy to start . i have not gotten a battery for it yet . only compaint is its made by the chinamen with a chinaman motor . "

"I have not received my 6500 yet however, If you are an Onan supplier you can get it fully loaded (wheel kit, battery for electric start)for about half the Costco price. "

"5egmbe-5270"

"5EGMBE-5270 S/N-L06E011297"

"I work for Onan in MN and I own one of these generators. I spoke to the development people here that did the product testing before I bought mine and they tell me the Chinese engine performs as well as an equal sized Honda engine. Also note that the recommended engine size for a portable generator is: continous watt rating divided by 1000 times 2. Ex: 5000 W continous / 1000 = 5. 5 x 2 = 10hp engine. This generator has 13hp. So you will not likely wear out the engine (if you maintain it properly)."

"What is a good price on this generator? 600? 700?"

"I bought one of these chinese onans, and its way way way too loud. Seriously, for the money it makes me laugh!!! Go for the honda THIS THING IS A PIECE OF CRAP!!"

"FOR REAL $400. and no more. These are loud junk just like the off brands."

"What is a good price on this generator? 600? 700?"

"do they sell covers for the 6500?"

"I bought one of these from Costco for 729. I got it in last week. The fuel petcock leaks like a sieve. No help from Costco.com. I am purchasing a new petcock from Cummins Bridgeway. We'll see what happens. "

"I bought mine from Costco and have never regretted it. Run it through a GenTran connected to our home and it provides great standby power for days and days without problem. My wife can even set it up and control everything thanks to its electric start. 1 leg rated at 40amp and the second at 20 I don't know what the guy is talking about above. We received the free wheel kit thru Costco and paid less then $700."

"I have owned mine for three years and it has performed flawlessly. Ran for 8 days following hurricane IKE. Best $679 I've spent at Costco."

"GREAT UNIT,RUNS LIKE A CLOCK. Overall much better quality than the Honda for less than half the price.Easy to start"

"yamaha is the best generator more money but quiet and efficient "

"Strong running generator. Produces clean power. It's heavy though (186lbs) and it's loud."

"I WOULD JUST LIKE TO KNOW WHERE I CAN FIND ENGINE PARTS FOR THE ENGINE. MINE SENT A PUSH ROD THROUGH A ROCKER ARM AFTER JUST THIRTY HOURS OF RUNNING. "

"Just got mine a couple of days ago. Love it, not much louder then than tha HONDA 3500 piece of junk I got rid of. That makes the second HONDA I sold. Won't buy another one as I expect this Onan to last forever."

"new CostCO add is out Sept 11-28 2008 $749 after $200 off. they think you would have paid $949.99 for this thing!"

"aFTER THREE HOURS OF USE, IT BLEW UP. "

"I purchased this generator two years ago from Costco-runs great. Had to replace fuel petcock as it leaked when in the on position. "

"We have 6500, and would like get battery for it, but cannot find where in manual or any where else we can find out what size,brand or type we need to look for"

"Wow -- I'm on this website because we bought a 6500 from Costco last February, live in a rural area and couldn't get an electrician scheduled to hook it up to our electric box. In the meantime, I've misplaced the manual. Does anyone have any idea where I could get one? I clicked on the manual link on this page, but it just gives the general specs. Thanks. "

"I purchased the 6500 from Costco about 4 years ago. The battery size, listed on p. 20 of the manual is 14L-A2, a common size used in many garden tractors/mowers, and is available at Walmart. The generator IS noisy. Fortunately, my power service comes in through a garage that is 100' from the house. The gen is hardwired to the main breaker through a manual crossover switch (very important). I modified the exhaust to vent outside. Even with the outside muffler and exhaust, the mechanical noise is still very loud. For the past three years, the power outages lasted for only a day or two. This year the power was off for 8 days,during a snow storm. The gen ran flawlessly the full time, powering all house systems except the clothes dryer and electric oven. It used 2 gallons of fuel every three hours during the day and evening, and less at night when running under light load. While I think that this is a good gen for the money, if I had it to do over again, I would install a Diesel powered gen, but it would cost 3 to 4 times as much"