Champion 73531i Generator Experiences Anyone?

[eberrobw]

Does anyone have any experiences with the Champion 73531i inverter generator (2000 Starting Watts/1600 Rated Watts, 53-59dB)?

I'm thinking of buying two of them ($489 each at Sam's Club) and running them parallel with the 73500i Champion Inverter Generator Parallel Kit ($89).

Any input appreciated.
____________________________

Bob

[eberrobw]

Ok, so I bought a pair of Champion 73531i generators and the Champion 73500i parallel kit.

It 100+ degrees here in Houston where I'm testing this configuration. The 11,000 BTU AC runs for quite a while (2+ hours) but eventually quits and the overload lights come on the generators.

I am using a long extension cord. Is the extension cord too long or are these Champion units not performing as I thought they would?

Any input appreciated.

__________________________________
Bob

[AirsDream]

It's hard to know ... my 11kBTU A/C runs fine on a Yamaha 2400 - and you've got a putative 3200 watts, which "ought" to be enough, unless the gennie ratings are "optimistic." So voltage drop in the "long extension cord" would be my first suspect. Why use an extension cord at all? ... if you can plug the trailer directly into the generators, I'd do so.

[eberrobw]

I've heard nothing but good things about the Yamaha 2400. What else can you run while running the A/C? I may go the Yamaha route!

Sorry if I confused you. I am running with the trailer plugged directly into the generators, but I'm using a very long cord. Should I get a shorter cord, does it matter?

__________________

Bob

[AirsDream]

Oh, yeah - length of cord is very important in preventing "voltage drop" (do a search on this on the Forums), as is wire gauge.

I'm still confused about the "very long cord" however. My A/S has a 30A rated cord of perhaps 25 feet and it's 10 AWG.

When I'm running the A/C on the little Yamaha, I don't try to run ANYTHING else ... I figure it's pretty maxed out. Even if it's not, I think it can use all the help it can get, especially on a very hot day.

[eberrobw]

I believe I'm using the same cord as you, I'll check tomorrow.

Thanks for the help AirsDream.

_______________________________________

Bob

[DKB_SATX]

If you're going to run the AC for long periods with say 50 feet of extension cord, you'll need really heavy duty cord. Are you using this long cord because you don't like the sound of the generators? Or it was just a convenient place to put the generators? If you don't have to, and don't happen to have a $100 10AWG extension cord around, you should just be plugging the shore-power cord from the trailer directly into the parallel kit. It's nice that it has a normal 30A RV socket so you don't need an adapter.

[TBRich]

Do those generators have an eco mode and a non-eco mode? If they do and you are running in eco, try switching the off eco and let them go full throttle. They will still ramp up when the compressor starts, and calm a bit when it's done its thing. I run our two Honda 2000s in non-eco in parallel for AC. Too bad the gas doesn't last as long (about 4 hours full throttle). You should not have a problem using the standard 25' shore power cord when using the gennies.

[eberrobw]

Running the A/C in non-eco mode with the 25' shore power cord things work just fine.

Thanks all!!

[tpi]

One other thing I'd suggest if running AC on generator or other marginal supply in hot weather is to switch refrigerator to gas. If you have low batteries, you may want to delay charging them till the evening, postponing the charging load which can be significant.

[eberrobw]

Thanks for the tips. A couple of other questions. When running the refrigerator on "gas" is any electricity used? Also how do I delay charging the battery, do I just select "store" on the store/use switch or is there something else I need to do?

Thanks,

Bob

[DKB_SATX]

Originally Posted by eberrobw

Thanks for the tips. A couple of other questions. When running the refrigerator on "gas" is any electricity used? Also how do I delay charging the battery, do I just select "store" on the store/use switch or is there something else I need to do?

Thanks,

Bob

Newer refrigerators like yours continue to use a tiny amount of 12V power to run the control board in gas operation, but it's negligible unless you're boondocking for long periods without a generator or solar to replenish the battery. With 4KW of generator power and running an 11k BTU AC, I don't think you have to worry about waiting to charge your batteries. You have nearly 2x the generator capacity required to RUN the AC, you really just need the extra capacity for startup and for all the other loads in the trailer. Now that you've sorted the issue with overload (either by eliminating the extension cord or turning off "Eco" mode, whichever was the culprit) you should have plenty of juice from that pair as long as you're not running the microwave, TV and AC all at the same time.

[tpi]

Originally Posted by eberrobw

Thanks for the tips. A couple of other questions. When running the refrigerator on "gas" is any electricity used? Also how do I delay charging the battery, do I just select "store" on the store/use switch or is there something else I need to do?

Thanks,

Bob

Mine will disconnect the batteries from the converter when the switch is in store position. The converter still will power any loads you want to hook up, but you 'll want to check the converter's manual to be sure its OK. On my Parallax 7355 its fine. The benefit for this is when the batteries are quite low and would draw several hundred watts of power. I have a Yamaha 3000 watt, run in the bed of a pickup truck. In very hot weather I choose to make life as easy on this generator as possible. This is not only good for the engine, but the inverter electronics. Running the refrigerator on propane and holding off charging moderately discharged batteries could save from 500-700 watts of power. When the sun goes down and it cools off, I'll put the load on the generator. In my opinion the fridge should be on gas at all times you're powering the trailer from a generator. It is more cost effective, although the difference is slight.