Lets talk generators

[mrad]

I will preface this thread by saying the Honda eu generators are by far the top of the line.

With that said, and with all the new technology in the past few years, aren't some of the Chinese knock offs becoming legitimate buys?

I bought a champion 3100 four years ago and have been very happy with it. My only complaint was gas usage. When using my fish house in the winter I would need to bring two five gallons fuel tanks to get through the weekend. this required me to to put a receiver hitch storage rack on my truck to hall the extra fuel.

four weeks ago I purchased a Ryobi 2200/1700 watt generator from home depot for $379, i paid another $60 to put a 6 year warranty on it. So far I have been very impressed>it ran in -20 degree temps last weekend and runs 10= hours on a tank of gas (very nice in that cold weather). Are we getting close to where the Chinese generators are a viable long term investment??

[BFL13]

I have been hoping the OP would check out what parallel kit would be used with the 3100 and 2000 combo he was thinking of. There is not much info on all the different parallel kits and what their limitations are for different combos.

Is it the smallest gen in the mix that sets the pace? Is the smaller gen always the "primary" and that forces the kit choice? Champion says some kits will work but are not "optimum". Some details on all this would be interesting.

So what did the OP find out? 🙂

[vermilye]

And to add to the choices, Yamaha just announced the EF2200IS 2200 watt inverter generator. 30 amp RV connector, fuel gauge & carburetor drain. If you are willing to go for the high prices spread, it is worth looking at: Yamaha 2200IS

[SoundGuy]

DerekStar wrote:
Of course, Honda EU7000IS is the beast, but there is also EU2000i, which is a good option too.

Honda has discontinued the EU2000i and replaced it with the much more capable EU2200i with a much larger 121cc engine.

[DerekStar]

What about Champion Power Equipment 75537i? It's quite powerful and reliable, found it on this list: https://lawngardentop.com/best-power-generator/best-inverter-generators. Of course, Honda EU7000IS is the beast, but there is also EU2000i, which is a good option too. Thoughts on the article?

[72cougarxr7]

I have a 4000w Champion generator that is over 10 years old, I used it the other day during a power outage and it started on the 2nd pull after sitting since fall. Ran my furnace, fridge, some lights and tv for 5 hours without missing a beat.
I also have a Champion 2000w inverter that is going on 5 years strong.
My experience with Champion has been so positive, I just cant see spending 2 or 3 times the money for a Honda.
Now that I have a tt with an ac unit, I am in need of a larger inverter, and will be purchasing another Champion, the 3400w inverter.

[CoeyCoey]

I am looking into building a battery bank from a used Nissan Leaf battery, and charge it with solar and the WATT propane fuel cell when it comes available. However, I also want an under hood generator. I was surprised to find that most are just a big dc alternator that goes through an inverter. I am more interesting in a 120vac alternator. It would be more efficient, the wires would be thinner, and if the invert fails, I still have an AC source. They make both a 120 and 240 version. More wattage from the 120 though, which is the route I will likely take. Has anyone installed a 120vac Underhood generator?

[MFL]

BFL13 wrote:

MFL wrote:
I noticed in questions, on Champion site, that you can parallel a Champion 3100 with the 2K Champion 100565, which would be 2800+1600=I'm guessing at least 4K.

Jerry

Need to check that. If the parallel kit is limited to the smaller gen's specs, then you might get 3000 instead of 4000.

I am guessing the kit is different for two big ones. Perhaps there is info on that somewhere in the Champion site.

Not clear what this will do:
https://www.championpowerequipment.com/parallel-kit-selector/

Nice thing with Champion, is communication! If you need information/have a question, you can ask the question on their site, leaving your e-mail, and from my experience, get a response within the hour. Also from my experience, you can call their number, talk to a real person, that can answer the question, involving the 2 different gens I mentioned being paralleled.

Jerry

[time2roll]

If I buy another generator it will also need to be compatible with an extended run fuel tank.
Although I am more likely to go with some type of a fuel cell.

[George3037]

I bought two last year. A Champion #76533 4750/3800 electric start dual fuel and the HF Predator 3500W electric start generators. Either will run my TT including the A/C. The HF is quieter than a 3000W Honda which a friend of mine uses by a couple db at 30'. The Champ is louder than the others but acceptable. I'm happy with both. I couldn't justify the cost of a 3000 plus watt Honda and wanted enough power to run the TT with A/C if needed. The 2K wouldn't do it.
I also use my gens in the field where there is no power. I have a bad shoulder (rotater cuff) so needed electric start.

[starcraft69]

.

[BFL13]

MFL wrote:
I noticed in questions, on Champion site, that you can parallel a Champion 3100 with the 2K Champion 100565, which would be 2800+1600=I'm guessing at least 4K.

Jerry

Need to check that. If the parallel kit is limited to the smaller gen's specs, then you might get 3000 instead of 4000.

I am guessing the kit is different for two big ones. Perhaps there is info on that somewhere in the Champion site.

Not clear what this will do:
https://www.championpowerequipment.com/parallel-kit-selector/

[MFL]

I noticed in questions, on Champion site, that you can parallel a Champion 3100 with the 2K Champion 100565, which would be 2800+1600=I'm guessing at least 4K.

Jerry

[BFL13]

Remember that two in parallel is not twice one for power.

My P2200 Briggs and Stratton manual has a table for that:

Two P2200s (1700w running each)= 3000w in parallel (not 3400)
P2200 & P3000 = 3000w
P3000 & P3000 = 4800w

I don't know, but guess that has something to do with the parallel kit receptacles.

[dieseltruckdriv]

There are 5 campers in our group that regularly camps/fishes together. Three of them went with Champions, one went with dual 2000 inverter (older stackable style), while the other two went with the 3500/4000. The two 2000s wouldn't run his air conditioner, which surprised me. I loved that they were stackable, and was considering buying them just for that.
Now they are all using the Harbor Freight Predators.

Two of us are still using our 2000 Hondas, and all told we have probably spent less on generators than they have. This is over the course of ten years, but one of the EU2000s has lost a lot of compression, but it easily has over 5,000 hours on it.
There are several things I like about the Predators, and I hope they last as well as they look.

Side story, two years ago I bought some cheap hour meters and we put them on our Hondas, and we were shocked how quickly the hours add up, and how we weren't changing the oil nearly enough. The 2000 with low compression has over 1000 hours on the hour meter.