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We are preparing and planning for our extended trip out west starting in April 2017. My current research takes me into looking at generators. We have been looking at the Yamaha and Honda's but yesterday I came across one offered at Costco. It's a Champion Duel-Fuel 3100 Watt, quiet run (58 dBA) generator on sale for $849. This is a huge cost difference between it and the two previous mentioned generators.
My question is, has anyone had or know of someone who has had any experience with this Champion generator? I would love to save some $$$ but not at the expense of learning an expensive $$$lesson. Below is a link to the generator in question.
My step son had a champion genny a couple years ago and it worked for a while but was breaking down often. Carb problems with his. His was way louder than my 3000 Yamaha. The Honda and Yamaha are more up front but my opinion are worth it. We both have Yamaha now with great reliability. Check for gently used units. Lots of people buy them and barely use them.
A generalization for your consideration: Inexpensive generators (and sometimes expensive ones as well) can tend to put out what we term in the electronics world "dirty power." They will tend to have harmonic spikes and other bad things that can damage electronic equipment. ("Ask me how I know this.")
If one is using the generator just to run an inexpensive battery charger it probably will not make a lot of difference one way or another as to your choice. But if using one to run microwaves, TV's etc., based on personal experience (private and professional) I'd feel better using Honda's or similar quality units.
Bill has a good point about the "quality" of the power output. Most 5th wheel manufacturers offer a gen set opinion. Normally those are Onan's in the 5-7KW range. Not an inexpensive choice, but since it's OEM level quality I'd say it's a safe choice. My coach has an Onan "Marquis Gold 5.5KW" run on LP built in. I haven't put an oscilloscope on it so I don't know what the Sine Wave output looks like, but I'm guessing it's pretty clean. This doesn't answer your question, but does offer you a different choice. I will say that with Gen Sets and Inverters ... quality is expensive, so when you pay less you get less. Not a criticism ... just don't be "sales talked" into believing you can get a $5,000 quality get set for $1,000. I wish there was a different answer, but that's the way this stuff works.
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Ron and Janice
2016 Ford F350, King Ranch, DRW, 4x4, CC, 6.7 PS Diesel, remote control air lift system
2017 Durango Gold 381REF, Lambright furniture, MCD shades, morRYDE IS, 8K Disc brakes, GY G114 LR H Tires, 27,320 lbs CGVW
We have close to 200 hrs on our 3100 Champion inverter without a hiccup. I am fresh out of oscilloscopes, also, but have had zero problems running anything I want, including LED TV, microwave, DVD player, surround sound system, etc. It starts our 13.5k AC easily. I have not tried it with a 15K unit. Ours is about 2 years old, and is the gasoline only version.
Just read the reviews, 5 star ratings, everywhere you look. I am a Honda motorcycle/power equipment tech, and work on a lot of Honda 2000 units. I do not own a Honda, if that tells you anything? The smaller Honda inverters are built in Thailand, with a lot of Chinese parts. The replacement parts are stamped "Made in China", right on the bag.
The Champion is every bit as quiet as the comparable 3000 Handi Honda, though significantly louder than the EU3000is.
90% of "carburetor" problems are not due to any fault of the machine, but are a direct result of ethanol laced fuel. If you can find ethanol-free fuel, you will be miles ahead, no matter which brand you choose. State and regional laws may differ, but around here, it's available in a half dozen stations around town.
For service, in the event of a problem, I'd lean toward Honda, or Yamaha. Dealerships are everywhere, and quick to get parts. Keep in mind, at $100+ per hour labor rate, even a thousand dollar generator becomes more expensive to fix than it's worth, pretty quickly.
My next generator will be a Champion, but I feel like I should wear this one out first, if I can!
Regards, Kyle
That's about what I paid for my Honda 2000 back in 2012…got it from mayberrys.com…they have the Honda for 999 today. I've known several folks who had problems with cheap gensets…but don't know anybody who's had a complaint about a Honda. Pretty much everything is made in China these days…I'm not sure that necessarily says anything either good or bad about them…just noting the fact. There may be some that are made in America with only made in America parts…but again I'm not sure that indicates anything either.
Kyle's right about ethanol gunking up the carb…but finding pure gas is sometimes hard…and sometimes not. I tend to try and get it if I can…but if push comes to shove gas is gas. I do pour the generator gas can into the car every 3-4 months and get fresh…and always put Stabil (or equivalent) in it.
