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

[bradyk]

I will let everyone know soon enough if my parts show up Tuesday as scheduled. 4 Day boondocking camping trip at the end of the week for a good test run.

[Five_Nine]

professor95 wrote:


Jeff Haugh: Regarding the “burping” issue we have done extensive research and there is no rhyme or reason for why it happens. What we do know is that if we replace the inverter module or reload the software the problem goes away.

We currently have 30,000 inverters out in the field and only a handful of these “burping” generators. We have not knowingly sent out “burping” generators.

After much debate, I decided to exchange my 2000i. It will not run my IOTA DLS-55 converter. I was tempted to just return it and buy a Yamaha 2400. Instead, I spent $170 and picked up a DLS-45. I haven't received it yet but I am confident the generator will power it. The reason I exchanged the generator was because of the burping and the fact that the generator basically stalled out and the voltage dropped to about 80V when I tested it with a 1500 W heater.

My new generator also has a burping problem, but it powers the heater fine and holds the voltage at about 119V-120V. My kill-a-watt reads about 1430 watts. At 3500' elevation, I am right on the edge of the engine's HP capabities.

Anyway, I am not convinced this burping issues is confined to a handful of units. I have had two generators that do it, and so does my buddy's. All three have NOV 2010 build dates.

I am anxiously waiting for some results of the module change-out to see if this solves the problem.

[_40Fan]

#40Fan wrote:

PrivatePilot wrote:


As for my situation, I don't want to go into details on how I'm being taken care of, but suffice to say I'm happy.

What? Why not? I am sure that we would all like to know what they are doing to remedy your situation. Without facts we are only left to speculate.

I asked before what was being done, for him, to fix his problem. NO answer yet.

[byates]

byates wrote:

PrivatePilot wrote:


Now that the attention-grabbing burp/wandering throttle issue I had with my first unit has been addressed by Champion, I'm a happy camper. 🙂

Customer satisfaction and customer safety keep a company in business. So, what did CPE do to correct the defect?

Have you had an opportunity to replace the inverter module yet and did it fix the burp and wandering issue?

[PrivatePilot]

byates wrote:
From the number of reports on this thread

Re-read my post.

In all the posts in this thread there are only a handful of us that have (had) the issue. Most others report no issues aside from the general discussions of wattage, limitations, etc etc. This thread is a far cry from everyone complaining about the issue - the contrary, only a small number of us have.

So there's 10 or 20 (or however many, I'm not going to read 88 pages of a thred and add them up) of us here, but in the greater scheme of things (tens of thousands of these units sold) we are a tiny minority.

The fact many of us found our way here was a direct result of two things:

1/ The hype this generator produced here at RV.net when it was first announced, coupled with many of us (including myself) subsequently buying one and then continuing to hang around in this thread and report our results.

2/ When you search Google for some choice keywords related to this generator and the throttle/burp issues, this thread is the number-one hit.

#2 has a lot more to do with the recent (and persistent) reports of the issues in this thread, but even with this reality, the numbers are still fairly firm in the "Rare" category IMHO.

[byates]

PrivatePilot wrote:
I'd like to remind everyone that I'm confident those with problematic units are in the minority - it's just that we seemed to have found our way here and ended up all in one place. This thread is 88 pages long now and it's only been mentioned occasionally up until recently.

That said, a few keywords related to the subject in Google and this thread is the first hit, therefore it's not surprising that the few people with issues have ended up all gaggled in this thread. It's inflating what is otherwise a fairly isolated problem IMHO.

In the overall scheme of things probably 99.9% of other Champion 2000 owners have had no issues...but of course, most will never come here to report that.

Champion is bending over backwards to "make things right" for anyone that happened to get a problematic unit, so it most certainly shouldn't stop anyone on the fence from buying one of these critters. The chances of actually getting a unit with issues is slim to begin with.

Respecting your opinion, I would have to offer a different opinion. There seems to be an extraordinarily high number of reported problems with this unit on this thread. CPE, to its credi,t did come up with a solution fairly quickly. The burping and rpm wandering issues seem to be fairly common with this generator and have been documented since the premature release of this unit last summer.
Hopefully CPE's remedy to the problem will solve the problem permanently. I worked with my neighbor on his burping problem and it turned out to not be related to the inverter module.
Question is will the several thousand that had the petcocks replaced also be quality tested for this problem.

[DrBaker]

-=dwh=- wrote:

PrivatePilot wrote:
This thread is 88 pages long now...

I'm using default settings and I see 176 pages... O_O

I must have mine set to the same settings as PrivatePilot as mine is 88 pages too.

[-_dwh_-]

PrivatePilot wrote:
This thread is 88 pages long now...

I'm using default settings and I see 176 pages... O_O

[toprudder]

professor95 wrote:
Well Bob, I must say that you have an extremely well insulated camper! For every "rule" or situation there is always an exception. I would be elated if our 38' Cedar Creek triple slide fiver could keep us warm (68 to 71 degrees F) in 35 degree weather by only running 12 minutes out of an hour. BTW - the CC is cold room tested to zero and is extremely well insulated with tight fitting gaskets on the slides.

LOL. Mine is probably not well insulated. Just that I am extremely mindful and frugal with the 12v power. 🙂 I got that way because I was limited to a single G24 battery in my old class C (no room for more battery). I now have a very small camper compared to yours. Yours is twice as long and twice as wide (counting the slides 🙂 ), so not nearly as much to heat in mine. My camping excursions are probably quite different than most, about the only time I spend in the camper with the heat on is when I am sleeping or taking a shower. I don't even have a TV (yet) and never hook up my inverter. I do have one of the camping fans that uses about 1/2 amp that I will use sometimes. I want to install 2 G27 batts in this one, but I am getting along fine for now.

[professor95]

byates wrote:

DennisCPE wrote:
All - I posted for the reasons I indicated. Regarding the rough idle or burping issue I am collecting info from my engineering team and will post that next week when I am back in the office.
Regarding #C40fan, I have asked him to call me when I am back in the office.

Realizing that you have been blocked from posting, perhaps you could relay your findings and solution to fix the defect through one of the thread posters you used previously.

Many readers of this thread would appreciate your promised follow up.

Boone Yates

I received this from Dennis at CPE this evening:

I have an update on the burping issue. It is from a collaboration of our technicians in China and here:

Jeff Haugh: Regarding the “burping” issue we have done extensive research and there is no rhyme or reason for why it happens. What we do know is that if we replace the inverter module or reload the software the problem goes away.

We currently have 30,000 inverters out in the field and only a handful of these “burping” generators. We have not knowingly sent out “burping” generators.

Because we are committed to having happy customers we will replace or reload your inverter module. Please contact customer service to arrange this.

By the way, this “burping” issue doesn’t cause a spike in voltage it’s a slight change in RPM’s.

[PrivatePilot]

I'd like to remind everyone that I'm confident those with problematic units are in the minority - it's just that we seemed to have found our way here and ended up all in one place. This thread is 88 pages long now and it's only been mentioned occasionally up until recently.

That said, a few keywords related to the subject in Google and this thread is the first hit, therefore it's not surprising that the few people with issues have ended up all gaggled in this thread. It's inflating what is otherwise a fairly isolated problem IMHO.

In the overall scheme of things probably 99.9% of other Champion 2000 owners have had no issues...but of course, most will never come here to report that.

Champion is bending over backwards to "make things right" for anyone that happened to get a problematic unit, so it most certainly shouldn't stop anyone on the fence from buying one of these critters. The chances of actually getting a unit with issues is slim to begin with.

[Angus_NB]

That's encouraging news Brady. I'm happy to hear from you and others that Champion has such good support. It makes my decision to buy one a lot easier.

Take the generator and new parts with you on your trip. There will be sometime when you are bored and looking for something to do. 🙂

[bradyk]

OK everyone here is the unofficial official deal on the "Burp"
I give them credit for excellent service as I contacted Dennis Trine (the board poster)on the weekend and they had the parts on the way and I had a FedEx tracking number showing picked up by Monday evening.
It was explained that they were sending a (copied off the email) " is a software problem inside the module" "It is not a 100% issue out there so we are replacing modules for those that contact us". The engineer contacted me and offered several options to replace it and I selected just doing it myself as he said it is pretty easy and about a half hour job. They are also send some kind of switch according to the engineer as well that may not need replacing but said if I took it to a service centre it would be done as well. They also offered to replace the unit if I wanted or take to a service centre for repair and all my choice. From what I see and hear it looks like a software/programming issue in the mfg of the module but that is based only on conversation. Mine supposed to be here Tuesday according to Fedex and if I get time to put it in before I go away Thursday night I will be giving it a good run for 4 days. If not it will have to be after I get back. Don't be afraid to contact them as the service on this so far has been great and can't ask for much more. It is just too bad no one knows and they are just waiting for the phone to ring.
Everyone that has this issue please follow up as it sounds like an easy fix if you do yourself, get it serviced or they will just replace the genny. I will report after I get it installed. hopefully before next weeks trip. Feel free to contact me especially after the fix if you have questions as I am going to replace it myself.

[Searching_Ut]

As a side note to the "Burp", my throttle hunting seems to have been mostly caused by running rich at the altitudes I tend to operate at. "Virtually always well above 4,200 feet". I contacted Champion about re-jetting the carb, and here was the response:

Snip... we are currently working on final approval of a High Altitude kit for re-jetting the Inverter carburetor. EPA and CARB regulations until recently have kept this problem very much alive. Please check periodically to any contact site for an update for this kit.

Until such time, the best way to compensate is to be sure you have very clean air filter, install a NGK brand model no. B5HS spark plug for hotter consumption of the richer mixture. Return to the normal rating plug at lower levels. Remove the spark arrester or clean thoroughly if needed. The spark arrester may be required by your local laws due to fire danger at the areas you camp, but without any fire danger, the exhaust flows smoother and helps exhaust restriction.

We appreciate your input and the use of our products. Please feel free to contact me any time for any help you may need or any questions.
.... Snip

As far as results, I tried the new plug while camping at Bridge bay campground Yellowstone NP for a week. I still noticed a little smoke, but the gnerator started every time, without using the choke I might add. My throttle seemed to be much more steady, although it did hunt a little, I think this has more to do with the Converter on my trailer. After half an hour or so this tendancy lessens, and it doesn't do it nearly as much with the new plug when I'm powering something other than the TT.

As a side note, when I e-mailed customer support, I got a response right away on a saturday. I can't complain at all about that.

[Searching_Ut]

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