Most electric device have greater demand when they're initially turned on – it's called “surge.” It can be anywhere from 2 to 5 times the normal operating demand. If you are happy that the engine in the cheaper unit will last long enough then in your case I doubt that the lousy waveform will be an issue.There's another important consideration when looking at power consumption. You don't seem to have any loads that would object from what you have mentioned but bear in mind about washing machines and other modern appliances, if they are not used then the bad waveform may not bother you. Things with speed controls and battery chargers with phase control often fail to find a zero crossing reference on distorted waveforms. Surprisingly it is not TVs and computers that cause the problem and most of them will run off modified sine wave. 5% thd is quite good and few things should object, but 20% is really awful and I suspect some things would object strongly.

Here in the UK many domestic appliances are now incredibly fussy and some washing machines and similar will now cause big problems on some generators. I don't know either generator so can't comment on lifespan or similar.Ī few years ago any generator would run anything, only modified sine inverters caused some problems. My question is do you think the Lifan is worth the extra $$ or will the Champion suit my back-up needs? Any thoughts or opinions would be appreciated. I don't use it to power any computers or flat screen TV's as the cable usually goes out along with the power. The Champion also has 100% copper windings but after speaking with them I found out that THD for this model can range up to 20% depending on load.Īs I stated earlier I'm looking to replace my old generator that is used only as emergency back up for running essentials like furnace, well pump, a few lights, fridge and water heater (managed load). The Lifan generator states 100% Cooper windings and welded magnetic plates to produce clean, dependable energy or what they call â€œLow THD (Total Harmonic Distortion) technology, which produces â€œClean Energyâ€ with a Sine Wave Distortion of 5% or less at full load'

Both utilize brushed alternators with copper windings and both have AVR, the difference however is in the THD for each unit. The two generators I'm considering are the Lifan Platinum 8500iEPL 7500 running watts, 8500 surge watts priced at around $1,500.00 and the Champion 41537 7500 running watts and 9375 surge watts priced at around $1000.00. I'm currently looking at two generators to replace my old and tired genny. I am posting here in the hopes of getting some opinions from knowledgeable people who know far more then I.

Who makes lifan generators