Champion Power Equipment 2500-Watt Ultralight Portable Dual Fuel Inverter Generator

Update: Had our first power outage since purchasing this generator. Have not cranked it up since break-in. This time it actually started easier than during break-in. Maybe the 5W-30 Full Synthetic oil helped. I connected the propane tank and turned the dial to choke. Pulled the cord quickly 5 times and smelled propane. (This is good since To indicated that the propane has reached the carburetor). Switched the dial to propane and it started first pull. The generator ran for 6 hours powering the security system, one lamp, an LED TV and sound system, cable box and modem, router, computer and monitor, and refrigerator. No problems. The oil level after six hours was unchanged. Again, so far so good.2500 dual fuel portable generator.Today I ran through the break in schedule with a few modifications. A total of six hours on propane. I was expecting a significant amount of metal debris but I was pleasantly surprised.Here was my break-in schedule and results: After adding the included 10W-30 conventional oil, I ran the generator for one hour (after I got it started. More on that later.) alternating between no load and 1/4 load after running on no load for the first 15 minutes. When I emptied the oil, it looked very clean with only a small amount of VERY fine metal dust on the tip of the magnetic dipstick that I had purchased for this generator. I added fresh conventional 10W-30 oil and ran it for two hours alternating between no load, 1/4 load, and 1/3 load. Again emptied the oil. It was still only slightly dirtier than the first change and again only a small amount of metal dust. I added fresh 10W-30 again and ran the generator for three hours alternating between no load, 1/4 load, and 1/2 load. I then drained the oil again. It was considerably dirtier than before but little observable metal debris. Finally I filled the generator with 5W-30 full synthetic oil and ran the generator at 1,500 watts for 30 minutes. No problem. My break in schedule was a little work but I think it will make a difference in performance and longevity in the long run. While maybe a little overkill, for a $6.00 quart of oil and a little time, it was worth it to me. During all the break in, I used the ECO mode for up to 1/3 load and then ran on full throttle for 1/2 load or higher. It ran smoothly in both settings. There was very little oil usage during the break in runs. So far I am very satisfied with this generator so far. I can’t speak to long term reliability.Now to starting: The temp was 75 to 86 degrees with moderately low humidity during the break in period. You will read a number of comments about difficulty in starting the generator on propane and ways to help. They are mostly right except the generator WILL start with a little patience and some elbow grease. After starting the generator for the first time, it was very easy to start after that. Getting it primed is the issue. Some folks indicated that they usually started the generator first on gasoline, then switched to propane. I’m sure this would work but I am trying to use only propane except in an emergency for obvious reasons (No treating the gas then draining before storage. I know first hand how quickly a carburetor can gum up.) I also considered giving the air intake a little spritz of starting fluid but decided against that. Maybe in very cold weather. I’ll have to do some research on that. The trick is to get the propane out of the tank, through the regulator and hose, and into the carburetor. With the dial set on choke I pulled the rope about six times then turned it to propane-nothing. Back to choke and pulled it another six times. This time it fired up after three pulls when I turned to propane. After that when the engine was warm, it started on one or two pulls without choking. I’m a little tired but satisfied. I will have to see how it goes in cold weather. By the way —I’m 76 years old and in terrible shape. If I can start it, most anyone should be able to.Misc: For load testing I used an oil filled type radiator space heater. It allowed settings for 600W, 900W, and 1,500W. I only plan to run the generator continuously on up too 1,500W so these settings were close enough and didn’t require me to keep changing appliances. The generator does not have an hour meter but there is a place inside the service cover that looks like it was made for one. Following the advice of another reviewer, I bought a cheap induction meter on Amazon (Magicalmai) and used a couple of zip ties to secure it in the place I mentioned before. No drilling. Works great. Be sure to wrap the induction wire at least five times around the spark plug wire as close to the plug as possible.I hope that I do not encounter problems with this generator as the other reviews are weighed heavily toward the lauded tech service being awful and beyond useless. Nothing galls me more than calling “expert” tech service and find out that I am speaking to someone in another country whose resources are nothing more than the same owners manual that I have. We’ll see!I guess I can’t offer any more comments at this time but I will come back after I’ve had time to evaluate the generator during actual usage. It’s getting to be storm season here in the southeast followed by winter ice. I’m pretty sure I will need the generator. I wonder if Amazon will post this long review? Hope it is helpful.

I purchased this 2500W dual fuel inverter generator three years ago, and about six weeks ago it came in very handy: We had 49 hours without electricity, and I was able to keep our refrigerator, freezer and hot water heater going, as well as charge phones and battery-powered lights. I also ran a cord to our neighbors house and did the same thing. (I did not have all of the appliances plugged in at the same time, yet you get the idea.) I went through the break-in procedure, changed the oil, then put it in storage in 2022. When I needed it, it started right up. I also have only ran it on propane, which is very advantageous because you do not have to clean out the carburetor and fuel lines. All in all, it was a great purchase. I know there are some updated versions of this as well.

I bought this just hoping for best. Well I have been surprised since the beginning. First I will say I ONLY use propane in mine so no worries of gas going bad, yes that’s a thing. This thing cranks up every time I try it, just have to do exactly as owners manual says for propane. I try start every 4 to 6 months and run few minutes with some appliance hooked to it just to make it kick it up. It’s a little heavier than I would like but not planning on carrying it around everyday.

5 stars for the generator, itself. It’s great, and absolutely perfect for providing power to Horse Trailer with Living Quarters (microwave, fridge, A/C, etc.). Yes, it does run the A/C, even in ECO mode. It’s also relatively quiet. I’m running it on propane only.Update 8/12/23: I've increased my rating from 3 stars to 4 to acknowledge the effort made by Champion customer service to improve the situation I reported to them. On 8/11, I unexpectedly received the following email from Champion customer service:8/11 - [From Champion customer service]: "I trust this message finds you in good health. I would like to extend my sincerest apologies for any inconvenience you may have faced due to our recent transition to a new software system. The delays in response and any emails that were inadvertently misplaced during this process are deeply regrettable, and I want to assure you that we are committed to rectifying the situation.I wanted to follow up to ensure that your concerns have been addressed or if you still require assistance from our team. Have you experienced a resolution to the matter you contacted us about?I want to express our gratitude for your patience and understanding during this transitional phase. Your feedback is invaluable to us as we continue to enhance our systems and procedures to ensure a seamless experience for all our customers.Please rest assured that your satisfaction remains our top priority. If you need any further assistance, have additional questions, or require support in any other area, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. Our dedicated team is here to serve you and provide the necessary assistance."8/11 - [From me]: "Thank you for the response. To be honest, I had given up on trying to resolve the issue through Champion, so I contacted Amazon and they immediately sent me a replacement. As I stated on 7/24, I planned to write a thorough review of the situation on Amazon, which I did on 8/4 (copied below). I did modify it from what I said I was going to post, in order to account for circumstances that changed.I am in the customer service business as well, so I can certainly understand the challenges of transitioning to new software systems, but the problem is, no one EVER mentioned that up until now. So, either the people responding to customer emails didn't know that change was happening (which I doubt), or they simply didn't think it was relevant to share. To that point, had I known, I could have been a little more understanding of the situation.I will consider updating my review to include your response, but it is only due to Amazon that this issue was resolved."8/11 - [From Champion]: "To make up for our error, we would like to offer you spare maintenance parts and a storage cover if you don't have one already?"8/11- [Me]: "I appreciate the gesture and will accept your offer. As I always try to be fair and balanced in my online reviews, I will update my posting to acknowledge your communication and support."8/11 - [Champion]: "We're pleased to hear that you appreciate our efforts to resolve the inconvenience you encountered. Your satisfaction is of utmost importance to us, and we're committed to ensuring that you receive the support you deserve.We're glad to inform you that we've already processed an order for spare maintenance parts and a storage cover as a gesture of goodwill for the inconvenience you've experienced. Rest assured that these items will be on their way to you shortly.Your willingness to recognize our communication and support in your online reviews means a lot to us. We strive to maintain transparency and uphold our commitment to providing exceptional service, even in challenging situations. Your feedback is valuable, and your acknowledgment will certainly go a long way in reflecting the dedication of our team.If you have any further questions, require assistance, or simply want to share your thoughts, feel free to reach out. We're here to ensure that your experience remains positive and satisfying."-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------So, although Champion had gone completely silent for over 3weeks, I will give them credit for re-establishing communication, explaining what happened, and making an effort to improve the situation. I can't quite go to 5 stars because they really should have offered to replace the generator when I first contacted them, and the wait time for phone callers really needs to be addressed, but at least they're saying all the right things now.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Below is my original review:Now the bad news. I received this generator on 7/16. When I unboxed it, there was a noticeable crack in the case (see photos). There was a flyer in the box that said in all caps, “DO NOT RETURN THIS PRODUCT TO THE STORE. WE ARE HERE TO HELP.” Ok, that’s fine, so I proceeded as instructed.I first tried calling the Technical Support Team (twice) at the number provided. That was not successful, so I then went to their website and sent an email (twice) to the address provided. What follows is the exact exchange I had with the support team.7/19 - [From me, after getting no responses to 2 calls and 2 emails]: “I'm extremely disappointed in Champion's customer support. I tried calling the customer service number twice, and the wait time was always over 1.5 hours. Who can realistically wait that long for someone to pick up the phone? It would be nice to at least be able to give a callback number. I also tried sending an email 2 days ago, and have not even received an acknowledgement, much less a response. This is my second attempt at email, as I'm trying to get help with a generator that was shipped to me with a cracked case. I like Champion products (this is my 3rd Champion generator), but if this is the level of support that I can expect, I will not continue to buy from Champion in the future, nor recommend them to others.”7/19 - [From Champion]: “We apologize for the delayed response and we are sorry to hear you received your unit damaged. Can you please provide a copy of the receipt and photos of the damage?”7/19 - [From me]: "Thank you for the response. I've attached a copy of the receipt and photos of the damage."7/19 – [From Champion]: “Thank you for providing the requested information, the damage looks to only be cosmetic. We can send you a storage cover if you are ok with staying with the generator in its current condition.”7/19- [From me]: “Although the damage appears to only be cosmetic, there is no way I can know for sure unless I power it up. Even if it works, there is also no way to know if that crack will spread over time, or if there is other physical damage that isn't currently apparent, or if there is other related latent mechanical damage that will only show up over time. In general, I would say the expectation of anyone buying a new generator, or anything else for that matter, is that it is in new condition and free of physical and mechanical defects. “7/21 – [From me, after waiting 2 days for a response to my prior email]: “It's really disappointing that I even have to ask this, but does the absence of a response to my last email mean that Champion will not replace the damaged generator that I received?”As of 8/4, I still have not received any response from Champion since 7/19. It’s pretty clear that they have no interest in helping me resolve this issue and have just decided to ignore me and hope I will go away. I’d hate to think what will happen if I ever have a functional problem with the generator.Out of utter frustration with Champion, I had previously tried to return the generator to Amazon, but the normal return options weren’t available on the website. As a last gasp desperate attempt to resolve this issue, on 7/25 I navigated my way through Amazon’s website and was able to establish a chat with a customer service associate. I explained the situation in just a couple of sentences, and they immediately responded that they would send me a replacement. That was awesome, and I give Amazon customer support 5 stars for that response! As far as Champion is concerned, although I like their products, this experience with customer support gets 0 stars and makes me very reluctant to consider buying something from them or even recommending them to anyone in the future.

I bought this 2 years ago and did not need to use it until May 2025. It worked perfectly. Great for non-experts like me because it had easy to understand instructions and took only a few minutes to get started.I've read other reviews that it is hard to start using propane. I did not have a problem. And on one regular tank it ran our refrigerator and hot water heater for about 30 hours.