What is the Best Generator under $500?

Looking for the best generator for the money in 2013?

A generator is an essential item to have if you wish to be prepared for natural disasters, such as earthquakes, floods, high damaging winds an tornadoes.

Check out the best generators under $500 right here on Amazon

Power supplies are often the first thing to go when disaster strikes and it can often be a long wait before your home's power can be reconnected. Having the contents of your fridge or freezer spoil is not a welcoming prospect or the cleanup after.

Recently there have been many high quality affordable generators introduced to the market at affordable prices, but identifying the quality options can be difficult for the layman. In this article I will review the three best generators you can buy for under $500, where you are not sacrificing reliability for price.

Best gas generator with wheel kit under $500

DuroMax XP4400E 4,400 Wat...

Briggs & Stratton 30466 3...

WEN 56352 3500 Watt 212cc...

DuroMax Elite MX4500 4,50...

Champion Power Equipment...

How to buy a great generator

The first thing you must consider is the wattage capability of your generator. This determines how many appliances and other electrical items you can run at once, and whether you can run them to their full capacity. If you are looking for an emergency generator, it is a good idea to find out the wattage requirements of the essential electrical items in your home (heating, lighting, and refrigeration first and foremost) before making your decision, as these can vary quite a bit.

Generally speaking the higher wattage the better, but you must balance this with the fuel requirements you will need to run at full capacity. Of course, disaster preparation is not the only reason to buy a generator, and these models are also great for camping trips or powering your backyard shed, or your backwoods hunt camp.

Below are my picks for the best generators under $500, all of which are fully capable of powering your home's electrical essential in the advent of a disaster. They all have proven durability as well, something you can't always rely on when buying cheaper genrators.

DuroStar DS4400 4,400 Watt Gas Powered Portable Generator

has wheel kit for easy movement

DuroStar DS4400 4,400 Watt Gas Powered Portable Generator With Wheel Kit
When it comes to portability and ease of use, the DuroMax 4,400 Watt Gas Powered Portable Generator can't be beat. It comes with a wheel kit included by default, and features and electric starter (as opposed to the traditional recoil start found in most generators, but it includes that option as well).

DuroStar DS4400 4,400 Watt Gas Powered Portable Generator With Wheel Kit

If you are looking for an emergency generator to store away in case of disaster this would be your best option for under five hundred bucks. The electric start means anybody can get it going immediately, in any conditions, and it is very easy to move around with the included wheel kit.

The only disadvantage with this model is that it lacks an hour meter - this that if you plan to run it continuously over a long period of time, you may have difficulty knowing when to change the oil, etc.

It is designed to be stored and only used in emergencies or other operations lasting less than a week, however - and in that capacity it works very well. Just a few reviews so far, average is a 4.5/5 rating, so this looks like a decent power generation unit for under $400.