Champion 4500 Watt Generator Review

If you’re looking for decent portable power supply for your home or RV, and don’t want to spend too much, I’d think the Champion 4500 watt generator might be exactly what you’re looking for. While this is a good quality light to medium duty machine, I wouldn’t rate it highly as a truly heavy-duty jobsite generator. For that, you should expect to pay two to three times as much.

With that said, the Champion 4500 watt generator can handle the needs of a contractor who doesn’t intend using the generator every day of the week. With 4500 watts peak power and 3650 running watts, it’s got what it takes to supply a number of power tools.

Where the Champion 100331 3650W/4500W generator really comes into its own is a reliable camping and home generator. Since most of us don’t use a portable generator more than three or four times a year, and seldom for more than a week or two continuously, this Champion generator is ideally priced for this type of use. I’ll be reviewing the Champion 4500 watt generator with this in mind. It’s a fantastic domestic generator and, arguably, the best value for money option in its class.

Champion 4500-Watt RV Ready Portable Generator 100331 (EPA)

The Champion 4500 watt generator has what I’m looking for in terms of rugged build quality. The sturdy metal frame is great, and it has a steel gas tank, as well as solid 4-point mountings. So, even though this generator may not be intended for heavy-duty use, it can handle quite a bit of punishment and remain reliable for a long time.

The Champion 224cc, 4-stroke engine has cold start technology, a big plus in winter. You’ll appreciate the easy starting, since the Champion 100331 doesn’t have an electric starter. Though it won’t take much effort to get it going using the recoil starter. I suppose the absence an electric starter can account, in part, for the amazingly low price. An additional advantage would be the weight reduction, without a starter motor and battery, the Champion 4500 watt generator weighs a mere 99-pounds. It’s as reliable as they come and is EPA certified. Though, California residents need to be aware that this model is not CARB certified.

If you’re looking for a budget generator, you’ll be glad to know that this baby won’t cost much to run, fuel economy is fantastic. The Champion 4500 watt generator has a reasonably large 3.4 gallon gas tank which allows the generator to run for around 9-hours on a full tank, at 50% of the rated load. You really won’t be spending much on gas over the years. It’s also not a particularly loud generator. Though, a standard open frame generator, like this one, can never be classified as quiet. Be that as it may, a noise level 68dBA (measured form 23-feet) is better than I’d have expected.

The Control panel is neatly laid out, albeit a little Spartan. You really just get the basics. These being a 120V 30A (L5-30R) outlet, a 120V 30A (TT-30R) RV outlet, and a duplex 120V 20A (5-20R) outlet. Two push to reset circuit breakers offer 20A protection for the household outlets and 30A protection for larger outlets; and serves as a main overload to protect the generator. If you need an OSHA compliant generator, you’ll need to pass this one up, it has no GFCI protection. It does have the nifty Champion “IntelliGUAGE” which is great for a generator this cheap. This digital display lets you easily check up on the voltage, frequency (Hz), and keep track service intervals with the hour meter. The On/Off switch is conveniently mounted on the front panel.

The Champion 4500 watt generator has everything you need for home, RV, or jobsite applications. No more, no less. This no-frills approach, offering the essentials and no fancy extras, is what makes this such a delightfully cheap generator. If you’re impressed by good old-fashioned value for money, this machine will certainly win you over. You can rest assured that you’re not buying cheap junk. Champion has been around for a long time and should be for a long time to come. So, you’re assured of lifetime service and spare parts availability. The same can’t be said for cheap unknown brands. Furthermore, the 3-year warranty should put anyone’s mind at ease, this type of warranty is also rare for a generator this cheap.

What Can You Run on a 4500 Watt Generator?

As an RV power supply, the Champion 4500 watt generator certainly makes the grade. You can easily run an RV air conditioner up to 15,000 BTU and still have ample power to spare. You should even be able to use an air conditioner and refrigerator simultaneously. This would depend on the size of both the AC and refrigerator. But, in most instances, the starting capacity of 4500W should be sufficient for both an air conditioner and refrigerator to start at the same time.
With one or two large appliances running off the generator, you will have enough wattage for some additional low-watt equipment, like lights, TVs, and computers. You may, however, experience high Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) when the load demand exceeds 2500W. This is typical of any non-inverter generator, especially the cheaper ones. I’d consider using an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) for the TV, computer, and other electronic devices. A small UPS is not expensive and provides true sine wave, inverter supplied power for equipment that low THD current. They have the additional advantage of a built-in battery that will continue supplying power for a short period when the mains or generator power fails or is tripped due to an overload.
Using a 4500W generator at home would be pretty much the same as an RV. Expect to run a small to mid-sized air conditioner, refrigerator, and all your basic, low-watt equipment. If a sump pump is one of your essentials, you should be able to use this too.
With a bit of thought, you can always use more stuff, like a microwave, vacuum cleaner, or hair dryer, even the washing machine. You’ll need to have a rough idea of how much power these appliances require to start and how much they need when running. By disconnecting the air conditioner, you’ll be able to use another high-watt appliance. When you’re done vacuuming, drying your hair, or doing the laundry, you can resume using the air conditioner. At first, you may not get it right. It’s possible you may accidently overload the generator. This need not concern you too much as it is not dangerous. You may trip the main generator circuit breaker, but that’s the full extent of it. You’ll need to go out and reset the breaker. Pretty soon, you’ll know what equipment can be used simultaneously.
Although, it may take some compromise, you can use most of your household appliances during an outage with a 4500 watt generator. You’ll have to forego water heaters, a central heating furnace, or large central air conditioners. This should be quite obvious, for whole house backup power, you’d need to spend a lot more for a standby generator.