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...

[MasterLandShark]

Hello
I am new to your Forum.
My friend has an old ELM 3000 generator.
We tried using it today. it is 5-6 years old.
It worked for about 2-3 hours today.
Than it quit sending power to the trailer.
I poked around the control panel and notice that the 120 / 240 switch felt weird, like it was rusted.
i took off the panel and found out that the 120 /240 switch melted.
I tried to jump the wires from the circuit breakers to by pass the switch so we can use the 120V receptecles.
needless to say, we did not have the manual with use and because the toggle switch was melted i did not notice how the wires were attached to the switch.

1) where do i get a new toggle switch
2) how do the 6 wires attach to what part of the toggle switch.

Thank you
MasterLandShark

PS: the motor still starts on 1 pull

[jlaustin]

After looking at the Prof's pics, I decided something similar would work for my setup - I just finished a building to store my FW with 12' wide roll-up doors on each end so I can drive-through with the FW. Harbor Freight's pickup crane (without the winch but with the hydraulic jack) is on sale for $69.95 ... I don't think I could buy the jack and raw steel for that! I'm going to fabricate a mount on one side of the drive-out doorway so after unhitching from the FW, I can use the crane to pluck the hitch out of the F-250's bed. I'll have to extend the boom a bit to get it out 6' to the center of the opening, but with a 1000# rating, I think I'll still be safe with a ?125# hitch.

I doubt I'll need the hydraulic jack - I have an electric winch already, so I think I'll just mount it high above the crane and use the winch to lift the end of the boom. That way, I can lift it quite high so it won't protrude into the opening so far and I can swing it around, clear the front of the FW and store the hitch over in the corner on an elevated platform (just to free up floor space).

I can also use it to pluck my genset off the rear of the FW if and when I want to remove it for maintenance, etc. (Just thought I'd work that in so I couldn't be accused of thread creep!:W)

Sounds like a plan???

[ol_Bombero-JC]

Thanks to HF, lots of inexpensive "leverage" devices are available for folks who are being "caught" by father time - and or bad backs, which may not be age related.

The crane, electric cable hoists, cherry-picker style engine hoists, lifting "tables" and more - have all made the "two men and a boy" jobs
a pleasant (easy and affordable) experience.

Just ask any owner of a PullRite Super Glide 5h wheel hitch (about 250#).
A while back a poster (5th wheel forum) admitted to dropping one on his foot while removing it manually by himself via the push & slide to the ground technique. Very serious broken bones in foot - ouch!

The Prof's rear step in his pic reminded me -
I looked long and hard for a good rear step, tube type bumper style for slide-in mount in the 4" receiver.
After lots of searching, I found a brand called "Polar Bear".
Nice product - about 36" long, height and extension adjustable.
A bit "pricey" at about $90. - but exactly what I wanted.

Since I tow a 5th wheel - and rarely need/use the receiver - it's a semi-perm step about 8-10" below the truck bumper (no problem with ground clearance).

So here's a "HF heads-up" -
About a year later, I noticed HF advertised the same thing
(unfortunately no height or extension adjustment) for about 1/3rd the price!

HF also has products that rarely appear in their mailed catalogs and "sale" ads or stores - ex: cage type dog kennels!
(Always worth checking on their web site).

~

JC

[waybo418]

Nice job professor!. I have the same crane that is mounted to the tongue of my utility trailer. I just hook the trailer up and use the crane to lift the generator into the bed of the truck. I have too much stuff normally stored in the truck bed to mount it there. On a humorous note, I didn't like the bright orange color either. Mine, too, is painted black.

[tvman44]

Very good idea professor.

[professor95]

The pictures tell the whole story. Now I can load my 36438 easily onto the back or the Volvo as well as into the bed of the dually. The rig on the Volvo slips into the 2" receiver. I made it up from some scrap steel and 3" pipe (yes, I have a welder).

Both use the small Harbor Freight PU bed crane as the platform. The crane head easily moves from the PU to the piece I made for the Volvo.

I am sharing just to give folks an idea as to how to move the 100+ pound generator from the ground to the bed of a truck without a second or third person to help lift. By using the trailer hitch 2" receiver there are no pipes or brackets bolted to the truck bed. It all comes off or installs quickly and easily when needed. Of course, when used in the receiver of a pick-up the tailgate must be removed. An easy one man process on the GMC.


HF Crane I had installed in my PU bed to lift out the fifth wheel hitch. I added the winch and strap.


This is the piece I made to use in the Volvo 2" receiver with the head of the HF crane that lifts off of the base in the PU. The "thing" on the right is a back step that also fits into the 2" receiver.


This is the 2" receiver I installed on the Volvo - it is pretty much like any class IV or V receiver.


Straps on the generator, starting lift from the ground.


lift with a combination of the winch and the jack on the crane's boom


The crane easily rotates 360 degrees, making moving the generator to the designated landing spot easily accomplished. Now, the generator will be rolled to the front, strapped down and the crane assembly removed and stored so I can hook up the camper. No aching back or shoulder. The weight of the crane head and hitch adapter/support are easily manageable by an old guy like me.

[W8NONU]

I was surprised at how fast I received the disconnect. 2 days - Coast to Coast regular USPS priority. I was expecting at least 5 days.

I think the charge diode replacement tech bulletin was for repair facilities in the event that the diode needs replaced.

[msmd1]

msmd1 wrote:
I will call them tomorrow and post my experience. Still have not heard from them via e-mail or telephone.

Called them at 2:55 pm EDT. My call was promptly answered, I was transferred to a tech named Juan and I told him my situation. He is going to send me a negative disconnect wire but said that the charge diode replacement does not apply to the model 46538.

[rustycopperball]

Reading this thread has taught me many things and I thank all of you!
Awhile back I wanted to know if I could parallel my yami2400 with a 2000 yami? finally getting to speak with a qualified person(would'nt let me speak with an Engineer) at Yamaha Corp. I was told NO, in no way, bad things would happen. One of the main reasons was the PSM. Power source module, had different specs inside the computer box, so I put that idea to rest(unless I find a used 2400 I could parallel). I'm leaning towards a Champion, but have any of you run it at high altitudes, 10,000 ft. Will it handle a 15,000 A/C, (Carrier). These are questions I would like answered from expieranced users. Thanks again. Rusty

[msmd1]

I will call them tomorrow and post my experience. Still have not heard from them via e-mail or telephone.

[Old___Slow]

professor95 wrote:

msmd1 wrote:
Called CPE this week to request a grounding disconnect cable and the new charge diode replacement for my 46538. Kept getting put to a voice mailbox so I sent an email with my unit information and my requests. That was two days ago and I have not heard from them yet.

Have you called again at a different time of day? Maybe they were just slammed at the time. It occasionally happens to all of us.

Hope there was nothing personal there. Many who have followed this thread have been influenced through countless posts, concerning Champion CPE, their products and past outstanding Customer Service. Many of us have a Champion gen because of this thread. Perpaps this is only an anomaly.

[professor95]

msmd1 wrote:
Called CPE this week to request a grounding disconnect cable and the new charge diode replacement for my 46538. Kept getting put to a voice mailbox so I sent an email with my unit information and my requests. That was two days ago and I have not heard from them yet.

Have you called again at a different time of day? Maybe they were just slammed at the time. It occasionally happens to all of us.

[Old___Slow]

I'm waiting the response from Prof' on this one. Is something strange happening to CPE? I own a Champ and may need service. Maybe just a long lunch hour?

[msmd1]

Called CPE this week to request a grounding disconnect cable and the new charge diode replacement for my 46538. Kept getting put to a voice mailbox so I sent an email with my unit information and my requests. That was two days ago and I have not heard from them yet.

[msmd1]

class A wannabe wrote:

msmd1 wrote:
I charged the battery overnight and when reinstalling it, found a 4" white wire coming from the back of the left end of the control panel hanging loose. I cannot seem to find anywhere it should be connected. :?

When I got my 46538 from Costco it had a defective AVR. When troubleshooting the problem with the Champion tech on the phone noticed the same white wire stubbed out behind the control panel. Was told it was an antenna for the remote.

Last week I gave it the once a month test startup & found the battery dead also. Gave it a good overnight feeding with the vectron automatic & in the morning it cranked over the first time I hit the remote. Now I have the neg disconnected until I can pick up a harbor freight special. Thanks Champion for the quick comeback to the problem. A true customer oriented company comes through again...

Thanks for the info! Off to HF for a battery charger, and thanks again.