3000W Chinese Gensets Info.

[professor95]

professor95 wrote:
EDIT ADDED 45/5/2013- When this thread started in March of 2005, I never expected to see it survive this long or amass the quantity of information that has been shared here.

In the eight year run of this thread we have amassed almost 10,000 postings and surpassed a million views. This creates somewhat of a dilemma for anyone who has just discovered the forum.

Since the amount of information is virtually overwhelming, I suggest you set your preferences for this thread to read "newest first" and then begin to page backwards.

What you will find in these pages is a wealth of info on virtually any make or model of Chinese manufactured synchronous (non-inverter) generator in the 3,000 watt performance class. Info will include how to rewire series coils to parallel to obtain maximum wattage from a single 120 volt outlet. Tips on further reducing sound levels, how to care for these generators, which ones are "RV ready" and provide the best overall performance for the dollar invested. Which companies NOT to deal with, where the best prices are, how to safely wire the generator into a home or RV, how to check your RV for electrical faults, sources for generator accessories, which 20/30 adapters are safe to use and which are not. How to convert a gasoline generator to propane or NG. This is only the beginning. The forum has a life of its own with the focus sub-topic switching frequently. Still, the main topic of utilizing the amazing, inexpensive Chinese gensets is always there. The amount of creativity and innovation presented in these pages is indicative of the talents shared in the diverse backgrounds of the folks who make up our combined RV community.

Many of the original brands and models of Chinese gensets mentioned in the introduction and early pages of the thread have since disappeared. New EPA and CARB emissions requirements, company bonds assuring the emissions warranty will be honored even if the company goes out of business, and fierce competition in the industry have changed the playing field. Champion Power Equipment has become the apparent "trophy team" providing an ever expanding retail outlet, an ample parts supply, a strong warranty and excellent customer service. CPE has continued to improve their product and now offers a new model (#46538) with exclusive convenience, safety and performance features aimed at the RV market. Big names like Cummins/Onan, Honda and Generac all now have Chinese built open frame synchronous gensets available. Ironically, the prices often found on these gensets has not significantly changed during the past eight years - even with the devaluation of the American Dollar and new EPA/CARB requirements.

I also encourage you to use the search function and even the advanced search options to find information. Key works such as "rewiring", "PowerPro", "Champion", "Onan Homesite", "Duropower", "ETQ", "Jiung Dong or JD", "Tractor Supply", "Costco", "Lowe's" and "Home Depot" are all examples of keywords that will give you specific information on different models being sold by retailers today.

Or, you can fill your glass with your favorite beverage (keep more close by - maybe some munchies as well :D, sit back at your computer, tell your wife (or significant other) that you will see her in the morning and spend the next 10 or so hours reading through the postings.

No one on the forum gets mad if you ask a question that is a repeat. Please do not hesitate to post to the forum. All questions are considered important and those active on the forum will do their best to respond with a valid answer.

Also note we are not out to knock the Honda, Yamaha, Kipor or other brands of high end digital gensets. We recognize the quality of these products and their suitability for quite, efficient RV use. But, there is a flood of reliable, inexpensive and comparatively lower cost gensets coming out of China that are excellent alternative choices for the RVer wanting power to run an air conditioner, microwave, etc. without excessive noise or breaking the budget.

Oh, one last thing. The folks on this forum are true gentlemen. We do not flame one another or the product discussed - period. Ugly contributors usually have their comments and remarks ignored by our masses. It is not a forum to start arguments to obtain a clear win. We do disagree on many issues, but we have all agreed to do that in a respectable manner.

We now have the introduction of more and more inverter gensets. There is a rather extensive thread named "The Official Unofficial Champion 2000i Generator" on this forum. Today, I added info on the new Champion 3100i inverter genset. Discussion on this product may get moved to its own thread at a later date.

Many have looked upon this thread with distain saying Chinese is cheap and doomed to failure. I remember saying exactly the same thing about Japanese products a few decades back. But, over the past eight years the track record for Chinese built generators has shown otherwise.

Please, join us in a fascinating journey down the Chinese built genset road of knowledge.

This is the question I posted that got it all started back in March 2005.......

Randy

For a little over a month now, I have been somewhat intrigued by the availability of a 3000 watt, 6.5 HP generator at Pep Boys and Northern Tool for under $300.00. The engine on this generator looks identical to a Honda 6.5 HP OHV engine. Knowing that the Chinese have become very adept at “cloning” reputable technologies from other manufacturers, I was not surprised at the similarities. Neither store could give me any information on the generator nor did they have a “running” display model.

I have done a little research. This is what I have discovered:

Many of these generators are imported by ELIM International (www.eliminternational.com) out of Buffalo, New York from Jiung Manufacturing in China. (The unit at Northern is identical but carries the JIUNG name.)

The engines are indeed a Chinese knockoff of the popular 6.5 HP 196cc Honda Engine. “Supposedly” Honda has licensed the engine technology to the Chinese manufacturer of the product.

The Chinese company that makes the ELM3000 generators is a rather large, diverse, long-standing company with a reputation for “above average quality” Chinese made products (Jiung Manufacturing). There are many more Chinese companies making almost identical gensets.

The generators at PepBoys do have a six month limited warranty. But, it is only on the engine (not the generator) and requires paying for shipping to and from Buffalo. Probably not a very practical thing to do if you have warranty issues.

ELIM does supply replacement parts (a PDF parts manual is available on the ELIM web site). No prices are given for replacement parts nor is there an “availability listing”.

The generator head itself is a brushless design. The only really significant wear parts in the generator are the bearings – most likely universally available.

The published dB rating is 67 at 23 feet. This is “reasonably” quite for a generator of this size as most comparabl.... The 67 dB rating is the same as Honda gives their 3000 watt CycloInverter with a “look alike” eng...

[guy48065]

I've noticed on some generators that the manufacturer has gone from using common duplex receptacles to either just one or sometimes 2 side-by-side outlets. A duplex outlet probably costs the factory less than 25 cents so if they're no longer using them it's likely because they had problems with people plugging in 2-to-1 adapters & shorting out the generator. Can't do that with non-standard spacing. And if you wire up your own pigtail & burn out the gen...it's your own fault (from the viewpoint of the manufacturer).

Clark W. Griswold wrote:

guy48065 wrote:
On that type of adapter...if your generator has 2 phases with one to each of the 110V outlets...won't plugging in the adapter send 220 to your rig? Or short out???
adapter

That's a good question. I would like to know myself. I have a single adapter as well that I could use, just not sure which one is better.

[MrWizard]

youth4him wrote:
Now, why is that adapter any better than the pigtail I'd used for shore power?

it depends on the generator in use

some of these units where it is 120 ONLY

have the windings wired parallel ( standard procedure )

but the 2 windings are not wired together on both ends

instead the common/wht ends are wired together and the HOT/blk ends are each hooked to 1/2 of the duplex recp

in other words one socket on each winding,


and each socket gets only 1/2 of the total amperage available

to get all the amperage you rewire the generator recp OR use a duplex adapter

the generators with 120/240 option are wired diffeently

too be safe do these 2 things

start the genny and plug a volt meter into the 2 HOT sides of the 2 recp

if it reads 220 do NOT use the dual duplex adapter

if the voltage reads 120

turn it off and remove the recp cover take a close look at the HOT side of the recp " short slot"

and see if the little TAB between the 2 is connected

OR if it is missing and there are 2 wires connected to the screws on that side.

this is the key to how the wiring is setup on that genset

BTW NO portable or RV genset has a common/neutral that is NOT hot

everything wire on a portable genset has power on it

the 120 volts is across the 2 wires /winding

either wire of the recp will read power if measured to the frame or motor

aprox 60 volts AC, 1/2 of the voltage at the outlet

do not stick your fingers into anythng when the generator is running

[Hishdeer]

Here is some information for everyone. I just bought a 3300watt 220/120 volt 6.5 HP Honda clone generator and it is as quiet as my former Honda 2500 watt unit. It was a great value for the money at 306.00. One thing I found out was that if you wanted the FULL 120 volt amperage you had to flip BOTH 15 amp circuit breakers to the ON position to get the generator's full 120 volt amperage. IF I just selected 1 circuit breaker to the on position to run a high amperage draw acessory like the the air conditioner the single circuit breaker would "flip" to to the off position. When I turned BOTH circuit breakers to the on position the air conditionerr would run just fine plus it would run the fridge, TV, and Tv, etc. When I flipped the voltage selector switch to the 220 volt position naturally both circuit breakers had to be flipped to the "ON" position and you connected your 220 volt source to the now activated 220 plug. What I did do is I added a female 120volt 30 amp RV receptacle giving me a dedicated receptacle for my MH's power plug. So now I got a twist lock 220, standard 120 and a 30 amp RV receptacle. Pretty simple upgrade.

What I really wondered about was why the 220 volt receptacle was just like a standard 120 volt receptacle in your house. Looking at this generator you would think it just had 2 120 volt receptacles if you didn't notice a 220/120 switch and a labels identifiing whch plug is for what voltage. I changed the 220 volt receptacle to a bonified 220 volt twist lock since I am not aware of ANY 220 volt appliance that uses a 120 pulg for 220 volts.
Somebody screwed up bigtime on that one. All receptcles checked out correctly on my Fluke multimeter. Now there is NO possibilty of plugging in a 120 volt tool into the 120 volt receptacle running 220 volts. IT is Amazing they hooked it up wrong in Chinaland like that.

[Clark_W__Griswo]

guy48065 wrote:
On that type of adapter...if your generator has 2 phases with one to each of the 110V outlets...won't plugging in the adapter send 220 to your rig? Or short out???
adapter

That's a good question. I would like to know myself. I have a single adapter as well that I could use, just not sure which one is better.

[cufor98]

I don't know. I wound up buying the dog bone that will only plug into one of the outlets. I'm just wondering if all the power of the generator will come out of the one outlet or does it split the power between the two. It says it's single phase. I'm ignorant. In layman's terms, what does that mean?

[guy48065]

On that type of adapter...if your generator has 2 phases with one to each of the 110V outlets...won't plugging in the adapter send 220 to your rig? Or short out???

Clark W. Griswold wrote:

cufor98 wrote:
Thanks. That's encouraging. So it sounds like one of these adapters should fit my needs. It's not a twist lock but the camper will plug into it.

https://www.rvsurplussalvage.com/catalog/display.php?product_id=1340

That's the same adapter I am using and it works great.

[cufor98]

I just bought one of these:

Adapter

The guy at the local camper dealership said it would work, but it only plugs into one of my outlets on my generator. I'll find out next weekend when I try it out. If not, I'll order one of those orange double deals posted above.

[youth4him]

Now, why is that adapter any better than the pigtail I'd used for shore power?

[Clark_W__Griswo]

cufor98 wrote:
Thanks. That's encouraging. So it sounds like one of these adapters should fit my needs. It's not a twist lock but the camper will plug into it.

https://www.rvsurplussalvage.com/catalog/display.php?product_id=1340

That's the same adapter I am using and it works great.

[cufor98]

Thanks. That's encouraging. So it sounds like one of these adapters should fit my needs. It's not a twist lock but the camper will plug into it.

https://www.rvsurplussalvage.com/catalog/display.php?product_id=1340



The Pep Boys manager told me that this ETQ3000 is replacing the Nikota in their inventory. He offered me a heck of a discount on the Nikota just to get rid of it, but thanks to this thread I left it on the shelf.

If I knew how to post a picture, I'd post a better pic so you could see the outlets. They are arranged just like a home double outlet mounted sideways.

Thanks for your help

[MrWizard]

21 amps @ 120 v

NO 240 means all power should be available

it should run you A/C with no problems

just make sure your Hot water heater and your fridge are set ON propane

heating elements draw to much power..

I cant see the outlets in the picture

if it doesn't have a 30 amp twist lock, you should install one

OR
you should get an adapter that goes from dual 15amp recepitcle to 1 30 amp twist lock


this will keep you burning out the 15 amp outlets

[Le_gosse_Creole]

cufor98 wrote:
What a thread! I just purchased this generator from Pep Boys ($299) in Greensboro, NC. After reading through this thread, I'm concerned that it won't power a 13,500 A/C. I'm electrically ignorant. Is anybody familiar with this model and will it work? Thanks


ETQ3000


It has two 120V/15amp outlets with no selector switchs.

My elm3000l is about the same out put and runs my a/c, ref and converter.

[cufor98]

What a thread! I just purchased this generator from Pep Boys ($299) in Greensboro, NC. After reading through this thread, I'm concerned that it won't power a 13,500 A/C. I'm electrically ignorant. Is anybody familiar with this model and will it work? Thanks


ETQ3000


It has two 120V/15amp outlets with no selector switchs.

[jimpcon]

I used my Power Pro for its 1st "real world" test this past weekend at the NASCAR race in Dover. Previously, it was tested in my driveway.
Anyway, it worked great except it developed a noise that seems to becoming from inside the recoil starter area. Its like something came loose and is rattling around or the recoil spring has gotten some sort of nervous condition. VERY ANNOYING and made the sound go WAY up!!! I had a similar problem with a lawnmower in the past. This started after aprox. 5 hours of use(not continous). I am still pleased enough with the unit that I will take my chances and exchange it at Pep Boys for another.

As far as the units operation, as I said it worked great, even with the noise. Sunday night after the race was the only time we really needed the A/C and I was able to use the A/C, make a pot of coffee, watch TV and then play a DVD up until "quiet time" at 11pm. I had other combinations of electric appliaces on too at different times and still the Power Pro worked like a champ.

Hopefully this noise problem is a one time deal. Once I get a new unit I hope that it wont happen again.

THANK YOU for all of the great advice in this topic!!

[Plumberguy]

Here is a generator that may interest you. It has remote start.