i bought 2 champion generators, first the 1500, and then the RV ready from Kragen auto, both where un-opened boxes, neither had any damage, both worked perfectly
the 3500 Rv did develop a problem and championed replaced the unit, and the replacement has performed flawlessly, I haven't keep count, but it does seem the majority of customers reporting problems on this board, where units damaged in transit to HOMES and bought thru parts america, it would seem that their shipping dept & freight company UPS ? has done a less than stellar job, in that regard
Options, always have options, and the journey goes much smoother ....
Connected thru Verizon with Tethered phone Droid Incredible from HTC
Member of the Verizon Wireless Customer Council
There is a problem with shipping and handling these units, especially ground shipping and fingerprinting from CA to MN to PA. I originally thought PartsAmerica was doing an overkill with multiple boxes and 10# of additional cardboard packing. They said they have done so since Katrina when a lot of units were damaged in shipment. I had their shipper, UPS, note visible impact damage. For sure, mishandling causes these problems, but I still submit that damage would be reduced by taking the bounce out of engine mounts during shipment, and engineering more clearance within the unit. I'm interested in how many other people have found little plastic pieces from a cracked/broken, out of sight control box.
A bigger problem for me is the fuel leak at the tank junction. I cannot believe I'm so unlucky to have received 3 units (plus a replacement fuel cock from Champion) all with this same problem. I posted a "help needed" query here re this issue a week or so back, but got no response. I've gone from running to dripping to weeping fuel. It's still a problem and I could use all the help available to stop the leak before going up/down in flame.
In spite of frustrations, my age makes patience desirable. It keeps stress and adrenalin levels down. Besides, I love the idea of this little generator and just had to have one too.
Well I haven't made it up to my trailer, but I did take the gen. to my shop where I have a 1400 watt micro. I plugged it into the gen directly (15amp). It ran fine. Then I used a 25' heavy duty 10/3 extention cord. It ran fine. I'm going up next week. I hope to find out if it's the shore line, the 30amp outlet or something in the trailer wiring itself.
* This post was
edited 04/29/07 04:40pm by The Roamer *
The Man, The Woman
4 Dawgs: Adrian, Cooper(Boxers) Bear(Shitzu)
05 Dodge RAM 2500 QC, 4x4, 5.9 CTD, 48RE, 3.73
Xzillaraider 100
Pilgrim Fifth Wheel 274RL-5
Reese 16K Slider
Champion 3500w Gen. (Still on the fence, #2 is in for repair %@$%$)
ol Bombero-JC wrote: Eightball - the UST has been on this thread (somewhere) before.
As I recall, the UST brand is good - think it was a replacement
for the Elim? previously carried by Pep Boys (which had problems).
Supposedly Champion does not re-badge. Guess it could
have the same Chinese engine.
Thank you for the info on the UST.
Am I correct in my observations that the UST3500 as sold by Pep Boys is not equipped with the 30 amp receptacle when compared to the Champ 4000 sold through Chucker/Kragen's, Coast and other distributors?
It just looks that way from the website provided by a member a few posts back.
The UST 3500 does not have the 30A RV receptacle AND there are different UST 3500s
noted that one shows only 20a Duplex and then there is a GT model with a 30a twist.
Anyhoo the Champion is only 50 bux more and ready to go
Note- I statred reading this thread from the beginning and got to page 100 and then decided to start from the end as I was still stuck in 2005
06 F250 V10 SB 4x4 Gulp Gulp
WW FSC2800
Rhino 660- 1980 Cobalt 18DV
Power Wheels 750
"Shoot, I'm the world's best backwards driver!"
Wow! I've been getting a number of PM's on some of the details for the project. A couple have been about the receiver hitch that I had welded onto the frame of my fifth-wheel. I explained what I had done, but pictures speak volumes, so I've uploaded some pictures of the hitch and frame. Note that the hitch is under the square bumper that holds the sewer hoses. Here they are:
Lou Leopold
2001 Dodge Ram 2500 Diesel Quad, SWB, 3.55:1, Rhino Lining
2000 25' Mallard M-23 5M 5th Wheel
Husky 15K w/EZ slider
Wen PowerPro 3500 Generator in a sound box
And I continue to tent camp!
Many thanks for the great information. I am sold on the Champion and could use some help.
1. Want to use the unit for house back-up as i do not own an RV yet. Am not sure if the unit is sufficient and can not find vendor that will allow return if not.
2. Well pump is biggest draw. The pump is 1.5 hp, 230 volt, 10 gallon per minute and 400' down the well. It is on a 20 amp breaker. The well contractor advises a 8kw for the pump. I do not believe he is correct.
Will the Champion run my well pump?
I have 4 prong 30 amp / 250 volt connector at the panel. Is this compatable with the 30 amp rv ready connector on the Champion? Will i have any grounding issues?
Where can i buy in the Richmond, VA area? The local Home Depot told me the chamion is in the computer system but not sure if it will get to the stores. I am aware of the Parts America cupons, however the delivered damaged posts raise some concern.
Many thanks for the great information. I am sold on the Champion and could use some help.
1. Want to use the unit for house back-up as i do not own an RV yet. Am not sure if the unit is sufficient and can not find vendor that will allow return if not.
2. Well pump is biggest draw. The pump is 1.5 hp, 230 volt, 10 gallon per minute and 400' down the well. It is on a 20 amp breaker. The well contractor advises a 8kw for the pump. I do not believe he is correct.
Will the Champion run my well pump?
I have 4 prong 30 amp / 250 volt connector at the panel. Is this compatable with the 30 amp rv ready connector on the Champion? Will i have any grounding issues?
Where can i buy in the Richmond, VA area? The local Home Depot told me the chamion is in the computer system but not sure if it will get to the stores. I am aware of the Parts America cupons, however the delivered damaged posts raise some concern.
Many thanks for the advice!
The pump will most likely require a larger genset. This is based on 2 things. First, The 1.5 HP motor will probably need 3400-4600 watts to start the motor. From my experience with the Champion (or any other 3-3.5 kw genset), it will bog down badly under the 4000 watt starting load. Second, your own circuit breaker tells the story. It is 20 amps at 230v which is 4600 watts. The RV ready Champion only provides 15amps at 230v (3500 watts).
The 4 prong 120/240v plug is not compatable with the 3 prong 120v RV plug. However, the Champion also has a 4 prong 120/240v plug.
I would be looking at the 5000-5500 watt gensets for your application. Champion and others sell this size. If you have PepBoys auto parts stores in your area, they are advertising the 5000 watt unit for about $369.
Bob and Cathy
2002 Montana 3655FL
2006 Chevy 2500HD Duramax/Allison
PullRite 16k Superglide
unless my memory & math are confused, 1hp=745 watts
a 1.5 hp =1117.5 watts , thats the max running power, the 20amp breaker is the max surge for the motor, LRA locked rotor amps.
the champion should have no problem with the pump under normal conditions,
however you might encounter problems If you are running things like an A/C unit or electric heater or hair dryer while running the water pump, NOT from the running load but from the start load, your washing machine AND fridge are also going to have induction motors ( 120vac ) with startup loads that are twice their run loads
people have a tendency too concentrate on the one major load and forget about the auxiliaries they will also be using , the water pump will only be used intermittently, but the fridge , freezer, furnace lights will be in almost continuous use, and they will be on and running when the pump has to kick in.
many of these portable gensets will give 240 or 120 but not both at the same time, and amny of them do NOT have a neutral connection on the 240 outlet, so they can power a pump or a welder by direct connection, but NOT serve as a 240 back feed for the power panel.
I forget which way the champion 240 is wired, i'll have to check the schematic for the neutral on 240
but if all you want to do is run the pump, and nothing else, the 3500-4000surge RV ready, should do that.
Champion's owners manual estimates the runnng wattage of a 1.5 H.P. submersible pump at 2800 watts. Pretty low efficiency! They further state that the starting load could be as much as 3 times the running wattage.
My concern for this pump is the starting load which would probably be at least 4600-5600 watts (or more). The RV ready Champion or any other similarly sized (3-3.5kw) genset probably won't start this motor.
bobandcat, maybe you are correct, but that seems extreme to me, I'm sure there are some other members who have done did this and posted about it, i'm sure i read that ran their well pumps from the champion and other generators, it seems to me that champion is erring on the side of caution, by telling the buyer the pump uses 2800 watts they are ensuring that the buyer doesn't try to run a well pump with the 1500 watt or other small genny, even it the pump motor was that in-effiecent the 3500 watt generator should carry it.
i agree in many cases bigger is better, and the other champion models have the same quality and same CS support as the RV ready, and it is NOT going to hurt to have a bigger generator than a person thinks that he might need, especially for stationary emergency use.
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