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...

[So]

First time poster.

Researching 3kW-4kW gensets led me to this unbelievable thread. I've sampled maybe 60-70 pages so far and I'm still amazed at the vast details submitted.

Briefly...

I do own and reside in, a 28ft. conversion, but my main interest in a 3kW AC machine is primarily to feed my 120V/25A Hobart Handler, a 1944 South Bend lathe and drill press in remote areas - and if need be, a backup for any family member that needs to use it.

As a veteran and factory trained Honda Power Products Tech (in generators, no less), I naturally favored Hondas. But I'm not inclined to recklessly discard potential value when I see it - especially when funds are limited. I had $500 to spend and living in a semi-remote region offered precious few options, both new and used.

Then, just last week, a 4 YO 46540 Champion hit my local Craigslist - which ultimately led me here. The Champ has been under the loving care of the original owner and allegedly has less than one hour use. I believe it - it looks absolutely pristine. We fired it up and briefly load tested it,.. and $275 exchanged hands.



From my Honda days, I have a nice stash of used GX engines - all are runners, some better than others. So... a few mods are planned.

1. electric start (I have 2 complete GX160 setups)

2. Prep for LPG (I plan to pull the Champ's head and install an 18cc GX160 head. Numbers show about 1.5 increase in compression ratio. I also have a couple of very early 14cc heads if I need to go even higher). It's also important to note that I'm at 3700 elevation.

3. Piecemeal LPG install. (I already have the KN demand reg, so fabbing an adapter and plumbing it won't be an issue}.

4. Install Volts/Amps digital readout and maybe an EGT probe.

5. Build a lightweight and portable sound shell.

I'll try to maintain details (and pics) as I proceed.

Again, what a fantastic resource this thread is... and continues to be. Kudos to all who have unselfishly contributed.

-kenny-

[Old___Slow]

Get well soon Professor Randy and let's have a one million party.

thanks, JC and jlaustin for keeping us in the know.


O$S
Floyd

[jlaustin]

ol Bombero-JC wrote:
John - maybe a PM to the prof will get the info you're looking for
(and posted here also)

IMO - he may not be monitoring this thread as faithfully as he had in the past.

~

Thanks! I did message the Prof a while back ... he was recovering from surgery (he's OK!) ! He told me the windings were good to about 190F and he recommended keeping them cooler than that!
John

[ol_Bombero-JC]

John - maybe a PM to the prof will get the info you're looking for
(and posted here also)

IMO - he may not be monitoring this thread as faithfully as he had in the past.

~

[jlaustin]

Hello everyone!
I used to be an active participant in this forum, but haven't visited in quite some time! It's a complicated story and I won't go into details, but my 5th wheel has been in storage for about 2 yrs and I'm finally getting an opportunity to use it again! I've got a highly-modified (remote start, propane converted, mostly enclosed & soundproofed, power ventilated, external muffler, etc.) "DuroPower" 3000w Chinese genset mounted on the fiver's trailer hitch. Good 'ole propane: Recently I dusted the gennie off, hit the remote, and it fired right up and ran perfectly after sitting patiently two years waiting for me!

I put a digital temp sensor on the cooling air exhaust opening of the generator head. I don't know the specific class of insulation of the windings, but assuming it's similar to the majority of Chinese gensets, what should I consider the maximum temp limit of the cooling exhaust air for long-life of the windings? (I know this was discussed at some point waaaay back in this thread, but I can't find it!)

Thanks,
John

[zedd]

If I was at 9500 ft and it was hot enough to need the A/C I'd pack up and come home.

[JiminDenver]

We were up around 9500 to 10000 ft and while we didn't need the Champ for charging, we did need it for AC. Last year it could barely run the AC even after we charged for a hour or more. This time I fired up the 3500/4000 and before I could get back in the trailer honey had tried to start the AC and the Champ stalled. Both the fridge and the converter were on so I turned them off and restarted the Champ up. This time the AC started with no problems and ran better than it ever did last year. I was worried we needed to replace it.

[waybo418]

Thanks Ken! Its always nice to know how the story ends.

[Ken-55]

FWIW: that switch from Amazon came in and it's exactly what I needed . . . popped right in and works fine!

[Ken-55]

MrRchitty wrote:

Ken-55 wrote:
Busted ON/OFF switch . . .

My ON/OFF switch fell apart last week, on the side, it says: KCD4, 16A 250V, 20A 125V. It's a 4 pin switch (but only had 2 wires running to it).

I find similar looking switches on eBay but they're all overseas and will take weeks to get here. Amazon has some BUT they are listed as "add-on" items where you have to buy a minimum of $25 to have an order shipped.

Anyone know of a reasonable US source? Thanks!

Post a photo, Ken.
You working?

Randy

Randy,

Couldn't get a good pic, here's a link to what I think I need:

KCD4 at Amazon

I think I'm just going to go ahead and buy something else from Amazon so I can get this, weird it's ONLY sold as an "add-on" item if you want it quick. If you just want the switch you have to buy it fulfilled from overseas???

They have cases of 80 K-cups for $29 that I like . . . guess I'll have to do it their way! 😉

Working 3 - 11:30 pm till the end of June, days for the summer, stop by some night if you're on.

-Ken

[MrRchitty]

Ken-55 wrote:
Busted ON/OFF switch . . .

My ON/OFF switch fell apart last week, on the side, it says: KCD4, 16A 250V, 20A 125V. It's a 4 pin switch (but only had 2 wires running to it).

I find similar looking switches on eBay but they're all overseas and will take weeks to get here. Amazon has some BUT they are listed as "add-on" items where you have to buy a minimum of $25 to have an order shipped.

Anyone know of a reasonable US source? Thanks!

Post a photo, Ken.
You working?

Randy

[Ken-55]

Busted ON/OFF switch . . .

My ON/OFF switch fell apart last week, on the side, it says: KCD4, 16A 250V, 20A 125V. It's a 4 pin switch (but only had 2 wires running to it).

I find similar looking switches on eBay but they're all overseas and will take weeks to get here. Amazon has some BUT they are listed as "add-on" items where you have to buy a minimum of $25 to have an order shipped.

Anyone know of a reasonable US source? Thanks!

[MrRchitty]

DrBaker wrote:
Picked up a Champion 4000 with wheel kit, handle, and cover for $319 shipped at Cabelas 18 months ago.

I live in Moore. Yesterday our community was hit by a major tornado. We are one of the fortunate ones that still has a home. Many homes, businesses, and schools have been completely destroyed. No power, water, etc.

Pulled the Champ out of storage. Took 3 pulls and it started right up. The few hundred bucks I spent was well worth it. The Champ has gone a long way to help make a bad situation a little better for my family and friends.

Thoughts and prayers........

[kirkadie]

DR,
Glad to hear your home was spared, so sorry for all whose weren't.
We, up here in S. Ohio are possibly under the gun tonight into tomorrow, and likewise, our 3500/4000 fired right up as I wanted some reassurance in case it's needed.
I sincerely hope yours won't be needed for too long, and ours, not at all.
Good luck to you and all your townsfolk.

[DrBaker]

Picked up a Champion 4000 with wheel kit, handle, and cover for $319 shipped at Cabelas 18 months ago.

I live in Moore. Yesterday our community was hit by a major tornado. We are one of the fortunate ones that still has a home. Many homes, businesses, and schools have been completely destroyed. No power, water, etc.

Pulled the Champ out of storage. Took 3 pulls and it started right up. The few hundred bucks I spent was well worth it. The Champ has gone a long way to help make a bad situation a little better for my family and friends.