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

[professor95]

Just curious, Jay.

What was the "slight" issue with the parallel kit?

Welcome to this thread! I hope you will stay and share your experience and opinion of the new inverter generators.

[orionpaxx]

hello all,

i have to say, i had a slight issue with the parallel kit. emailed champion to see if it would be covered under warranty. Within an hour i had a very friendly response telling me that they were sending a replacement asap. Incredible customer service. it's so nice when companies are there to take care of any issues.
Jay

[Old___Slow]

jdiffend wrote:

professor95 wrote:

curt12914 wrote:


Professor, Have you tried the 2000 watt Honda and Yamaha generators? How do their inverters compare for output?

Bottom line - all of the 2,000 advertised watt inverters (Honda, Kipor, Yamaha and Champion) reliably operated up to 1,500 watts of continuous load. NONE were capable of operating at a continuous load of 2,000 watts.

The Honda and Kipor provided more surge current. The Yamaha and CPE would NOT start a 6,000 BTU window air conditioner used as a test device. The Honda and Kipor would start the device. The Yamaha and CPE would NOT start a 12 amp circular saw. The Kipor and Honda would.

The Honda and Kipor are 100cc engines. The Champion and Yamaha have 80cc engines.

This is in no way a statement that implies the Champion and Yamaha are inferior to the Kipor and Honda. But, if your needs are for higher surge or starting currents, the larger displacement engine models do appear to have an advantage.

Have you tried a Generac iX 2000?
It has a 127cc engine.

BTW, from the Generac manual:

NOTE:
Power output and runtime are influenced by many factors, some of which are fuel quality, ambient temperature and engine condition. Output decreases approximately 3.5% for each 1,000 feet above sea level and 1% for every 10 degrees above 60 degrees F

So if you know what the temp and altitude was for your tests you could probably estimate sea level output.

Some other past reviews that are found to be relevant to the Champion 2000i

[Old___Slow]

johnjces wrote:
Initial and Real World Review of Two (2) CPE 73531i gensets and 73500i parallel kit.

MODS. Please feel free to move this to a different or separate thread.

I am new to this forum, but have been a pretty avid RVer since our first travel trailer back in 1993. Currently I own a 2011 Skyline Aljo 2640B with a 15K BTU AC, (not the standard 13.5). I live at 6500 feet in elevation and thought I would write up a quick review of my purchase of two (2) CPE 2000 watt inverter generators today. Since we want to do more dry "camping" at the lower elevation AZ lakes, I needed a light weight generator that in my mid 50's and later life, I can fairly easily lug around. Anyway... This forum helped me to decide as well as other research on the Champion products. I am not affiliated with CPE in anyway and am a retired COP, not that it matters, but my initial review and impressions are most favorable.

I have been penny wise and pound foolish too many times in my life and more often than not I get what I paid for. So I lamented over a couple of Honda EU2000i gensets and having a neighbor with one, have some hands-on with the Honda inverter generator. I initially tried out one Honeywell 2000i but it was hard to start, noisy, heavy at almost 65 pounds and no parallel kit. It went back to Costco and so my lamenting over spending a couple of grand for a pair of Honda's continued.

I then stumbled upon some info on the CPE product. Looked at a couple of youtube videos and read all I could for this newly released low cost (HALF the cost of a Honda) and finally figured oh... what the heck. I ordered the parallel kit from CPE on Wednesday after finding out where in AZ I could get my hands on a couple of these generators. Received the parallel kit yesterday (Friday) and today, (Saturday) headed to Sam's Club in Flagstaff, AZ and picked up two of them and brought them home after ensuring I could bring them back if they didn't work out for me.

After adding the requisite oil and fuel, the first one started after two pulls and the second started on the first pull. Go figure! A far cry from the Honeywell unit I returned earlier in the week!

I have a Kill A Watt which on house AC shows a value of 121 - 122 volts (other meters I own show 119-120 volts), and 59.9 Hz. Each generator, after warming up a bit in either Econ mode on or off, showed 122 VAC and 59.9 Hz. I then Plugged in a resistive load of 1850 watts (a high power hair dryer)in one and then the other. VAC dipped a bit but recovered well on each. Time for the real check... my AC unit and Microwave!

Paralleled the two with the proper kit, (by the way, AC in parallel just as a Honda and the signal cable is a cross over four pin cable, pin 1 to 3 and pin 2 to 4, clockwise from the tab at 12 o'clock. By the way, ergonomics of these untis is really very nice! They stack on top of each other and the parallel kit nestles between them. They are as easy to lug around as a Honda... but again.. HALF the price!

Started them up, one pull each, turned Econ mode off and checked out the microwave. Perfect. Then the 15K BTU AC. The gensets lugged but the AC came right on! I am in business. With the AC on I tried the Microwave. Voltage dropped to about 95 volts and came back to 105 but I did get hot water in a cup inside the microwave and the AC was still cooling away. Didn't notice any slowing of the AC fans, but the microwave sure was affected by the change in voltage.

With the AC running, I turned both units Econ mode to ON and the generators slowed a bit and of course quieter. Cycling of the AC compressor REALLY lugs the gensets engines, and the "AC Present" LEDs (lights) start blinking and no AC was present but the engines didn't die. I figured they would but that didn't happen, but no voltage. A restart fixes this. So... keep Econ mode off with an Air Conditioner running.

I let them run about an hour with AC cooling the trailer and saw voltage with just the AC and 12 volt trailer converter running as 122 volts and again rock solid at 59.9 Hz.

In parallel mode I found them very quiet even under a pretty full load. Inside the trailer, the air conditioner is louder than the generators and I had both stacked right by the trailer door.

So... being light weight, a bit over 50 lbs with a full gallon of gasoline, quiet, from my non scientific listening tests with the Honda, the CPE's are about at the same noise level one on one with the Honda. Half the price and now, only time will tell If these are solid little gensets.

Maybe, just maybe, I got more than my money's worth.

John J

This is pretty interesting. From 9-25-2010. Like has been stated before, we need at least 200 reviews.

[professor95]

curt12914 wrote:

tvman44 wrote:
Professor95, did you ever measure the noise of just one of the CPE inverters out in the open under full load? Just curious what the noise level is. Also when you run 2 at the same time how much increase in noise is there? I am inclined to think 3 db additional but cannot find any info on that?

I'm sure you are aware that this debate (single generator verses twins) has been argued many times on the Honda threads.

Since a db meter actually measures pressure, the readings from twins is always louder than a single, but if you have ever been around them, the noise difference is virtually imperceptible to the average person. With the Honda's infinite rpm range, it's possible twins are even quieter on a moderate load, since the rpm's of both generators is substantially less than it would be with a single generator.

If the CPE inverter generator has varying rpm levels (like the Honda and unlike the Kipor), it should give similar noise results with twins.

The CPE inverters DO HAVE infinite speed control that is dependent upon load. Thus, with the twins the speed of the individual generators will be lower when paired for the same load one might be experience for a single.

I agree on the perception of sound from the twins, but I was not aware of discussions on the Honda thread (don't go there). When two inverter generators are running at the same speed and produce the same sound frequency you have an identical result to placing two audio speakers side-by-side vs. one speaker (mono mode).

With the CPE inverters I do not like the "stacking" method. The genny on the bottom cannot be refueled without removing the top - that's addetional heavy lifting for an old man with a bad shoulder. So, I prefer to put them side-by-side. This points one generator exhaust 180 degrees from the other. This position is needed to have access to the starter and controls of both. This also helps to make the sound lower for twins as it is dispersed both to the front and back.

While both the Honda and CPE are rated for the same wattage, there is a difference in engine power as noted earlier. Thus, based on my comparison with a Honda and Kipor (basically twins in all performance/sound aspects) and a Kipor to a CPE, the CPE engine appears to be working harder when loaded near the power limit than the Kipor. (I own a Kipor KGE2000i, the Honda was borrowed and returned) Thus, it does sound "different" and you can tell by listening that the CPE is working harder. Again, no meter readings for this. I'll put it on the list for warmer weather testing.

So far, I am extremely fond of my CPE twins and feel like they were well worth their cost

[tvman44]

Agree with you professor95 this weather is perfect for hibernating only.

[tvman44]

Agree with you professor95 this weather is perfect for hibernating only.

[johnjces]

I have read a lot about the question of whether the CPE inverter gensets have an infinite RPM range in the econo mode.

Again, I am not affiliated with CPE, but from the schematic there is a stepper motor actuating the throttle. A stepper motor works in steps. Depending upon the motor and how many steps in the degree of rotation they have programmed, it could be quite variable.

In my using my two gensets, it appears very variable,i.e. many more than just hi, medium or low RPM speeds.

John

[DrBaker]

curt12914 wrote:

If the CPE inverter generator has varying rpm levels (like the Honda and unlike the Kipor), it should give similar noise results with twins.

Mine ramps up the rpm as the load increases.

[curt12914]

tvman44 wrote:
Professor95, did you ever measure the noise of just one of the CPE inverters out in the open under full load? Just curious what the noise level is. Also when you run 2 at the same time how much increase in noise is there? I am inclined to think 3 db additional but cannot find any info on that?

I'm sure you are aware that this debate (single generator verses twins) has been argued many times on the Honda threads.

Since a db meter actually measures pressure, the readings from twins is always louder than a single, but if you have ever been around them, the noise difference is virtually imperceptible to the average person. With the Honda's infinite rpm range, it's possible twins are even quieter on a moderate load, since the rpm's of both generators is substantially less than it would be with a single generator.

If the CPE inverter generator has varying rpm levels (like the Honda and unlike the Kipor), it should give similar noise results with twins.

[professor95]

tvman44 wrote:
Professor95, did you ever measure the noise of just one of the CPE inverters out in the open under full load? Just curious what the noise level is. Also when you run 2 at the same time how much increase in noise is there? I am inclined to think 3 db additional but cannot find any info on that?

Cheeze..... You guys are rough on an old man 🙂

I do not have photos of the meter, but if my remembery is correct, there was NO difference in noise level at ECONO speed. When both gennys were cranked up to full speed there was about a 3 dba increase on the meter compared to just ONE of the generators running at the same speed.

It is COLD here right now and the weather forecast is for ice and snow tonight. I will be more than glad to run any and all tests I am capable of conducting, but unfortunately we will need some warmer weather.

[83trekker]

oops

[JN_B]

shhh... ^^ don't tell anyone.

[83trekker]

Just FYI Costco canada in March has a $100 off coupon for this generator, its in the little winter coupon book they send out or you can pick up at the door at your local Costco.

[tvman44]

Professor95, did you ever measure the noise of just one of the CPE inverters out in the open under full load? Just curious what the noise level is. Also when you run 2 at the same time how much increase in noise is there? I am inclined to think 3 db additional but cannot find any info on that?