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?

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.