Champion 12.5-kW Home Standby Generator with 100-Amp Outdoor-Rated Automatic Transfer Switch

We have contemplated installing a HSB for years now. When I saw the Champion HSB generator with 100A ATS for the price, I was impressed. I read all of the reviews and watched a few videos as well. That was enough to convince me that I was ready to purchase this product and I’m glad I did. Once received, I was not disappointed. It was shipped quickly and I received it in under a week. The installation went seamlessly. The ATS is of good quality, rated for outdoor installation. The unit does not require a concrete pad be poured though I decided to pour one to sit it on. The 12.5kW generator is sufficient to run everything on my 100A internal house panel so it was ideal for the job. I had a 250 gallon LPG installed and short line run to the generator. I did have to purchase and install the (2) 12V batteries, which was easy to do. I’m a licensed Electrical PE with electrical experience so I was able to perform the main electrical installation and ATS and I hired a licensed LP gas company to complete the propane gas installation and connection to the HSB GenSet. The installation manual was easy to follow, and I had no issues with the electrical installation whatsoever. Changing the orifices to convert the unit from Natual Gas to LPG was simple. I made sure to fill the unit with oil as well since it is shipped without oil. Once the LP was connected, the unit was put in manual mode and it fired right up with no issues after it ran through its internal error checking. The exercise test runs smoothly for weekly test runs, it starts up and runs 15 minutes without load once a week and shuts down. I even killed the utility power feed to the ATS to test the automatic restoration function of the HSB and within 35 seconds of losing power, the unit fired up and within 7 seconds the ATS switched from Utility to Genset. So in less than 45 seconds and the whole home panel power was restored. I was impressed. After power was restored to the ATS, the unit runs a test to assess the utility feed and the ATS switches back to Utility feed in under a minute. The genset runs a few more minutes before shutting down automatically. The Gull-wing design of the HSB is a very practical and ingenious design. It makes it easy to access the GenSet and internal control panel. The doors can also be locked to prevent intrusion. The unit is no louder than my Heat Pump unit beside the house when doors are closed and it’s running. You can only hear a slight hum from inside the house when in the rooms that are adjacent to the wall the unit is by. Throughout the rest of the home, you are unable to hear the unit running. I would highly recommend this unit to anyone looking for a quality HSB generator to serve the bulk of your power needs during a power outage. The only thing that will not be powered is my HVAC, Range, and Dryer circuits which are not fed by my internal house panel. That’s okay because we can grill out during an outage so we won’t need the oven. We can open windows and use ceiling fans as well so we can survive without the HVAC. Excellent value for the money spent.