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

[Wayne_Dohnal]

if I had a Honda 2000 (I'm assuming Honda is one of the "other brands" you're referring to?) and it was sitting idling along at a real low rpm in ECO mode, if I suddenly dropped a 1900 watt load on it, it would handle it just fine, every time?

The eu2000i is being elevated a bit too high here. If it's idling in eco mode (at 3,000 RPM) and you dump a 1,900 watt load on it, it will sound like it's dying a fast death for about 5 seconds until the engine is able to spool up to its maximum 5,000 RPM, and the voltage will drop to 90 or so during much of that time. Do the same thing with eco off (4,300 RPM idle) and the story will be pretty much the same except the 5 seconds might go down to 3 seconds. You're not likely to ever actually push 1,900 watts for any meaningful amount of time, however, because a typical eu2000i won't do it. They go cleanly through 1,800 watts but can't maintain the voltage much further. On mine, as the load increases past 1,800 watts, there's a point where adding load increases the current but pulls the voltage down such that the output power is declining. (This is all in the context pf pf=1 loads). The big difference I'm noting in this area between the Honda and Champ is that when hit with a big load increase, the Honda will hang in there and eventually recover, while the Champ drops offline.

[DSchmidt_2000]

Hybridhunter wrote:

PrivatePilot wrote:
......
You need to use common sense. If you're going to demand a huge percentage of an inverter generators wattage suddenly, it's NOT realistic to expect it to be able to handle this situation 100% of the time from a low (or zero) load idle scenario..... .

Yeah, just because the other brands can do it, don't expect the same.
Seriously. :R
But the cheerleaders are filling in the blanks on this one
That gentleman stated he returned the one that had voltage sag for another one, and that the voltage sag is not the issue.

FWIW, my Yamaha EF2000is does sag in ECO mode when hit with a high step function load as it does take time for the engine to increase RPM's. I suspect the Honda does too. Unfortunately I didn't have a scope hooked up when I did my load testing to properly quantify the droop vs load.

[JConatser]

I don't own a Honda, but I've heard a lot of good reports about their abilities. I'm even more impressed now if I'm understanding correctly what I think I'm hearing. Hybridhunter, are you saying that if I had a Honda 2000 (I'm assuming Honda is one of the "other brands" you're referring to?) and it was sitting idling along at a real low rpm in ECO mode, if I suddenly dropped a 1900 watt load on it, it would handle it just fine, every time?

[Angus_NB]

Hybridhunter wrote:

Angus_NB wrote:
After reading 40+ pages of the 171 in this thread I was nearly convinced that a trip to Costco was in my future.
The following has me concerned though;

Searching_Ut wrote:
...
Biggest issue I have is that the little champion just doesn't like my WFCO 55 amp converter in my TT. The power factor on the converter is .67, which is murder on the generator. If I let my two type 24 batteries drop down to about half charge, the converter draws right around 700 watts when I first plug the trailer in to the generator. With that much of a reactive load the overload trips right around 700 to 720 watts, so half the time when I first plug the trailer in, it kicks the overload. Trying other less reactive loads I can get up to 1600 watts, sometimes slightly higher. The other issue with the converter in the TT is that the generator tends hunt a fair bit throttle wise when trying to power the TT with nothing else on, which is something it doesn't do nearly so much with other loads. On an intersting side note, I borrowed a little 2 cycle 1000 watt generator which is only rated for 800 continuous and it works great with the power convertor in the TT.
...

I have a WFCO WF-8955PEC in my trailer. My main purpose for getting a generator is to recharge the two Group 24 batteries.
Is there something I can do to verify that the CPE 2000i is going to work for me?
I don't mind buying one and trying it out but I don't want to find out it can't charge my batteries when I am 100s of miles from home.

Don't do it friend. It is an irritation beyond. I had the EXACT same experience as above, and there is no fix. I had only one battery off my WFCO, and it would not work when the battery was below 50%.

From what I can tell the WFCO converter in my trailer isn't going into boost mode anyway. After 4 days plugged into shore power and the trailer not being used the batteries are only at 90%. Two hours on an external charger brings them to 100%.
I have a feeling I'm going to have to use a battery charger anyway no matter what generator I get.

[Angus_NB]

Hybridhunter wrote:

PrivatePilot wrote:
......
You need to use common sense. If you're going to demand a huge percentage of an inverter generators wattage suddenly, it's NOT realistic to expect it to be able to handle this situation 100% of the time from a low (or zero) load idle scenario..... .

Yeah, just because the other brands can do it, don't expect the same.
Seriously. :R
But the cheerleaders are filling in the blanks on this one
That gentleman stated he returned the one that had voltage sag for another one, and that the voltage sag is not the issue.

I'm not for or against the Champion. Can you tell me the make and model of a 1600 watt inverter generator that can handle the situation described above?

[PrivatePilot]

Hybridhunter wrote:
That's like a racer crying his car has less horsepower.

No, it's like racing a sports car against a family sedan and being somehow surprised at the inevitable outcome. Both have 4 wheels and will get you to the grocery store and back, but that doesn't mean they're equal.

But, whatever, you have stated your opinion and I've stated mine, so we'll have to agree to disagree.

[Hybridhunter]

PrivatePilot wrote:

Hybridhunter wrote:
Yeah, just because the other brands can do it, don't expect the same.

Are we making fair comparisons? Don't' forget that the Reds and Blues have more horsepower, and therefore can come "out of the hole" faster and stronger when a surge hits.

Heck the Eu2000i will actually completely cut off it's voltage output if the generator can't come out of eco mode to meet a high demand fast enough, and then re-establish output once the engine has spooled up. IIRC the Yamaha doesn't do this, and you don't have to search very far to find lots (and LOTS) of stories of the blue options failing miserably with high-load hits from eco idle.

As many in this thread are quick to state, you can't directly compare the 2000 watt class Blue/Reds to the Champion...however, when it comes to discrediting it, suddenly those facts get forgotten.

That's like a racer crying his car has less horsepower.
Anyhow, Rah Rah Rah!

[Hybridhunter]

Angus_NB wrote:
After reading 40+ pages of the 171 in this thread I was nearly convinced that a trip to Costco was in my future.
The following has me concerned though;

Searching_Ut wrote:
...
Biggest issue I have is that the little champion just doesn't like my WFCO 55 amp converter in my TT. The power factor on the converter is .67, which is murder on the generator. If I let my two type 24 batteries drop down to about half charge, the converter draws right around 700 watts when I first plug the trailer in to the generator. With that much of a reactive load the overload trips right around 700 to 720 watts, so half the time when I first plug the trailer in, it kicks the overload. Trying other less reactive loads I can get up to 1600 watts, sometimes slightly higher. The other issue with the converter in the TT is that the generator tends hunt a fair bit throttle wise when trying to power the TT with nothing else on, which is something it doesn't do nearly so much with other loads. On an intersting side note, I borrowed a little 2 cycle 1000 watt generator which is only rated for 800 continuous and it works great with the power convertor in the TT.
...

I have a WFCO WF-8955PEC in my trailer. My main purpose for getting a generator is to recharge the two Group 24 batteries.
Is there something I can do to verify that the CPE 2000i is going to work for me?
I don't mind buying one and trying it out but I don't want to find out it can't charge my batteries when I am 100s of miles from home.

Don't do it friend. It is an irritation beyond. I had the EXACT same experience as above, and there is no fix. I had only one battery off my WFCO, and it would not work when the battery was below 50%.

[PrivatePilot]

Hybridhunter wrote:
Yeah, just because the other brands can do it, don't expect the same.

Are we making fair comparisons? Don't' forget that the Reds and Blues have more horsepower, and therefore can come "out of the hole" faster and stronger when a surge hits.

Heck the Eu2000i will actually completely cut off it's voltage output if the generator can't come out of eco mode to meet a high demand fast enough, and then re-establish output once the engine has spooled up. IIRC the Yamaha doesn't do this, and you don't have to search very far to find lots (and LOTS) of stories of the blue options failing miserably with high-load hits from eco idle.

As many in this thread are quick to state, you can't directly compare the 2000 watt class Blue/Reds to the Champion...however, when it comes to discrediting it, suddenly those facts get forgotten.

[Hybridhunter]

PrivatePilot wrote:
......
You need to use common sense. If you're going to demand a huge percentage of an inverter generators wattage suddenly, it's NOT realistic to expect it to be able to handle this situation 100% of the time from a low (or zero) load idle scenario..... .

Yeah, just because the other brands can do it, don't expect the same.
Seriously. :R
But the cheerleaders are filling in the blanks on this one
That gentleman stated he returned the one that had voltage sag for another one, and that the voltage sag is not the issue.

[PrivatePilot]

JConatser wrote:

Five.Nine wrote:
... the generator basically stalled out and the voltage dropped to about 80V when I tested it with a 1500 W heater...

I assume you did NOT have it in ECON mode when you did this test?

He probably did, because I've done this exact same test and had ZERO issues. This generator will run a 1500 watt heater all day long without complaints.

A big part of the problem with the introduction of these lower-cost inverter generators (which is opening up the market to those who would never have owned one otherwise) is that people don't fully understand them. You can't expect to shock-surge an inverter generator to within 90% of it's maximum rating (from no-load idle) and not see some voltage drop (or in extreme cases, overload) issues.

You need to use common sense. If you're going to demand a huge percentage of an inverter generators wattage suddenly, it's NOT realistic to expect it to be able to handle this situation 100% of the time from a low (or zero) load idle scenario. This is reason why the eco switch is there to begin with - so the feature can be disabled when you need to fire-off high load surge items.

[bradyk]

Just came in from doing the burp fix. Put in the new board etc. and started first pull which was nice to see. Initial sound is still got some burping happening. Not as much as the old board but it is still up and down a bit. I have it running with my umbrella heater on one element and I will check occasionally. Is it gone no, but better than it was yes. I will see how it goes. The board they sent is pretty easy to put in if anyone else is going for it. 45 minutes from getting ready to finish.

[Hybridhunter]

Searching_Ut wrote:
Like many, I’m looking forward to more info on the Burp. To be honest, it’s just an annoyance, and the longer I use the unit, the less it bothers me. My lawnmower tends to do it as well when at idle, and I don’t even notice it really unless I think about it.

As for using the generator to charge the batteries on an RV. That’s the primary use I have for mine, and most of the time it does pretty well. If and when I get more time, and a little bored I’ll have to look closer as to what is going on. Most of the time, I try not to let my two group 24’s get below 12.1 volts, and as long as I do that, I don’t have any issues plugging the TT into the 2000i, as long as I take the generator out of Eco mode when I first plug it in. Once it’s stabilized, going to ECO doesn’t matter. You also have to kick it up on high is you’re going to try and use a hairdryer or something along those lines. The only problem I have is if and when the batteries are low enough that my converter tries to kick up on high for battery charge instead of the mid 13 volt range it normally selects. When it tries to start on high immediately, it kicks the overload on my little champion. Using a stand alone charger powered by the generator for a couple minutes puts enough of a surface charge on the batts that the convertor doesn’t try to run full blast and then you can plug the trailer in..

As for how long a day I have to run the generator, I always boondock, rarely if ever run the furnace, and find I can get by with an hour or two a day, and even skip a day here and there. We don’t run much that draws on the batteries, but even then if I have my refrigerator running, I’m generally drawing somewhere in the 1.5 to 1.7 amp range just from the fridge, CO2 detector etc. Seems my 2011 Springdale is much more of a parasitic power hog than anything I’ve owned in the past

I had the same experience, as I primarily boondock, it was useless to me. I am actually glad to have someone else verify what I experience, (after the Prof retracted his report it would not run his converter in bulk, by stabilizing his converter with a "Carbon Pile Tester".) The load was not really the issue per se; it was the inverter software. I was only charging 1 group 24, not 2, when the bulk charge mode put the gen into O.L.

The surge is the cause, not the load, IMO. My latest aquisition is

http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/champion-1200-watt-generator/56486

I will report back, even though it is way off topic, just to give closure to anyone who thought I was "trolling".

A correction to a previous number, Champion has distributed less than 30 000 units, not 250 000, as previously stated 😉

I look back at this thread from time to time, and it bothers me that some try to pass off a new product as "proven". This is still relatively new, and nowhere near an unblemished record.

[professor95]

byates wrote:

Question is will the several thousand that had the petcocks replaced also be quality tested for this problem.

You seem to continually keep dragging up old erroneous information. I know you dislike this product and company and want to use anything you can find to discredit them, but this is simply a wrong statement.

As I stated earlier I misunderstood a situation and responded entirely inappropriately to a user that had a fuel leakage issue. The petcocks that CPE had to replace were NOT on the 2000i, but rather on a larger open frame generator similar to your Chinese built Homesite. The issue was not leakage but rather a redesign by the supplier that restricted fuel flow enough that the engines were not getting enough fuel to the carburetor.

I screwed up when I related the problem to the 2000i. There were several items in the discussion and I crossed wires in my understanding. I totally misunderstood the information I received and openly apologized and corrected it.

I am man enough to admit my mistakes and misunderstandings. It is time to put this to rest.

[JConatser]

Five.Nine wrote:
... the generator basically stalled out and the voltage dropped to about 80V when I tested it with a 1500 W heater...

I assume you did NOT have it in ECON mode when you did this test?