Champion generator review
12-28-2011, 01:57 AM
#1
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Champion generator review
This was supposed to be a quick review of a Champion model 41532 7000/9000 watt generator.
Our old generator developed a problem during our last three day outage and needed to be replaced.
Never heard of Champion before but due to lots of power outages this year, there is a shortage of gen sets and no good deals on generators around here.
Costco in Anchorage finally got some in, so the price ( $700 ) and availability was why I got the Champion.
--It weighs 233lbs empty so putting the tires and stand on it was a little bit of a pain plus they used odd sized bolts and nuts.
--It takes 1.16qt (1.1Lt) of oil (supplied). Always bugs me when a mfg uses a strange amount of oil on a bigger machine.
--Connecting up the supplied battery is easy but once again they used weird sizes (7 and 8 mm) and refer to a non-existent lock washer.
Why they didn’t just use a 10mm on both sides like most mfg is beyond me.
--Fueling. Because of the location of the fuel tank cap it’s not a problem with a flexible snout but probably a little spillage will occur when using a full gas can with a non-flex spout.
They have a built in removable strainer.
--Normal translation issues and things like the quick start instructions say to “Turn the fuel valve to the “ON” position. After starting engine, operator should switch the Fuel Valve to Run”.
This is weird since the valve only has an OFF and ON position.
--No 12V outlet.
--It has a recoil starter to back up the electric but the manual doesn’t say if it is ok to run without the battery connected up. Going to look into it.
Things I like (so far).
--I usually run the generator for two hours to charge our inverter batteries, cool off the freezers and heat the house than I leave it off for four hours.
So, a feature that works really well for me is it has a keychain remote start. In a power outage I can go out to the shed, turn on the gas,
turn on the gen battery, throw over the breaker than operate it from inside the house.
After it starts it waits 15sec before it takes a load. Pressing the remote off immediately disconnects power before the gen shuts down.
--74 decibels at 20’. It’s actually pretty quiet standing on the side away from the muffler.
--Father in-Law retired from electronics. He used some meter on it and says it has a very “clean sine wave” especially for a generator.
--The digital hour meter also displays exact voltage and hertz output.
Anyway, for the money I like it so far but I will update this at the end of winter (or before if something goes wrong).
Our old generator developed a problem during our last three day outage and needed to be replaced.
Never heard of Champion before but due to lots of power outages this year, there is a shortage of gen sets and no good deals on generators around here.
Costco in Anchorage finally got some in, so the price ( $700 ) and availability was why I got the Champion.
--It weighs 233lbs empty so putting the tires and stand on it was a little bit of a pain plus they used odd sized bolts and nuts.
--It takes 1.16qt (1.1Lt) of oil (supplied). Always bugs me when a mfg uses a strange amount of oil on a bigger machine.
--Connecting up the supplied battery is easy but once again they used weird sizes (7 and 8 mm) and refer to a non-existent lock washer.
Why they didn’t just use a 10mm on both sides like most mfg is beyond me.
--Fueling. Because of the location of the fuel tank cap it’s not a problem with a flexible snout but probably a little spillage will occur when using a full gas can with a non-flex spout.
They have a built in removable strainer.
--Normal translation issues and things like the quick start instructions say to “Turn the fuel valve to the “ON” position. After starting engine, operator should switch the Fuel Valve to Run”.
This is weird since the valve only has an OFF and ON position.
--No 12V outlet.
--It has a recoil starter to back up the electric but the manual doesn’t say if it is ok to run without the battery connected up. Going to look into it.
Things I like (so far).
--I usually run the generator for two hours to charge our inverter batteries, cool off the freezers and heat the house than I leave it off for four hours.
So, a feature that works really well for me is it has a keychain remote start. In a power outage I can go out to the shed, turn on the gas,
turn on the gen battery, throw over the breaker than operate it from inside the house.
After it starts it waits 15sec before it takes a load. Pressing the remote off immediately disconnects power before the gen shuts down.
--74 decibels at 20’. It’s actually pretty quiet standing on the side away from the muffler.
--Father in-Law retired from electronics. He used some meter on it and says it has a very “clean sine wave” especially for a generator.
--The digital hour meter also displays exact voltage and hertz output.
Anyway, for the money I like it so far but I will update this at the end of winter (or before if something goes wrong).
12-28-2011, 08:51 AM
#2
Registered User
Bark,
Champion generators seem to either be loved or hated. I have 2 of the 3500W ones and love them but the Honda crowd seems to take an immense dislike to them. Yours is quite a bit larger than mine but if you ever get bored and want to so some research on Champion, here is a 6 1/2 year, 967 page thread on the Champion 3000/3500W generators and here is another 212 page thread on the smaller 2000W inverter Champion generator.
I can tell you from personal experience that I was pleased with their customer service the one time that I needed to troubleshoot and replace a voltage regulator on mine. I can also tell you that when shutting mine down, I remove the load from it and then shut off the fuel and let it run the carb completely out. Next time that I need it, I turn the fuel on, set the choke, and it usually starts on the 2nd or 3rd pull.
Hope you have as good a luck with yours as I've had with mine.
Champion generators seem to either be loved or hated. I have 2 of the 3500W ones and love them but the Honda crowd seems to take an immense dislike to them. Yours is quite a bit larger than mine but if you ever get bored and want to so some research on Champion, here is a 6 1/2 year, 967 page thread on the Champion 3000/3500W generators and here is another 212 page thread on the smaller 2000W inverter Champion generator.
I can tell you from personal experience that I was pleased with their customer service the one time that I needed to troubleshoot and replace a voltage regulator on mine. I can also tell you that when shutting mine down, I remove the load from it and then shut off the fuel and let it run the carb completely out. Next time that I need it, I turn the fuel on, set the choke, and it usually starts on the 2nd or 3rd pull.
Hope you have as good a luck with yours as I've had with mine.
12-28-2011, 12:03 PM
#3
Registered User
The reason honda owners dont like them is because champions basically are reengineered hondas.
I have the 4000/3500 watt and its been surprising. Quiet, always cranks the first start, and I get 12-14 hrs on 2.5 gallons.
I have the 4000/3500 watt and its been surprising. Quiet, always cranks the first start, and I get 12-14 hrs on 2.5 gallons.
12-28-2011, 02:34 PM
#4
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Thanks for the links. Makes me feel a little better about the one I got.
But at one third the price
.
As you probably know, if you see something you want at Costco you need to get it or they may be out of them a day later. So Champion probably wouldnt have been my first choice but I really needed a replacement and the price was right.
.As you probably know, if you see something you want at Costco you need to get it or they may be out of them a day later. So Champion probably wouldnt have been my first choice but I really needed a replacement and the price was right.
12-28-2011, 06:14 PM
#6
Sausage Aficionado (In training)
Bark, I have the 3500/4000 and have been pretty happy with it. It did croak on me once but the tech support was amazing and the parts were inexpensive. The guy on the phone asked model and serial number and put an identical genset up on his bench. We mistakenly diagnosed a bad carb which arrived in less than a week for $20. The actual prob was a bad magneto that again arrived in less than a week for $15.
I now have a spare carb sealed in a ziplock in the barn.
The one thing I thought odd was that the magneto fires every revolution of the engine. It is a 4 stroke engine. That means that there is a wasted spark every other revolution.
I now have a spare carb sealed in a ziplock in the barn.
The one thing I thought odd was that the magneto fires every revolution of the engine. It is a 4 stroke engine. That means that there is a wasted spark every other revolution.
12-28-2011, 06:46 PM
#7
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Bark, I have a 3500 and a 6000 unit and they do run fine without the battery. I have one hooked up for the RV and it has battery start, and one for running tools on the farm and I just pull start it. For the cost they seem to be reliable clones of the hondas.
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12-28-2011, 07:36 PM
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Thanks again for all the input guys.
Good to know about the battery. Figured it would probably run without one but it didnt say one way or the other in the manuel.
Good to know about the battery. Figured it would probably run without one but it didnt say one way or the other in the manuel.
12-29-2011, 10:47 AM
#10
Administrator
I believe those have the 'Lifan' engine on them. If they do, and you need parts, let me know. NO, this isn't an advertisement, but one of the distributors I buy all kinds of small engine parts thru is the distributor for Lifan in America. There are a few dealers around but very few stock parts.
When I went to Lifan's seminar for their 2 thru 20 hp industrial engine repairs, the instructor told us that they aren't a bad motor, they ARE a Honda copy and most Honda parts will fit if you know the corresponding Honda model, (like a GX series for example), and the most common problem they've seen with them is that while the parts themselves are of decent quality, the assembly can sometimes be lacking. He advised us that if we were to buy a complete engine, in order to avoid premature failure, take it apart and check for tightness of all the major bolts and nuts. Not so much torque values, but tightness. While the torque values are important, what they've discovered is that some parts like connecting rods and head bolts are put together finger tight, then moved down the assembly line to the area where they are torqued. Sometimes this torque station doesn't do its' job apparently, hence the need to 'check for tightness'.
The other thing we were told is that the warranty period for these engines is 250 hours in commercial use and life expectancy with proper maintenance is 'in excess of 2500 hours'. I don't know how this compares to Honda, Briggs & Scrapiron, Kohler, etc.
When I went to Lifan's seminar for their 2 thru 20 hp industrial engine repairs, the instructor told us that they aren't a bad motor, they ARE a Honda copy and most Honda parts will fit if you know the corresponding Honda model, (like a GX series for example), and the most common problem they've seen with them is that while the parts themselves are of decent quality, the assembly can sometimes be lacking. He advised us that if we were to buy a complete engine, in order to avoid premature failure, take it apart and check for tightness of all the major bolts and nuts. Not so much torque values, but tightness. While the torque values are important, what they've discovered is that some parts like connecting rods and head bolts are put together finger tight, then moved down the assembly line to the area where they are torqued. Sometimes this torque station doesn't do its' job apparently, hence the need to 'check for tightness'.
The other thing we were told is that the warranty period for these engines is 250 hours in commercial use and life expectancy with proper maintenance is 'in excess of 2500 hours'. I don't know how this compares to Honda, Briggs & Scrapiron, Kohler, etc.
12-29-2011, 11:06 AM
#11
Registered User
I believe those have the 'Lifan' engine on them. If they do, and you need parts, let me know. NO, this isn't an advertisement, but one of the distributors I buy all kinds of small engine parts thru is the distributor for Lifan in America. There are a few dealers around but very few stock parts.
When I went to Lifan's seminar for their 2 thru 20 hp industrial engine repairs, the instructor told us that they aren't a bad motor, they ARE a Honda copy and most Honda parts will fit if you know the corresponding Honda model, (like a GX series for example), and the most common problem they've seen with them is that while the parts themselves are of decent quality, the assembly can sometimes be lacking. He advised us that if we were to buy a complete engine, in order to avoid premature failure, take it apart and check for tightness of all the major bolts and nuts. Not so much torque values, but tightness. While the torque values are important, what they've discovered is that some parts like connecting rods and head bolts are put together finger tight, then moved down the assembly line to the area where they are torqued. Sometimes this torque station doesn't do its' job apparently, hence the need to 'check for tightness'.
The other thing we were told is that the warranty period for these engines is 250 hours in commercial use and life expectancy with proper maintenance is 'in excess of 2500 hours'. I don't know how this compares to Honda, Briggs & Scrapiron, Kohler, etc.
When I went to Lifan's seminar for their 2 thru 20 hp industrial engine repairs, the instructor told us that they aren't a bad motor, they ARE a Honda copy and most Honda parts will fit if you know the corresponding Honda model, (like a GX series for example), and the most common problem they've seen with them is that while the parts themselves are of decent quality, the assembly can sometimes be lacking. He advised us that if we were to buy a complete engine, in order to avoid premature failure, take it apart and check for tightness of all the major bolts and nuts. Not so much torque values, but tightness. While the torque values are important, what they've discovered is that some parts like connecting rods and head bolts are put together finger tight, then moved down the assembly line to the area where they are torqued. Sometimes this torque station doesn't do its' job apparently, hence the need to 'check for tightness'.
The other thing we were told is that the warranty period for these engines is 250 hours in commercial use and life expectancy with proper maintenance is 'in excess of 2500 hours'. I don't know how this compares to Honda, Briggs & Scrapiron, Kohler, etc.
12-29-2011, 11:41 AM
#12
Administrator
I can't confirm or deny that Champion uses a Lifan engine because I don't know but I have read several places that CPE builds their own engines and that, plus parts availability is what sets them apart from the other Honda clone generators. Good information to know Scott. Thanks.
12-29-2011, 12:20 PM
#13
Registered User
Who knows, maybe they are the ones making all the clones. I just know that I've heard that CPE has better support than the other clones.
12-29-2011, 12:29 PM
#14
DTR 1st Sergeant
I also have the 3500/4000 Champion. Bought it when it first came out... I guess that was 4 years or so ago. I didn't like it was Chinese, but needed one and it was $199! I could go through 5 or 6 of them for less money than a Honda at the time. So I got it as a "throw-away" generator.
I use it a lot as the power goes off up here in the mountains frequently. A couple of times for a week - ten days. Two or three days is common. Plus, all the RV camp outs.
It is looking a little weather worn and the tires no longer hold air but it still starts on the first pull and puts out good power and runs like the first day I bought it. It isn't often I'll admit to something Chinese being amongst some of the best $$ I have spent.
I use it a lot as the power goes off up here in the mountains frequently. A couple of times for a week - ten days. Two or three days is common. Plus, all the RV camp outs.
It is looking a little weather worn and the tires no longer hold air but it still starts on the first pull and puts out good power and runs like the first day I bought it. It isn't often I'll admit to something Chinese being amongst some of the best $$ I have spent.
12-29-2011, 05:04 PM
#15
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Break in period?
This is the first generator for me that hasn't made me do a break in period at different loads. Did I miss that part in the instructions?
Good to know. Hopefully I wont need any parts soon. In a good year we only need the generator for less than 100 hrs. However, this year was not a good year.
Good to know. Hopefully I wont need any parts soon. In a good year we only need the generator for less than 100 hrs. However, this year was not a good year.