DuroMax XP13000EH

Name: DuroMax XP13000EH
Brand: DuroMax
Price: 1299 USD
Availability: InStock

~$1,299approx. list price

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800 WLights, phones, router, a CPAP
2,200 WFridge, freezer and the essentials
4,000 WFurnace blower, sump pump or a window AC
7,500 WWell pump or a small central AC
18,000 WWhole home with central air

10,500 W running, 13,000 W surge — sustains the well pump or a small central AC tier and everything below it.

Best forRural and well-pump homes that need maximum starting torque per dollar and don't care about noise.

The 'Beast': 13,000 starting watts, a 500cc V-twin, all-metal construction, and a 50-amp outlet for around $1,300 makes this the biggest-hammer option in portable backup. Owners with well pumps and central AC buy it for those big motor loads, and the MX2 switch lets you dedicate full power to 120V or split 120/240V. DuroMax support actually gets better marks than Westinghouse's in forum comparisons. What the fans concede: it's LOUD (mid-to-high 70s dB real world), 234 lbs of steel, drinks propane fast (about 3 hours on a grill tank), and its non-inverter power has high THD, a concern for sensitive electronics. Mechanical complaints such as a failed starter, carb icing and a governor that hangs on propane appear, and owners usually solve them with basic wrenching or warranty service.

From the spec sheet

Specifications

Running watts: 10,500 W
Starting watts: 13,000 W
Fuel tank: 8.3 gal
Runtime: 8 hrs @ 50% load (8.3 gal gas); ~3 hrs on 20-lb propane

Type: Portable Generator
Fuel: Dual Fuel (Gas/Propane)
Noise: 74 dB
Outlets: 2x 120V 20A GFCI (5-20R), 1x 120V 30A (L5-30R), 1x 120/240V 30A (L14-30R), 1x 120/240V 50A (14-50R)
Transfer-switch ready: Yes
Weight: 234 lbs
Warranty: 3-year limited
Model: XP13000EH

13,000W starting muscle·50A outlet + MX2 120/240 switch·All-metal build

At a glance

Strengths

+Starts well pumps and heat pumps that stall smaller generators
+MX2 switch dedicates full output to 120V when needed
+All-metal frame and panel survive job-site abuse
+50A, two 30A, and GFCI household outlets cover everything
+Strong value at 8¢/starting-watt

At a glance

Drawbacks

−Very loud under load — plan distance and sound walls
−High THD non-inverter power, a concern for sensitive electronics
−Propane runtime is only ~3 hours on a 20-lb tank
−234 lbs — barely mobile on soft ground
−Starter, carb and governor problems turn up in owner reports

Summarised from owner discussions and forums

Owner insights

The XP13000EH is bought as a budget whole-house generator for homes with big motor loads and no natural gas: well pumps, central AC, electric water heaters and shops, fed through a 50A inlet and interlock. The success stories are about breadth of load, such as a full house plus shop on propane through a 19-hour wind outage, and an owner who manages load with a meter on each leg says it runs everything in the home. One owner who has since switched to a pair of inverters calls big open frames loud behemoths.

The ownership file is mostly mechanical. A starter that failed at three years and was replaced under warranty, carb icing that a new carb did not cure, a governor that hangs on propane after years of use and that a warranty shop could not reproduce, and control wiring damaged by rodents or an arc all appear. Fuel planning matters: a 20-lb propane tank lasts about 3 hours, and one first-time owner was surprised to get only about five hours from 8 gallons of gasoline at a 400-watt load. Natural gas on this dual-fuel model came only after a kit with a carb adaptor failed and a hotter spark plug got the propane-port kit to fire for one owner. The unit carries a CO monitor, and an owner with a ventilated shed asked how to bypass it.

Rural or all-electric homes that need maximum starting power per dollar, and can buy on a sale, are where it earns its place. The Westinghouse WGen11500TFc and WGen10500 tri-fuel units were the alternatives on shoppers' lists, adding natural gas from the factory; the DuroMax drew one shopper whose Westinghouse order had gone two months without shipping, being in stock and $300 cheaper. Buyers who know they want natural gas can go to the DuroMax XP13000HXT tri-fuel instead of converting this one.

What owners like

+During a 19-hour mountain wind outage an owner ran it on propane for the whole house, well pump, AC, water heater, two freezers and a separate shop included, with a little circuit juggling
+Through a 50A interlock, an owner with a soft-started 4-ton AC and a meter on each leg says it powers everything in the home as long as he manages load
+Natural gas is possible on this dual-fuel model with some trial and error: a regulator kit into the propane port only backfired until its owner fitted a hotter E3 spark plug, after which it fired first time, and he now runs most of the house including a soft-started AC on NG
+Price swings make timing matter, with listings at $899 on Cyber Monday 2023, $930 with a military discount and $1,099 in early 2025, against $1,418 at other times
+Warranty covered a starter that failed at three years and about 440 hours
+It was in stock and about $300 cheaper when one buyer's Westinghouse WGen11500TFc order had gone two months without shipping in 2024

Common complaints

−Replacing that starter is a 13-step job, and its owner had to move the machine onto concrete to tackle it
−After two years on propane only, one unit began stalling, backfiring and hanging at low RPM on the governor until the lever was bumped by hand; the warranty shop found nothing wrong and the problem persisted
−A boat-mechanic owner's unit iced its carb during an outage, surging at full throttle until he ran it at almost half choke, and a new OEM carb did not fix it
−One first-time owner went through 8 gallons in about five hours at roughly 400 watts after starting it with the choke pulled all the way closed, which points to a fault on that unit rather than normal light-load burn
−Control wiring has given two owners trouble: one had rats chew through the panel wires before first use, and another lost all output after a small arc at the front panel
−Getting a soft-started central AC to run can take troubleshooting, with one unit refusing to start at a 30-amp peak and another hearing a loud noise at every startup
−Propane is short-lived from a grill tank at about 3 hours, and 234 lbs of steel makes the machine hard to reposition

Questions owners ask

Can I convert the XP13000EH to natural gas?

One owner has, but it was not a simple bolt-on. His first kit, a regulator into the existing propane port, only backfired once, and a second kit with a carb adaptor would not fire at all. After reading that natural gas needs a stronger spark he fitted an E3 plug, reinstalled the first kit, and it fired right up; he primes the regulator and it starts first time, and he has run most of the house on NG including a soft-started AC.

Will it run my whole house, including a well pump and AC?

With load management, two owners say yes. One ran a well pump, AC, water heater, two freezers, a fridge and a separate shop on propane through a 19-hour outage by choosing which circuits were on. Another, with a 4-ton AC on a soft start, says it powers everything in the home as long as he manages load, which he watches with a meter on each leg.

Is it a good deal on sale?

Listings have ranged from $899 on Cyber Monday 2023 and $1,099 in early 2025 to $1,418, and one shopper found $930 with a military discount, so the sale price changes the comparison. At $1,418, one shopper's alternative, the WGen10500 tri-fuel at $1,249, was cheaper and adds natural gas; in 2024 another buyer found the DuroMax in stock and $300 cheaper than a WGen11500TFc order that had not shipped in two months.

Head to head