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...

[MrWizard]

removing the shroud , then the fan, and puttng a bead of RTV silcone around the edge of he plastic fan, then bolting it back down, allow to cure 24 hr before starting generator

seems the plastic fan is NOT rigid enough, and vibrates, creating some of the noise comming from the engine/fan end of the generator

[Dubman]

Dark Green HD Dmax wrote:



Whats the "ATV MOD"?

I think they are referring to this post.. Link. Many people have done it with good results..

[hgarraway]

P.J wrote:

Dark Green HD Dmax wrote:

Fiat48 wrote:
Got the electric start Gentron today. Fired her up and had the fan rattle sound. So I did the atv mod on the plastic fan.
Guess JD figured the fan would not rattle since it is plastic. But it does rattle. Just a heads up.

Whats the "ATV MOD"?

Thanks for asking, I just searched to no avail.

Maybe RTV mod? As in the silicone?

If so, where and how?:)

Check the 6/09/06 post by TeamSlacker. He describes the procedure.

[Dark_Green_HD_D]

I asked a question about this topic about a month ago...anys replys i got were neg.

[P_J1]

Dark Green HD Dmax wrote:

Fiat48 wrote:
Got the electric start Gentron today. Fired her up and had the fan rattle sound. So I did the atv mod on the plastic fan.
Guess JD figured the fan would not rattle since it is plastic. But it does rattle. Just a heads up.

Whats the "ATV MOD"?

Thanks for asking, I just searched to no avail.

Maybe RTV mod? As in the silicone?

If so, where and how?:)

[Dark_Green_HD_D]

Fiat48 wrote:
Got the electric start Gentron today. Fired her up and had the fan rattle sound. So I did the atv mod on the plastic fan.
Guess JD figured the fan would not rattle since it is plastic. But it does rattle. Just a heads up.

Whats the "ATV MOD"?

[Fiat48]

Got the electric start Gentron today. Fired her up and had the fan rattle sound. So I did the atv mod on the plastic fan.
Guess JD figured the fan would not rattle since it is plastic. But it does rattle. Just a heads up.

[ol_Bombero-JC]

Thanks P.J -
Thought maybe we might get a comment from Paul Cole of
Champion Power Equipment -["fellow traveler"].
Wonder if a fax to Mr. Cole's number (he posted it) would
bring any different - or other - response.

Prof. Randy - any info?
Thanks,
JC

[P_J1]

ol Bombero-JC wrote:
Has anyone heard when/if Champion is coming out with
a silencing kit - and/or the "rumored" electric start model?
JC

Not yet.

I e-mailed them and they sent a common response to see thier website. I guess I should have known they wouldn't be willing to talk about not yet released products.

[ol_Bombero-JC]

Has anyone heard when/if Champion is coming out with
a silencing kit - and/or the "rumored" electric start model?
JC

[oldflyer]

I have followed most of this thread plus the Kipor thread to help me decide on a generator. This note doesn't quite fit in either thread, because I finally got a Champion 1200 watt (1500 peak) genset. This decision was based on the good reviews of the Champions here coupled with the fact that I really don't need 3000 watts, since we dry camp so little. The $179 price at Checker Auto also helped! This 1200 watt unit is a 2/3 size clone of the 3000 watt guys with a 2.4 HP engine, and 57 pounds dry weight makes it nice to move it around by myself.
The noise level is spec'ed at 65 dB (7M), so it probably isn't much quieter than the big guys. I built a semi-box (muffler/gen side open) using 2x4 ft drop-in acoustic ceiling panels and some 1x2 framing. I put an epoxy paint coat on the outside (perforated side of acoustic panels toward gen). It's probably not too water-resistant, but I set it under the overhead section of my 5th wheel. The result is noticeably quieter, and I only run the generator after breakfast for an hour or so to recharge my batteries. In the evening, I use a 700-watt inverter to run the TV and satellite dish receiver, and grind coffee. This has worked well. When I walked around the campground one time, my generator seemed only slightly louder than a couple of different motorhome generators from the same distance. I always try to locate myself so the generator is not in line-of-sight close to someone else. No complaints so far.
The little Champ runs the microwave clock fine, but I haven't tried to use the microwave itself yet. I did discover that it won't run the 1000W waffle maker and recharge the batteries at the same time. With a little power management, we can live with 1200 watts pretty well. If Champion does come out with an enclosed quieter 3000 watt model, I might be interested. Thanks for a great thread.

[MrWizard]

toprudder wrote:

P.J wrote:
I'm sure you are talking about something else though...........

Look at the connections to the two 120v outlets at the top right. The "L" and "W" wires are connected to the same side of the outlet (dead short).

YES and then it shows the W wire going to opposite side of the other duplex outlet

[bobandcat]

I looked at Ken Lenger's generator wiring installation without the generator switching gear. I still would prefer a simple switching system rather than just running a 30 amp cord and plugging into the original 5'er power outlet.

Is there an enclosed knife blade type 3 center pole switch that can be directed either to the generator or the camp ground power for the 30amp supply? I would want it enclosed for the obvious safety of no exposed hot wiring.

Thanks--Bob

[ol_Bombero-JC]

P.J. -
Chinese grammar not that bad! They just figured both sides
of "the pond" call it the same thing in the English language.

"Sparking Plug" - is correct for the "Kings English" !!
In the UK [England] a spark plug is a "sparking plug".
As in - under the bonnet on your Jaguar.
JC

[sanman]

Re: C46535 schematic
Ground wire G/Y is connected to hot side (on right) of the duplex, should connect to central U ground bar.
Line wire L should connect to the duplex T slot not to the neutral side(dead short on winding MW2).
The Br wire and the W wires on right hand duplex should be interchanged making the long slot the neutral conductor and the T slot the live line.