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

[Old___Slow]

bradyk wrote:
You can't always use numbers. Sometimes there will be a bad run of product and it can sku the numbers based on one bad batch. Randall and myself have both taken the liberty of trying to fix our gennys with parts from Champion. We are both handy and it sometimes is just as easy to do it yourself. Just to make sure everyone know they are not all bad and only may be some of them. I have a 4K Champion as well and so does my FIL and they are both awesome gennys and neither of us has had an issue in 4 years. Make sure you have all the numbers before coming to conclusions not just a few.

May the question be asked, what parts were supplied by Champion for the Champion 2000i that may have brought the Inverter genset up to advertised standards? Many of us are still on the fence as to what to buy in an Inverter generator. At this time, it seems, the Champion 2000i will not be the ideal RV genset. Even in pairs, many problems of proper sync are reported and the sustained output of more than 3 hours is also in question. As to parts, the question remains, are all parts on hand including the modules at Champion CPE CS. And how long would they stock parts after a new unit might hit the market? Questions, questions, questions.

[bradyk]

You can't always use numbers. Sometimes there will be a bad run of product and it can sku the numbers based on one bad batch. Randall and myself have both taken the liberty of trying to fix our gennys with parts from Champion. We are both handy and it sometimes is just as easy to do it yourself. Just to make sure everyone know they are not all bad and only may be some of them. I have a 4K Champion as well and so does my FIL and they are both awesome gennys and neither of us has had an issue in 4 years. Make sure you have all the numbers before coming to conclusions not just a few.

[byates]

MrRchitty wrote:
I understood his post. You are quoting a percentage on two units. Ok, add yours in. But you aren't counting those we don't know about. My kid's fire truck, 100% failure if we count just mine.

When I add my personal experience with this unit in, the average increases to .667, an excellent average on the diamond, but a dismal average for a company promoted by some to be world class.
My grandson has a battery powered John Deere tractor purchased at ToysRUS. No problems to date, so I guess the average for kid's toys is up to .500.
My experience on internet threads, whether it be generators or firearms, is that posts extolling a product far outnumber the negative posts, this thread excluded.

[Old___Slow]

Well Randall, you have up'ed Boone's mention of .500 to now 1000 with the kids Fire Truck failure. I will leave out the point of possible origin. You have been kind in your remarks about the Champion 2000i. That's okay. However IIRC, the first Champion 2000i for you, smoked while trying to charge the RV battery and was returned. Then you mention that twin Champion 2000i's would only run the A/C on a cooler night for 3 hours and went into OL. Well, my point. I have a Champion that preformed well for the past RV. Would handle the C/C A/C and microwave. So I am NOT a Champion hater. And Champion CS has always been good to me. So, IMHO, the Champion 2000i is really not quite usefull nor dependable for RV use. I look forward to further Inverter models from Chmapion.

[MrRchitty]

I understood his post. You are quoting a percentage on two units. Ok, add yours in. But you aren't counting those we don't know about. My kid's fire truck, 100% failure if we count just mine.

[byates]

I think the point of Hybridhunter's post is a .500 average is only good on the baseball diamond.
But his point of having to do your own repairs is valid also.

[MnDuckBoatguy]

Nice post Randall, much more tactful than I ever could have been. Thank you!!!

[MrRchitty]

Hybridhunter wrote:

MnDuckBoatguy wrote:
Bought 2, 1 had a problem , Promptly repair part received very satisfied!

....

I've been ignoring this comment, but...
You only expect half of the stuff you buy to work correctly?
Wow.
That's low expectations, not to mention you fixed it yourself.
I've got a truck to sell you.

I can truly see what you are saying.

Let's say we were to bring our genset to a repair center. Not that it stopped working, but something broke. Needed a little attention. What do you think the turn around time would be?

Off topic, but hear me out for a second. We bought our kids one of those large electric motorized fire trucks. Boy, they looked cute on that thing. Well, the little hose thingy broke. You could still drive the thing, but you couldn't spray the water. Yeah, something like 500 bucks. No repair center. You call the 800 number and guess what... they sent me a new part. Month later, burned up the board on it. That water sprayer wasn't supposed to hit the control board. They sent me one of those, too.

Sometimes, things we buy, break. There is no repair center for those big things we buy from Toys R Us or similar type outlets. They send you the part.

I have dealt with Champion and have received a part to fix/repair my genset. They were curteous and prompt in sending the part. Option would be to mail the genset back to them. Not if I can unbolt and bolt it back together myself. Yeah, shouldn't have to deal with a break down, and if there is anyone who feels something should work the first time, it is me. However, I love to tinker. As do some of us on this forum.

Anyway, hope those on the East Coast stay safe with Hurricane Irene. And my thoughts to those in VA from the quake. By the way, how's the professor??

[Hybridhunter]

MnDuckBoatguy wrote:
Bought 2, 1 had a problem , Promptly repair part received very satisfied!

....

I've been ignoring this comment, but...
You only expect half of the stuff you buy to work correctly?
Wow.
That's low expectations, not to mention you fixed it yourself.
I've got a truck to sell you.

[toprudder]

Oletop wrote:
On a side note I was just wondering if anyone has heard that running batteries down past 50% can harm them. Here is a link that I found interesting regarding Batteries and charging them.

http://www.cartsunlimited.net/BatteryCharging_Tutorial.html

I've heard that going below 50% decreases the life of the battery, and leaving it in a discharged state (not recharging immediately after use) also shortens the life.

[Old___Slow]

Just as I thought. Lot's of mfg's in China selling EC modules for Inverter gensets. There generic. I read on some threads here on RV.Net some are finding spare parts for Inveter generators. Just starting tho' ~ Some modules even have 'controls' for output and accessories like the stepper motors and throttle control. I don't own a Champion 2000i but wonder if they are selling parts that include the modules? Other parts? What is the price of the module?

If they go out like the AVR's they will need a good supply.

[Oletop]

Oletop wrote:
I have a Dual Pro Eagle Performance series 48volt / 18Amp charger for my Golf cart. I ran the charger with my CPE 2000i when my batteries were at 85% of capacity. I have not run a complete charge, but I go home today from offshore and I will try it and report back. This charger is a smart charger and starts at low output and ramps up as it charges. I will try to get as much detail as I can.

Charger info: Input- 115 VAC, 12.0 AMP (MAX) 60HTZ
Output- 48 Volts, 18 AMPS

My golf cart has 8 6volt batteries. I had the pack down to 60% which is 48.96 volts. I have a digital volt meter on my cart so I can tell state of charge. I ran the charger on my CPE 2000i on ECO Mode and it charged the pack with no troubles. I don't know if this helps anyone, but I figured I would post it just in case.

On a side note I was just wondering if anyone has heard that running batteries down past 50% can harm them. Here is a link that I found interesting regarding Batteries and charging them.

http://www.cartsunlimited.net/BatteryCharging_Tutorial.html

[MnDuckBoatguy]

Bought 2, 1 had a problem , Promptly repair part received very satisfied!

Had to put in ac assist coil 15,000 works w 2, and one wouldn't run 900w micro probably the converter was on , my converter draws major league.

[Oletop]

I have a Dual Pro Eagle Performance series 48volt / 18Amp charger for my Golf cart. I ran the charger with my CPE 2000i when my batteries were at 85% of capacity. I have not run a complete charge, but I go home today from offshore and I will try it and report back. This charger is a smart charger and starts at low output and ramps up as it charges. I will try to get as much detail as I can.

[-_dwh_-]

I bought the 1200wC/1500wS 42431 from Champion's recommended fulfillment site to replace the 3rd Honwywell (Northshore replaced the first two, Generac issued a refund on the 3rd one).

All I use it for is battery charging in the camper, and the charger I have now is an old Shauer 10a constant voltage, so I can't comment on the full load capability.

I can say that I've had people bitc...uh, complain about the noise. Once. And this was in the desert, not a campground.

My reply to the complaint was, "A million square miles of open desert, no one else around, I've been here for days, and you come along and decided to park right next to me. So...tough sh**."

My generator has almost 300 hrs on it now. It lives on a shelf on the back of my camper. What with the rubber motor mounts, and the rubber feet, it vibrates the camper a whole LOT less than the HW did, and is almost unnoticable inside the camper.

Outside, different story. It's a LOT louder than the HW, and if you're in a campground (or a desert 😄 ), and yours is the only gen running - someone is very likely gonna complain.