Champion Generator Review

1600 Watt Champion Inverter/Generator

When Racquel and I bought our campervan priority #1 was figuring out how we were going to get a good cup of coffee. We love our fresh ground espresso every morning and that is something we realized we could not do without while on our vanventures. Our idea of living off the grid does not mean we have to live without our morning espresso - that’s pushing it!

After a little research we splurged on Nespresso machine and an Aeroccino (milk steamer/foamer). This machine combo checked off a couple of boxes; fresh ground coffee without having to deal with the coffee grinds (which saves the RV plumbing) and we could just plug both into our AC outlet in the Van Helen when we are hooked up to services. Of course, if we are off the grid then this does not work so great, which brings me to this review of the first generator I have ever purchased.

When thinking about what to choose when buying a generator, I asked my good neighbour Doug, who has been an RVer for a few years, for his recommendation. He suggested a Champion generator as he felt the value was excellent when compared to the more expensive and more well-known brand names.

With this recommendation in hand, I figured out what I thought my power draw would be including our new Nespresso machine, milk foamer, a few lights, our smartphone chargers, and our electric bike chargers and decided on the Champion Inverter/Generator rated for 1600 watts from Canadian Tire. https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/champion-1600w-2000w-inverter-generator-0550214p.html#srps.

I estimated all the above would draw no more then 80% of what the generator could support at full load. With one gallon of gas it provides (a bit of a guesstimate) about 12 hours of 120v ac power for our day to day use.

My experience so far with this generator has been excellent. Every time I start it the motor fires up with the first easy tug on the pull-start mechanism. It runs smoothly and never skips a beat. It is not too loud at all, which was one of my worries about owning a generator. If I set it up behind the back of the camper a few feet away, we can hardly hear it. The inverter generator is rated for a noise of 53 dBA (just slightly noisier than rainfall). We also operate it for only as long as it takes to make a couple of coffees and charge some batteries as I appreciate that the fumes from the generator are not great for the environment that we are enjoying.

Although we are not serious generator users, I am comfortable recommending this model as it does not break the bank and is reliable and lightweight.