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Old 04-17-2018, 11:58 AM   #1
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Champion 3500/4000

Hello, I have a vacant 12 acre lot in Northern Wisconsin that I inherited from my father. Usually we use power at campgrounds and have not needed a generator. If I did more dry camping I would invest in a good inverter generator such as pairing up Honda's. I really like those.

So I bought a new champion 3500/4000 (non inverter type) a couple years ago to use at the lot to power tools and what not while we were staying there. Would there be any issue, or any precautions to be aware of, if I used this generator for battery recharging and running the AC on my 211RD? I understand that this is not friendly to sensitive electronics (tv's, etc). I know its rather loud but I don't have any neighbors. I only will be taking the trailer up there a couple times over the summer, other times will will be staying at campgrounds which have power. Anybody have a problem using one of these type generators?

Regards, Jim
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Old 04-17-2018, 12:10 PM   #2
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I'm no electrician, but I can't see where using it to run power tools would be any different then running an AC unit or battery charger. I don't know what your trailers converter would think of it if you were thinking of charging the units battery that way.

What part of WI.?
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Old 04-17-2018, 12:24 PM   #3
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Hello Lloyd....Just east of Plainfield Wisconsin which is about 26 miles south of Stevens Point off of I39. Generator has a 30 amp RV outlet built into it. I have used it on occassion on my old popup but that was just for lights, furnace, and mamas hair dryer...lol. Thanks. Jim
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Old 04-17-2018, 12:45 PM   #4
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Jim give this out fit a call and ask them if that generator will/can hurt your converter.

What ya mean--Northern WI That's SE central.

WF-8900 MBA SERIES | Product Categories | wfcoelectronics.com
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Old 04-17-2018, 01:01 PM   #5
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Thanks and I should of thought to just contact the manufacturer. Well residing in llinois it is Northern to me...lol
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Old 04-17-2018, 06:47 PM   #6
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I don’t know much about electricity specifics, but the Honda’s you referenced have an inverter technology that produces clean energy like household, which is safe for your electronics. I don’t know if your Champion has that. I have a larger Champion I use at home that does have it.
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Old 04-18-2018, 07:28 AM   #7
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Well talked to WFCO. They basically said "use at your own risk" which tells me that using my non-inverter generator is probably not the best idea. Scouring the internet I do find a lot of folks that do use a generator like mine all the time with no issues and that is what was used before generator inverter technology came to fruition.

The generator owners manual says to use surge suppressor for sensitive electronics. Champion says this : Volt Guard™ – Prevents overloads and keeps your valuable equipment safe from voltage spikes, plus a voltmeter allows you to monitor power output at a glance.

So I guess I have a few options

- Buy an inverter generator, don't think I would use it much though. Honda's would be a great thing, but not in the cards right now. The local Farm and Fleet store has the 3100 inverter champion on sale for 699. I heard those are good.

- I have utility power at the lot, but it isn't turned on. I could turn it on for the summer months but just don't go up there to often. There is cost to just turning it on/off and don't want the monthly bill.

- Run what I have for the couple times a year and hope for the best. Learn my expensive lesson if something fries.

Thanks all.
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Old 04-18-2018, 07:49 AM   #8
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It seems like WFCO is playing it pretty safe from their stand point. Which I can understand.
Where we camp in the fall (use to camp) there is no electric, and on different occasions there would be those big noisy generators running. So apparently many use them and just how many get by without a problem, I guess we will never know.
Years ago I had a 5500/6500 watt unit I used here at the house when the power would go out. Boy it was loud! Make the head vibrate.
We never had any issues with any of our stuff.

Thanks for the sig.
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Old 04-18-2018, 08:08 AM   #9
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I will report back what happens as I think I am going to go for it. Look for the post about replacing a fried converter lol.
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Old 04-18-2018, 09:50 AM   #10
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Just to add a thought on generators. Some 4 years back before our trailer, in a non electric campground and beautifully quiet evening, the neighboring site just 30 feet away, in rolls what at the time seemed like a 80 footer tripple, and next thing he cracks open the tailgate and fires up what sounded like a fleet of sherman tanks. So much for quiet, relaxing, or neighborly for the next solid hour plus. Thankfully he was considerate that he would only run it for about an hour around supper time daily. That was the very first and only time to ever have a generator next door, but I can assure you I was not impressed the first hour, but tolerated it the next couple days, but it was a noisy bit*h.. I also know our house Dewalt DG7000E generator hooked via the Generlink when power goes out is quite noisy when outside, but not noticeable inside the house, and neighbors are to far away. BUT kinda wish I would have purchased a Honda, because they really are quieter....in a real big way.
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Old 04-18-2018, 12:03 PM   #11
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For about $100 it would be good peace of mind to pick up a surge protector such as one from Progressive Industries. I have a hard wired one on mine to protect against surges and low voltage. This is a good thing to use whether you are on campground power or connected to a generator and will help keep your electronics safe. I am sure that the money spent on this saved me from having everything fried when a lightning strike hit just outside our trailer last year and took out most of the campground. I did not lose one piece of electronics, while others suffered major loss.

Keep in mind that your generator Neutral and Ground are not bonded and the surge protector will see this as an open neutral. Easy fix is to buy a plug from your local hardware store and jumper the neutral spade (wide one) to the ground. Then plug this into an unused receptacle on the generator. This will bond the two together and the surge suppressor will be happy.
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Old 04-19-2018, 12:27 PM   #12
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DaYooper, thanks for that advice. I already have the surge suppressor from progressive. Makes sense and I will use it - certainly can't hurt.

So, I spent the good part of last evening browsing the internet some more, mostly RV forums. So far, I haven't found one instance where anyone reported a fried component. Many use the Champion Generator I have (3500/4000 non inverter "rv ready") and say no problems. I took it a step further and contacted Champion. They say they no known issues plugging trailer directly into the generators RV plug.

So, I think I have done my diligence. It will be noisy, probably just use it to run the A/C just to cool down the trailer before turning in. No one will hear it but us.

Thanks all,

Jim
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Old 04-22-2018, 05:55 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DaYooper View Post
For about $100 it would be good peace of mind to pick up a surge protector such as one from Progressive Industries. I have a hard wired one on mine to protect against surges and low voltage. This is a good thing to use whether you are on campground power or connected to a generator and will help keep your electronics safe. I am sure that the money spent on this saved me from having everything fried when a lightning strike hit just outside our trailer last year and took out most of the campground. I did not lose one piece of electronics, while others suffered major loss.

Keep in mind that your generator Neutral and Ground are not bonded and the surge protector will see this as an open neutral. Easy fix is to buy a plug from your local hardware store and jumper the neutral spade (wide one) to the ground. Then plug this into an unused receptacle on the generator. This will bond the two together and the surge suppressor will be happy.
I agree. I have two Honda 2000’s with the parallel kit and I use a surge protector from Progressive Industries also. Mine gave me an open ground and I have to use a N/G plug.
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Old 05-29-2018, 01:54 PM   #14
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Being the conscientious forum member I am (lol), I thought I would provide an update. Went to my property in Wisconsin over the holiday weekend with no intention of using the generator. Well, it got to 95 degrees and set all kinds of records. After two nights in the sweat box, I couldn't stand it anymore and fired up the champion 3500/4000 open frame generator. First turned all breakers off. Started generator, and enabled the air conditioner circuit. Worked like a charm, never missed a beat. Just used it to cool down the trailer before going to bed. On monday the battery was just about dead. I figured, what the heck, ran generator for a couple hours to get me some power to finish out the weekend. Noisy as heck, but no neighbors around. Next one will be an inverter model, but will do for the few times I need it at my property for now.
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Old 05-30-2018, 04:14 AM   #15
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I run the Champion 3500w dual fuel inverter generator.

$850.00 on Amazon

Powers the 15k a/c with no problems.

Super quiet.

No need to transport gasoline either. So far, it hasn't seen gasoline.

I highly recommend it over any other generator.
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