You can’t imagine a day without a heater or cooler in extreme weather conditions of winter and summer. You need your fridge running to keep food from spoiling. The solution to all those problems is a quality power generator when there is a power cut.
There are various sizes of generators available in the market from various brands. But, to fulfill most of your power needs, a 4000-watt generator is the best deal in terms of price, size, and power. The best choice in this category is the champion 100573 4000- watt generator.
There is also another 4000-watt model from the champion in the market, but it is more costly and doesn’t have some features which this unit has.
The power this generator provides will be enough to run most of the home appliances in the house, like lights, fridge, kitchen appliances, small heater, etc. Owing to its portability and lightweight construction, it is also great for camping and to power an RV.
The name of the unit contains the word “Digital Hybrid Open Frame Inverter.” It means that the generator has all the plus points of a conventional open frame generator. It doesn’t cost much, maintenance is easy, and it provides increased power. Despite the open frame design, it doesn’t generate loud noise and has better efficiency than conventional generators.
This is a portable generator, and anyone can operate it very conveniently. It is powerful and fuel-efficient. The eco mode will tune the fuel consumption based on the load connected. Moreover, the remote start capability is a cherry on the top.
Table of Contents
Overview
Design
In terms of sturdiness and quality of materials, they have used the best materials. The heavy-duty plastic and metal construction can easily take a beating. Champion doesn’t compromise on anything. The generator has all-metal construction with few exceptions.
The generator is portable, and it weighs about 96.8 pounds. As there is a foldable carrying handle and wheels at the bottom, you can easily move the unit from one place to another. On one side, the generator has a control panel laced with many outlets and buttons.
Besides the control panel, you will see the recoil start, and if the battery goes dead, it will come in handy. The oil fill cap and the oil drain is on the same side as the control panel.
On the opposite side of the control panel, there is a muffler and exhaust. A spark arrestor is also there, and it will collect stray sparks. On the left side of the control panel, there is air intake and battery. Same as every other generator, on the top, it has a metal fuel tank that can store up to 2.9 gallons of gasoline.
Power
The Champion 100573 packs plenty of power in a compact unit. The unit features a powerful 224cc gasoline engine. The engine is EPA and CARB compliant, which allows the generator to be used anywhere you like.
This open-frame unit incorporates the inverter technology, and its working mechanism ensures that the THD rating doesn’t go above 3%. So, now you can power your electronics worry-free.
The low THD rating became possible because of the true sine wave inverter. The generator is quiet. When it works in the eco mode, it reduces the fuel consumption and adjusts the output power based on the load.
The generator generates 4000 starting watts and 3500 running watts. When you need more power, then you can connect another same generator in parallel to increase the power output. Then the starting watts will be 8000 and the running watts 7000.
Control Panel
There are a variety of power outlets on the control panel. On the leftmost side, it has LED indicators for output, overload, and low oil levels. They will glow in appropriate instances.
On the top of the lights, it has a choke, and the choke has a bit of an unconventional push-button type design. The choke only needs to be turned on when using a recoil start; for an electrical or remote start, there is no need for a choke.
It has an Eco Mode switch, and different circuit breaker reset switches. There is also a ground terminal and parallel connection ports.
Moreover, there is one 12 V DC power outlet where you can insert a USB adapter that comes as an accessory. It has one 120 V 30 A RV outlet, two 120 V 20 A household outlets. That’s all the control panel contains. Keep in mind that, unlike other models, this unit doesn’t come with intelligauge.
Fuel Consumption
The generator has 2.9 gallons of fuel tank. This unit is more fuel-efficient than the conventional ones. On a 25% load, you will get about 17 hours of runtime. Moreover, when you turn on the Eco mode, the runtime will increase a bit more.
Starting Methods
This generator features three starting methods, electric start, remote start, and recoil start. A power button is provided just next to the control panel. When you press it once, it will start blinking, which means that the generator is online.
Now, you can start the generator by either pressing the button once again or using a remote keyfob. A remote keyfob will work from as long as 80 feet away from the unit.
The keyfob has two switches on it, the first one is to start the generator and the other to turn it off. If the battery goes dead, then there is also a recoil starter. The choke will need to be pressed if you want to use the recoil start.
Applications of Champion 4000-watt inverter
This open-frame inverter Generator can generate the peak power of 4000 watts and 3500 running watts. So, let’s see what it can run with that power.
1. Powering an RV
The most power-consuming appliance of an RV is an Air conditioning system. So, can this inverter power your AC or not. Well, it will depend on the size of your air conditioning unit. The typical size of RV AC is 15000 BTU or 10000 BTU.
The former one requires 3500 starting watts and 800 running watts, while the latter one will need 2000 starting watts and 650 running watts. So yes, you can power the AC in your RV, but it limits the number of other appliances you can power simultaneously.
If you have a 15000 BTU AC unit, then you will have 500 watts to accommodate other appliances; you can power the TV, lights, and few chargers. You might also need to use the laptop along with that. So, there are high chances that the generator will trip due to the overload.
But, if you have a 10000 BTU AC unit, your problems will go away as you will have 2000 spare watts to run other appliances. To power a bit more demanding appliance like a Microwave, the best course of action is to turn off the AC unit for a while.
2. Using it as a Home Backup
Same as the RV, you will need to keep in mind the specific power requirements of every appliance you choose to power. With this power, the generator can run a refrigerator and a few other appliances. It can also run a small AC unit and a microwave. But you will need to take off the load to run them simultaneously.
Moreover, a refrigerator runs in on-off cycles. So, if you decide to run it, then make sure that the inverter always has starting watts required for the refrigerator available all the time. Otherwise, the generator will trip due to overload.
You can use other appliances like TVs, vacuum cleaners, hairdryers, but you will need to adjust them with the available power. If there is not enough, then you might need to take off some of the appliances to make space for others.
3. Using it at a Jobsite
For an RV and Home solution, you know the power requirement of almost all the appliances which you need to run. But that is not the case at the job site, and there will be many numbers of power tools starting and turning off randomly. The starting power will be more for some tools while less for some others.
Tools like angle grinders, saws, etc., will require more starting power, while a small electric drive will require less power. There will be enough power to run other small tools even when running the circular saw and an angle grinder.
Conclusion
This Champion open frame inverter Generator is a quality product that comes at a reasonable price. It is better than a generator from some no-name company that you never heard of. The brand has a high value in the market thanks to its quality products.
Moreover, Champion has the best in class customer support. They will politely solve all your queries. The customer care number is provided on the unit, and when you dial, an actual person will answer your call.
The unit comes with many accessories in the box. Also, the 3-year warranty from the brand is just the thing anyone needs for their peace of mind. This is a solid device with many important features. It is portable, efficient, and has a versatile control panel. So, keep this in mind when making a decision.
Other Related Generator Reviews:
Champion 100520 8750-Watt Open Frame Inverter Review
Champion 3800-Watt Dual Fuel Portable Generator Review
