Champion Generator Noise?

[smfranks]

I know I have read multiple reviews about this online.....but I wanted to see if I could get a tailored response to my current situation.

The main reason we bought this RV over the summer is to use for tailgating and the only spot we could get in the RV lot comes with no hookups. So for the first few games through September and October....Columbia, SC is still overbearingly hot and we will need AC. So, I took my 29 year old RV in to the shop yesterday to have the generator serviced and tuned up for this upcoming football season. The original Onan that is on the rig will work and purr fine until we turn on the AC and it overloads. It comes out that the stator is bad on the generator and they stopped making stators for my model in 1997!

So I am in a bind and need a solution within a week. I obviously am not going to be able to find a part in time so I am planning on buying a portable generator. I do not want to fork out $2000 for a Honda or a Yamaha and I am wondering if the $319 Champion 4000 would be okay to use for this season? Again, I am only going to be using this at football tailgates at most for 5 weekends this year. I am pretty confident that by next year I will be able to get a spot with 30 amp hookups so this will not be an issue for next year. In the lot I am in there will be at least 100 other RV's there so I am not sure noise level during the day would be an issue like it would be at a campground.

What do y'all think?

 

[Alfa38User]

The generator you mentioned will work fine for you but.... the noise produced by this beast will fail to make you any friends nearby. These generators (often referred to as contractor generators) are noisy and very annoying to neighbours. It will likely bother even you after a few hours of continuous operation!!

 

[smfranks]

Stu-

I understand the noise part. But we are talking about an SEC football tailgate with over 100 RV's in the lot with about half having to run generators. So I don't think anyone will be there to enjoy the scenery as much as they are to grill out and watch games on tv's until our game starts.

I know at camping world they advertise this generator has only putting out 68db.

 

[Ned]

I know at camping world they advertise this generator has only putting out 68db.
Modify message

A db measurement is useless without knowing the distance at which it was taken.

 

[tvman44]

The Champion noise level is not bad, we use one often, but the red & blue snobs complain anytime a generator is not red or blue.  They think everyone should have one or none.

 

[smfranks]

Ned,

They advertise 68 db at 23 ft.

 

[Ned]

That's very loud.  Here's a chart of the Honda generator noise levels at 7 meters (23 feet).  Every 3db difference is a doubling in sound level.  To reduce the noise from the Champion to the same as the maximum level of a Honda EU2000i you would have to be 8 times as far away.

 

[smfranks]

Ned,

From what I understand I wouldn't be able to use a Honda 2000 model to run my ac anyways. I would have to get 2 of them and pair them. Would 1 Champion 4000 be that much louder than 2 Honda 2000 models running enough to carry the load of my ac unit?

I guess another way to form my question...would the Champion 4000 alone and out in the open be louder than my 1984 Onan 6.5kw with a genturi smoke stack system that is already on the RV?

 

[Lowell]

You may want to try renting a generator for the first trip and see how much the noise bothers you.  I know the local Home
Depot rents 4 K generators.

I have a 4K Generac generator that I have used camping when I need to run the AC.  Where we camp most often, the temps don't require AC and then I take along a 1000 Watt Harbor Freight generator to keep the battery charged as needed.  Yes, they are nosier than a Honda but not so much that I would pay for the expensive Honda.  Now bear in mind that we only camp for 3-4 weeks per year and at least half of that is in campgrounds that have electricty.  If we were to camp for long periods of time at campgrounds without electricty, I would buy the Honda as then I feel we would get the value out of the price.

 

[smfranks]

Lowell,

That's my scenario. I am planning on using this generator maybe 5 times at the most in a tailgate atmosphere.

 

[Ned]

would the Champion 4000 alone and out in the open be louder than my 1984 Onan 6.5kw with a genturi smoke stack system that is already on the RV?

In my opinion, definitely.  And the Genturi doesn't affect the loudness much if at all but it does get the fumes up and away from you, and your appreciative neighbors.  Another advantage over a portable generator.

 

[smfranks]

So I just picked the RV back up and tested the generator out. It starts right up and sounds great. I can run all my lights, tv, fridge and stove hood fine. When I turn the all off and try to run just the AC you can hear it start to struggle and it doesn't fully run the unit. Basically the people at the shop said it was capping out at 2000 watts.

So I take it as good and bad news. Bad news that I have to buy a generator to run the AC. Good news is I will only need to run it about 3 times until it gets cold enough where I don't need the AC anymore.

 

[Jeff]

The folks you had look at your gen are probably very knowledgeable but before you shell out any more bucks I would check out one more possibility. Your AC has a soft start capacitor that helps take the load off the generator when the compressor starts up. If it isn't working it could cause what you are describing.

If you have one I would throw  a current clamp over your power cord while you are plugged into shore power and measure the change in amps when you turn on the ac for the first time. If it shows 15 amps or so at startup amd then drops back to 10-12 amps the ac is working properly but if it is 20 amps or more it will overload your generator.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Basically the people at the shop said it was capping out at 2000 watts.

Is 2000W its design limit or just the point where it dies under load?  I ask because most motorhome mounted generators are large than 2000 watts, even in a 29 year old rig. Seems like your old genset ought to be able to handle the a/c, but a new contractor grade unit may well be less expensive than fixing the old Onan.

 

[Great Horned Owl]

There are reasonably quiet generators that are much less expensive that the Hondas. For example, in addition to the big noisy contractor generators, Champion also makes inverter generators with specs (including noise) that are virtually identical to the Honda's specs. Tth diffrerence, is that they are about half of the price. Boily, Generac, and several other manufacturers also make "quiet" inverter generators.

Joel

 

[Alfa38User]

Considering that the original topic dates from 2013, it should be noted that today's inverter generators and those from that era are NOT the same as today. The article mentioned above seems to refer to what are often called open frame or construction generators which are inherently noisy and often run at full speed regardless of load. Inverter generators run only as fast as required by a given load, many of them are better baffled as well and are thus are much less noisy. The article is interesting though.

 

[Senator]

From what I understand I wouldn't be able to use a Honda 2000 model to run my ac anyways. I would have to get 2 of them and pair them.

Old post, but I run my AC with a single Honda 2200, one at a time.  I have a micro-air Easy Start on both of my ACs.