Honda EU 2200i vs Champion 2500

[Shiny]

Did a quick Bing search for the Yamaha 2400 and find it may not be a current model but does sound like a good product. Those listed online are quite expensive, though... possibly more than a Honda 2200. I also expect Yamaha to be a high quality brand. As to whether a single 2400W unit would run AC at high altitude, that's a good question! Could well be enough...

[Vermilye]

Another possibility is the Honda EU3200i. Not cheap, but it is a Honda that should power almost any AC, and since it is fuel injected, may handle altitudes better than other versions.

[Iowa Dave]

Hi John
I looked at those 3200’s and for me it was a little overkill as I would rarely camp at high elevation and only use our 2200i for AC. I have an older open frame 3000 W generator that’s heavy and loud. I haven’t run it for several years. Equipment weight becomes a factor especially in camping cargo terms. I have no doubt the 3200’s are a good machine.

In my work life we owned several larger Honda generators and little ones as small as the 1000’s and a 1300 that I bought in 1986 and was still working this past fall.

My grandson is taking a theatre tech course this winter trimester at his high school.
He’s also helping build a “bye bye birdie” set on the weekends, with his dad,
who teaches at our old high school.
Thought you’d appreciate that.
Iowa Dave

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by Shiny

Did a quick Bing search for the Yamaha 2400 and find it may not be a current model but does sound like a good product. Those listed online are quite expensive, though... possibly more than a Honda 2200. I also expect Yamaha to be a high quality brand. As to whether a single 2400W unit would run AC at high altitude, that's a good question! Could well be enough...

ah, didn't realize they were discontinued... found the factory site, looks like its just 2200, 3000, 4500, and 6300 now. the Yammy 2200 is rated for 1800 watts sustained, 2200 max watts for 10 seconds.

[oldwave]

I’ve looked at the 3200 i, really a lot of power for the weight . A bit pricey. 60 lbs dry.

[GeorgiaBill]

I bought the Champion 2500W for 2 reasons: Price and dual fuel. Amazon had it on a daily buy 5 months ago, costing $544.94. It's more now.

[M & M]

Originally Posted by GeorgiaBill

I bought the Champion 2500W for 2 reasons: Price and dual fuel. Amazon had it on a daily buy 5 months ago, costing $544.94. It's more now.

I found the Champion 2500 Dual Fuel at Walmart for $ 543.

[GeorgiaBill]

Originally Posted by M & M

I found the Champion 2500 Dual Fuel at Walmart for $ 543.

We got great prices. My son and I have been Honda bigots forever, but he bought the Yamaha EF2000i 5 years ago but doesn't remember why he chose Yamaha over Honda. I'm pleased with the Champion with gasoline but am disappointed with propane. I expect to use propane if we have another multi-day power outage so we don't have to keep adding gasoline during the night.

[SteveSgt]

My apologies in advance to steer this off into a general-purpose generator thread, but here I go...

When tent camping, I have been using an ALP 1kW propane-only generator to charge my 1,500 Watt-hour "solar generator" when there's not enough sun to top it off.

It's a nice quiet little unit. They claim 52 dB-A in the published specs, but as a audio professional with the right gear to do this, I've measured it at 47 dB-A at 15' in normal usage driving a 150W battery charger.

My thought in my future E21C was to install a similar battery charger in the trailer and use this to top of the Lithiums when the solar input was inadequate. Have any of you done anything like this?

The advantage I see to this approach is by not supplying 120 VAC to the trailer mains, I won't risk overloading the generator with things that want AC power.

[Keith3]

Thought about this thread last night. Sleeping in our escape relying on an oil filled radiator style space heater and the heat strip for heat because we bought a used trailer that had deleted the furnace. All was comfortable until about 3 Am when the power went out. It was 12F outside and I knew we wouldn’t stay warm long.

Luckily the Champion 2500 dual fuel was stored in our heated shop next to the trailer. But the hose was outside. Dumb. Fumbled around a few minutes to hook up the stuff propane hose and refreshed my memory via the pictographs on the side of the unit. Two pulls and I thought it turned over. Switched to propane, two pulls and nothing. I had a passing thought: If I have to admit I needed a Honda I may never post on that rv site again. Switched back to choke for one pull, and yeah it turned over. One more pull on propane and she’s running.

Turned the heat strip down to 55 F to see if we could live with just the space heater. That lasted for a bit over an hour until the heat strip kicked in and overloaded the generator. Went to go reset it and found the power had just come back on.

Probably wouldn’t have frozen to death without it, but it was very nice to have. I’m going to check today to see what the load is for the heat strip when it kicks in. I imagine it is more than the 15-17 amps of my AC.

I don’t think I would store a gasoline appliance in my shop since we essentially live there other than sleeping in the escape. I hate the smell of gasoline to an absurd degree.

[DanandDaphne]

Originally Posted by GeorgiaBill

We got great prices. My son and I have been Honda bigots forever, but he bought the Yamaha EF2000i 5 years ago but doesn't remember why he chose Yamaha over Honda. I'm pleased with the Champion with gasoline but am disappointed with propane. I expect to use propane if we have another multi-day power outage so we don't have to keep adding gasoline during the night.

Why are you disappointed with the propane? Is it the reduced power output, or are you having trouble starting it?
I knew going in that propane would give less output. Its easy to start once you get the hang of it. Put it on choke and pull the rope two or three times then switch it to propane and it starts every time.

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by DanandDaphne

Why are you disappointed with the propane? Is it the reduced power output, or are you having trouble starting it?
I knew going in that propane would give less output.

I was curious if these dual fuel units give power output for gasoline and propane and lo and behold Champion does. Looks like the Champion is about 10% loss on propane which agrees with Hutch Mountain FAQ's where they say most propane units on the market have a power loss of approx. 10-12%. They claim that their conversion kit has a hardly noticeable power loss of approx. 3-5%. I wonder how they accomplish that.

[DanandDaphne]

Originally Posted by rubicon327

I was curious if these dual fuel units give power output for gasoline and propane and lo and behold Champion does. Looks like the Champion is about 10% loss on propane which agrees with Hutch Mountain FAQ's where they say most propane units on the market have a power loss of approx. 10-12%. They claim that their conversion kit has a hardly noticeable power loss of approx. 3-5%. I wonder how they accomplish that.

Lying

[Keith3]

Just looking at my EMS display while things cycled its clear why my generator tripped. The small heater is at about 12 Amps and we have about 2 amps being used by a fan and everything else in the trailer. The heat strip is about 16 Amps all alone. All that together is well over the approx 20 Amps the gen provides.

Probably could have turned off the small heater and fan to just rely on the heat strip. It is better at warming the trailer, but so dang loud.

When the weather is better I intend to run a few tests.

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by Keith3

Just looking at my EMS display while things cycled its clear why my generator tripped. The small heater is at about 12 Amps and we have about 2 amps being used by a fan and everything else in the trailer. The heat strip is about 16 Amps all alone. All that together is well over the approx 20 Amps the gen provides.

Probably could have turned off the small heater and fan to just rely on the heat strip. It is better at warming the trailer, but so dang loud.

When the weather is better I intend to run a few tests.

That would do it. Maybe a better solution is to run an electric heater with a fan that will heat the trailer more evenly. There are some that are very quiet.

[hugh]

FWIW, I have no problem pulling 1800 watts from my Champion generator when running on propane. It's officially rated for 1800 only on gasoline, 1665 on propane. I'm guessing there's some additional "head room" in the engine.

[CharlesinGA]

For what its worth, Hutch Mountain (and others) make propane conversion kits for the gas only Hondas. My travel buddy installed one, and a Micro Air easy starter for the A/C and the Honda runs fine on the propane, and starts the A/C fine also. I think he tried the A/C at 5000 ft at Mt Pisgah, not sure. Don't need A/C up there in the summer any how, that is why we go, to escape the low land heat.

Hutch Mountain propane conversions

I'll just stick with my built under Onan 2500LP unit in my Sasquatch ;>)

Charles

[Carmel Clown]

Any thought on filling the generator from the TV so one would not have to carry gas?

[brroberts]

Originally Posted by Carmel Clown

Any thought on filling the generator from the TV so one would not have to carry gas?

Used to do that with older vehicles in the days before solar. Now fuel systems are harder to tap into and with solar I hardly ever use the generator. I typically have a fuel can in the truck anyway for the ‘just in case’ when traveling.

[WillyB]

Having flip flopped on the "We need a generator" idea many times, we decided to purchase a Champion Dual Fuel 2400w Inverter Generator.

We wanted the propane option as we are not fans of gas fumes under covered truck bed. Plus, this will only be used minimally when we get into an odd pickle, a hot day when boon docking or just want to camp in the shady area at Campsite #2 in the summer with AC.

We know the Honda is a bit quieter, a touch lighter and they have a great reputation. We've been a Honda car family for 30+ years. But how long do we expect to use a generator for camping specific needs? We have an 8500w generator for home power outage emergencies already.

Reasons why Champion over Honda you ask?

#1: Champion $499 vs Honda ($999) with Hutch Mountain Conversion ($279)
** $779 savings before the tax differences.

#2: 3-Year Warranty on both
** The Honda warranty is void if we install the conversion kit before the end of the 3-year warranty period.

#3: BassPro points make the spend easier to swallow.

We'll see how our highly debated/researched decision over a few nice bottle of wine all turns out.