Wen 3800 Inverter Generator?

[CentralMePistol]

Anyone out there have the Wen 3800 Inverter Generator? Any problems or issues?
Also considering Champion 4000 Hybrid model.

Would really like to get a full 30amps (or darn close) so we can run ac and microwave when at rest stops for lunch and such. Also don't want to break the bank (<$1,000)...

[RBDTx]

WEN products has them on sale, now, at
https://wenproducts.com/collections/...-fuel-shut-off.

Amazon and HomeDepot both show them with quite favorable reviews.

I ordered one but have not received it, so can't comment on the actual product yet.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by CentralMePistol

Anyone out there have the Wen 3800 Inverter Generator? Any problems or issues?
Also considering Champion 4000 Hybrid model.

Would really like to get a full 30amps (or darn close) so we can run ac and microwave when at rest stops for lunch and such. Also don't want to break the bank (<$1,000)...

Don't buy Hybrid model. It's not a "true" inverter generator, like other Champion inverter generators.
It's much louder and only 3db quieter than the under $300 regular open-frame contractor-style 3500/4000w Champion generator.
I would get the 2000w inverter generators with parallel kit, which can be bought for under $1000. That way if you don't need to run the a/c, a single 2000w one will run everything else, including the microwave. Lifting a 50lb 2000w unit is way easier than lifting a 100lbs+ 3000w unit.

[HappilyLost]

I have one of the 3800s. Bought it refurbished I believe for 550 straight from WEN. I’m fortunately live close enough to their Illinois plant I could go get it. Mines worked great for me, and it’s quiet enough for power outages in the city. Always had enough power to have my ac going plus others.

[5picker]

Not a Wen but if you are looking for something to give you the full 3600w a 30a service can use, you might consider the Westinghouse iGen 4500.

4500w peak and 3700w continuous.

This generator is also sold under a few other names as well.

[CentralMePistol]

Originally Posted by bikendan

Don't buy Hybrid model. It's not a "true" inverter generator, like other Champion inverter generators.
It's much louder and only 3db quieter than the under $300 regular open-frame contractor-style 3500/4000w Champion generator.
I would get the 2000w inverter generators with parallel kit, which can be bought for under $1000. That way if you don't need to run the a/c, a single 2000w one will run everything else, including the microwave. Lifting a 50lb 2000w unit is way easier than lifting a 100lbs+ 3000w unit.

Thanks for the thoughts on the hybrid... It was in serious contention. I currently have the Champion 3800 duel fuel and feel it is WAY too loud. I do like the electric start and it fits nicely under my bed cover but I don't feel good running it unless we are the only ones around.

Getting two units to parallel isn't in the cards for me. We primarily travel in the summer months and nearly always run the ac when we stop. I often leave the gene in the truck bed, with the cover open of course and nothing around the gene, while it is running. Don't really want to have to set up the two gene's and parallel system before getting things fired up.

I liked the Wen for its watt size and its physical size. Big enough to power everything and small enough to fit in the truck bed under the cover. The ease of electric start is important to me. We like rolling to a stop where I can get out, open the bed cover, fire the gene up, grab the extension cord and plug in, and have the ac blowing in under 2 minutes. In fact I often had it down to 60 seconds... sounds silly but having the Mrs. and a baby on board makes this particularly useful.
The times I do take it out of the truck 100lbs isn't bad for me.... I'd like to consider myself in shape enough to handle it. And that is usually only on a couple of overnights where I have unhitched to go get gas or solve other problems. While traveling I am generally pretty self contained, roll up, gene, eat/nap, go. The longest part of the process is putting out the slide to give the munchkin some room to play!

[RECONUSMC]

Got the unit just before Xmas and it runs our FR Artic Wolf 5er just fine. The 15000 AC has a Easy Start on it and the unit never even starts to bog down. Unit is sturdy and the fuel shut off was a real deal maker for me. It is quiet and produces clean power and just break it in and change the oil after 5 hours. I run 20-50 Amsoil in it just like my motorcycles and it really purrs along. I also suggest additive to counter any ethanol effects to last a long time. Very easy to add a extended fuel tank also.

[RBDTx]

I have broken in and run our new WEN 3800. It is as quiet as I expected based on the dB numbers I saw before buying. It runs our 15k BTU Coleman ac just fine. (No easy start yet). No questions or issues so far. I have not owned a Honda (the “gold standard”) and this WEN is a recent purchase so I will have to defer comparisons. So far, I am glad I did not spend another $1200 for a Honda.

[bricam12]

I bought two of the WEN 3800 Inverters. Very quiet. One runs AC and a few other things just fine. I bought the 6000W parallel kit from WEN as well and unfortunately I cannot get it to run from the 50A connection on the parallel kit connected to my 50A 5er. Keeps tripping GCFI in the kitchen when I try to run the AC. Too much power? So one has great power but I was hoping to run everything with ease. Going to have to trouble shoot with WEN and FR I guess.

[formerFR]

why can't you just run most everything with the single unit? 3800watts is equal to an output of over 30amps, more than many, many campgrounds, and still plenty to run two 13.5kw roof air conditioners at the same time.

Are these two units built to accept the 'parallel' kit between the two, or does the second unit need to be a 'companion' unit that is designed slightly differently? A second paralleled unit may need to be a different 'phase' output from the first, since you are creating a '240v' output between the two, if that's the intent of the 'parallel' design.

[formerFR]

is the parallel device a 30amp output outlet? If so, it's not designed to parallel two units that are ALREADY 30amp outputs, like yours, but smaller WEN generators that don't already have that much output, like the 2000 models. If you have a parallel kit that doesn't give you a 50amp outlet, you are not going to get anything additional from paralleling your two units, they already have 30amps each.

Now, one thing you CAN do, to more-or-less, parallel these two 30amp outputs from the generator, is to simply purchase a 50-30/30 'dogbone' electrical adapter, which allows your 50amp Shore Cord to plug into BOTH of the generators, running at the same time, for up to 60amps of power into the RV...PLENTY for most any situation.

[bricam12]

I’ll order the 30+30 to 50 adapter and try that on both generators. The parallel kit has a 50A outlet and a 30A outlet and is rated for 6000 Watts. You’re saying that since the single generator only has a 30A output, that it nullifies the 50A option on the parallel kit? The generators are identical and both parallel ready. The instructions are to set up the parallel connections and the start them. I am wondering if the kit is better to help them run in sync (pure sine wave...) over the 30+30 to 50A? Here’s a link to the generators and kit. I really appreciate your help.

https://wenproducts.com/products/wen...-fuel-shut-off

https://wenproducts.com/products/50-...5da045e3&_ss=r

[Flybob]

The Parallel kit syncs the two generators which is important. The is a potential issue with a 30/30 to 50 adapter as there is a shared neutral in the Rv but they are separate in the generator.

[Steve-W]

Using a 50-30/30 'dogbone' is a bad idea. One of the functions of a parallel kit Is to sync the two generators together. The voltage, frequency, and Phase must be synced or the results will not be good.

[bricam12]

Thanks for all the responses. I understand what grounding and neutral mean, but what is meant by shared neutral in the trailer? Just one neutral circuit for the whole RV?

Any ideas as to why the 50A from the parallel kit seems to be a problem with the RV when both generators are running? I assumed that 2 generators and the parallel kit would allow me to use the 50A plug with a 50A outlet.

[Steve-W]

A 50 amp RV is wired as any normal 240 VAC house. There are 4 wires, 2 120 volt split phase conductors , 1 neutral, & 1 ground. The neutral carries the difference between the two phases. Yes all circuits in your rig share 1 neutral conductor.
Some GFI’s do not behave well with generators. The WEN parallel kit is 120 volt not 240 v. That should not create any issue. Although the max you Can draw from the parallel kit is 50 amps (6000 watts). When you are connected to a standard 50 shore power post you can pull 50 amps from each phase for a total of 12000 watts. First thing I would do is check the wiring on the parallel kit 50 amp outlet as it is possible that it is incorrectly wired.

[bricam12]

Thanks Steve! I’ll open the parallel connector and see if I can notice anything inconsistent. What you described was my understanding of how the parallel kit should work with the 2 generators (50A and 6000 max watts). I was wondering if it was a grounding issue as well. The connections to the generator from the parallel have a ground that you tighten to the generator, however it appears the face of the parallel unit has a screw and nut for attaching a ground as well. I did not ground the generators when I was running them in parallel even though the parallel grounds were connected to the generators. Think that is an issue? How would you ground it otherwise?

[bricam12]

Also, I was thinking of replacing the GCFI with a new one. Do you know if they just use normal 15A (#14AWG) ROMEX like you would use in your home? Not planning on changing wiring at all but I’ve swapped a number of outlets at home so I figured it would be the same.

[Steve-W]

As long as the grounds to the gennys are connected your good. No need for any other ground as that is handled through the shore cord.
Yes the AC wiring in the RV is standard Romex & wire gauge. The only non standard thing may be the color of the outer jacket of the Romex. FR tends to use the jacket color to differentiate different circuits.

Double check on the parallel kit outlet that you have 120v between each hot (X - W & Y-W) and the neutral (W). 120v between each hot and the ground(X-G & Y-G) and 0v between neutral and ground (W-G). Since this is a 120 v setup you should have 0V between the hots (X-Y).

[bricam12]

Got it to work! You were right on the wiring. They had neutral connected to Y, nothing connecting to W, and only X had a hot connection. I called WEN and they had me move the neutral to W and bridge X and Y. Thanks again for all your help.