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...

[mavapa]

If the muffler was glowing red, it sounds like at a minimum it needs a bigger (and, one hopes, quieter) muffler. I agree, Capt Ron, that kind of generator is not for me.

[Capt-Ron]

frankb12345 wrote:

Has anyone heard the Troy built units a Lowes run? Large units, weather proof panels so I think construction grade but they look tough.

Spent a week down in Fl in April with one of these noisy SOB's about 100' away. I and several other neighbors had a talk with the owner but he continued to run it from 7am to 11pm every day. At night you could see the muffler glowing red. Standing right over my Hondas the Troybilt was twice as loud and that's all you could hear.

If you want to be the subject of a lot of bad mounthing then this is the generator to have.

Myself, I can't stand to hear the noise of these things and to inflict it on others is something that I would never do.

Capt Ron

[Capt-Ron]

jimpcon wrote:

Jim-Linda wrote:
Has anyone seen the new generator in this weeks Pep Boys ad? It is a Power Pro 5500 watt for $399.99. There are no specs in the ad. Interested in weight, db's, etc.

Jim

I was in PepBoys this morning exchanging my defective Power pro 3500 and asked about the 5500. They didnt have them in stock and not sure when they would get them. Its a new item company wide.

As far as noise goes, I suspect that the DB rating is over 70. Using comparable models on the Elim website eliminternational.com the unit with the higher wattage is louder.

Take care,
Jim

After calling the local Pep boys on Monday morning to see if they had received any of the PowerPro 5500 generators I contacted Wen Products to request some specs and availability.

Since I had asked specifically about the sound level they replied "The 5500 generators have landed and are in the store. As to the noise level, it is 72 dB."

Now if I could just find one.

Capt Ron

[frankb12345]

Just went through 2 Champion Gens from Checker. First one would not start. Returned and replaced. Second one smoked a lot and funny voltages.

At the 240 outlet, between white and either leg, 120, OK.
Between ground and white, 61 volts. Bad.
Between ground and one leg, 120. OK
Between ground and other leg, 161 volts. Bad.
Meter on front read 240 v.

Called factory and they said "Hook it up and get back to me if anything goes wrong. We do get some funny readings on the voltages but I do not think you will have a problem."

Took it back as being guinea pug unit not for me.

Has anyone heard the Troy built units a Lowes run? Large units, weather proof panels so I think construction grade but they look tough.

[cufor98]

DPIETZ wrote:
Latest at my Pep-Boys, 5.5 hp/ 171cc TG3000. Rated output 19.2 amp, single phase, max output 3600 watts. 60hz 120/110. $299
Don't know if this is a good one or not.

I hope it's a good one. I bought one last week. I just made the sound box tonight.

[deanathpc]

I too have bought one. From E-Bay in fact. No name brand that's for sure...

The manual is a little to be desired. Many mistakes in spelling and the like but it's understandable at least. Some things are a little vague of course.

The noise level doesn't seem too bad. I have not run the thing for very long yet. Still waiting to get the popup out on the land and set everything up. Maybe with a little makeshift shelter to protect it from the rain and the like it won't be too bad sound wise. I'll try to let you know as I use it more.

Mine shipped from Ca. though. I live 45 mins. from Buffalo myself so that should be easy for me huh?!?!?!?!?!? 🙂 Finally a co. close by in my favor! 🙂

A portability kit would be a plus for this unit! That's the one major downside right now. The fuel tank too a few gallons and the fuel gauge looks accurate so far. We'll see as the usage increases.

[professor95]

I'm sure this has been covered somewhere in this thread and I am overlooking it, but, I remember something about the ELM3000 being able to supply all power through one outlet. Then I saw where talk started about adaptors. Am I misunderstanding and the adaptors are for other brands? If not can someone direct me to whichever page explains why an adaptor is needed for the ELM3000?

The ELM3000 directs all of the 120 volt power to one entire duplex outlet. The power is not split between two parts of a duplex outlet or two individual duplex outlets.

The "adapter" that plugs into both parts of the duplex outlet is a good choice for the ELM3000 since it increases the area of the contact surface and thus reduces resistance and heat at the plug-in point. It is a bad choice for generators that split their output betwen each half of the duplex outlet.

You may still use the conventional 15 amp "dogbone" adapter, but higher current levels (those exceeding 15 amps) may cause it to get hot and burn the contacts and/or the duplex outlet in the generator.

[DPIETZ]

Latest at my Pep-Boys, 5.5 hp/ 171cc TG3000. Rated output 19.2 amp, single phase, max output 3600 watts. 60hz 120/110. $299
Don't know if this is a good one or not.

[Katdaddy]

I'm sure this has been covered somewhere in this thread and I am overlooking it, but, I remember something about the ELM3000 being able to supply all power through one outlet. Then I saw where talk started about adaptors. Am I misunderstanding and the adaptors are for other brands? If not can someone direct me to whichever page explains why an adaptor is needed for the ELM3000?


Thanks again!!

[98clru]

MrWizard wrote:
you can make your own, or have a buddy do it..

some number 10ga 4 wire cord...

Thanks Mr Wizard, that is what I was thinking, just not confident enough it was right to move on it yet. Fortunately my charm is working so far, so there was no need to rush into it.

[MrWizard]

you can make your own, or have a buddy do it..

some number 10ga 4 wire cord

a twist lock plug for one

and a deep 4 square box with dual duplex cover..thats 2 duplex wall recepticles
4 sockets

the white neutral will be common for both outlets

the green is ground and bonds to the outlets

the black wire will go to the hot side of one duplex

the red will goto the hot side of the other duplex

each duplex will be 110 but the voltage between the hot of the duplex's will be 220

do NOT attempt to use any dog bone or other adapters with this setup

this is strictly for a seperate extension cord in each socket

[guy48065]

A couple of the models that Lowe's carries come with a real thick cord with L14-30 on the end and (I think) a fan-out of 4 single outlets at the other end. Anyone seen this for sale separately?

98clru wrote:
I am hoping to find an adaptor/splitter that I can plug into the only other outlet on this unit (240v) to power normal household plugs not an entire MH or TT.

Looking at the RV adaptors, none seem to fit my needs. I would rather not rewire the genset, if no one can recommend a splitter/adaptor that is ready made, any suggestions on how to wire up the NEMA L14-30 plug to 20 feet of normal house wiring and junction box with a few outlet/gfci duplexes so I can put a normal 3 prong "outlet" together safely and still have maximum capacity?

[jimpcon]

Jim-Linda wrote:
Has anyone seen the new generator in this weeks Pep Boys ad? It is a Power Pro 5500 watt for $399.99. There are no specs in the ad. Interested in weight, db's, etc.

Jim

I was in PepBoys this morning exchanging my defective Power pro 3500 and asked about the 5500. They didnt have them in stock and not sure when they would get them. Its a new item company wide.

As far as noise goes, I suspect that the DB rating is over 70. Using comparable models on the Elim website eliminternational.com the unit with the higher wattage is louder.

Take care,
Jim

[Katdaddy]

Just ordered my ELM 3000 off the web last Thursday. The price was comparable to what I have seen posted from Pep Boys. Plus the nearest store is 100 miles away. It is worth a few extra dollars to have it delivered to my door. I can't wait to try it out! I also just purchased a new fiver and am really excited about the possibilities of the added versatility that I will now have. Just wanted to add my thanks for all the info posted over the past few months. It has really helped me to choose my new generator.

[Jim-Linda]

Has anyone seen the new generator in this weeks Pep Boys ad? It is a Power Pro 5500 watt for $399.99. There are no specs in the ad. Interested in weight, db's, etc.

Jim