โMar-02-2005 06:20 AM
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 โcloningโ 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 โrunningโ 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. โSupposedlyโ 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 โabove average qualityโ 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 โavailability listingโ.
The generator head itself is a brushless design. The only really significant wear parts in the generator are the bearings โ most likely universally available.
The published dB rating is 67 at 23 feet. This is โreasonablyโ 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 โlook alikeโ eng...
โOct-03-2005 07:25 AM
catalina30 wrote:
SNIP
If you really want to have good service, buy from a brand name maker of there own equipment like honda, yamaha sears colman or whatever, don't buy anything that comes from an importer, as in most products from china. This is not a slam for china, more a slam of importers because few of them have good service set up.
SNIP
Kevin
The Right Lane
โOct-03-2005 06:53 AM
โOct-03-2005 06:12 AM
presp wrote:professor95 wrote:
Presp's Nikota does not match any I have encountered in reference to specifications. Perhaps there is more than one model????
[IMG]http://show.imagehosting.us/show/748885/0/nouser_748/T0_-1_748885.jpg]Front panel view - unmodi...
Apparently, there are, or were, different nikota 3500 models.
This photo is of my Nikota 3500, model# 06043.
It came from the factory as shown. Same as all other Nikotas I've seen.
(I removed the receptacle panel to check the wiring after reading
professor95's admoniton -Posted: 03/25/05 08:43am, pg.15 @10/pg).
Each circuit on my Nikota 3500 is separate and produces 120v & 15a.
Both genhead coils output go thru a dual 15amp circuit breaker.
I don't know what it trips at, but it is more than 15amps.
(as mentioned in pg.131 post, connected two 1800w space heaters,
one into each receptacle, and it ran them ok. No cb disconnect)
Both 120v circuits appear to be on the same phase.
Hence, because of zero voltage between the hot side of each plug,
both rceptacles can be paralled to give 30amps into an rv plug.
If need be, I'll make a decent schematic and post it (since the manual has none)
Pres
โOct-02-2005 05:31 PM
Apparently, there are, or were, different nikota 3500 models.
This photo is of my Nikota 3500, model# 06043.
โOct-02-2005 05:07 AM
professor95 wrote:
Presp's Nikota does not match any I have encountered in reference to specifications. Perhaps there is more than one model????
โOct-01-2005 07:16 PM
โOct-01-2005 08:41 AM
rwjejits wrote:feistycapn wrote:rwjejits wrote:
Well, I just phoned Homier and they are firm on the $299 price. They said the add price may have been for a road show near-by or out of date. Oh well, still with shipping and no sales tax I'm looking at ~$350 to my door.
Now I'm torn between ordering a Homier 4000w through the mail and take the risk of damage, or an PowerPro 3500 from PepBoys (if they ever get any more in town since RITA just visited) for comparable price..but little less wattage and need to re-wire.
Will someone make my mind up for me?
Me too. ๐
I don't have access to Pep Boys or any retail outlet other than Costco
My choices are
Costco Ninkota at $279.99 + 6% = $297
Harbor freight at $329.99 + $9.00 S/H = $338
Homier at $299.99 + $51.64 S/H= $351
The Ninkota is an "orphan" uses brushes and pretty stripped down.
Leaning towards the Harbor freight unit. Any reason why the Homier would be a better option? Any choices I missed for units available by freight?
I am no expert but have read most of this thread. From what others have said, Nokita - stay away from this brand. They are either out of business...or no longer make gensets which could complicate warranty issues or getting spare parts. Harbor Freight - no comment. Homier - posts are pretty positive on this model (do a quick sarch for Homier in this thread). Has same 6.5hp JD motor, and supplies full wattage @ 120v w/o modifications. Sound specs are in the same ballapark to the other clones mentioned. Mine is ordered and on its way to me for a ~$257 incl tax & ship. I figure for the price I'm willing to take a risk on it.
Call Homier's store location in Indiana (number is on their web site). They originally quoted me a sale price of $299...but I mentioned that I had seen their "flyer" which had this unit listed for $199 and they honored it. Don't think they wanted to at first but gave in after I persisted.
โOct-01-2005 08:21 AM
mike_65 wrote:
Ok, I have verified the speed governor and/or throttle spring assembly and everything seems to be, as it should. I tested the power output with a Volt Ohm meter and it read 35 volts and fluctuating at normal (suspected) idle...when I manually increase the rpm's (above what I would consider normal for any load) I do see 110 to 135 volts, somewhat stable. When I release the throttle bar, the power drops back to around 35 volts to 0. Of course I am getting the "Nikota is Out-of-Business" reply when calling Pep Boys and no answer to "How do I fix this problem"? I am what some would call a "Jack-of-all-trades - Master-of-none" and know just enough to be dangerous therefore I don't mind bailing off into things as long as I am prepared and have full coverage insurance!! Under some circumstances duct tape and a big hammer have been known to be a man's best friend but for this problem, I would like to actually FIX it. Any help or direction would be greatly appreciated.
โOct-01-2005 03:52 AM
โSep-30-2005 07:18 PM
feistycapn wrote:rwjejits wrote:
Well, I just phoned Homier and they are firm on the $299 price. They said the add price may have been for a road show near-by or out of date. Oh well, still with shipping and no sales tax I'm looking at ~$350 to my door.
Now I'm torn between ordering a Homier 4000w through the mail and take the risk of damage, or an PowerPro 3500 from PepBoys (if they ever get any more in town since RITA just visited) for comparable price..but little less wattage and need to re-wire.
Will someone make my mind up for me?
Me too. ๐
I don't have access to Pep Boys or any retail outlet other than Costco
My choices are
Costco Ninkota at $279.99 + 6% = $297
Harbor freight at $329.99 + $9.00 S/H = $338
Homier at $299.99 + $51.64 S/H= $351
The Ninkota is an "orphan" uses brushes and pretty stripped down.
Leaning towards the Harbor freight unit. Any reason why the Homier would be a better option? Any choices I missed for units available by freight?
โSep-30-2005 06:44 AM
rwjejits wrote:
Well, I just phoned Homier and they are firm on the $299 price. They said the add price may have been for a road show near-by or out of date. Oh well, still with shipping and no sales tax I'm looking at ~$350 to my door.
Now I'm torn between ordering a Homier 4000w through the mail and take the risk of damage, or an PowerPro 3500 from PepBoys (if they ever get any more in town since RITA just visited) for comparable price..but little less wattage and need to re-wire.
Will someone make my mind up for me?
โSep-29-2005 07:36 PM
โSep-29-2005 07:30 PM
mike_65 wrote:
Ok, I have verified the speed governor and/or throttle spring assembly and everything seems to be, as it should.
โSep-29-2005 07:26 PM
kneisl1 wrote:
Bob what about getting another 15 amp breaker like you have on there and setting up two 15 amp circuits. Is it possible I don't know.
โSep-29-2005 06:54 PM
texasarrowhead wrote:What reason do you have to "rewire" it?
I have a nikota 3500 I want to rewire it.