Thanks to some well timed answers from some of the guys posting here, I was saved from the sirens-song of Harbor Freight, and nudged toward the Champion 46598.  Before I saw this actual thread, I'd wandered to tractorsupply.com, and discovered this deal for myself.  

I got my genny, as well as the 48036  25'  generator cable.  The cable has 4 20 amp outlets on one end and connects to the genny via the NEMA L14  receptacle.

Instructions are lacking, I'm not using the genny today, and I can call Champion on Monday.   It appears to me that with this cable, you must select 120v or 240v.   I  assume that 120v is always the proper choice ( first choice, anyway) and that the 240v would only be used when connecting to home, or to an appliance that is 240v.

Random Amazon.com reviews, however, suggest that the cable must be run in 240v mode (not sure what happens if 120v is selected) and further that it provides two parallel 120v runs, shown on the color coded 20amp outlets.

Can anyone confirm?

the cable you purchased,
http://www.amazon.com/Champion-Power-Equipment-No-48036-Generator/dp/B005Z17WLE
provides qty 4 NEMA 5-20R receptacles (rated 120Vac 20A, 3 wire [L1, N, GND]) at one end, and a NEMA L14-30P plug(rated 120/240Vac 30A, 4 wire [L1, L2, N, GND]) at the other end .  

the generator has two operating modes:
1) single phase, 120Vac output at 30A (1 circuit of 120Vac x 30A = 3600W)
2) split phase, 240/120Vac output (2 circuits of 120Vac x 15A = 3600W)

recall that in a split phase power system (item 2 above), there are three combinations of connections, with two voltages resulting:
a) L1 to N, resulting in 120Vac
b) L2 to N, resulting in 120Vac
c) L1 to L2, resulting in 240Vac

for the cable you have purchased, it utilizes connection (a) for two receptacles, and connection (b) for the other two receptacles.  there is no 240Vac present at the receptacles.  if the cable were wired differently, it could provide 240Vac -- for example to power a larger well pump.  but the cable you have purchased simply presents two 120Vac 15A circuits, and each of those two 120Vac 15A circuits is terminated in 2 NEMA 5-20R receptacles.  

long story short, for use with that cable the generator should be set for 120/240Vac operation using the switch on the front panel.  i noticed that on the faceplate this position is marked as "240 VOLT" but reality is that this results in a 120/240Vac split phase output at the L14-30R receptacle.  you can confirm this by looking at the supplied schematic.  with the switch in the "120 VOLT" position no power is supplied to the L14-30R receptacle.  the L14-30R receptacle on the generator is correctly marked as "120/240 VOLT".

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_10_17/668846_Champion_generator_model_46598_3_5KW_running___4_0KW_surge___observations__details__and_photos.html

ar-jedi

Thanks.


I think I can safely assume that I'm not the only other member that doesn't understand the schematics you referenced (hence, my questions) but thanks!

Ok so I've been eyeing a generator for a while, and jumped on this. But being my first generator can someone recomend the best value cord?

And on a seperate note would like to eventually have my house wired. Could someone point me to a thread or site where I can start leaning the basics?

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_139/1677899_Electricians__or_otherwise_knowledgeable_DIYers__confirm_my_possible_generator_setup_.html&page=1#i50002339

ar-jedi

If you run searches after reading the nice link you will find a lot of threads and more links and more advice.



It was a year or two when I finally spent a couple hundred bucks or more on a few extension cords.



Up until that point I already had 100s of ft of extension cords, some cut in half by hedge trimmers even.  Hand me down cords are fun.



When I bought 3 decent extension cords my little genny that barely could became the genny that always could.  For my stuff anyway.



I asked at some point about making my own cords vs. buying cords and price wise buying em on sale or with a coupon works out fine and I know they were assembled by someone else.



Heck, running stuff off small circuit breakers even became easier in the house to outside because the big quality extension cords have some decent sized wire to carry a bit of power.



I still have the small little ol extension cords around.  They might have a use.  Like wiring up the utility trailer or something.



I need portable stuff and while the genny can't run everything at once it can be swapped around as needed and in a few hours will have run all the fridges and freezers and charged the batteries and whatever else I want to do like run the hot water heater for a shower perhaps, and then I can shut it down til the next day.



Pay attention to the post about the smoke being let out of the generator, while you can find bottles of lucas smoke for english electrical devices it is still awfully hard to put the smoke back in.



I sometimes forget why I don't have a suicide cord, then I remember that I would forget something like that and while I know I would not kill the lineman working on repairs I do know I would smoke my little genny at some point.



That is just how I am to some extent.  Brain works great on some stuff, others I need a few classes at that school of hard knocks.  And sometimes the first class does not knock hard enough and I need a summer class or perhaps extra credit.

--> http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_139/1677899_Electricians__or_otherwise_knowledgeable_DIYers__confirm_my_possible_generator_setup_.html&page=1#i50007487

ar-jedi

Yes. No question.  It runs my well pump and that is 3/4 hp.

Just a quick update....

I installed an hour meter on my generator yesterday evening and fired it up for its maiden run. I bought a small digital hour meter from McMaster-Carr and installed it in the main panel. Cutting the hole for the hour meter was pretty tedious, but doable. There's just not a lot of free space on the back side of the panel. And, I didn't have the time or patience to disconnect everything on the panel and remove it completely so I just unbolted the panel and let it hang. I supported it with some wood blocks and tried to be a little gentle with it. I found where I thought was the best place to put it, scribed some layout marks, drilled a starter hole with a unibit and then trimmed it to fit with my roto-zip. (Tried my Dremel first, but it was an effort in futility.) I hooked the hour meter up to the voltage meter in the panel, filled it with oil and gas and pulled the starter cord. It fired on the first pull. I plugged in an electric fan running on high and an electric space heater with fan and let it run for just over five hours. I checked the volt meter several times during that time and it never wavered. I had the generator sitting just outside my living room window while it was running and the noise level was almost unnoticeable. I had to turn down the TV volume a couple of times to be sure that it was still running. Tonight, I changed the oil (I used 10W30 synthetic on the startup and when I changed it.) refilled the gas tank and added a couple ounces of Stabil and put her away. I'm most happy with the purchase and would like to thank the OP again for the heads-up on this. Now I just need to spend a little time and money to make sure I can quickly switch over what I need to switch over to generator power when the need arises. Here is a crappy cell phone pic of the placement of the hour meter.

Thanks for the info!

Does anyone have a specific suggestion for a voltmeter or hour meter?  

Also, the sum of suggestions for oil seems to be dinosaur remains for break in (I can't understand why) then use either natural or synthetic.

Again, thanks to the patient, knowledgeable learned member here who are willing to help less knowledgable members

In hindsight, I might go with an analog hour meter if I was to do it over. With an analog gauge the hours would always be visible regardless of whether the machine was running. Also, I got in a hurry and didn't realize that the switch that toggles the generator output between 120V and 240V had a 3rd, center position. In the center position, none of the receptacles are hot and therefore there is no feed to the unit's volt meter and none to the hour meter I piggybacked onto it. Its not a deal breaker for me because I'm not going to have the unit sitting around and running idly just to hear it run. When in use, or when I run it periodically to test it and keep it ready, I'll have a load on it and won't have to worry about the switch being in the "off" position. Without doing some probing with a multimeter, I'm not sure where I'd hook the hour meter so that it had voltage anytime the engine was running. The voltage meter was in close proximity to the hour meter location and had long enough screw terminals on the back to make connecting the hour meter leads relatively easy.

ETA: The most trouble I had was getting the right mount of oil in the damned thing. The book say the crankcase holds .63 quarts. If my math isn't completely failing that should be ~20.12 oz. I poured just a spoonful over 20 ounces of oil into the crankcase and it ran out all over my floor. I drained enough out to get the fill level corrected, but I'm thinking that about 1/2 quart is closer to being its true capacity. I don't think you can squeeze 20 ounces into it.  I had the same results when I changed the oil tonight. I'm not sure how much I used because I was just more careful and only filled it until it was full. I'd be interested in hearing the experiences of others as to oil capacity.

Just now found the thread and its $299 - did I miss the sale?

I just looked at the link in the 2nd post in this thread and it looks like the sale is still on. They also show free shipping to the store for orders over $49.00.

So the sale was only $30?  The shipping savings is worth a bit more, it seems.