Briggs & Stratton P2200 PowerSmart Inverter Generator

Summary:

The P2200 belongs to the PowerSmart Series inverter generators of Briggs & Stratton. This series is all about portable design, good power output, and suitable for recreational purposes.

Moreover, you can use it for camping and tailgating and even use it at home as your small backup generator. But you will notice that it has a somewhat limited power output to run all basic appliances. So, it’s more suitable for recreational use.

• Quiet operation
• Extremely reliable
• Simple to install and use
• Slightly pricey as compared to others.

Introduction:

The Briggs & Stratton P2200 portable unit comes with power suitable for your recreational needs. Most competitor products in the same range feature up to 2000 Watts of surge power and have running power under that wattage.

So, what makes the P2200 different from the rest?

Maybe Briggs and Stratton has introduced a user-friendly design in the P2200 and backed it up with an extensive customer support service?

Perhaps, this unit is all about the technical specs that outperform its competition in this range?

Keep reading to find all about this inverter and see whether it’s a good option if you consider it or not!

Briggs & Stratton P2200 Inverter Generator – An Overview

Briggs & Stratton is well known for its lawnmowers, portable generators, and small engines in the US market. It backs up all its products with quality customer support as well as other after-sale services.

If you are using a portable generator or similar products for the first time, then a quality customer support service always comes in handy. But another useful aspect for first-time users is how the design is easy to use, and the P2200 has both these features.

This unit is meant for recreational purposes, and you will love having it by your side of your camping and tailgating endeavors. You can also use it as a small unit as your backup generator at home.

But due to its small capacity, it is not going to run many appliances. So it’s better to be used as a recreational unit.
The features that make it perfect for recreational use are its portability, lightweight construction, user-friendliness, and almost noise-free.

Moreover, benign inverter generators are going to provide clean energy to your electronic devices such as laptops, cameras, and phones.

P2200 Inverter Generators Technical Specifications

The P2200 comes with a surge wattage of 2200 watts and a running wattage of 1700 watts. Portable or inverter units that come with this much wattage and best suited for small devices like laptops, tablets, phones, and cameras.

But you can use this unit for powering your small home appliances as well. But make sure that you do that one by one. For instance, this running watt is good enough to power a small fan or a portable heater.

But you can’t put too much load on it and run more than 3 or four appliances because of its small output capacity. And this is the only drawback the P2200 has.

This unit is parallel capable, and you can link your second generator for camping the power up to overcome that weakness. Moreover, this unit runs on gasoline and comes with a fuel tank of 1-gallon capacity.
The unit features a 111cc OHV engine, and on 1-gallon fuel, it can continuously run for up to 8 hours with a quarter load on it.

They run pretty quietly compared to their traditional counterparts. However, this unit is not the quietest on the market.
Its noise level is around 59 dB at 5% load and 57 dB on economy mode. So, these noise level numbers are still pretty good for any outdoor or recreational unit.

The noise level remains under control thanks to the Super Lo-Tone technology and a pre-installed muffler. Furthermore, this noise is controlled due to the engine speed that automatically adjustments according to the demand.

The Quiet Power Technology

The company has introduced this technology to reduce engine noise and gas emissions. With this technology, the generator will consume fuel efficiently.

It comes with a clear-to-see and straightforward control panel that is easy to monitor. There are three different indicator lights on it, and they will want you for overloading and smooth operation of the unit and low oil shutdown.

There are three outlets on the control panel of this unit. One is for a 12V direct current outlet and a couple for 120V alternate current 20 Amp outlets. Each of them has its reset button for protecting the unit and the device you connect with the unit from any surge.

As it’s an inverter generator, it will produce clean energy with less than 3% total harmonic distortion. Therefore, your sensitive electronics and gadgets won’t be damaged by any of those power drops or hikes all of a sudden.
In addition, the unit has a narrow and compact construction, and there is an H-handle right at the top for more portability.

You can start its engine using a manual recoil that will take around three pulls to get it running. Unfortunately, it’s not a CARB-compliant unit, so you cannot use it if you live in California. But you can use it in other states, where there are no regulatory restrictions.

Safe to Use for Sensitive Gadgets

It is safe to charge your sensitive devices with this machine. As it’s an inverter unit, therefore, it will produce smoother and cleaner energy that your devices can use and continue to operate as they should.

Using this inverter unit, you can conveniently charge your phones, gaming systems, tablets, laptops, and similar devices. The reason for that is you won’t have to deal with any drops or spikes in the current, and your devices will remain safe from any damages.

Quiet Operation

This unit is rated to produce up to 59 dB of sound while operating. This rating is something that is nothing extraordinary. However, the generator is noisier than most other inverter units from other companies.

But it still manages to get the job done when you use it outdoors. The unit does come with a tendency to blend in well with its surroundings.

User-friendly and Versatile Control Panel

It comes with a user-friendly design, and its control panel comes with plenty of options. There are three different outlets present on it, including a direct current outlet and a couple of household outlets.

You will have to go for a USB adapter to charge your sensitive electronics. Apart from that, you can power a combination of lights, television, and various other appliances like crockpots and blenders.

Convenient H-handle

This inverter machine also features a convenient H-handle on it. So, you can easily move it on your own or ask somebody to help you lift the unit for mobility.
But instead of an H-handle, a double handle would have been a much better option because you will notice that carrying this unit with someone else will be a pretty troubling task.

Inbuilt Expandability

This unit comes with parallel capability, and you can conveniently connect another unit with it to expand the power and address your needs accordingly. Connecting another unit in parallel is not a problem at all.
There are dedicated parallel outlets that will allow you to connect another unit and create a stronger power source to run more appliances without any problems. By doing so, you can conveniently make this unit usable in your home.

Lightweight and compact

This inverter generator comes with a compact and lightweight design (weighs around 54.6 pounds). You can conveniently carry it wherever you want to go.

It is the best unit you can have on your camping/tailgating trips because of its size and weight. No matter what type of outdoor recreation you are planning, you need to go with the P2200 inverter because it is built for this kind of stuff.

The P2200 vs. The P3000 – The Difference

The PowerSmart Series by Briggs & Stratton has a more powerful alternative available. And it’s the P3000 with 3000W surge and 2600W running power. This unit has 800W more surge power and 900W more running power if you compare it with the P2200.

And you are getting all that power with a slight increase in size and weight. The P3000 is still meant for recreational use, just like the P2200, but it provides you with more freedom to connect some more appliances.

The P3000 features four 120V alternate current 20 Amp outlets, a 120V alternate current 30 Amp outlet, a USB port, and a 120V direct current outlet. It also comes with a much bigger 171cc engine as compared to that 111cc engine in P2200.

As a result, it can generate more power, but it also increases the unit’s overall weight. To accommodate the additional weight, the company has equipped this unit with casters, and twin handles that you can use to pull and drag the unit without lifting it.

Therefore, you can say that the P3000 is much more portable and mobile than the 54 pounds P2200. Moreover, there is a slight change in the LCD on the Briggs & Stratton P3000, and it is way more informative than P2200. This LCD shows total running hours and reminders for replacing those spark plugs, oil, and filters.

Like the P2200, the P3000 also comes with parallel capability. You can always amp up your capacity by connecting another unit in the circuit.

There is not much difference if you compare the run time of both these units. However, the P3000 does come with a slightly longer run time of up to a couple of hours at 25% load, even with half a gallon bigger fuel tank than the P2200.

But P3000 runs slightly quieter as compared to the P2200. The P2200 comes with a noise level rating of 59 dB, while the P3000 has 58 dB at around 25% load. So, despite being a bigger unit, the P3000 runs quieter.

P2200 vs. Others on the Market

The iGen2200 by Westinghouse and the EU2200i by Honda are comparable to the P2200 by Briggs & Stratton. All three of these units come with a similar surge wattage, but both the iGen2200 and the EU2200i come with 100W more running wattage.

P2200 vs. EU2200i

If you have a closer look, you will notice that the P2200 and the EU2200i are very similar in technical specifications. But the EU2200i takes a significant amount of lead over the P2200 in terms of being far quieter and weighs much lighter.

The EU2200i is the quietest inverter unit on the market, and it beats all of its competition fair and soiree in that department with a 48 dB noise level. On the other hand, the P2200 is quite noisy with a 59 dB rating.

But the P2200 beats EU2200i in terms of price. The latter costs almost double what the P2200 costs. So, you need to consider this and check whether the technical difference between these two units is worth the extra price or not.

P2200 vs. iGen2200

With the iGen2200, the P2200 is still noisier because the iGen2200 has a noise level of 52 dB while the P2200 has a noise level of 59 dB. However, the significant advantage of the iGen2200 is that it comes with a pretty big runtime of up to 12 hours at 25% load, which is four more hours than what the P2200 can manage.

Moreover, the iGen2200 comes with a USB port, and the P2200 doesn’t feature one. This can be the ultimate deciding factor for some users because they can directly charge their sensitive electronic devices using the iGen2200 inverter unit.

Why Choose P2200?

Here are some key reasons why you should consider going for the Briggs & Stratton P2200 inverter generator.

User-friendliness

If you are looking for a simple to run unit and don’t require any skills to operate, this is the right option for you. So, if you are looking to buy a portable or an inverter generator for the first time, then the P2200 will serve you well.

Excellent customer support

Briggs & Stratton also has good customer support to back all its products. Therefore, it becomes much easier for you to help take care of and handle your inverter unit.

Parallel capacity

But the biggest favor that the P2200 has to offer is that you can run it in parallel. We have mentioned that the unit does come with a smaller output. To cope with that, you can connect another generator parallel with this unit and address all your power needs.

All standard inverter unit positives

The remaining features of this unit are pretty much common in every inverter unit. These include low-noise levels, low oil shutdown, decent run time, and of course, lightweight design.

Price

You might notice that the specs are slightly different from other units, but this unit does come at a very affordable price.
Both the generators (iGen2200 and EU2200i) come with a bigger price tag. This is a huge advantage that the P2200 has over its rivals in the same category.

Why Is P2200 Not a Good Choice?

You might notice that the technical specs that the P2300 comes with don’t make it stand out in the competition. So here are a few downsides of this machine.

No USB Port

It doesn’t come with a USB port. Inverter units are the go-to choice for anyone to charge their gadgets and electronics. So, the P2200 not featuring a USB port is a bad move by Briggs & Stratton.

If you are the one who uses your gadgets and electronics a lot when you are on your outdoor trip, you might give it a second thought before going for the P2200. To be honest, it’s quite strange that the company is marketing it as a recreational unit and still doesn’t feature a USB port on it.

Not very portable

Another drawback that this unit has is its portability and that too when only weighing around 55 pounds. This unit comes with an H-handle and despite not weighing too much, using this handle is not very comfortable.

If there would have been two handles, carrying the unit would have become much easier for carrying by two people. It is just more problematic to carry the unit even with two people due to this H-handle.And taking 50 pounds is not always as easy for everyone. So, the H-handle design could’ve been improved.

Less running power

This unit is only suitable for recreational use. Hence, you can find it handy if you are running a few devices on it. However, you cannot power multiple appliances using this generator. So, it is not going to be a workable option for home use.

But on your trip when you don’t need many appliances at the same time. You can use it pretty efficiently if you manage it carefully. But the company has always marketed it as a recreational unit. It is not a unit you can use at your home.
For that, you will have to be a lot more vigilant about how you are consuming your power.

Final Word

The P2200 by Briggs & Stratton is a pretty simple, compact, lightweight, and affordable generator. It’s an ideal option for your recreational use. You will find it pretty handy on your tailgating and camping trips.

If you have never used an inverter generator before, this is an excellent option to consider. The company provides you with quality after-sales service and customer support.

Moreover, it has a parallel capacity. Therefore, you can connect more units to support your power needs. You can always buy different-sized units to match your needs when you are off-grid.

This unit comes with almost similar technical specifications as compared to other units in a similar category. But it costs nearly half the price of any of its competition, and for many users, that could be a deciding factor.