I would prefer stainless steel over aluminum, and would prefer a mechanically fixed magnet over one that is just epoxied on, but any links/recommendations would be appreciated!
Posted about a week ago and got a *LOT* of very helpful responses and useful information—so *thank you* so much to everyone that commented and helped!
TL;DR: I bought two Predator 10k gas-only generators, and my present circumstances / conditions make it incredibly difficult (and mentally / emotionally draining) to look for a "better" option—I want to know if I'm going to regret sticking with the two 10k Predators with extended coverage so I can move on to other pressing needs / projects. I do know how to maintain them and am good at sticking to maintenance schedules.
My wife and I have been going through a *very* rough time the last few years—it's a somewhat long story, but the general summary is: a corrupt and criminal estate executor abused his role after the tragic and untimely deaths of my parents; he stole all the cash in the accounts, he refused to file the taxes, he took out loans against the house to cover his alcohol and gambling addictions, and ultimately he forced us into a foreclosure before the estate transferred to me forcing us to sell the family ranch quickly and for a huge 'discount' (which was in the family for 250 years, the current mortgage originated in early '00s before my mother bought it off my uncle, who took out the mortgage)—which is why we had to move to the wilderness (only thing we could afford without spending every last penny). In addition to that, my wife has some major medical conditions that keeps her in a lot of pain constantly, and her insurance is currently refusing to cover treatment / medicine. There's a lot more to it than this, but describing the rest would make the post unreadably long. My lawyer said it would cost too much to pursue the executor in court, and that I had about a 50/50 chance at best of even succeeding—which I didn't have the money for anyway.
I ended up buying two Predator 10k gas-only generators. It was the last day of Harbor Freight's "Spring Black Friday" sale and they were marked-down $200 ($699.99). I also purchased the 2-year extended coverage on both. I also know how to properly maintain them, I am good at sticking to maintenance schedules, and I plan to go above-and-beyond with routine maintenance. The second one is primarily for backup, but also to run in parallel should any project with power requirements greater than 10k come up—including rare occasions where I might need to start up and run EVERYTHING simultaneously.
I'm borrowing a friend's Honda 12k presently, but he needs it back ASAP; so, the original plan / logic was to snag the Predators before the sale ended and finish researching other generators—that way, if I found nothing else in our budget, we wouldn't have missed the sale.
I know there are better generators with better out-of-the-box manufacturer warranties; so, my question is, will I regret it if I stick with these Predators? We have *so* much going on right now, and I don't have the mental or emotional energy to compare all the possible options in order to make a properly-informed final decision—I've been trying to since I bought them, and that has been destroying me mentally... so much of me wants to just stick with what I bought and move on with other pressing issues, like building us a house and setting up battery-bank / solar.
Not to mention, a lot of the manufacturer warranties seem to just cover parts and repairs and not the cost to ship it in—where I live, there's no authorized repair shops, just Walmart, Harbor Freight, and Ace Hardware. I know a 3 or 5 year manufacturer warranty is good, but not as good if you don't have any shops or authorized vendors within 200 miles, or the funds to ship it in—the extended coverage from HF at least allows me to drive it into town and replace it within 2 years if anything does go wrong.
I know these aren't "the best", but will I regret them long-term?
If you read this far for context, thank you *so* very much for taking the time! I'm in a very precarious position, and I'm currently very fragile mentally and emotionally, so any words of encouragement or advice is *greatly* appreciated, more than i can properly express at the moment...