Champion 2500W Generator Results

[Dana H]

Took a calculated leap of faith with a Champion 2500W (1895W running) Generator & parallel kit, gas only and the MicroAir Soft Start kit for the 15K Coleman Mach AC, single system.
Purchased from Amazon thru Hutch Mountain, The generator thru HD. Hutch Mountain has a good web site with installation video plus the offer a very easy connect kit for a modest charge which made it very simple.
Did run across one issue with the generator startup and the Hugh's WatchDog 30amp Surge Protector not seeing a ground but with a 5 minute call to Hutch Mountain customer support solve the issue. This generator needed a neutral bonded plug to allow it to run the AC.

Ended up running around 1540Watts with ac only so got a little room for more loading.
Actually watched the ac wattage ramp up during the startup with the app for the surge protector.

Noise wise it ran about 60db at the 25' away which I thought was good, inside the TT less than 50dbs, idling on eco mode level was around 50dbs @ 23' away

At this point we are not "boondocking" but our thinking was to have some backup and have the capability for stopping and using the TT along the way at places.
The Champion also has the smaller cc engine size as compared to others but we think this will manage our needs for now plus can always add another generator thru the parallel kit.

The generator also needs to complete its run in.

Hopefully this may help someone else contemplating this sort of setup to met their needs.

 

[lonniewatkins]

Can you explain that you were able to have one generator, add the 30A plug and it worked. How did you hook up the plug?

 

[Heavysledz]

Can you explain that you were able to have one generator, add the 30A plug and it worked. How did you hook up the plug?

he stated that he had the parallel kit which has the 30amp plug on it. I guess it still works even if only hooked to one generator.

 

[lonniewatkins]

Trying to verify as I can’t find anything that tells me you can do it that way

 

[Rob+Kath]

Trying to verify as I can’t find anything that tells me you can do it that way

If my memory is working, and that's a big maybe,... It's on the Champion website. Somewhere in the FAQ's on the Genset or the Parallel kit, that question was asked. The Champion rep responded that you can use just one Genset with the parallel kit. Of course that does not give you any more power, just the connections.

I am currently doing the same testing with my Champion 2500. I do not have a soft start A/C and I do not yet have a parallel kit (100319).
Running propane, I attempted to start a 15K A/C unit. It did startup, but as it started the unit sounded like tennis balls in a dryer. The Generator was really grunting and I shut it down as quickly as I could. It may have worked, but I wasn't going to keep trying with that noise on startup. Lesson learned, I'll get a soft start for one A/C as soon as the budget allows.

I still have had trouble finding the 100319 Parallel kit, everyone is out of stock or crazy price. I'll keep looking.

Rob

 

[Dana H]

I attach only 1 generator to the parallel kit to have the 30A plug.
There is not an extact match parallel kit only compatible ones.

Take a look at the picture, I flipped the parallel kit upside down and put the gen on top.
I didn't have the 30A cord but the picture shows what I do by looping the cord thru the hand and then plugging in to the parallel kit. This sort of hold the heavy cord and plug in place. Figure I can use some sort of strap or twist strap to hold in place.
I plan to cut out four feet from some 1 x 4 pressure treated lumber and screw into the case screw holes.

I bought the generator & parallel kit from HD


With the WATCHDOG app you can actually see the compressor progress thru the startup in about bout 3 steps.
Fairly smooth and no flicking. Started adding lights and the water pump and the invertor and did did get a little flicker while the generator increased but nothing dramatic.
I think there will be enough room to add the TV but that's about it.
Using other electrical appliances will be need to require shutting down ac, but that works for us, for now.

Not sure about adding pictures hopefully this works

 

[Dana H]

Trying to verify as I can’t find anything that tells me you can do it that way

I open up the internal of the parallel kit component and it just parallel wiring, receptacles, and the breaker nothing sophisticated.

The connector lines are all insulated, capped and protected so no real chance of arcing.

I actually just made the assumption it is okay to only attach one generator

I looked thru both the manuals and nothing says you or can't.

You can go to the HD site and there are pdf documents that are available to read.

hope this helps you

 

[attaboy]

Congratulations Dana:
Glad it all worked for you especially the Easy start.
Do you happen to know how many amps the a/c was pulling on startup before the Easy start?
Thanks:
Bob A.

 

[lonniewatkins]

I attach only 1 generator to the parallel kit to have the 30A plug.
There is not an extact match parallel kit only compatible ones.

Take a look at the picture, I flipped the parallel kit upside down and put the gen on top.
I didn't have the 30A cord but the picture shows what I do by looping the cord thru the hand and then plugging in to the parallel kit. This sort of hold the heavy cord and plug in place. Figure I can use some sort of strap or twist strap to hold in place.
I plan to cut out four feet from some 1 x 4 pressure treated lumber and screw into the case screw holes.

I bought the generator & parallel kit from HD
View attachment 34852

With the WATCHDOG app you can actually see the compressor progress thru the startup in about bout 3 steps.
Fairly smooth and no flicking. Started adding lights and the water pump and the invertor and did did get a little flicker while the generator increased but nothing dramatic.
I think there will be enough room to add the TV but that's about it.
Using other electrical appliances will be need to require shutting down ac, but that works for us, for now.

Not sure about adding pictures hopefully this works

Thank you this helps alot

 

[Dana H]

I don't have the amps since I have been more focused on watts and it appears the wattage has dropped 100-200 watts. So that would correlate to a couple amps. Maybe 2-3 amps
My approach was focused on watts for the generator choice was to get to what I considered a sweet spot for our needs.
The start amps is a lot less as it appears the soft start goes thru 3 stages to get up to speed.
While I didn't take note exactly how many watts at each stage, I sort of recall a 200-300 watts initial start then jumped to 500 Watts and than ended at the 1500 watts
Final amps are at 13.4.
Next time I get some more numbers of the startup cycle and report back.

 

[attaboy]

I don't have the amps since I have been more focused on watts and it appears the wattage has dropped 100-200 watts. So that would correlate to a couple amps. Maybe 2-3 amps
My approach was focused on watts for the generator choice was to get to what I considered a sweet spot for our needs.
The start amps is a lot less as it appears the soft start goes thru 3 stages to get up to speed.
While I didn't take note exactly how many watts at each stage, I sort of recall a 200-300 watts initial start then jumped to 500 Watts and than ended at the 1500 watts
Final amps are at 13.4.
Next time I get some more numbers of the startup cycle and report back.

Dana:
It is not really important, I was just curious.
We all know the easy start uses less power I was just wondering How much.
I probably should have asked about watts not amps, my mistake (I know nothing about electricity).
Thanks:
Bob A.

 

[Tokamecotom]

I just picked up one of these generators to try on my Imagine 2500RL.

 

[Gurn57]

I also purchased one of the champion 2500 watt generator. While reading the manual I see where the neutral floats. Have any of you looked into any associated risks of shock using this generator without a ground rod? Looks like I need to hammer a four foot rod into the ground each time I need to run the thing. Any wisdom that you have to share? Thanks.


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