Positive: Champion 3400 Watt Generator Model 100233

[Evo2700]

We recently acquired a Champion 3400 watt inverter generator. I did a lot of research before dropping the coin on the generator. Most of the reviews I found were for Champion’s duel fuel. I didn’t see many on the model we picked up, which is model 100233. So, here we go:

The main reasons for the decision on this brand and model is that is seemed to be the most bang for the buck compared to other brands. Our Amazon price was $800. I wanted a generator powerful enough to run the AC in the trailer. This model does not have some of the other bells and whistles Champion offers, such as the electric and remote start, which is fine with me because that means the generator doesn’t have a battery in it so it keeps the weight down and one less battery for me to keep charged when not in use. Through my research I found Champion offers a 3500 watt exclusively at Cabella’s, but Champion has said the 3400 and 3500 are pretty much identical and the 3400 actually puts out closer to 3500, but they kept the branding numbers conservative.

We bought the generator new on Amazon when they were having specials around Christmas time and it arrived in a few days. The generator was packaged well and the manual is easy to understand. I did the five hour break in using a hair dryer to varry the load. I was impressed with volume of the generator, especially when it’s running in eco mode.

After breaking it in, I did an oil change and it was time for the real test. The trailer’s AC. It worked! It ran the AC with ease. I pushed it even further and while the AC was running I switched the generator to eco mode. Still ran the AC with ease!

I’m very happy with this generator so far. It’s weighs about 100 pounds with oil and fuel, but it has an extended handle and wheels to easily roll around. I’m not a large guy and I’m able to lift it into my truck easily enough. The handles make it easy to grab and easy for a second set of hands to help you lift it if needed. The shape and structure of the generator make it fit well in the bed of the truck and low enough for me to close my Bak bed cover.

The only negative I’ve really found is the fuel tank is kind of small, only holding a little over a gallon of gas, but even after running the break in for five hours with variable loads on the generator I still had fuel in the tank.

Overall, this was a good purchase. Hopefully this info helps someone in the market for a generator.

[formerFR]

that's a nice unit, looks to be well designed with it's handles on top and wheels on the bottom... 30a for the RV, 20a outlet(vs 15a!), and even the 12v output. The economy mode probably helps to keep it running quieter, and the ability to 'parallel' it with another unit could come in handy later.

while our coach comes with a Cummins Onan 6kw generator, and we've used it extensively all over the country, Canada and Alaska, and even at home when the power went out due to winter weather, we recently purchased a home in the mountains where our coach cannot 'reach'(park nearby, if you know what I mean)... so we had to look at an 'emergency' backup as our home is totally electric.
We realized this AFTER the big ice storm(!) and a loss of electricity and heat and water for over 26 hours(doesn't seem like a long time now that I look back, but when you DON'T know when the power will be restored, you get very, very nervous!), we finally were able to get into town to search out a generator. None of the two hardware stores had any left. None of the Lowes and HomeDepots in cities nearby had any left. What to do now!! well.... someone gave me a tip - try the Auto Supply store. Really? Never thought of an auto parts store as a place to purchase a generator, but, yes(!), they had ONE generator in stock - a gas powered 3500watt pull crank model with two 15a outlets, wheels on the rear, and a handle on the front, for only $350... I'll take two!!!
I got it home(pulling up the mountain driveway thru the snow and ice! as the car could not get back up the mountain for a few days), added the fuel and oil, and cranked it easily on the first pull. Nice.
We had satellite TV, some added heat, and use of the microwave.... for all of one hour, that's when the power came back on! oh Well, this unit seems to be exactly what we need for those 'emergency' situations in the future. We'll see.

Glad your unit is working well, it will serve you well while camping. : )

[Evo2700]

Thanks for reminding me! I completely forgot to mention it’s parallel ready and has a 30 amp plug! Two important things I forgot to mention.

[Evo2700]

Got to use the generator for the first time on a camping trip last week. It was solid! I brought an extra 5 gal of gas cause I was nervous about the small fuel tank in the generator. This runs pretty efficiently. Our second day I topped it off to make sure it would get through the afternoon to run the AC fan a little bit, but I had to add barely any fuel. It was powerful enough to run anything I needed in the trailer and I kept it on eco mode the whole time.

Glad we made this purchase. With two small kids, it’s given up way more camping location options since having hook ups isn’t a big deal anymore.

[tomlista]

Will a 2200 watt generator run a camper AC? Trying to keep weight low....

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by tomlista

Will a 2200 watt generator run a camper AC? Trying to keep weight low....

I had a single Honda 2000 generator, so I think it’s more like 1800 Watts, but I’m not entirely sure. You can check specs if you want to verify.

I used a single one by itself to run the 15k A/C and it did... barely. I all but had to have all of the other breakers in the panel OFF for it to work. The generator would show an overload when the A/C kicked on but as long as it wasn’t overloaded for long, it would stay running.

Reading the manual, it says it shortens the generator’s life to be ran to the point of overload or something to that effect.

And I seriously couldn’t run anything else- if I wanted to run anything else, I’d have to stop the A/C and turn off its breaker before turning something else on.

It got annoying. I got a second Honda 2000 and paralleled them together.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by tomlista

Will a 2200 watt generator run a camper AC? Trying to keep weight low....

MAYBEif it's a 13.5 a/c.
You would have to turn everything off, including the converter.

My old 13.5 Dometic would with my Honda 2000i.
But my newer 13.5 Dometic won't.

[tomlista]

Thanks for reply... yes its a 2015 Domestic 13.5
So maybe a 2400 watt generator will work....

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by tomlista

Thanks for reply... yes its a 2015 Domestic 13.5
So maybe a 2400 watt generator will work....

I thought you said 2200w generator.
It would help if you posted what generator you're talking about.

[YBLee]

I did a lot of research on generators from our TT with a 13.5 K a/c. I have always had Honda generators both standard and inverter. I currently use a 6500 for power outages and it runs the whole house including well pump. The 6500 weighs over about 200 lbs. I wanted a smaller, lighter unit for the TT. Again, after a lot of research I bought a Harbor Freight Predator 3500 Inverter Generator. It works great and can be paralleled if needed to double the output.

[W5CI]

Originally Posted by tomlista

Will a 2200 watt generator run a camper AC? Trying to keep weight low....

NO WAY

[YBLee]

Originally Posted by YBLee

I did a lot of research on generators from our TT with a 13.5 K a/c. I have always had Honda generators both standard and inverter. I currently use a 6500 for power outages and it runs the whole house including well pump. The 6500 weighs over about 200 lbs. I wanted a smaller, lighter unit for the TT. Again, after a lot of research I bought a Harbor Freight Predator 3500 Inverter Generator. It works great and can be paralleled if needed to double the output.

PS: It will run a 13,500 AC unit.