Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

We had a power outage here a few days ago. It was out for several hours which is unusual. During the outage, it was raining pretty hard and that had me concerned about the sump in our basement. I'm certain that it would take a couple of days of heavy rain for the sump to flood but not having an operative pump caused me concern. Accordingly, I bought an inexpensive Chinese Champion CSA40032 generator. It has 3000W continuous and 4000W surge power. I tested it out today with a 1500 watt continuous load then plugged in and actuated the sump pump. The generator worked just fine. Overall, I'm impressed with the machine. The engine is a Honda GX200 clone. From what I've read, this 196cc engine is produced for Honda in China and, Champion Power Equipment supposedly have a license to manufacture the same engines under their name. According to their advertising, they claim that their engines are built to the same quality and specifications as the Honda GX200, cast iron cylinder, ball bearings and all. After adding fuel and oil, it started on the first pull. A bit of white smoke originally puffed from the exhaust then absolutely clear exhaust after two or three seconds. The engine is very quiet and smooth. I ran it under 50 percent load for an hour and a half on a liter of fuel. I hate to say it but this little generator has impressed me. I think I'll have to take back some of the bad mouthing I've done in the past about Chinese engines. In addition to my initial impressions, my research has revealed that owners of these generators have put many hours on them with very few mechanical issues. One person reported that he has been using one for up to seven hours a day for almost a year with no problems at all. That's encouraging.

Oh, and did I mention the price? I paid $450.00 taxes included, out the door at Chinadian Tire. I checked out a comparable Honda EG3500XK1A (not exactly the same specs but close enough) and it's priced at $1789.95 plus taxes, which comes to 2022.64. Now, I'm not so gullible as to believe that these machines are on the same level. However, I'm also realistic enough to know that the machine I bought will only be used in emergency situations for brief periods of time. Considering that I could buy 4.5 of these machines for the price of one Honda, it truly does make one wonder why a person would shell out that kind of bucks for an iconic brand name and a bit more quality.

Does anyone out there have any comments on these machines?

It is not hard to build something good while looking at plans and working model of something great.
The Honda as you know is excellent, and the clones are similar and do run well.

I have seen from my friends that still own repair shops. That the clones are a little rougher on the machined edges, less time has been spent on the manufacture, castings have been left semi-finished (rough to the touch), sharp edges, and such, gaskets appear to be cut with blunt dies, with rough (furry) edges at times. There has been a notice of hardware rattling off from use. (not a problem in most cases, jsut a often retorq is required). A few times the engine case was opened to find rough sand cast material in the corners not cleaned out from assy.

I think for the price they are good, but they require more maintenace and a diligent eye...

Friiy

I was given a GX340 clone. Someone passed away on my wife's side and some of the shop stuff came my way. Along with the engine I was given a fan rake with missing tines and an old stick welder that does nothing more than hum when you turn it on. I figured the three were on the same scale of worth.

The engine was in decent shape, never run, and had a few scratches on it. There was a plug wrench and a small manual with it. I bolted it to a shop table and ran a tank of fuel through it. There wasn't a hiccup out of it for hours. Looks like a Honda, ran like a Honda, sounded like a Honda. As Friiy had mentioned, a little retorque was required as the muffler's heat shield fell off.

I changed the oil and saved the old oil in a clear pop bottle. I did notice some stuff that came out of suspension after the bottle had set on its side for a few days. I felt it with my fingers, and it was not metal, but grit that seemed to have the consistency of talcum powder, I couldn't tell you what it was. I ran more fuel through it and checked the oil after that, and it is very clean looking. I would say that the parts are the same, but the folks doing the assembly might not be as conscientious as those on a Honda assembly line. They very well could be the same assembly line... Who knows?

I had repowered an old blower 2 winters back, and I used a Honda engine from a trash pump. I am going to bolt this new engine up and run it. The reason is I'd like to save the Honda and run the clone, but I am also curious how it'll stand up. As the bolt pattern and shaft height are exactly the same, it'll take me 20 minutes to do. This will be done by the end of today.

The only real difference I can see between the Honda and clone is the kill switch is ridiculously cheap on the clone. I know that it will fail as soon as the temperature drops below freezing. I can see that switch and gas/choke levers breaking, but I bet the rest will stand up well enough. Time will tell.

Thanks for the input guys.

As far as castings and assembly go, this little engine is very clean and by outward appearances seems to be as nicely built as the real thing. I wouldn't doubt that Champion clones come off the same assembly line as the Chinese built Honda engines. This discussion also brings to mind my pressure washer. It's powered by a 6 h.p. Mitsubishi engine. My neighbour borrowed it from me yesterday to clean off his Jayco vacation trailer. When he was done, I went over it thoroughly to see where it was built. Looks like it was manufactured in China. There was nothing printed or stamped on it indicating country of origin. Not unusual for Chinese clones. Nonetheless, the Mitsubishi engine has been great over the years and has never missed a beat. For a 6 h.p. engine, it seems pretty strong. From outward appearances, it too looks to be finished nicely.

I'd venture to say that these GX series clones will likely prove to be better than Honda GC series engines. I'll never know for sure because I don't own any GC engines. I do own a Honda GX series V twin engine that powers my camp lawn tractor and visually, it doesn't look to be any better built than either my Mitsubishi or Champion engine. As JohnnyBoy says, Time will tell.

As a consumer, we're getting very good value with these engines provided they hold up. On the down side, I fear for domestic manufacturers and more specifically, their employees. The fall of Tecumseh is obvious proof that low cost imports of reasonable quality will and do carve out significant market share. If Briggs and Stratton begin to feel the pressure, It's not unlikely that they'll move their production off shore just to compete. Puts us, the consumer in a bit of a quandary. Doesn't it?

Briggs Vangard engines have been built by Mitsubishi for years.. I have one on my genorator for the last 12 years..The Vangards were made in Japan, I believe that they have not changed (Mitsubisi/ Japan Manufature)...

Where can you get parts for your Champion generator Borat? In Las Vegas people are having a problem getting parts.. The clones are sold at Harbour Freight, Checker Auto parts, Pep Boys, and a few other places.. But the local repair shops have shunned the units for fear of costly repairs, problems locating parts, and people leaving them in their shops after estimates...

Besides Generators, Water pumps and engines, these outlets sell 4 wheelers and street legal 50cc moped/scooters. There is a large amount of people looking for repair service for these units..

Friiy

<BR>As much as I'd like to think so, I doubt very much that my Mitsubishi pressure washer engine was built in Japan. The rest of the unit was made in China. Therefore, my strong suspicion that the engine came from there too. <BR><BR><BR>Being that the machine is new to me, I'm not familiar with parts supply. However, I've read that the engine's parts are directly interchangeable with Honda GX200 engine parts. Here's a link for anyone looking to resolve repair and or parts issues

http://www.championpowerequipment.com/

I was watching a show about briggs and stratton.It was cheaper for the co. to have part of the engine assembled in China and the it came back to the U.S. for final assembly.I never knew this and there's so much going on that companies dont tell us the consumer.I guess when u pay people in China low wages,it makes sense for the company and their share holders.

Oh, I'm certain that if all the facts were revealed, we'd see plenty of manufacturers having some sort of Chinese connection. After all, if Honda didn't have confidence in Chinese manufacturing capabilities, they wouldn't be putting their good name on the line. As reluctant as I am to admit it, from recent examples I've seen and information I've been reading, the Chinese are building some reliable engines at prices a fraction of the cost of domestics and big name Japanese manufacturers.

Briggs and Stratton are wise to carry out partial manufacturing in China. I'd say that they're likely doing the most labour intensive work in China and saving big bucks. However, by completing the manufacturing process on home ground with Made in USA stamped on the machine, they will keep their loyal customers who believe in and support domestic manufacturers. I'm interested to know if Briggs is passing on some of the manufacturing savings to the customer?

"Besides Generators, Water pumps and engines, these outlets sell 4 wheelers and street legal 50cc moped/scooters. There is a large amount of people looking for repair service for these units..

Friiy"

I can believe this. Half of those things are not worth fixing though. I bought my daughter a small 49cc Chinese ATV for Christmas last year. It was the shoddiest piece of machinery I have ever seen. The carb leaked when brand new, the throttle limiter didn't work and I had a hard time getting it to idle. It was the epitome of substandard quality. Even the muffler was no good at its job; it sounded like a chainsaw, extremely loud. She rode it three times, each time resulting in a tip over and bruises. I found out later that the rear shock had no travel. I don't know if it was faulty or designed to be too stiff to actually move. Thankfully that POS didn't have the potential to go much beyond 10 mph. I sold it, warning the new owner about all the trouble I had with it.

That said, it was not a clone of anything. I bet that if it had a Chinese version of a Honda engine, those problems wouldn't have been so bad. Had the suspension been copied from a proven design, it would have at least worked. Maybe these hypothetical machines wouldn't last as long as the Big H's would, but they would work well enough when new.

I am as cheap as the next guy, but I threw away $500.00 on that purchase. All I did was terrorize a 5 year old girl. Next time I'll spend $500 on a decent used brand name machine, or at least a reasonable reproduction of one.

ACCORDING TO FRIIY THE WORKMANSHIP IS SUBPAR.I wondering why you didnt consider a generac or ridgid?The price and power is similar,with a better track record.Also I think what worries me about products coming out of China ,is all the bad press they have gotten.As far as non mechanical products such as dog food,tooth paste etc etc.The US has banned certain products from China.I think they r trying to cut too many corners.JUST LIKE friiy said,it might look good,but its not that good when u look closer like he did.

mikiewest wrote:
The reasons I bought it was first and foremost, I likely will never have to use it. We would need a power outage for at least 24 hours before we need to use it. That has never happened. I'm not about to drop a lot of cash for something I might never use. Secondly, in my view, this machine doesn't look all that bad. After all, the engine is a Honda clone. I fired it up and ran it for a couple of hours under 50 percent load. It runs as quietly and smoothly as any single cylinder engine I've owned or seen. Check one out. You'll be surprised how nicely they run. The generator end looks up to the task. Wiring, connectors and switches appear fairly robust and nicely assembled. Unit has low oil sensor shut off switch, a large muffler, large 4 gallon fuel tank, fuel shut off valve, voltage meter, a stout frame and moving parts all rubber mounted. My research revealed that most people are very happy with their Champion generators. Contrary to what Friiy says, I saw very few that had anything bad to say about them.

So, I'd say that for $450.00 out the door (including a $50.00 accessories pack), it's going to be a challenge to get a better deal. Let me know if you can come up with anything close to it.

By the way, I'd be willing to bet that the Generac and Rigid probably have a lot of Chinese content in them. We know that Honda does.

Alright, I didn't say Champion was a crappy clone.... I doubt if all Chinese Honda Clones come from the same factory, I Have found some clones that the manufacture wasn't proud enough to offer a parts breakdown or support info in the users manual (or English). I have seen the Champion's, They seem to be higher quality. Some of the older Harbor Freight clones were horrible (The paint washed off some with gas)...

....Anyway, so far I have yet to see the a decent 4-wheelers,cycles, mopeds or pitbikes from China.

Friiy

friiy wrote:
I agree pretty much with everything you say. Particularly about the cheap recreational vehicles. I've read quite a few reports about very high failure rates and virtually no parts supply. A few years ago, the Canadian government issued an order to importers of these cheap Chinese ATVs and trail bikes to cease importation of any more units until sufficient parts have been supplied to dealerships to repair the broken down machines.

With that knowledge, I had a bit of an attitude toward Chinese products. However, as previously stated, I might have to eat my own words. This little Champion has impressed me.

not so much of a challenge.you could of got a generac for the same price and wattage and it has a better track record and parts r available unlike that chinese clone model.

&lt;BR&gt;<BR> mikiewest wrote: &lt;BR&gt;

Well actually no. I've never seen a Generac in this part of the country. I'd have to get one shipped up from the USA. Out of curiosity, I checked out the Generac web site. Their literature says the following -

The engines used on the Generac XP and XG Series of portables are manufactured at our Generac Power Systems, Inc. factory in Whitewater, WI.

They do not state where the GP and IX series engines are made (smaller portables in the range I bought). Would you know where they get their engines for those models? For some reason, they chose not to divulge that info. If I had to guess where they come from, I'd strongly suspect China. Another point is that they don't specify who or where the actual generator end is built. I'd say probably China as well. And how about the price? I can't seem to find that on their web site either. So, Mikie, if you can clarify that for us, it would be appreciated.

electricgeneratorsdirect.com (GP3250) running watts 3250.....3750 surge watts....$469.99 free freight&tax free....and I'd rather buy from a company known for its generators and has been in business longer than 7yrs and has a track record.But hey thats me.

mikiewest wrote:
Thanks for the information on the price. Did you happen to find out where the components are made on the GP series? Considering Generac's failure to provide much information on these smaller units, I would not be surprised if the entire machine is being built in China with Generac's name on it. Wouldn't it be ironic if all of the smaller generators being sold by the domestics were actually being built in China and even possibly on the same assembly lines as the Champion units? It's hard to be a brand loyalist these days when you don't know where the product comes from.

While I was in Chinadian Tire the other day, I noticed that every one of their Yardman OPE products had a no-name engine on it. All snow throwers, lawn mowers, tillers and everything else had no-name engines. There wasn't one Briggs, Honda or any other brand of engine on anything. Signs of the times I guess. I think we have to face reality. As much as I don't like to say so, 90 percent of just about everything I buy comes from China. Fishing rods/reels, tackle, tools, tarps, appliances, electrical components, accessories and power tools just to mention some of it. All from China and all of it seems to hold up just fine. We're fooling ourselves to think that we're buying domestic just because it has a familiar name on it. There's a very high probability that product was built in China.

Called Generac and the engine is made in China and the rest of the generator is made in Wisconsin.

Borat if thats the case why pay an extra $200 for a compact ariens when the sno tek made by ariens is an identical model except for a plastic chute and its painted black?The sno tek has a chinese engine and the compact has a B&S engine.But like I said part of the B&S is assembled in China.So is the extra price justifiable because B&S does the final assembly on the engine and u get a metal chute?

Thanks for the update Mikie.

With the proliferation of Chinese components infiltrating almost everything we buy nowadays it's hard to avoid buying Chinese. I've been raising the concern of the Chinese invasion for ten years now. I haven't seen any sign of Chinese built import products slowing down. Actually, it's more prevalent now than ever. So, to answer your question, if our domestic brands are being built in China and they charge extra for the name, I say no. Why pay more for the same product just because it has a familiar name on it? If that same product is still being built on this continent, be it USA or Canada and we are keeping jobs here, I'll pay somewhat of a premium for that but not an arm and a leg either. However, if a domestic brand manufacturer is doing all of it's manufacturing off shore, I will have no problem buying a Chinese brand of comparable specs. Particularly if it's less money. It's gotten to point now that Chinese branded products are as good as many domestic brand names. The more I see domestic manufacturers increasing Chinese built content in their products, the less resistance I have to buying Chinese.

I ran the little generator for a few hours under various loads. Fuel consumption is impressive. At half load it will burn between .5 to .75 liter per hour. I just finished doing an oil change. With three to four hours on the oil, it had some discolouration but still clear. While hot, I ran it through a coffee filter in a funnel and was surprised to see that there was no glitter left behind. If there was, it was beyond my vision to see it out in the sunshine. That's pretty clean manufacturing. I'll still have to do some long term testing but so far, I'm very much impressed.

I say give it a real workout Borat.Get it up to 90% of its max and see how stable it is.I watched some guy on youtube put his generator under heavy load and insert a V.O.M. in the other 120v outlet to see if it would remain at 120v and it stayed was pretty stable.

mikiewest wrote:

I ran a 1500 watt constant load then plugged in a 1/2 h.p. sump pump. The generator barked a bit initially then settled down nicely powering both loads with no problem. Hard to say how long it could keep it up. Only time will tell. So far, I'm impressed.

l know this is off topic a little but thought l would mention it... on my sump pump l have a back up battery system that in the case of a power outage it would still turn the pump on, u can get them for about $100 and up plus a deep cycle battery which is about $100 give or take. its good insurance if your basement is finished... like even if u go away for a weekend good piece of mind.

One nice way to check a unit under load is to see if it puts out about 60 hertz at full load, put a good meter on the unit and see if the voltage and hertz are within opertating limits for the unit, (bad hertz+ noisy power).... you can adjust the top end throttle stop or gov. to meet the Hertz range.

I always had few of those little shop heaters 1500/2500 watts to plug-in for full load.( yah- know the ones that go on sale in summer)


Also, check the GFI on the unit while you are at it, the little plug in tester at Lowes and HomeDepot works good for that, Better safe than sorry.


Good Luck,

Friiy

Got this 1300 watts for 199.00 3 day special, normaly 299.00, works like a charm and powerfull too.

http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/6/Tools/ShopEquipment/Generators/PRD~0550308P/United%2BPower%2B1300W%2BGas%2BGenerator.jsp

United Power link  http://www.unitedpower.cn/

I ran a test on the Champion today. It's rated at 4000 surge watts and 3000 continuous. I put the generator under load with a 1500 watt hair dryer, an 850 watt clothes iron and an 1100 watt toaster. It ran the appliances but when I put the hair dry to full power, it tripped the breaker. That makes sense because the total load was 3450 which is 450 over the continuous load rating. I adjusted the hair dry to 2/3rd power and the generator kept everything running nicely for half an hour. During the test, the iron was loading and unloading due to being thermostatically controlled. As well, when the toaster popped, I'd turn it back on. The load fluctuation had no effect on the stability of the generator. I measured the voltage with a digital multi meter and it maintained a steady 125 volts. Can't ask for much more than that!

Do you think it can start up your snowblower?I wonder if anyone has tried....I have a coleman with a 10hp b&S ohv engine.Went online and couldnt find anything about oil type for mine.What do you think would be a safe bet 10w30?Or are all generators different?

"As well, when the toaster popped, I'd turn it back on."

Mind my asking what you did with all that toast?

yuk yuk

mikiewest wrote:
I think it would start a snow thrower engine with no problem.

You're pretty much right on with your oil selection. Almost all modern small engines run 10W30 as a mid range temperature oil. I'd go with a 5W30 in cold conditions and 15W40 Rotella T in hot conditions. The oil change interval recommendation on this engine is every 100 hours in normal conditions and every 50 hours in dirty conditions. That sounds reasonable. No mention in the manual regarding synthetic oil. I'm running a good quality dino oil in it right now. Oil changes are a piece of cake and at .63 liter of oil, I'd rather be changing oil regularly rather than running synthetic for extended periods. If I were running it in winter, I'd probably go to a 0W30 Mobile 1 or Rotella 5W30 synthetic depending on which was least expensive. I run synthetic in my snow thrower because it's easier to start.

I've built a small cabinet on casters that houses the generator and it stores neatly under the steps/landing from the garage to the house. I've run a thirty five foot 12 gauge wire cable with a couple big (and expensive) 20 amp twist lock connectors on each end. The cable is that long so that I can roll the weather resistant cabinet/power plant outside to run it. The cable goes from the garage through the wall into the basement and twist locks into a distribution cable with four AC outlets on the other end. It's a four wire cable so each pair of outlets has 20 amps available to them. That should be more than enough to run the sump pump, fridges and freezer. It could also probably run the high efficiency furnace but I wouldn't really have to. I've got a couple high efficiency wood burning fire places in the house that will heat the place with no problem at 40 below F. Got a woodshed full of dry wood and could likely heat the place for two or three months if I had to. We use natural gas to heat the house, hot water, cook, and dry clothes. So, there would be no real big demand on the generator if it was called upon.

Chances are we'll never need it. However, for the money, it provides peace of mind.

JohnnyBoyUpNorth wrote:
I had a pound of bacon draped over the muffler frying from exhaust heat and picked some fresh tomatoes from the garden. Toasted bacon and tomato sandwiches man!

Actually, I did some temperature readings with an infrared point and read thermometer. After half an hour of close to full load operation, the engine head was reading a mere 145 degrees F. The crank case was only 95 deg. F. The generator was 185 degrees on the internal rotating parts at business end near the engine where I pointed the laser into the ventilation holes at the air intake. It read 75 degrees at the opposite end where the generator's fan driven cooling air blows out the ventilated exterior cover. I suspect the thermometer was reading a small, fairly hot area inside the generator that wasn't making a lot of heat over all. The muffler was reading 475 deg. F. Ambient temperature was 41 deg. F. I'm certain the cool temps helped keep the power plant's temperatures down. Nonetheless, for half an hour of hard operation, it was running fairly cool. Warmer ambient temps and longer running time will surely bring the operating temps up considerable but by these initial readings, I suspect that it will run fine.

I have one of these its a 3000/3500 surge and it runs my AC on my camper with no problems paid 349.00 for it at lowes it is not as quiet as some of the inverter type hondas and such but so far it works well and I am impressed also for 350.00 bucks hey

Hard to go wrong at that price. I have a couple Honda EU2000's now. I needed something really quiet while camping with long running times. I've added the use of a 6 gallon marine tank with these and I can get multiple days running time out of them. At 1/4 load the EU2000 can run up to 15 hours on 1 gallon. There is a price to be paid though but engineering seems top notch. I like the little things like the ease of draining the carb for storage.

<BR> Santaclause wrote: &lt;BR&gt;

For their intended purpose (camping etc.) the inverter type generators are hard to beat. Honda, Yamaha, Kipor and Boily are top sellers with Honda and Yamaha being very pricey by comparison to the other two. In Canada, the EU2000 is $1600.00 and equivalent Yamaha is similarly priced. An equivalent Kipor or Boily is usually half of that. A friend of mine bought a 2300 watt Boily. Had it delivered to his door for $800.00 all in. I've seen and heard it run. With variable rpm/load it's very quiet and seems fairly well built. Certainly not on the same level as an equivalent Honda or Yamaha but, for half the price, it looks like a bargain. If it holds up only half as long as Honda, you're breaking even. If it lasts longer, that's bonus time.

The Champion is not an inverter type generator. It runs 3600 rpm no matter what the load. So it will be making more noise all the time it's running. For my needs, noise is irrelevant. It's for emergency use in case of an extended power outage. Extended is 24 hours or more which has never happened and likely will not being that we have huge hydro plants in and close to the city. So there's a good chance that I'll never need the generator at all. For the $400.00 that I paid for it, it's very inexpensive peace of mind. I also have a 6kw diesel gen set out at my camp that's been faithfully running for 26 years and has close to 6000 hours on it. That's relatively low hours considering the engine is designed to run at least 25,000 to 30,000 hours as a generator power supply. That liquid cooled 850cc, three cylinder Kubota has been a real gem. All I've done to it in 26 years is change oil every 150 hours, and coolant twice. It's kept in a clean environment and still looks virtually new. The valve lash hasn't even gone out of spec!

I've been toying with the idea of building a gen set myself. Not that I need another one. It's just that I've seen brand new 850cc liquid cooled three cylinder Yanmar diesels for $2400.00 and new 7kw generator ends for $1600.00. That's a lot of generator for the money!

Yikes...you guys really get the shaft on pricing up north. My EU2000's were about $915 (USD)/each with free delivery from Wise Sales.

borat wrote:

I like to think our power is fairly resilient where I live but a windstorm or large snow storm undoubtedly takes the power out where I live. At times it can take local power utilities several days to get power back to some. We are primarily Hydro as well in WA state and bleed off our extra power to the states to the south. There are some large wind farms now though.

I'd love to have a diesel type generator at my cabin like you mention below. That is some serious power.

I'm hoping I get some good years out of the Hondas.... I've seen a few people on other forums mention having 10-12K hours on their units. I guess they are living in some kind of "off-the-grid" arrangement.




borat wrote:

snowmachine wrote:
Very true. The list prices are ridiculous and the local dealers don't budge. That's why I buy much of my OPE and motorcycle related merchandise from the U.S. I've probably spent $20K in the U.S. in the last three years. I get the gears from local dealers for buying out of country and not supporting the local economy. I usually tell them that their pricing is waaaaay out of line and me supporting them is equivalent to providing a thief with a gun to rob me.

I can understand that there is some disadvantage for local manufacturers and dealers however, it's no where near the difference in price and they don't even try to give you a break on prices. A prime example is just before the economic melt down, a fellow I know bought an brand new GMC pick-up. After the economic crisis, that same truck was selling for close to $9000.00 less. How does a manufacturer/dealer sell the same product at such a reduced price and stay in business? You can rest assured that their profit margin in Canada is way over the top compared to the U.S. Canadian manufactures and dealers get no sympathy from me. We Canadians have been a cash cow for manufacturers/dealers for far too long. Now that the U.S. and Canadian dollars are reasonably close, there are many bargains to be had in the U.S. and local merchandisers had better take heed!

As a matter of fact, before I bought the Champion from Chinadian Tire, I had ordered a similar one from Cabellas in the U.S. They had an equivalent model on sale for $399.00 USD. When I looked on the CTC website, they had a similar model for $599.00 CDN. When I went to CTC for something else, I went down to their generator section and saw a similar machine on sale for $399.00 CDN so I canceled the Cabellas order and bought locally. I'll buy local if the price is reasonable. This is another prime example of profit gouging. If they can afford to knock off $200.00 from the price of a machine and still make money, the profit margin is excessive.

Independent dealers are even worse. I told the story before of the local Toro dealer selling a twenty cent bolt for $5.89! They should have a nylon stocking pulled down over their faces.

so, I'm resurrecting this thread from the dead... anyway, after the two power outages this year in Northern VA, I just purchased one of the champion generators from costco for $700. It's model 41537 (7500/9375 watts). It's got a 439cc Chonda engine. The generator is still in the box, unopened. However, I'm considering the Honda eu6500is, which is close to 5x the price of Champion generator. Obviously, there are bigger differences. The eu6500 is an inverter and I won't have to worry about the computers, tv, etc. I decided against a home standby generator as it's very expensive and we will not be staying at this house forever. So, I thought about getting the Honda. How has your experience with the Champion? still working after 3 years? thanks ray

I only fire it up once a year each fall just to make sure it runs. 

I just add enough fuel to run it for half an hour or so and put a load on it.  Fires up willingly and runs nice but that's no indication of how long it will last when put to work for extended periods of time.  What I Can tell you is that if you do some research, you'll see that most people who've bought the Champion generators are very pleased with them and some have put a lot of hours on them.  

I recently bought a Chinese built 2kw Hyundai inverter generator to use as an alternate power source to the diesel generator I have at camp.  No sense running a 6kw diesel generator to supply 500 watts of demand which is our normal load.  Got it for a very good price and I'm quite impressed with it's build quality, smooth, quiet operation and very good fuel consumption.  I've put about 7 hours on it just testing it and breaking it in.  Did the initial oil changed and run the hot oil through a paper coffee filter to inspect for engine grit.  Other than discolouring the filter paper, the oil had no detectable particles in it.  Clean as anything I've ever owned.  The same was true for the Champion.  

Personally, I admit that Honda and Yamaha are superior generators.  Are they five times better?  I highly doubt it.  If your needs are only to run the generator for less than 500 hundred hours or so a year, I'd be more than happy with the Champion.  If you're going to be running something like 1000 hours a year or more, you might want to buy the Honda or possibly an small diesel.  However the large inverter Honda will be quieter under light load conditons.  Have you looked into the Chinese built diesel powered inverter generators?   I bet they'd be very easy on fuel.  

I doubt the generator will be run for more than 10 days a year max.


Fuel consumption and silent operation are the main benefits of the Honda.


The Champion is rated at 74 db at 23 feet.


The eu6500 is 60 db.


Fuel consumption for the Honda can be 4.7 hrs to 14hrs depending on load. The Champion 8 hrs at 50% load. So, I figure consumption is about the same at 50% and 100% load. However, the Honda can throttle down to 1/4 load for 14hrs of use. Which I figure will be important if gas becomes unavailable. I can convert both to natural gas, but that's just more work than necessary. I've purchased the conversion kit, but will leave it on the shelf until I need it.

I've looked at the bigger diesel home standby generators at central maine. Kubota looks good, but I don't think I can have a 100gal diesel tank in my yard. So, it's natural gas when we move to a bigger house. I could then use the Honda as a back up.

raysmd wrote:

I figured you guys may not have heard about this recall. http://m.cbsnews.com/storysynopsis.rbml?pageType=health&url=http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-204_162-57545168/costco-sold-champion-generators-recalled-for-fire-risk/&catid=57545168

hirschallan wrote:
Never heard about it.  Only two models invlovled.  The units involved are quite large.  Mine is only 3000 watts.  Neither of the two recalls is mine. 

The fuel consumption with the 5000+ watts non-inverter type generators would be excessive. 

Rather than spend money on one big generator, I'd buy a couple inverter units.  Probably a three kw. and a two kw. (running watts).  That would give more flexibility and a bit of redundancy as well.  I'd probably not buy Honda or Yamaha.  What I've seen from the Champion and Hyundai units I have, I'd trust them to pull us through pretty much any emergency situation.  Not claiming them to be on the same quality level as the other two.  However, they're plenty good enough and at 1/4 the price, kind of easy to do.        

When we built our house over twenty years ago, I ensured that we'd have an alternative reliable heat supply for winter emergencies.  Hence, two large, high efficiency Opel 2000 fireplaces.  One on the main floor, the other in the basement.  I keep a two to three month supply of dry wood on hand and have access to plenty more just out back of the house.  Can't go wrong with wood burners if you have access to properly dried fuel.  Pretty simple stuff.  Dry wood, a good stove/chimney and a match.  Accordingly, my only need for electricity is for relatively low power consumption devices.

 We have "on demand" gas heated hot water that requires only enough electricity to ignite the burner and supply the control panel.  We have gas cook top, gas clothes dryer and gas heat as well.  So, if used properly, the two small units we have would be more than sufficient to keep us relatively comfortable.  The inverter would be used to provide power for lights, TV, satellite receiver and computers and one light draw fridge.  Light load, quiet operation and economic fuel consumption.  The 3000 watt Champion would be used to run one refrigerator and a freezer as required.  That would be more for convenience than necessity.  Being winter, up here we have plenty of freezer opportunities.  I keep enough fuel on hand to run the generators as required for probably a month or more.  So, overall, I think we have the bases covered.  

Another fortunate aspect is that our water supply likely wouldn't be interrupted for quite some time.  About five years ago, a massively huge underground reservoir was built up on the other side of  a 70 foot high hill about a third mile as the crow flies, behind our house.  It was built to accommodate future expansion of the area for decades into the future.  It's the size of a very large two storey department store underground.  About the only thing that would effect us in a big way would be a lengthy gas supply interruption.  However, we have the wood burners to fall back on to cook and heat water.  Kind of like being at camp!  

We're pretty luck living up here on the shield.  No earthquakes, no hurricanes, very few tornadoes.  Ice storms and the rare, long drawn heavy snow storms are the biggest threat during winter and heavy rain/flooding is the most damaging warm weather events if you live in low lying areas.