The Official unofficial CPE 2000i Generator Thread

[pritch272]

8/1/2010 edit: Thread renamed at the suggestion of the Professor.
Renamed from: Champion Inverter and Remote Gens Promo on CPE's web site)

3/22/2011 edit: Thread renamed ...
Renamed from: Official CPE 2000 Watt Inverter Generator Thread

3/23/2011 edit: Thread renamed at the suggestion of the Professor.
Renamed from: (Un)Official CPE 2000 Watt Inverter Generator Thread

Inverter Available August 2010



Remote Available July 2010

[canadiankid]

He already said "an AC"

[PrivatePilot]

Ok, a little OT, but I gotta ask - what are you using in a PUP that requires that much amperage that you invested in a second genny and the parallel kit?

[Old___Slow]

Aero Guy wrote:

JConatser wrote:

Aero Guy wrote:
... Here they are all hooked up and powering the pup...

Looking good... don't forget about low-life thieves running around out there.

Haha, this is actually in my driveway, so no worries there. But, rest assured, I have a set of cable locks that will travel anywhere these do!

They will be getting their first full field test as a pair in a couple of weeks. We'll be fully self contained camping, so these will be put to the test.

I have kin folks in Houston interested in this new Champion Inverter. Will you please give the location of the Sam's Club you bought the two units from. You might also give us more info' on how you will chain the two units to the PUP and how you find the operation of the Microwave?

[canadiankid]

Aero Guy wrote:

Is that 2 30 amp power plugs? That would be nice for sharing with a friend 🙂

[Aero_Guy]

JConatser wrote:

Aero Guy wrote:
... Here they are all hooked up and powering the pup...

Looking good... don't forget about low-life thieves running around out there.

Haha, this is actually in my driveway, so no worries there. But, rest assured, I have a set of cable locks that will travel anywhere these do!

They will be getting their first full field test as a pair in a couple of weeks. We'll be fully self contained camping, so these will be put to the test.

[blkfe]

professor95 wrote:

curt12914 wrote:
Hee is a link for a person (msiminoff) that is using a ProSone inverter charger in conjunction with his Honda EU2000i to start his AC, then run it on generator only.

Do you think this could be done with the CPE 2000 inverter also?

OK - think about this a moment. The guy has a Polar Cub 9200. I am assuming that is a 9,200 BTU A/C. Considerably less amperage than a 13.5 or 15K A/C.

The Honda 2000i is NOT synchronized with the ProSine - meaning they are NOT parallel. He uses the ProSine to start the A/C and then switches to the Honda in what is about 1/20th of a second (two cycles) or the time it takes for a relay to move it's contact 1/8th of an inch. The A/C will ignore a two cycle drop-out and keep on pumping.

What I do not understand is why he has to start a Polar Cub 9200 with a battery powered inverter? Seems to me the Honda 2000i should do the job just fine on an A/C that size.

At $1,200 plus dollars for a ProSine 2000 I would not even think about it unless I had one in my RV when I bought it (which I do not). What he is doing should work with any brand of genny - inverter or synchronous.

Following this method one could use a larger 3,500 watt synchronous generator to START the A/C and get past the high starting current, set the thermostat to lock in the compressor and then FAST switch the power source to a 2000 watt inverter generator.

Darn - I am already doing that with my home brew double gang 20 amp 3-way light switch remotely controlled by an automotive door lock actuator! I can switch from the generator to the DC inverter and the TV never drops a frame. Should work just as well with the A/C :S

I am really glad that you thought of that :B

There is a company out there making an inverter which is made to sync. with a small gen set. The idea being it provides extra boost to start inductive loads such as an AC unit, then switches of and lets the the generator run the load. I believe you can set the current draw to tell it when to start assisting. If I remember they are high $.
Need to spend some time and come up with the name and website.
Brad

Try this..http://www.rectifier.co.za/Solar/Victron%20Solar%20Inverters.html

[JConatser]

Aero Guy wrote:
... Here they are all hooked up and powering the pup...

Looking good... don't forget about low-life thieves running around out there.

[Aero_Guy]

I posted this in the reviews (that's why it is worded as it is) section on a pop-up forum I frequent and thought it might be relevant to this discussion:

Friend of mine was shopping at Sam's Club and made me aware of these. Rated at 53dB, pretty lightweight (48lbs), good running time on econ mode and the ability to run them in parallel mode to double your power and run those pesky PUP A/C units.

These (after speaking to a Champions Rep) are available at either Sam's Club in the US or Costco in Canada. The US price is $499. The parallel kit is $85 direct from Champion Power Equipment. We picked up 2 generators and ordered the kit.

While waiting for the kit to come, we took one of the generators to tailgate at the Texans v Colts game(woohoo Texans!!) and it ran great. It's quiet sound level garnered plenty of attention from passers by.

The parallel kit came today and I rolled out and popped up the pup to try it out. The parallel kit is very nice and pops in place on top of the generator. You can stack or set them side by side. Very simple to set up. Started the gens up and hooked up the pup power and then the moment of truth. Turned on the ac and barely made them hiccup. Note, that it will not power the AC when in economy mode. The sound is about the same as a similar Honda running in it's non-econ mode.

So, for the price of a single Honda or Yamaha unit, you can get double the power and very comparable specs.

When I just need to power the basics in the pup (in late fall when you don't need to run the AC) or go tailgating I take one. If I need more power (in the Summer) then I have it. Overall, I am very happy with my purchase.

Here they are all hooked up and powering the pup:

[Teamjd]

Just my opinion but...
I think the reason that Sam's Club hasn't gotten the Champion's yet is that they have to get rid of all those Eastern Tool Company - ETQ 1500WT/2500WT/3500WT Inverter Generators first.
I wish they get them soon.

[Wayne_Dohnal]

Question concerning max RPM's of various generators. Mayberrys has posted that both the Honda EU2000i and EU3000is max out at 3600 rpm, but I've read posts previously stating that the 3000 only goes to 2200 rpm thus accounting for it being quieter.

Does anyone have any info for the max rpms of the various uints? That Honda EU3000is is starting to look attractive.

Mayberrys info is wrong. For the eu2000i, the idle speed with eco on is 3,000 rpm, with echo on it's 4,300 rpm. Max speed is 5,000 rpm. The Honda specs used to say the max speed of the 3000is was 3,500, but later versions say 3,800. The 3000 handi runs faster. Maybe 2,200 is the idle speed for the 3000is. I've found the most reliable specs for the Honda gens are in the Owner's Manuals, downloadable from the Honda web site. For engine speed, however, they list only the maximum.

[PrivatePilot]

professor95 wrote:
I'm not too up on the pros and cons of ordering items from Canada. I know there are some restrictions for UPS shipments. But, I was wondering if it would be possible for folks in the lower 48 to order from the Canadian inventory at a Costco? Pretty much the identical unit to the USA model as far as features.

The chances of Costco willingly shipping items cross border are slim to none. Although it's the same company I'm pretty confident that they do NOT deal with cross border shipping to the south after assuredly just importing all their stock FROM the south...a process which is taken care of by the tranportation companies anyways, not them.

That said, if people are interested, I would be willing to buy stock and ship to the US...cost may become somewhat prohibitive though, 13% HST added to the $499 tag ($564 out the door) and I would suspect shipping to be in the $50 range given the weight, variable on location of course.

At the $600 range, is anyone still actually interested?

That said, I do have the necessary accounts with national shippers (at less then OTC rates), and actually work for a transportation company myself...so the logistics of me shipping isn't tough.

[pritch272]

Pretty neat switch you have there, Professor.

Wow, didn't realize how much I forgot until I read back through the posts in this thread. Such things as the fuel consumption rates, etc.

Flip-Flop, Flip-Flop.

Edit:
Question concerning max RPM's of various generators. Mayberrys has posted that both the Honda EU2000i and EU3000is max out at 3600 rpm, but I've read posts previously stating that the 3000 only goes to 2200 rpm thus accounting for it being quieter.

Does anyone have any info for the max rpms of the various uints? That Honda EU3000is is starting to look attractive.

Flip-Flop-Flap....

[Wayne_Dohnal]

What I do not understand is why he has to start a Polar Cub 9200 with a battery powered inverter? Seems to me the Honda 2000i should do the job just fine on an A/C that size.

Most of the thread is reports from several people stating that the 2000i does run the Polar Cub just fine. It's just one post that brings the Prosine 2.0 into the picture, and he says he does this in order to be able to keep the 2000i in "eco" mode. I started our 13,500 btuh a/c once with the eu2oooi in eco mode. The generator did start it but it coughed and spit for about 10 seconds, and I never wanted to put it or the air conditioner through that again. I never myself connected the dots of using the inverter as a tool to keep the generator in eco mode, but it is a viable option, not worth it unless you already happen to have the inverter.

I like that idea of using the door lock actuator on the switches. Never thought of that one, either.

[professor95]

curt12914 wrote:
Hee is a link for a person (msiminoff) that is using a ProSone inverter charger in conjunction with his Honda EU2000i to start his AC, then run it on generator only.

Do you think this could be done with the CPE 2000 inverter also?

OK - think about this a moment. The guy has a Polar Cub 9200. I am assuming that is a 9,200 BTU A/C. Considerably less amperage than a 13.5 or 15K A/C.

The Honda 2000i is NOT synchronized with the ProSine - meaning they are NOT parallel. He uses the ProSine to start the A/C and then switches to the Honda in what is about 1/20th of a second (two cycles) or the time it takes for a relay to move it's contact 1/8th of an inch. The A/C will ignore a two cycle drop-out and keep on pumping.

What I do not understand is why he has to start a Polar Cub 9200 with a battery powered inverter? Seems to me the Honda 2000i should do the job just fine on an A/C that size.

At $1,200 plus dollars for a ProSine 2000 I would not even think about it unless I had one in my RV when I bought it (which I do not). What he is doing should work with any brand of genny - inverter or synchronous.

Following this method one could use a larger 3,500 watt synchronous generator to START the A/C and get past the high starting current, set the thermostat to lock in the compressor and then FAST switch the power source to a 2000 watt inverter generator.

Darn - I am already doing that with my home brew double gang 20 amp 3-way light switch remotely controlled by an automotive door lock actuator! I can switch from the generator to the DC inverter and the TV never drops a frame. Should work just as well with the A/C :S

I am really glad that you thought of that :B

[MX-RV]

so I fired it up tonight and following a 2 min warm up with just the converter on I went to the micro (1000w) with the converter on its a no go however I blew the circuit breaker not overloaded the inverter with the converter off it ran on cook for 5 min no prob. The AC was another story however Im not expecting to be able to run it off 2k but again it blew the CB not the over load i did manage to get that to trip when I placed the ac and micro in to service but that only took about 10s of trying. Still happy with it.