Champion Generator Engine Reliability
- Thread starter vontis93
- Start date
I haven't had to use mine for any extended use other than powering the house for a few hours during outages, but so far so good with both cold and hot weather.
I've owned two Champion generators. My latest one is the 6250/5000 Watt open frame inverter.
The first one was a 3500 watt model for my 5th wheel. Let it go with the the 5th wheel when I sold it. It had hundreds of hours on it running a 15,000 BTU AC. That generator was flawless. Always started first pull, didn't use any oil and never had to repair anything.
I really like the Inverter model. It looks like it will hold up just as well.
Champion has great customer support as well.
The first one was a 3500 watt model for my 5th wheel. Let it go with the the 5th wheel when I sold it. It had hundreds of hours on it running a 15,000 BTU AC. That generator was flawless. Always started first pull, didn't use any oil and never had to repair anything.
I really like the Inverter model. It looks like it will hold up just as well.
Champion has great customer support as well.
Many of the Chonda genset engines are exact copies of Honda motors, I think mostly the GX series of motors. So much so that you can order parts from Honda dealers that will fit those gensets. I don't know how many hours one could take, but if you take good care of it, it'll most likely be fine.
If it is a real concern for you, spend the money to get a Yamaha or Honda inverter generator. I've got a few hundred hours on a Yamaha ISEB3000 that we use for the toy hauler, issue free.
I've owned a Champion open frame generator with the 196cc Chonda motor since 2012. It doesn't have a lot of hours on it. That being said, the engine is the least of your worries with an inverter generator. You should be asking about the longevity of the inverter electronics. Sorry, but I cannot help you there.
The B & S Vanguard engine is a beast. I don't think a Chonda Champion engine is on par with B&S Vanguard. Subaru makes great engines also but parts will be more expensive than the B&S engine.
I've owned 3 Champion generators and all 3 have been great. I have a 3500 watt open frame unit that is 10+ years old and still starts on the 1st pull.
I had a 2000w inverter that ran beautifully and served me well until I sold it to upgrade.
I upgraded to the Champion 3400w inverter to use with my RV, runs the rooftop ac effortlessly.
My experience with Champion Power Equipment is excellent, would not hesitate to recommend them!
I had a 2000w inverter that ran beautifully and served me well until I sold it to upgrade.
I upgraded to the Champion 3400w inverter to use with my RV, runs the rooftop ac effortlessly.
My experience with Champion Power Equipment is excellent, would not hesitate to recommend them!
There is a thread on an RV forum about Champion generator hours. They seem to have a good lifespan and one guy claimed to have 3000 hours on his.
We just bought this (on sale) to have as a backup for our sump pump and a couple other things in case of a power outage. It seems to be good quality and runs good. Canadian Tire (mastercraft) brand but it's made by champion. I'm glad to see others have had good luck with them.
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It’s the electronics I’d be more concerned about in an inverter unit. Honda and Yamaha are known to have the most solid inverters to include full potting and vibration protection. Other brands not as much. The advantage of champion is that parts availability seems excellent if there ever were a problem. Yamaha parts are much harder as I understand it. Never had any issues with the honda inverter and I load it up pretty good.
My Champion inverter assy. is fully potted as well.
I bought one about 20 years ago after Hurricane Ivan. My recommendation......don't. Muffler shield welds broke and it rattled constantly. The low oil shutoff switch quit and had to be disconnected for it to run. When my contractor tried to use it during our rebuild to power his air compressor it wouldn't handle the load even though his lesser rated generator worked fine.
20 years ago! They are vastly improved. I own 2 inverter types, both flawless.
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The most common problem is the Chinese sparkplug.
I kept the Torch plug in 3 different generators during break in - they were all good -
But when I put them into storage / after break in - I pulled the plug to add a teaspoon of oil - and replaced the spark plug with an NGK -
I keep the old Torch plug as a back up - JIC - but NGK is just a better plug - and for a couple $ it is just not worth worrying about a Chinese Torch plug -
If you really want the cats meow, an NGK iridium plug.
