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Family Handyman reviewer Paul Rankin tested the Anker Solix Smart Generator 5500 for just over a month using gasoline and propane, including with an Anker Solix E10 home battery. He reported simple setup and app operation, but his longest continuous test was about two hours; he has not tested natural gas, and the full battery system added substantial cost.
Family Handyman reviewer Paul Rankin reported that Anker’s Solix Smart Generator 5500 was straightforward to set up and operate during just over a month of testing with gasoline and propane at his Florida home. The review describes the generator’s integration with an Anker Solix E10 battery system as its strongest feature, while noting noise and the cost of the complete backup setup as drawbacks.
Rankin tested the 224cc, four-stroke inverter generator as a standalone unit and connected to his E10 whole-home battery system. The generator runs on gasoline, propane or natural gas. Anker specifies up to 4,500 watts of DC output on gasoline or propane and 4,000 watts on natural gas; its rated AC output is up to 3,600 watts across the three fuels. It has one NEMA TT-30R and one NEMA 5-20R outlet.
In the E10 configuration, the generator sends DC power directly to the battery rather than converting power to AC and then back to DC for charging. Rankin said he observed output of about 4.5 kilowatts during DC charging, consistent with Anker’s advertised maximum for gasoline or propane. In his setup, the batteries powered the home’s electrical loads; the generator charged the batteries. It was not directly supplying every household appliance.
Rankin said first-time preparation took about 20 minutes, including connecting the startup battery and adding engine oil. He reported successful starts using the physical controls and Anker app, with a manual pull-start available as a backup. He tested gasoline and propane, but not natural gas. His longest continuous test lasted about two hours, so the review does not establish performance over a full, prolonged outage.
How the Generator Supports Home Backup
The review highlights a backup arrangement in which batteries handle household power while solar and a generator recharge them. That can give a home another charging source when sunlight is insufficient, including at night. The generator can also be used on its own, but the reviewer identified direct DC charging of the compatible E10 as the main reason to choose this model within Anker’s ecosystem.
Rankin’s reported costs show the difference between buying the generator and building out that system. He said the battery equipment cost about $14,000, with professional installation adding approximately $4,500. Those figures describe his setup, not a universal price quote, and the review says the broader system is considerably more expensive than the generator alone.
A Florida Home Backup Test
Rankin conducted the review at his Florida home, where he said hurricanes and severe storms can cause outages lasting hours or days. His home already had rooftop solar and an Anker Solix E10 system with two E10 power modules and three battery expansion modules. Electricians Arcenio Garcia of Firstline Electric & Energy and Oswin Fernandez of Future Electric Solutions installed the equipment.
The test covered startup, app controls, Eco and higher-output modes, portability, noise, and operation on gasoline and propane. Rankin reported no starting problems, overloads, connection failures or app glitches during the month of use. These are the reviewer’s observations from one home and a limited test period, rather than results from long-term or independent laboratory testing.
““The biggest surprise was how easy Anker made practically everything about using a gas-powered generator.””
— Paul Rankin, Family Handyman reviewer
Limits of the Monthlong Test
Rankin has not tested natural-gas operation; he said that requires a professionally installed connection to his home’s gas supply. He also reported a longest continuous test of about two hours, leaving performance during a sustained outage unassessed in the review. Noise is cited as a drawback, but the supplied report does not provide a measured sound level. The review also does not establish how the generator would perform with different home loads, climates or battery configurations.
Natural-Gas Testing Still Ahead
Rankin said he plans to add a professionally installed natural-gas connection and test that fuel in the future. Until that test is reported, natural-gas performance remains unverified by this review. Readers considering the E10 combination will also need to check system and installation costs for their own homes; Rankin’s figures reflect his particular equipment and installation.
Key Questions
What fuels can the Anker Solix Smart Generator 5500 use?
It is designed to run on gasoline, propane and natural gas. Rankin tested gasoline and propane, but not natural gas.
Did the generator directly power the reviewer’s entire home?
No. In Rankin’s test, the generator supplied DC charging power to the E10 battery system, and the batteries powered the home’s electrical loads.
How much power did the reviewer observe while charging?
Rankin said he saw output of about 4.5 kW during DC charging. That was an observation during his test, not a guarantee for every operating condition.
How long did the testing establish continuous operation?
The longest continuous test described in the review lasted about two hours. The article does not report a longer outage simulation.
What did the reviewer identify as the main drawbacks?
Rankin cited noise and the substantial cost of the complete Anker home-backup setup. He reported that his battery equipment cost about $14,000, plus approximately $4,500 for professional installation.
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