Anyone own a Champion Generator?

Since this is an RV forum . I assume the buyer plans to use the genset for camping purposes. Power Outages are a entirely different scenario and are irrelevant to the discussion.

Stating that the genset is great in a power outage only brings confusion to the discussion.
Any genset you can get your hands on is great during a power outage:S

77charger wrote:
I had the 3500/4000 it did fine but only got about 2 years out of it.after about 1.5 years it was struggling to start my a/c and even the micro would load it down.

Before that i had an elim 3000 i got about a 1.5 years out of it.

I would use them to run my a/c for hours straight in the summer in my toyhauler,and quite a bit over the winter riding season at glamis to power my flood lights or charge batteries.
When my champ went out i priced them and the price jumped here in ca i had 600 into gens that got me 3.5 years and i could dump another 400 into a new one.I decided to get a used honda 3000 in 2009.So far its been great and put alot of hours on it.It also uses half the fuel of the champion and in a week long trip it makes a difference.

Again, I stated numerous times that the Champion is for someone who will only use their generator in a power outage situation...nothing more, nothing less...not hours or weeks on end, though the 3500/4000 that I spoke of provided power 24/7 at our own campsite on a river in WVa after the winds tore through there and caused a lot of devastation. Used it at home once when power was out for a couple of day's...again, 24hrs/2...never had a problem starting it, never had an issue....

Guess I must not be able to communicate well, but did say, yet again, and numerous times that "I" use mine in power outage situations only...don't boon dock...would only fire it up at a campground, (should I go somewhere else other than my own property), IF and only IF there were a power outage....SO, in MY CASE, see know reason whatsoever to put the money in a Honda or Yamaha when the Champion has met my needs in emergency power outages to supply power for lights, AC, Fridge, whatever...

IF I DID boondock or plan on firing up my generator while camping as some of the posters do in here, I would have puchased a more expensive, quieter gen set...but don't need it.

Guess most in here can read the minds of others and KNOW when and where some are going to use theirs....I can't do that...thus the reason when I answer one of these questions, I qualify it with "depends on when and where you're going to use it", and "how often"...depending on the answers to these questions...THAT should determine just how much money you should put into on.

I had the 3500/4000 it did fine but only got about 2 years out of it.after about 1.5 years it was struggling to start my a/c and even the micro would load it down.

Before that i had an elim 3000 i got about a 1.5 years out of it.

I would use them to run my a/c for hours straight in the summer in my toyhauler,and quite a bit over the winter riding season at glamis to power my flood lights or charge batteries.
When my champ went out i priced them and the price jumped here in ca i had 600 into gens that got me 3.5 years and i could dump another 400 into a new one.I decided to get a used honda 3000 in 2009.So far its been great and put alot of hours on it.It also uses half the fuel of the champion and in a week long trip it makes a difference.

I have several Hondas and one Champion. The Hondas were all bought used. The Champion was bought new. The Hondas have given me no trouble. The Champion has.

NC Hauler wrote:

steiny93 wrote:

2oldman wrote:

JiminDenver wrote:
I figured this would become a Honda/Yamaha vs Champion thread. Sigh

They always do... over and over.

as that's always the question; how close to the gold standard are the cheap ones

I totally get it; I went through the exact same decision process.

In our 'crew' we have all the players Honda/Yamaha/champion/kipor all in the 2000. We've run them side by side and for extended periods in pretty harsh conditions. (hot and humid as well as terrible cold)

Personally I can't really tell the difference between the Honda/Yamaha. But anyone can tell the difference to the rest (noise / issues / etc).

The question; are those differences worth the uptick in regards to the price. This would totally depend on your usage and willingness to put up with the issues.

Oh; the other difference we've noticed between the champion and the Honda is fuel use. The Honda uses somewhere between 30-50% less. Not a big deal until you are refueling in -20 with a 25mph wind.

Thing is, I haven't seen the issues you speak of ....Most KNOW that the Honda's and Yamahas are better and quieter, thus the reason they're so much more expensive. But again, I haven't seen all these issues you talk about "putting up with", to more or less, save a buck...not like it's being used at ANY TIME, in my case unless, and I will say it again, There is a power outage...you act as though these generators will be fired up every day, any time, any where for day's on end, which in reality, is a bit silly, unless there was an extended power outage, and at that point, I really don't think someone would comdemn someone for using a Champion generator to stay warm, keep their food fresh and have lights at night time.

Don't really understand what the big deal is about -20 and 25 mph wind....this past summer, wind was blowing at 55 plus mph and wrecked havoc in WV and VA...power out for a week or better....generator was refueled in 55 mph wind and pouring rain, temp wasn't cold though....don't know what that has to do with anything..but if it's a way or reason to deter someone from purchasing a cheaper generator that will do the job, then more power to you. In an EMERGENCY, hope I'm not going to have to answer to you about using my generator to make life just a little better for my family....

Again, haven't seen or experienced any of the issues you speak up just to hype up the Honda or Yamaha...some people don't have that kind of money for a generator, surely you're not going to "look down your nose at them" if they don't purchase the more expensive Yamaha or Honda generator , are you??

definitely not condemning anyone; i'm just calling out the experiences I've personally seen when we have been running these gensets next to each other

I even stated the following "The question; are those differences worth the uptick in regards to the price. This would totally depend on your usage and willingness to put up with the issues." which is what I believe the original poster is trying to determine.

These 'issues' being the ones I called out in my first post; the restarting issue and the no power output when cold.

My comment regarding refilling the genset in -20 temp with 25mph wind is in regards to how much that sucks (being outside and doing it). think -60 degree wind chill; its very not fun.

For our usage we need these to work in a very cold environment a weekend at a time. This year we have over 200 hours of genset time since December. To date the Honda's and the Yamaha have always fulfilled this need and the Champions have yet to make a weekend on a single unit(they are 0 for 3). On the plus side those two gensets cost less then a single Honda.

I don't really care what anyone else purchases or spends on their equipment; I'm just relating my personal experience.

beemerphile1 wrote:
the OP hasn't been back since asking the question

Pretty typical..I bet some posters get a real thrill out of doing this. Start fire, walk away...

The gold standard is having your needs met dependably. Our Champions do that for us. Would a Honda 3000 run my AC at 9200 ft, maybe not. It takes everything the 3500/4000 has to do it and the Honda is rated for 2800w.

The noise police like to jump fast not even caring if any one but us will ever hear our generator run. We have no neighbors so if a Champion runs in the woods and no one hears it, is it really running?

Had I blown my budget on a 3000i or a pair of 2000 inverters, I would have to listen to them charge up my single battery every day just as I did last year with the Champ. Even at 50 db, that sucks.
Instead I was able to take the money saved and add solar and battery, plus LEDs and there's still money left over. These things allow MY generator to sit idle, not run at idle. Silence is a gold standard too not quite matched by the big names and certainly not the Handi that runs 3 db quieter than my Champ.

I don't suggest any one run a generator in a campground when others are in hearing distance. However if we were in one and someone dropped a inverter between the sites, I'd run the Champ out too and let them make sweet harmony together because if I'm going to listen to yours, you can listen to mine. :)

I did a review on my inverter type Champions a while back and there is a video I made using them up a Joshua Tree NP if anyone is interested in the noise levels.

Champion 2000W Generator Review

I'm boondocking right now and if I walk away with the genny running, I'm one of the quietest, and most of the Class A rigs are louder, although with a lower frequency type noise.

Ray

Anyone notice between the chest thumping and declarations of what is best - that the OP hasn't been back since asking the question?

Some are too lazy to use the search feature and then don't bother to even respond to those offering answers.

I just noticed in the January 2013, Consumer Reports magazine, that there is a recall on some of the Champions.

Affected models

Model # 41532 – 9000 Watt / 7000 Watt
Model # 41332 – 8250 Watt / 6500 Watt

Stu