Champion 3100 or 3400 Inverter

[aknavy]

So, I was going to get a pair of 3100's...until I spent some serious time in the toy hauler, which has a Onan 5500, running exclusively on generator. If two AC's are running, it struggles, especially on hot days. So, that leads me to believe that I may need a little more power when I go back to my Cedar Creek. Price difference on them is roughly $150 a piece. The big question I have is will two 3100's power two AC's and the rest of my electronics - laptops, modems, TV, fridge, etc, or should I just get the bigger ones?

Please don't hijack and suggest a Honda or Yamaha, unless you're paying the extra $$$$. That decision has already been made.

[chertz]

I love my 3400w Champion dual fuel! If your ACs are 15k I would go with the 3400s

[mrgrayaz]

Our 3100 Dual Fuel runs mighly hard with a single compressor ~15k basement AC, though it does it do it.

I'm not sure how much your really going to gain with another 300w though....your talking less then 10%.

I know they are different SKU's but are they actually different Gens? Weight/size are the same, figured one had just a slightly tweaked inverter with the same motor. I dont have any good info on the matter though.

[Parks]

I'd go with the Dual Fuel 3400. I have one and like it a lot. Used it for other than RVrelated tasks. For future RV as well as emergency use for natural disasters or any other power need.

[BSHGTO]

Go for the watts you can never have enough. Remember a hot cranky wife when it`s 103 degrees out side and 93 degrees inside is no fun to camp with.

[Dfb]

I bought two of the 2800s..tied together it's 5600 watts running on the 50 amp plug.. Have not tried them yet. One 15 and one 13 ac....Champion makes ONE GREAT GENERATOR! I have had the yamahas and YHE hondas...The 3000s were way too heavy. The twins were great...but too expensive... Got the Champions on sale at Costco for 599 each!

[twinboat]

The 3100s are 2800 watts continuous output, so you will be looking at about 23 amps per leg if you use the parallel kit and have a 50 amp RV.
Should run 2 ACs but not a lot of power left over.

If you have a 30 amp RV, you will get 3600 watts, no matter how many watt generators you have. That's all a 30 amp outlet can supply.

[mrgrayaz]

I thought about this over night - and I'd go with the 3400 - more watts is always good!!!

[aknavy]

It's 50 Amp service, so I can use all of the power on either setup...leaning towards the 3400 for the extra power. Lowest price I can find right now is $799 - has anyone found a lower price on them?

[wingnut60]

aknavy,
Are you saying the Onan 5500 couldn't keep the toyhauler cool, or that it had a hard time running both ACs? Reason I ask, is my 5500 keeps my Suites pretty cool unless in higher than 95d heat/sunlight. Keep in mind, the best AC will only drop incoming air about 20d--if the trailer you are in isn't well insulated, than just about any dual AC setup will 'struggle' to keep it below 80d when 100 outside.
Changing the number of gens won't help if the ACs have a input/output delta of about 18d temp--you need more ACs or some shade or cooler ambient temps if the trailer insulation can't keep the outside heat out...

[aknavy]

When it's hot, it has a hard time with both AC's on. And if I use the living room AC (there are three), it really struggles. I think that one is 15, the others are 13.5...I think. Add any other load and it either trips a breaker or dies with an undervoltage code - not all the time, but often enough to bother me.

On another note - who ever designed the AC options on this thing should be shot - three AC's, but can only run two at a time. There's a switch to decide which ones run....but the garage AC is always on. So you either get garage/living, garage/bedroom, or living alone. In my mind - garage is least important AC unit! I'd rather have the patio down and it off, while the other two AC's cool the rest of the trailer. As it stands, I don't use the patio as much as I would like to, cause I depend on the garage AC for overall cooling.

[Airmech]

If your going the portable generator route, don't get a parallel kit if the gens have 30a plugs. Just get a y adapter to plug into both gens. Then you have 30 amp service on both legs as apposed​ to 30 amp on 1 leg.

[unyalli]

Check out this thread.

http://www.irv2.com/forums/f93/champ...em-344289.html

There is a video running on RV propane system at 6200 feet altitude starting a coleman mach 3 15k on eco mode.

- Jeff

The video running the AC was not on that post so I added it further down the thread.

[jacknife]

If you re going to run your computer and other electronics you had better look at a sine wave generator the or you could fry a bunch of gear.