After speaking to several friends last week in the Williamsburg Va area the wife and I decided to go ahead and take the plunge and get a generator. It had been on our list for a while but we kept putting it off.

Next we needed to decide what appliances we would want working if we had to use it. Freezer, refridgerator, few lights, maybe a window AC or fans. Nothing more we could worry about at this time. Water can be heated on the outside stoves if necessary to bathe. We don't watch much TV, movie here and there. Radio would be good but not a major influence since we have portables with batteries. Few house lights would be good.

We ended up talking about a 5000 watt unit. But something new came into play....could she start it? We tried a few, she had difficulty as always. Remote starts for these higher wattage units gets expensive.

Anyway, we ended up settling on subject generator and it arrived today.



Packaged well.







Simple to assemble in about 30 minutes. I believe some of the reviews I read on-line complained of poor instructions but if you have ever changed oil in your car you'll be OK.





Added oil, gas and it took off using the remote start key (like your car door opener). 124volts, 61 hz.





Overall I like it and believe it will do what were asking at this time. Not for sure on the long haul? Longest our power has ever been out is 6 hours, but our freezer loves to frost up when not running and it's a pain in the butt defrosting.

Did you order this from Cabelas? I was looking at the same one on their website. Also for the same reason, so that my wife could start it with the remote.

Does it have an in line fuel shutoff valve? That would not be a deal breaker to me as they are easy enough to install.

TIA

I ordered from Amazon.com, $490.00 total.

ETA: yes it does have a fuel shut off valve

Good report.  Everything I've seen says champions are good to go.

Would really like a review on the Champion when you get a chance.  It is on my short list of generators since it is far cheaper then the Honda 2000 even though you don't get the run time.  I'm torn between this generator and the Briggs 2000 inverter model.

This particular Champion isn't an inverter model.

Over at RV.net, there's a 199 page thread on the Champion 2000i inverter model. batmanacw also posted a pretty extensive review of the pair he has (couldn't find it with the Search function).

RV.net also has a 961 page thread on Champion non-inverter generators (including some discussion of the model that Casey1 purchased).

I realize that this isn't the inverter model but it does have a 120V outlet and they sell an adapter cord for very little so I shouldn't need an inverter right?  I just can't justify $700+ for something I may never use but want something solid in case I need it.  The Honda's are really nice but I just can't justify the money.

If you can get by without the arguably greater efficiency of an inverter model, then you have a lot fewer points of failure to deal with and potentially easier repair if something does fail.

It's probably worthwhile to study the parts list and gen head diagram and consider stocking a couple diodes, capacitors, brushes [if used], etc, whatever cheap electrical parts that can fail suddenly and are easy to diagnose and can have in some instances higher failure rates than purely mechanical parts.

Maybe the rear end bearing.

A carb kit, plugs, an after market gas filter, oil,  probably should be on the list.

Then it's a very good idea to learn how to diagnose and repair the genny -long before you find yourself in a bind.

The term inverter has two meanings around here.

1) An inverter you hook up to a (typically) 12v DC power source such as a vehicle battery or auto cigarette lighter to get AC power.

2) An inverter generator, such as the Honda EU series.  These generators adjust their throttle (and thus fuel consumption and noise level) based on the load, which can potentially yield excellent fuel economy compared to a 'regular' generator (such as the Champion in the OP).  

You don't need an inverter with a regular generator or with an inverter/generator.

Sam's Club sells Champion 1,600w/2,000w inverter generators for about $500.  You can get Genrac 2,000w inverter generators new on eBay for <$500.  A new Honda EU2000i will run about $950 or so, a comparable Yamaha is a bit less.  

Inverter generators are generally more expensive to buy and have the potential for more expensive repairs, but have the potential to be more fuel efficient.