Forum Discussion
- It is about time ! Honda has been resting on it laurels for a long time.
This does use a new engine that is designed for HD, long term usage.The GXR120 engine includes a special cast-iron cylinder sleeve and a high carbon-steel, dual-ball bearing crankshaft that provide improved engine strength and lasting durability.
They continue to MISS THE MARK by not offering a version with a TT30 outlet (the Companion version still has a (twist) locking plug)
If Champion maintains the quality of their product, Honda will have to get more aggressive on their pricing. The cost of the electronics have dropped to a fraction of what they were when the EU2000i was introduced. theoldwizard1 wrote:
It is about time ! Honda has been resting on it laurels for a long time.
This does use a new engine that is designed for HD, long term usage.The GXR120 engine includes a special cast-iron cylinder sleeve and a high carbon-steel, dual-ball bearing crankshaft that provide improved engine strength and lasting durability.
They continue to MISS THE MARK by not offering a version with a TT30 outlet (the Companion version still has a (twist) locking plug)
If Champion maintains the quality of their product, Honda will have to get more aggressive on their pricing. The cost of the electronics have dropped to a fraction of what they were when the EU2000i was introduced.
...and are more reliable as well...
I'm 4 years into my Champ with ZERO issues. I haven't even changed the plug yet Stars first pull everytime but then so does my Honda tiller and both my quads. Far as longevity goes, my one quad is a 1994 Honda Foreman 400 and it runs like a top. Of course I do maintain it. I plan on keeping it until I die... Estate sale thing.
Didn't know the Honda didn't come with a fuel shutoff until now. The Champ has 2 fuel shutoff's. One on the carb (accessable from the control panel) and one on the gas tank fill. I always run the catb dry when storing and pull the float bowl drain to get every last bit of swill gas out.- As an aside, I did have one Honda motor blow up on me a year ago. Tossed the rod through the case. Was a GC motor (overhead cam, belt driven) and I suspect a rod bolt was not tightened. Honda would nor stand behind it so it went in the garbage and I replaced it with a Predator and it's been running ever since (on a pressure washer). The Pred was less than 100 bucks OTD.
Things happen with mass produced stuff. - The blurb talks about watts, but the old one used VA, which is better for figuring what it can do. Assuming the new watts is VA then this one will do 1800VA instead of 1600, which is better. No way to know if it can run whatever you have without knowing the PF of your appliance and its rated input watts.
BFL13 wrote:
The blurb talks about watts, but the old one used VA, which is better for figuring what it can do. Assuming the new watts is VA then this one will do 1800VA instead of 1600, which is better. No way to know if it can run whatever you have without knowing the PF of your appliance and its rated input watts.
I'd bet that the new spec's are indeed VA not watts.
But as I and someone else mentioned, the extra 200VA may take it from "almost adequate" to "barely adequate" for some applications.
My 2000 will easily start my coleman Mach III with the micro air easy start at even 4500ft elevation at 90F. But it will only run for about 10 minutes before it overloads. I'll be the extra 200 VA would get me over the "hump". and mean I don't need to parallel at higher altitudes.
But then I already have 2 hondas, why get another?pnichols wrote:
That 2200i spec for it's noise at full power (62 dB) - an increase over that for the 2000i - is NOT insignificant!
What would have been a really outstanding engineering coup for Honda would have been if they could have kept it's maximum power level noise no greater than that for the 2000i -> 59 dB. Note that the common RV 4000 watt Onan built-in gas generator has a noise spec of around 66 dB "out in the open" as delivered .... but of course they are enclosed inside RV cabinets which can make them considerably quieter than 66 dB, as heard from the outside .... probably will below 59 dB in most RV installations.
Honda did keep it's weight about the same as the 2000i, however ... which is commendable.
It makes me wonder if maybe it's the same basic generator as the 2000i, just with modified control circuitry (and maybe an improved inverter) so that it will output more power, of course running the engine at a higher speed when it does so. If that's the case, then it should be about the same loudness at equal loads.- :) Hi, finally an update, but not enough. Honda should have at least matched my Yamaha 2400.
- The motor has 20% more displacement, and is a heavier duty one.
That makes it VERY likely that it will easily do the new specs, and last even longer than the previous ones... It is not just a "fluff" upgrade.DrewE wrote:
pnichols wrote:
That 2200i spec for it's noise at full power (62 dB) - an increase over that for the 2000i - is NOT insignificant!
What would have been a really outstanding engineering coup for Honda would have been if they could have kept it's maximum power level noise no greater than that for the 2000i -> 59 dB. Note that the common RV 4000 watt Onan built-in gas generator has a noise spec of around 66 dB "out in the open" as delivered .... but of course they are enclosed inside RV cabinets which can make them considerably quieter than 66 dB, as heard from the outside .... probably will below 59 dB in most RV installations.
Honda did keep it's weight about the same as the 2000i, however ... which is commendable.
It makes me wonder if maybe it's the same basic generator as the 2000i, just with modified control circuitry (and maybe an improved inverter) so that it will output more power, of course running the engine at a higher speed when it does so. If that's the case, then it should be about the same loudness at equal loads. - Can you get an external extended run gas tank for the Champion generators? I twin my current 2 Hondas and hook them to my extended run tank and am able to run them at full power for about 8 hours at a time.
I need this type of run time since in early September football games, we need AC.
But even in late October, when we only need one generator going at a time, I like the extended run tank. Many fewer times needed to fill up the tank.SidecarFlip wrote:
I see they are still proud price wise....$$1,149.95 MSRP. 2 Champs or 3 Preds.. Ouch.
The one thing I have never liked about the Honda (or the Yamaha or the Pred or any of the smaller units) except the Champ is the shape I want a unit that is box shaped so it's easy to store, the primary reason I bought the Champ over the others. Price was my last consideration.
Don't get me wrong, I like Honda's I have a couple of their quads and a tiller but the genny's, not for me. With portable genny's, I like square and boxy, not swoopy. Tyhe 3K watt open cradle is one I like but I don't need that much output. I had Yamaha 2800I for about 12 years but sold it. Was time. Electronics, like bread, gets stale after a time...lol Atlee wrote:
Can you get an external extended run gas tank for the Champion generators? I twin my current 2 Hondas and hook them to my extended run tank and am able to run them at full power for about 8 hours at a time.
I need this type of run time since in early September football games, we need AC.
But even in late October, when we only need one generator going at a time, I like the extended run tank. Many fewer times needed to fill up the tank.SidecarFlip wrote:
I see they are still proud price wise....$$1,149.95 MSRP. 2 Champs or 3 Preds.. Ouch.
The one thing I have never liked about the Honda (or the Yamaha or the Pred or any of the smaller units) except the Champ is the shape I want a unit that is box shaped so it's easy to store, the primary reason I bought the Champ over the others. Price was my last consideration.
Don't get me wrong, I like Honda's I have a couple of their quads and a tiller but the genny's, not for me. With portable genny's, I like square and boxy, not swoopy. The 3K watt open cradle is one I like but I don't need that much output. I had Yamaha 2800I for about 12 years but sold it. Was time. Electronics, like bread, gets stale after a time...lol
Frankly, if I wanted to install an 'extended run tank' I would. Just a matter of adding a vacuum fuel pump and using the breather hose (with a Tee) to provide the pump impulse, no big deal and the pumps are available everywhere, online and at a lawnmower shop for about 15 bucks, plus there is plenty of room inside the case to mount one and the QD fittings to use a remote tank but...
I don'r want one, nor do I need one. I use my Champ to recharge the house battery bank about 3 hours a day. That is it and I don't have ac in my RV, I don't like ac, don't have it in my home either (except in the bedroom and it gets turned off when we sleep). I certainly don't go to football games especially with the current anti American attitude of the players, not that I would pay what I consider a stupid price to watch professional actors toss a football, I can watch on TV for free...
Neither here nor there. What is, is not everyone employs their genny's for the same uses. If they did, there would not be the variety available that there is.
My champ runs 3 days no problem on one tank of regular unleaded. More than adequate for my use. It's dimunitive size makes it ideal for my use (recreational) but it's also very limited in output. I have a 27KW diesel powered stationary unit that backs up the farm during power outages. The tiny Champ stays in the RV, where it is right now actually, sleeping with everything else.
Like I said earlier on, I bought it primarily for it's box like shape, easy to store in the RV, like a box of 'stuff' Fits nicely in a compartment and don't move around plus I can put stuff around it and on top of it. The double fuel shutoff (carb feed and gas tank) make it fume free in storage. All pluses in my situation but yours may be different.
I didn't post on this thread to demean the Honda and promote the Champ, on the contrary, the Champ ticks all my boxes, the Honda don't so I have the Champ instead.
I'll leave it at that.
