Champion Power Equipment 100302 4000-Watt RV Ready Open Frame Inverter, Yellow

10 reviews for Champion Power Equipment 100302 4000-Watt RV Ready Open Frame Inverter, Yellow

1. Rated 5 out of 5

   Jim – 07/08/2020

   I got this from Amazon Prime and it was about a month for it to get here after being promised and delayed several times. I had to purchase wheels and oil separately on this unit. The cost of this unit has gone up roughly $127 since the fires/safety outages here in CA. I’m glad I got it when I did. The rating is for my experience with the generator, NOT for Amazon on this purchase. We have relatively stable power at our primary home but wanted to get a generator based on all of this year’s weird goings on. It was easy to assemble and fired right up. Being a hybrid, it is noticeably quieter than our open frame generators. I’ve only run it for a couple of hours – one hour with no load as a brief break-in and an hour the next day with a fridge and upright freezer on it during a rolling blackout. Ran fine, but seemed to have a mild case of the shakes. If that becomes an issue or if reliability/endurance is an issue, I’ll revise the rating. I did order a TT-30R splitter to use more of the potential of the generator. We’ve had no outages since I got it, so have not used it yet. I can’t comment on reliability due to the short time we’ve had the generator.

2. Rated 4 out of 5

   gregory – 13/08/2020

   Works well, but a little cold blooded to start. Best to try a few times, then let it sit for a few minutes, usually starts right up.

3. Rated 5 out of 5

   Pete J. – 04/10/2020

   Ordered this and received it in a very timely manner.
   Initial impressions:
   Packaging: Well packed, definitely was packed for transport. Completely surrounded in dense packing foam with corner reinforcements.
   Smaller than i thought it would be for a 3500W generator. Picking it up was much easier even with the weight. (They claim 82 pounds, it lifted more like 50.) This may be due to the width is well matched to my arm spread and comfortable lifting angles. This will fit into the bed of my 2016 F250 under the tonneau.

   Break in: Adding oil was simple using the provided funnel. Most difficult part of this, is getting 0.6 quarts when you purchase it by the quart. Note the side of the oil bottle will probably be marked in milliliters, you can estimate the amount using this graduation by emptying the bottle to about 500ml, and then adjust to the convenient dipstick incorporated into the oil plug.

   Adding gasoline was a slight challenge as the fill is in the middle of the tank, and has a lip, with a filler screen inside, easy to accidentally splash out, unless you go slow and careful. It only took me a single adjustment to my pour method to get it right. This could be easier if they offset the fill just a couple inches to the side.

   Start up was a cinch, literally, turn on gas, pull choke half a pull firm, but not hard, and it fired right up. push in the choke and it was fine. Ran it for a few hours per the break in instructions varying the load from about 800 watts up to about 3000 watts. Took these loads just fine.

   I am still yet to connect it to my Travel Trailer, but will update this once i try it.

   It runs quietly, about as loud as a lawnmower. Not bad at all, i took a call on my cell phone about 10 feet away, and it really didn’t effect my ability to hear or be heard. "Sound Meter" for Android, reported about 78db when standing over it. Much quieter than my previous 3500W generator, contractor type, which was about 84db standing over it.

   Overall: Nice build quality. Great packaging. Easy to use/start. Clear instructions. Easier to move than expected. and Compact for a 3500W unit.

   Update: After break in, it couldn’t start my 15000 BTU AC unit. I will be adding a hard start capacitor to see if this allows it to start it. Note: The travel trailer was sitting in direct sun with a standing temperature of about 82 degrees, so, it may have been pressure related. I am going to try it again this upcoming weekend with the trailer in the shade. I will have the hard start cap with me, just in case.

4. Rated 4 out of 5

   Vince – 04/01/2021

   I was all set to buy the 3400 watt unit with the electric start until I saw someone mention the 4000 watt digital hybrid. I looked over the specs and decided this was more to my liking. I read the reviews and that only convinced me more that this unit would suit my needs more as my Honda 3000i Handi was getting up there in the hours of use. When I ordered it I also ordered the wheel kit for it as it would make it much easier to move around after it was on the ground. When it arrived I put the wheel kit on it, added the oil (10w30), set it on the ground. Added gas, opened the shutoff valve, waited a couple of minutes and gave it a pull. Fired on first pull, shut the choke off and gave it another pull and away it went. Running wide open, bounding around like some mentioned and I even heard the marbles in the can sound. I thought that this just wasn’t going to do. I turned the ECO switch to on and nothing happened. That’s when I noticed that no light was lit up to tell whether it was producing power or not. A quick check with a volt meter verified that no power was being produced. I shut the it down, called the 800 tech support number. Told them what I was experiencing. In a matter of minutes they decided there were some connections not connected on the computer board, walked me thru how to get to the computer. Found a plug with six or seven wired had not been connected during assembly. Plugged it back in started it up and the generator wasn’t jumping around anymore, ECO throttle was working, power was being produced, and the marbles in the can sound disappeared. Ran it thru the break in procedure the next morning by hooking it to my camper and turning on different circuits. Once an hour I let it run with the ECO throttle off. After the 5 hr break in, changed oil again and now its ready to its first big outing. I didn’t rate it a five at this point because of the tech glitch off having to connect wires that were missed during assembly.

5. Rated 4 out of 5

   mikey – 04/10/2021

   a) Much quieter than our legacy non-inverting generator.
   b) Ran the 13,500 BTU A/C and microwave simultaneously without issue.
   c) Ran about 10 ½ hours on just less than a tank of gas (spec capacity = 2.9 gallons)
   a. I had not filled it all the way – like our legacy unit, it had a screen in the tank neck to strain the gas – but the screen is smaller and I couldn’t fill very fast and became frustrated at how much time it was taking.
   b. On subsequent fills I removed the screen to fill the tank quickly.
   d) The optional wheel kit is made to fit all of their units – and the wheels and stand IMO are too close together and should be mounted closer to the edge of the frame – therein making it more stable.
   a. The handle with the wheel kit swivels – to swivel out of the way when not in use – however this forces one to pull the unit versus pushing it – just imagine you wanted to push it into a corner of a garage – which we wanted to do for storage – attempts to push the unit backwards with the handle causes the generator to flip backwards since the wheels are so close to the middle of the frame body.
   b. In hindsight, not sure if I would have purchased the wheel kit due to its design.
   e) We did exceed the capacity of the generator one time by running the a/c, microwave and a waffle maker all at once!

6. Rated 5 out of 5

   Jim Mielke – 31/12/2021

   I increased my running watt and start up watt capacity so I could run my generator on my 5th wheel trailer AC unit (13,500 AC). I have tested the generator and run recommended 5 hours break in. After the break in I have hocked it up to my 5th Wheel trailer and I runs all of my major power users including my AC unit. So I am happy. The generator is noisier than my previous inverter generator, but previous had was smaller capacity (3100 Watts start up) and would not run the AC unit. About 7 db, I have a tool to measure the noise level.

   Unit is small in size, and compact and light weight as these generators go. Did not want Electric start with battery and the weight and Maintenance that goes with that. Engine starts easily with manual start. Manual start is just fine. I purchased the wheel kit separately and it installed easily and works well. Does not add a lot height or weight. Weight was a bid deal to me as I carry the generator in the back of my Dodge 3500 truck which is a ways off the ground as it ships from the factory. With the wheels installed the generator is not above the side rail of the truck. Staying below the side rail is necessary for 5th turn above the generator.

   My third Champion Generator and have worked well and keep running until sold them and got a different model.

7. Rated 4 out of 5

   Adam – 15/05/2022

   I plan to upgrade this review as needed to share my experiences.

   December 2018
   I bought this generator to use in the rare case that the power goes out at our house. I didn’t really see the need for a whole-house generator, but wanted something big enough that I could run a small A/C unit during the summer and/or the refrigerator depending on the load at the time.

   I have not had the chance to use this generator during any emergency, but have been very pleased while testing it out.

   The first thing I did was to add the optional wheel kit. It only took a few minutes to add the wheels and it made such a big difference when trying to move the generator around. It’s not big by any means, but it is heavy and was difficult to maneuver without wheels. I should note that the wheels don’t add a lot of height to the generator, so I was still able to life it up onto the shelf beneath my workbench for convenient storage that is out of the way.

   Once the wheels were installed I wanted to test everything out to make sure it worked. I added engine oil and filled it up with gas. After one (1) pull of the cord the engine fired right up! I couldn’t believe it was so easy to start. I let it run for 30-minutes to test it out. Everything seemed to work just as expected so I followed the instructions in the manual to prepare it for short-term storage.

   I’ll provide updates in the future as I get more opportunities to test it out. However, my first impressions are pretty good for this affordable generator.

8. Rated 5 out of 5

   Eric the Tinbender – 21/07/2022

   I’ve updated this review to 5 stars. We’ve been running this generator 12-18 hours a day for 6 months strait, most of these won’t see that many hours in a lifetime. I thought we would only use it for a couple months, but our scumbag county won’t let me hook up a temporary power pole until I have a building permit. About a month ago the carburetor started leaking down when it was shut off. I emailed the company, explaining we’re living in a 5th wheel until a new house is built after a fire, and my disabled wife is inside 24-7. They sent out a new carb next day Fed Ex !. Back to running great, starting first pull, even at 10 degrees. I change the oil running synthetic 5-20 about every 3 weeks or so. I would buy any product this company makes if it’s something I needed in a heartbeat. Back to the original review… This generator is holding up to running around 12 hours a day, every day so far, the only reason for the one missing star is the oil had a lot of metallic particles during the first change, which I did not get done until after about ten hours of use, but it’s holding up quite well. We’re living in a 5th wheel after the house burned down and I need this to work long enough for me to dig up about 40 feet of the power feed to the house and move it over by the trailer and put up a temporary metered box. It’s doing everything I need on the eco setting which is really nice and quiet. I only need full power for construction projects (like building a porch and a ramp).

9. Rated 5 out of 5

   chris adams – 22/01/2023

   Update on the issue. (Engine can become stuck due to movement during shipping. Fix is easy of you know engines, customer service was helpful. Engine has been reliable since i’ve had it and starts easily every time.)

   I was skeptical about buying a Champion generator and my first experience shows I was right. I unboxed and followed the quick start directions. Went to start the generator and went to pull the cord and it wouldn’t budge. Now amazingly I called their customer service and they said that there was a rare issue (although he knew exactly what it was) that the piston gets misaligned during transportation or storage.

   He quickly told me how to fix it which included, removing the inverter box and computer, taking off the pull cord reel, taking out the spark plug and adding a tablespoon of oil in the cylinder. Then I turned the flywheel bolt backwards to turn the engine an reset the piston. While this was easy for me, i worry this would be an issue for someone that wasn’t mechanically inclined. So far this has worked and I’m breaking in the generator as I type.

   So far I give the generator a 1 star and the customer service a 5 star. We’ll see how this goes and I’ll check back. If it keeps running I’ll be significantly impressed but it worries me when I buy a generator for emergencies and I have to tear it apart before I can start it.

10. Rated 3 out of 5

    Troy Peters – 03/05/2023

    I’m not one to write reviews, but after owning 2 of these for my travel trailer, and just over 300 hours, I thought I’d share my experience.
    It’s been almost a full year since I bought 2 of these. I added a second AC to my travel trailer, and the generator I had only ran a 30 amp service at 6000 continuous watts. I decided I would need at least 7k watts to run my 13500 and 15000 BTU AC’s, in which 2 of these will run with the parallel kit…but not in Eco mode.
    Let me start from the beginning. When I added these to my cart, I also added an hour meter for both, and went to my local auto parts house to get fuel filters for them. Before starting them for break in, I installed the hour meters and fuel filters, and did the 5 hour break in. After that, I ran synthetic oil in them.
    My son races motocross, so we usually arrive at the track at 3-4pm on a Friday and crank these up. We usually leave around 4-7pm on Sunday. I fill the both gens, and fill 4 cans at 5 gallons each, and in the summer its enough fuel for the weekend. At night, we kill one AC and one gen. I’m usually left with 2.5-5 gallons of fuel left. Upon performing the break-in, I tested them on my trailer leaving them in eco mode. I turned on my 13.5 AC, waited 30 seconds or so, then turned on my 15k, and it tripped the gens. I then tried the opposite, doing the 15k first, then the 13.5, and the same thing happened. After turning off Eco, I was able to switch both AC’s on almost simultaneously with no issue. They are loud out of Eco mode, but that didn’t bother me.
    Since our first outing, Ive almost always had an issue with one of the gens tripping within the first hour or 2 of use, but then they seem to run fine after shutting everything down, re-starting, and turning everything back on. This past weekend, they tripped every time we used the microwave with both AC’s on, which never happened before that I remember. At night, just running 1 gen with our 13.5 AC in Eco mode, it doesn’t miss a beat.
    These things just seem to be finicky. Ive change the oil after every use, and after every use, we log about 40 hours give or take on them. Ive been diligent about oil changed and running them out of fuel before storing.
    The biggest issue Ive had with these is that they leak oil rather badly. One more than the other, but they both seem to leak oil from the crankcase vent into the filter. I contacted customer support and they told me to tighten up the valve cover bolts. I did have a leak with one gen at the cover gasket. They both leak enough to leave drips, but not enough to drain so much oil to go into low oil shutdown. At first I thought I was just putting in too much oil, but Ive measured out the oil that I add and compared it to the dip stick, and I’m not over filling.
    They are easy to start, have lots of power(ish), but if I was asked if I would buy them again, I would say no. I am actually looking to replace them with something more reliable, and in fact looking at the Predator gens bc a friend of mine runs 2 of them in his trailer with 2 AC’s. They don’t miss a lick.