Costco! champion 3100w genny

Dave H M wrote:
I did not make it thru all the posts, however i just bought a Champ 2000i from the local farm and fleet for 499. :h

I also have a 2000. It has served me well for a couple of years.

I did not make it thru all the posts, however i just bought a Champ 2000i from the local farm and fleet for 499. :h

otrfun wrote:

bmzero wrote:
. . . broke my pull cord (pull start). It broke with the cord in the extended position . . .

Bmzero, just to confirm, the rope/cord itself broke, not the mechanical, pull-start, ratchet assembly, right?

No, the mechanical assembly broke.

Also, it turns out that while Camping World was repairing the generator, they broke the choke assembly. I only noticed it when the weather got colder in the last month or so. The choke will not close all the way and it idles up and down constantly when no load is applied.

I had high hopes for this little machine, but unfortunately, it is not trustworthy enough for continued use.

I'm upgrading to the Polaris 3000iE, just announced today. I'll post some more info on this genny in a separate thread as to not muddy the water here.

bmzero wrote:
. . . broke my pull cord (pull start). It broke with the cord in the extended position . . .

Bmzero, just to confirm, the rope/cord itself broke, not the mechanical, pull-start, ratchet assembly, right?

bmzero wrote:
As an update with this generator, I wanted to report a couple of issues.

1. Fold out handle is extremely fragile. Mine broke pretty quickly after purchase. After that, it's pretty difficult to move around. Lesson learned - always pull this thing around by supporting the weight in the center of the fold out handle (ie. don't hold one side of the handle)
2. I also broke my pull cord (pull start). It broke with the cord in the extended position.

Luckily, I have the 2 year repair warranty from Camping World. So, they repaired both issues, but they had to take parts off of a new genny sitting on the floor. However, this generator seems to be a case where "you get what you pay for".

That being said, I am in no way unsatisfied with this generator. I have just had some issues that reminded me this is a $900 Champion generator and not a $3000 Honda. The extra $2000 in my pocket makes me feel a little better, though.

Yup, concur that fold-out handle is a bit flimsy. Been treatin' it gently since day one. If someone used this in a construction environment, that handle would be lucky to last through the first day :(

Lotsa discussion about the Champion 3100's (75531i) noise level and power handling, but not a whole lot mentioned about fuel consumption. The other day I did a fuel consumption test with my 75531i. It was about 105 degrees with approx. 50% humidity (around 2pm). Started the test with my toy hauler 105+ degrees inside! The a/c compressor (Dometic 13,500 BTU) didn't turn off for over an hour (thermostat set to 77-78 degrees--cooling only 140 sq ft). With a full tank of gas (filled to the "red line" as Champion recommends--capacity 1.6 gal.), it ran for 6 hours before running out of fuel. FWIW, temps had dropped to around 94 deg when the test ended at 8pm. Champion advertises 8 hours with a 25% load. For this test, I had everything turned off except the a/c. The compressor was on approx. 75% of the time and pulling 14-15 amps (as per PI EMS) which is approx. 65% of its maximum load capacity of 23.3 amps. I believe this puts the overall load at roughly 50%. So, under the circumstances, I think 6 hours is pretty good. Since the above test was a probably a worst case scenario (except in AZ or S. CA--lol!), I would expect to get at least 8+ hours under more reasonable conditions--especially at night when it's cooler. More than enough time for most of us to get a good night's sleep.

I've put about 20-25 hours on my 75531i so far. Pretty pleased with it so far.

As an update with this generator, I wanted to report a couple of issues.

1. Fold out handle is extremely fragile. Mine broke pretty quickly after purchase. After that, it's pretty difficult to move around. Lesson learned - always pull this thing around by supporting the weight in the center of the fold out handle (ie. don't hold one side of the handle)
2. I also broke my pull cord (pull start). It broke with the cord in the extended position.

Luckily, I have the 2 year repair warranty from Camping World. So, they repaired both issues, but they had to take parts off of a new genny sitting on the floor. However, this generator seems to be a case where "you get what you pay for".

That being said, I am in no way unsatisfied with this generator. I have just had some issues that reminded me this is a $900 Champion generator and not a $3000 Honda. The extra $2000 in my pocket makes me feel a little better, though.

"otrfun" thanks for the update!

fundytrail wrote:
Has anyone tried the Champion 3100 on a 15,000 BTU AC unit yet? If so how did it work?

My Champion 75531i 3100 powers my 13,500 BTU a/c with ease with the converter and frig OFF (frig in gas mode). I've also powered my 13,500 BTU Dometic a/c, 950 watt 10 amp converter (batteries 50% charged), and frig (in AC mode) ALL at the same time. Can't say it did it with ease, however. When the compressor turned on, it strained with the economy mode ON.

Champion (and others) have reported successfully powering a 15,000 BTU a/c. If I can run all this at the same time, can't imagine having any problems powering a 15,000 BTU a/c as long as everything else is powered down.

FWIW, supergenproducts.com has a 14 day return policy (gotta pay discount shipping both ways, approx. $35x2=$70, if you return it).

Has anyone tried the Champion 3100 on a 15,000 BTU AC unit yet? If so how did it work?

bmzero wrote:

otrfun wrote:
bmzero, thanks for the info and update! I'm sure a few folks here are curious whether it runs your a/c successfully with the ECOnomy mode both off and on. Please give us an update (along with the size of your a/c unit) when you get a chance. Thanks!

The main purpose of this generator is to run the A/C in a box truck I'm building for racing. That truck doesn't have the air installed yet, so I can't test it on that truck, but I did hook it up to our race trailer to test it out. That trailer has two roof airs and runs an Onan 7000. I plugged the trailer into the Champion 3100w and gave it a shot. It handled a single A/C unit perfectly fine (didn't try both units simultaneously) and even idled back down after the A/C kicked on. Unfortunately, I couldn't find the model number or size of the A/C's in any of the documentation. I'm sure they're at least 13.5k. I put in some photos of the A/C's bottom panel in case that's enough for some of you to determine the size of it.

bmzero, muchas gracias for this latest update! I believe that's a Dometic Duo-Therm a/c unit. They use the same inside panel for several different models, so it's hard to determine the BTU on your unit by just looking at the inside panel. As you mentioned it's probably a 13.5k BTU. At any rate, it was good news to hear it powered up your a/c and then dropped down to a lower idle. Kinda gives the impression there's some decent headroom available. I assume you had the ECOnomy mode on?

My plan is to pull the trigger on one of these Champion 75531i 3100/2800 inverter generators in the next week or so even though there's no long-term, reliability stats on this generator. IMO, the 75531i's good preliminary online feedback, Champion's good warranty support (most online comments are positive), excellent specs for this unit (at least on paper), and especially the low price ($900-$999), makes this generator a good purchase risk. The online retailer I talked to is willing to allow a 14-day return period. As long as it powers up my 13.5k BTU Coleman a/c, then I'm sure I'll be a happy and cool camper! Thanks again, bmzero!