Extend gen/inverter run time

[fella10]

I have a Champion 3400/3100w inverter model 100261 coming Monday, bought from Bottom Line Trading(BLT), the man in the video showing the Champion extended run mod, is one of the four owners,......I called BLT for info before placing my order and he answered the phone,... very nice conversation with him, it is a Christian owned company, bold enough in their faith that they even have a "statement of faith" page on their website, which is so unusual in the "politically correct" business world of today,.......I've watched the video, studied the lists from AJABOTT and hbillsmith, and am very interested in doing this mod after I've had a little time to use the gen. and be sure there's no warranty issues to address,.....has anyone following this thread done this generator mod, .........if you have, please post your results, I'm sure I'm not the only one who would like to hear how it turned out,.................

[hbillsmith]

Originally Posted by fella10

I have a Champion 3400/3100w inverter model 100261 coming Monday, ...has anyone following this thread done this generator mod, .........if you have, please post your results...

I did the conversion and it worked as expected. I setup my laptop close to my workbench and followed the Pinellas YouTube video step-by-step.

The only thing you will do different than what's in the Pinellas youtube video is you will make your own PCV replacement valve consisting of a couple of small (about 1.25") hose pieces you will cut from the 5 ft. fuel hose, a T-connector and a Check Valve. All of the pieces are in the shopping list I posted (make sure you get the last (3rd) posting '..FinalV2', not the earlier ones). Your handmade PCV valve will look exactly like the one from Pinellas.

The most difficult thing was getting the t-connectors pushed onto the tight fuel hose. After the first couple, I figured out that I could moisten the T slightly with spittle and it slipped in easier. Also, I mounted my Honda fuel pump close to the left edge of the Air Breather Box and wish I had centered it more like Pinellas did as it wouldn't have been so tight in there for me. Didn't cause any problems, just would have been a little neater.

Once complete, I turned the fuel selector knob to "Off", hooked up my marine tank, pumped the bulb just like I do to prime my outboard, turned on the choke, pulled the start cord and it ran like a Champ! for about an hour until I decided to turn it off. While running, I just disconnected the external fuel tank hose and let the unit run itself out before putting it away. I never put any fuel in the onboard tank and just ran from the external.

I didn't rush this project and I would say after all the parts had arrived, the actual installation took about 4 hours and I did it over a couple of days. If you are handy with tools and such, you could probably get it done in an hour. Wait until all your parts arrive. I sourced everything through Amazon because I have Prime account and that just made it easier (my total parts cost was $78) but you can find a lot of these pieces cheaper elsewhere (eBay, Walmart, etc.) if you are so inclined. My marine tank is a 15 year old 6 gallon Yamaha style so I didn't need to get a new tank.

[fella10]

Originally Posted by hbillsmith

I did the conversion and it worked as expected. I setup my laptop close to my workbench and followed the Pinellas YouTube video step-by-step.

thanks bill, ..... in the video, he did the mod and then just stopped, without ever showing any evidence that it did work,..... that left me wondering "hey, does this idea really work",....... thanks for your reply and all the other work you put into the list and info you've provided,... I've already moved all the parts into a "shopping list" I have on Amazon, but it will be a little while before ordering and doing the mod, as stated in my previous post,.....again, thank you......

[hbillsmith]

You can either buy the Pinellas Champion Extended Runtime kit thru Bottom Line Trading or you can source the parts individually and use their video to guide your install which is what I did. I found everything on Amazon. If anyone is interested, here are some PDF files with my notes and parts list.

[hbillsmith]

Originally Posted by hbillsmith

You can either buy the Pinellas Champion Extended Runtime kit thru Bottom Line Trading or you can source the parts individually and use their video to guide your install which is what I did. I found everything on Amazon. If anyone is interested, here are some PDF files with my notes and parts list.

It has been about a year and 20 trips, 11,000 miles, 50 hrs run time on the genny. Still runs perfect and I can run it all night with A/C on no problem.

[Skyliner]

I'm having an issue with the instructions and videos. Can anybody draw/post a simple schematic of the fuel flow/routing? I'm just not getting it and blame two TBIs from previous career for not being able to follow the instructions.

Where is the gravity fuel tank supply line routed to with this mod? Is it still gravity fed or ran inline with the fuel pump that is powered by PCV pulses?

Thanks,
Drew

[hbillsmith]

Originally Posted by Skyliner

I'm having an issue with the instructions and videos. Can anybody draw/post a simple schematic of the fuel flow/routing? I'm just not getting it and blame two TBIs from previous career for not being able to follow the instructions.

Where is the gravity fuel tank supply line routed to with this mod? Is it still gravity fed or ran inline with the fuel pump that is powered by PCV pulses?

Thanks,
Drew

Drew,
I did my best to explain using the 'commented screens pdf'. I just ran the Pinellas video over and over, freezing the frames as I went along. I will tell you that I did this on a laptop with the Champion covers off and it sitting on a table in front of me.

To answer your question about fuel supply line, when complete, both the gravity fed tank and the external tank will go thru the fuel pump. If you run with the Champion fuel selector knob set to On AND you have the External tank connected to new marine port you add, then the fuel pump would be pulling fuel from both tanks. The proper operation is that:

A) if you want to use the gravity tank, don't connect the external tank OR
B) If you want to use the external, turn OFF the selector knob.

In the video, he cuts the line that comes from the Fuel Selector now leading to the Carb and inserts a T connector. One side of the T gets the cut Fuel Selector Line and the other side of the T gets the new hose that leads to the external feed via the new inline filter. The bottom of that T gets the cut line that's goes into the carb.