Champion Power Equipment 4500-Watt Electric Start Dual Fuel RV Ready Portable Inverter Generator with Quiet Technology

We own an off grid property. I have two of these units. I alternate between the two, to charge our lifepo battery pack and to power tools etc. They start great, are very quiet compared to an open frame unit. Neither have given me any issues, both are at 600 hours of run time. I change oil every 50-75 hours with full synthetic. I clean and maintain per the manual. I readjusted valves at 300 hours on both as well as replaced spark plugs. (Both tasks very easy to do) when the time comes to replace I will definitely go back to Champion. Not sure if they sell rebuild kits for the engines but that could be another option. Ring off grid it’s nice having the dual fuel option. I have run low on gas and used propane. Less emissions for from propane but not as efficient as gas for power. I have the 50 am link set up which runs my welder without any issues. Only complaint……. I wish the dual fuel units had remote start.

I have owned this generator for 3 years and have put nearly 900 hours on it. The only issues I have had with it were...1: After running it non-stop in 115+degree weather for 7 days while powering my campervan and a friend's pop up tent camper, both running a/c units, the next camping trip the generator failed to start. Turned out to be low oil and a quick oil change fixed the issue. 2: I've only used the gasoline tank once, right after I purchased it and it has remained empty ever since. Last fall I discovered the tank had rusted out and is no longer usable. Not a big deal for me because I run it on propane. Other than that, this generator has been one of the best purchases Ive ever made. It sips fuel. When not running my a/c it will run 48+hrs non-stop on a 7.5gallon propane tank.

Unboxing and Setup: This was very straightforward. The included instructions are very easy to follow. Read the instructions before trying to operate this unit. It came with a tool kit including a funnel that is perfect for filling the oil. The weight of the is pretty hefty at 103 lbs so lifting it up to tailgate height by yourself might be a challenge or cause injury if done awkwardly. Two-person lift if highly suggested.Running: The unit is fairly quiet for a 4500-watt genny. Once I fired it up, I verified that it would run my camper's AC and other systems and it performed flawlessly. Running the AC on a warm day with my 15K BTU air conditioner was only using about 20% capacity which truly surprised me. I put it through its paces and turned on every light in the camper and tried the microwave. No issues here either. This genny was running at only 80% load with everything turned on. The only thing I didn't turn on was the electric part of the water heater which may have pushed it over the limit, but I'm not too worried about this as I usually run it on propane and would never be running everything in the camper at the same time on generator power.First Run: After going through all of the steps, removing the shipping nuts, and adding the included break-in oil, I hooked it up to propane and it fired up instantly. FYI. It would not start with the knob turned to "choke" but fired up instantly when in the run position. I'm not sure that propane would ever need to be choked to start. I also purchased a magnetic dipstick and installed this prior to starting it for the first time. See "Break-In" below.Break-in Procedure: Get a few quarts of regular cheap motor oil either 5w-30 or 10w-30 AND one quart of high-quality fully synthetic oil. (I prefer 5w-30 as it can get quite cold where I live. 5W-30 flows better when cold but offers the same high temp protection as 10w-30. I installed a magnetic dipstick before starting it for the first time. I ran the engine in eco mode with no load for about 20 minutes and then bumped it up to full speed for another 10 minutes with no load and then drained the oil. It was pretty glittery when shining a flashlight into it. The magnetic dipstick was covered in fine metal shavings/dust. This is normal for a new engine! Don't panic. This is why a proper break-in procedure is important folks. Drain and refill with regular cheap oil (1/2 qt) and repeat this procedure but now add varying loads and RPMs on the generator. NOTE: One thing I like to do on each oil dump, is to pour a little new oil in after the oil has drained with the drain plug/hose still open. This will help to "rinse" out more particulate before closing the drain and adding oil. You'll see less particulate in the oil and on the magnetic dipstick (if you purchased one) every time. Repeat this procedure adding time and varying loads in between changes/flushes until you see clean oil coming out with little to no glitter in the oil. (This took me about 6.5 hours of run time with several oil changes.) Now that you are satisfied with the oil coming out, add your fully synthetic high-quality oil and run it for a few minutes before putting it away. Make sure to put a label on it showing how many hours are on the unit and/or when the next change is due so you know when to change the oil. The manual suggests 100 hours under normal use and 50 under heavy use. Personally, I would change this at no more than 50 hours no matter what. It's super easy to change the oil and it only holds 500ml or 1/2 of a quart.Floating Ground: Like many generators, this one has a floating ground. If you plan on using this in an RV with an EMS (Electrical Management System), you'll likely need a ground/neutral bonding plug. If you don't use one of these, you'll likely get an error and you'll either have to bypass your EMS or you won't have power.Ground: Make sure that you always ground your generator! You should have a copper grounding rod at a minimum of 4 feet in length driven into the ground or an acceptable connected ground source using 12 gauge wire.Propane: Theoretically propane has an infinite shelf life assuming the tank doesn't rust through completely unlike gasoline with ethanol. This is one of the primary reasons I purchased a dual fuel generator. The last thing I want is to "need" the generator and it won't run because gasoline went bad and ruined the fuel system. The generator starts up instantly in the run position every time with propane and has a longer run time than gasoline.Gasoline: I have not put gasoline in it yet as I don't plan on using gasoline. Today's gasoline doesn't have a very long shelf life now that the corn lobbyists and the government have forced 10% ethanol in most gasoline. We have to be careful how long we store it. Ethanol-blended gas only has a shelf life of up to three months because of the high speed at which ethanol oxidizes. Because ethanol is hydrophilic (a.k.a., water-loving), it will also readily absorb any water or humidity in a sealed container resulting from condensation, causing both moisture contamination of the fuel and the eventual separation of the fuel into distinct gas and ethanol layers. This will ruin a fuel system in short order and will also cause your fuel lines to rot. Varnish in your fuel system is a nightmare too and often requires the replacement of the carburetor and/or fuel lines.Never Again: I'll never go on another trip again without it. Last summer on the hottest day of the year (128F heat index), I was pulling my 5th wheel camper with my family and three dogs through the Mark Twain National Forest on the way to our destination. If you're familiar with the area, you'd know that there is zero cell coverage for any carrier, so breaking down is a bad thing. Well, as my luck would have it, my truck decided to break down on a narrow 2 lane twisty highway with tons of blind curves and hills. We were dead in the water with no help in sight or the ability to call anyone. The temperature started to rise immediately in my black truck. The actual temperature was 105 degrees, but the high humidity that day put the heat index at 128F which became unbearable in a short time. I was under a great deal of stress, and on top of that, laying on top of a hot engine in a black truck trying to get it running in those kinds of temperatures was extremely dangerous. I was on the verge of a heat stroke with no relief in sight. I was in bad shape. While I already had a small 2000 Watt portable inverter generator, it was not sufficient to power the AC unit on my rig as I didn't think of it as a priority and didn't think I would really "need" AC. I was wrong!. I'll never take a trip anywhere in my rig again without this 4500 Watt dual fuel unit which is capable of running my AC units.

I bought this gen, on the advice of a friend, when I bought my LQ horse trailer. So far, I have used it twice in emergency situations for backup power.In winter, it ran all night on 1 tank of gas, in summer, with A/C running on low cool full thermostat, it ran 8 hours on a tank. I am impressed with the esse of starting, it fires right up everytime!It fits perfect in my tack compartment under the lower saddle rack.

We originally bought this generator in 2022 because we live in the mountains of Upstate South Carolina and outages are not uncommon. It is dual fuel (propane or gasoline), which we bought because we have an underground propane tank and wholehouse system.However, I did not realize that the propane fitting for the generator is not the same as for our wholehouse system. And you can't get a propane adapter for the generator, presumably because they don't want you running the generator without regularly checking on it.Having said that, the generator got its first real test after Hurricane Helene. We have been running it for 72 hours, with cool-down breaks before refilling the gas tank.Even though the manual says it will run for 16 hours on one tank of gas, it has been running quietly on a full tank (two gallons) for 22 hours at a time, providing power for two refrigerators, a floor lamp, floor fan, an occasional hair dryer or tv, and various charging devices.The electric start works well, although you may have to use the pull start if it hasn't been started in a while.All in all, it is an excellent product. And we are VERY grateful to have it after this nasty storm.