My buddy came over today and we did a few camping tests on the new generators. His Hondas are 2200 starting 1800 running watts. The Champions are 2000 starting 1600 running watts.
Both have full 3 year warranties, Champion offers lifetime tech support, not sure on the Hondas.
I used a Radio Shack Sound level meter for all measurements @21 feet. It was super windy so all measurements were artificially loud. The Honda was consistently 1-2dB quieter in all the tests. It seemed to have a deeper exhaust note than the Champion did. Neither of us felt the Champion was even close to being too loud, just a slightly higher pitched exhaust note. You can barely hear them running from 21 feet away.
The Hondas were a little heavier, even though they are supposed to be within a pound of the Champions. I didn't weigh them but the difference was obvious. The Hondas don't come with a 30 amp RV plug so I had to connect it to the camper with a 20 amp adapter. You have to buy a 30 amp twist lock adapter to connect it to the generator. You also have to use a screwdriver to connect the parallel cable ground, the Champion has a threaded post so I can attach my ground with a wingnut.
Both are ridiculously easy to start. I just installed a Micro-Air Easy Start on my 15k air conditioner both generators started it with such ease, I was shocked. The Honda's barely hit half throttle before quickly settling back down. It was running in the 67dB range which a normal conversation is around 60dB. The Champions jumped a bit higher (400 watts less) and quickly settled to a better than expected 68dB. My wifes hair dryer put more strain on them than the air conditioner did.
That's about all I have for now, as expected the Hondas are quiet, powerful monsters, but that should be a given for double the price. I'm very pleased with how the Champions ran the camper air conditioning, that Easy Start is worth it's weight in gold. The Champions are stackable so if you tailgate or are in really tight spaces 2 will fit in a single foot print. Time will tell how well the engines are made.
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