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Old 02-17-2012, 10:55 AM   #1
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Champion 3500/4000

I dont want to start a H&Y vs Champion discussion with this thread. I want to hear from users of the Champion products to see if you are happy with your purchase. I am looking at the Champion 2000i and or the 3500/4000. I will be using these products at a high elevation and want to know what your experiance has been. Thanks for your input.
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Old 02-17-2012, 06:28 PM   #2
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I dont want to start a H&Y vs Champion discussion with this thread. I want to hear from users of the Champion products to see if you are happy with your purchase. I am looking at the Champion 2000i and or the 3500/4000. I will be using these products at a high elevation and want to know what your experiance has been. Thanks for your input.
The only thing I have heard about Champion is that they are very noisy and you might have complaints if there are campers around you.

I liked to dry camp at a government campground in British Columbia that did have hot/cold clean washrooms on site and I used my Kipor generator which is very quiet and in other years you could run your generators from 7.00 AM to 10.00 PM until last summer when they changed the rules to only 2 hours a day, just to charge batteries and when I questioned them they told me it was because of these noisy generators and Champion and Powerhouse were two that I remembered.

If you are looking for a cheap generator in the 3000 watt range then look at the Kipors.


I saw one down here in Yuma the other day (3000 watt for a thousand bucks).
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Old 02-17-2012, 08:31 PM   #3
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A thousand bucks isn't cheap to me. My Champion doesn't have to run wide open so it isn't real loud. That being said I don't use it in a campground.
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Old 02-18-2012, 12:27 AM   #4
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I was looking at the Costco Cdn website. The Champion 3000/4000 gen is $479 . And 133 lbs. also noticed that they sell a Honeywell gen 3250/3700 for $499. And 116 lbs. I've been around lots of Champions and they are loud. I never knew that Honeywell made them. It would be nice to hear a report on them and how loud they were. They are considerably lighter.
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Old 02-18-2012, 06:16 AM   #5
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I think you will find that most of the contractor grade generators are very loud but they put out a lot of power. I have a good size Champion here at the house for hurricane season and it works great. But for camping, I would never consider it.

Instead I found a Honda eu2000i Companion (comes with a 30 amp RV connector) to be the best fit for my needs. It's an inverter type generator and very quiet as contrasted with the Champion above. The thing I really liked about the Honda (and others do this too) is that you can parallel two to effectively double your output power. That way, you can start small and grow if you need to.

I'm being long winded here but realize that in many campgrounds, they have restrictions on how many hours a day you can run your generator... and that is mainly to recharge your batteries. So a lot of thought into battery capacity, loading, etc. can go a long way to lessening your dependency on the generator. Besides, your neighbors will appreciate the peace and quiet.
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Old 02-18-2012, 12:33 PM   #6
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In the film industry our large generators were baffled for noise. I wonder if a 3 sided folding 'fence' about 2 feet high lined with the noise suppression stuff used for inboard boat engines might work?

It would reduce lateral noise transmission somewhat. I am going to build one for my Champion house backup Genny.

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Old 02-18-2012, 03:23 PM   #7
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I have the 3000/4000 unit rarely ever start it as I have solar.. they are not quiet but it stats no later than the 3rd pull every time.... going to do an oil change on it and get it ready for storing on the trip home soon...
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Old 02-19-2012, 09:41 PM   #8
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I decided to go with the Champion 46561 3500/4000 remote start. I boondock 90% of the time so I don't care about waking up the neighbors.
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Old 02-20-2012, 04:48 AM   #9
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I was at a outdoor event not long ago and someone had a muffler attached to theirs. It seed quiet by comparison to others that were there. Maybe there is a aftermarket product for these.
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Old 02-20-2012, 05:55 PM   #10
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I have a champion 3500 and have been very happy with it, runs 15k roof air with no issue. Not loud compared to other briggs models. Just my 2 cents, and at $300 it is hard to beat the price.
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Old 02-20-2012, 08:20 PM   #11
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I was at a outdoor event not long ago and someone had a muffler attached to theirs. It seed quiet by comparison to others that were there. Maybe there is a aftermarket product for these.
You put the spark arrester kit on it then weld a flex pipe to that and add the muffler... works wonders... heavy oil also helps.. and a cardboard box over the gen.. (large one) lift one corner for 02 to enter and cooling...
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Old 02-20-2012, 11:39 PM   #12
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"honeywell" Generators

Honeywell has sold its name to a lot stuf of late not made by them. Much like Coleman.
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Old 02-21-2012, 02:06 PM   #13
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I picked up the Champion 3500/4000 at Cabelas last night for $329. Its the weekender edition and included the wheel kit and cover. I put it together last night and realized I am out of oil so I will update again after I get it fired up. The wheel kit makes it very easy to move around.
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Old 02-21-2012, 02:49 PM   #14
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I was reading a Good Sam magazine several months back and they seemed to have a high opinion of Champion.
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Old 02-21-2012, 11:25 PM   #15
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I have a Champion 2000 watt inverter generator and will be buying another one to piggy back the 1st one to be able to run the roof air if I have to.
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Old 02-23-2012, 02:47 PM   #16
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Today durring lunch I filled the Champion with oil and gas. It started on the first pull! Its not as loud as I thought it would be but I have not put it under a load yet.
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Old 02-23-2012, 04:04 PM   #17
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Here is my cousin of the Champion, A Powermax 4400/3500. I bought it several years ago, have only used it for power outages and construction purposes. Pretty much all these Chinese generators this size use the Honda clone 6.5hp engine. Not quiet, but for what I use it for so far so good. I suppose I would consider using it camping if I was off to myself.


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Old 02-23-2012, 10:32 PM   #18
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They all make electricity, some just do it quietly. From 14 feet away you can't hear a Honda 3000.
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Old 06-22-2012, 06:33 AM   #19
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Also caught a Champion 3500/4000 weekender on sale at Cabelas for $319 shipped. Includes wheek kit and cover.
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Old 06-22-2012, 06:39 AM   #20
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Smile Generator

Just be careful by not using an "inverter generator" you can damage electronics, such as HD TV. I have a Honeywell 2,000 inverter generator I bought @ Home Depot. Won't run the a/c but works for charging, coffee pot, microwave. I hope to buy a HONDA 3,000 watt generator in a couple of years for our trip out west.

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