News & Updates

Spring has arrived, which means it’s time to venture outside and get a handle on what you need to do to prepare for the new season. For most homeowners, spring cleanup includes getting rid of winter grime, pollen, mold, mildew, and dirt that has had time to accumulate. Instead of hiring a service company or renting equipment, using your own pressure washer to tackle your warm weather to-do list is cost-effective, efficient, and satisfying! 

Here are four ways your pressure washer can make all your spring cleanup projects a success. 

1. Pressure wash your home’s exterior

You and your family have persevered through sleet, snow, ice, and storms. Winter is finally clearing out for good, but it’s left a lot of dirt and debris behind. If you’ve noticed your home looks a little more dull or dingy than it did last fall, this is probably why. 

Whether your home’s exterior is brick, stucco, or vinyl, a pressure washer and a little time on the weekend is all it takes to brighten up your home and give it a fresh appearance for spring. Whether they’re dolly-style or wheelbarrow style, pressure washers are designed to be convenient and easy to maneuver. They’re also fast and easy to assemble right out of the box so you can get right to work. 

Follow all safety precautions in your manual, and make sure you understand the safest way to clean the materials that make up the surface of your home. Begin cleaning by choosing the right nozzle for the job. If you need detergent, you’ll want to have that ready to go as well. 

Keep the spray at a slight angle and use an even and consistent sweeping motion when you clean to minimize streaking and prevent damage. Champion pressure washers include a high-pressure hose. This handy tool helps extend your reach and makes it much easier to get to every area of your home that needs to be cleaned. 

2. Pressure wash your driveway, sidewalk, patio, or deck

It’s not just vertical surfaces like your home’s exterior that are affected by dirt and grime. You’ll find that winter grime has also been deposited on your driveway, sidewalk, patio, and deck.

Fortunately, the right pressure washer plus water and detergent can take care of winter buildup for you in no time. 

When cleaning horizontal surfaces outside your home, it’s important to choose the right nozzle since the size of the nozzle affects water flow and pressure. Champion pressure washers come with four quick-connect nozzles (0˚, 25˚,40˚, soap) to ensure maximum cleaning performance for any type of job. The quick-connect feature makes it easy to switch out nozzles as you clean.

Before you clean, make sure you clear the area of toys, furniture, potted plants, and anything else that might get in the way. Read up on the safest way to clean each surface since the recommended methods for pressure washing a concrete driveway are different than the methods for safely cleaning a wooden deck.  

3. Pressure wash your patio or porch furniture

If your patio or porch furniture has been sitting outside all winter, it definitely deserves a cleanup. Hand washing and scrubbing every inch of your outdoor furniture is exhausting and time consuming, but using a pressure washer is a fast, easy, and fun way to get your outdoor living spaces ready for the first barbecue of the season.

Champion designs their pressure washers with onboard storage for a high-pressure hose, trigger gun and spray wand to ensure you’ll have what you need when you need it. Having everything you need at your fingertips means you’ll be able to keep cleaning without having to stop and put things away.

First, remove all cushions and bring your furniture to a flat surface, clear of any items that might get in the way. Choose a low-pressure spray and start at the top of the furniture using a back and forth motion and working your way down. When the furniture is clean, don’t forget to rinse off any excess detergent and then let your furniture dry thoroughly before replacing your cushions. 

4. Pressure wash your vehicle, boat, or farm equipment

Whatever vehicle you need to clean, using a pressure washer is a faster, more efficient way to get the job done. 

Champion pressure washers include never flat tires for easy maneuvering as you work your way around each vehicle. 

When pressure washing a vehicle, you’ll want to proceed with caution and be sure you don’t do anything to damage the surface. Boats and farm equipment are going to need different cleaning methods than a car or a truck, so it’s important to read your vehicle owner’s manual first to prevent damage. Also, read up on the safest methods to clean your particular type of vehicle.

Many sources recommend using a regular garden hose first to rinse off loose mud, salt, or bugs. When you’re ready to use your pressure washer, test the pressure on the ground first, then start with a basic, no-detergent rinse using a wide angle nozzle and low pressure spray with a downward angle, keeping a distance of 2-3 feet from the vehicle.

A pressure washer can make all your spring cleanup projects a success

Unless your idea of fun is cleaning your outdoor surfaces with a scrub brush and a sponge, consider purchasing a pressure washer this spring. A pressure washer will save you time and money and make sure you’re able to get all your spring cleanup projects taken care of in record time.

The reliability of our electricity supply isn’t what it used to be. Utility companies have cut back on line maintenance and sometimes electricity demand across North America almost exceeds supply. The continent-wide, interconnected electrical grid means that power failures can ripple outwards like falling dominoes. It’s hard to find anyone who hasn’t experienced a power outage. Portable generators offer a safe and convenient way to provide power to a home when an outage occurs. And while none of this is news, what you might not realize is how far small-scale generator technology has advanced. It’s now more practical than ever for proactive homeowners to meet their own emergency power needs, and to meet it at lower cost than ever. Success begins by understanding your needs and options, and this is what you’ll get in this report.

Download to read the detailed report!

Winter storm season is upon us, which means the potential for power outages is real. A prolonged power outage is no joke since no power means no heat, and if heavy snow, blizzard conditions and icy roads are part of the mix, it might be challenging to even leave your home. Here are five things you can do to prepare for severe winter weather. 

1. Back up your power

The first priority, of course, is the health and safety of your family. If you lose power, do you have a plan for keeping your family safe and warm? If you don’t already have one, purchasing a reliable generator should be the first thing on your list. Health and safety come first, of course, but since so many people are now doing everything from home, a loss of power means you’ll lose your connection to the office and your children will lose their connection to school. Uninterrupted power is essential now for the new way of life we are living.   

There are two main types of generators for winter storm preparation: portable generators and home standby generators. 

A portable generator is great if you only want to back up a few essentials. Portable generators come in different sizes, they run on either gasoline or propane, and they don’t need to be installed. 

If you’d like to power more than just the essentials or even your whole home, you may want to have a standby generator installed. Standbys never need refueling since they’re connected to your propane or natural gas system. Your home standby generator starts automatically when the power goes out and returns to standby when power is restored, ensuring warmth, safety, and uninterrupted connections for your family during a winter storm power outage.

2. Prepare your home

It’s not too late to prepare your home in case a winter storm hits. To prevent expensive damage from burst water pipes, consider insulating pipes in exposed areas. When the temperature drops, remember to let water drip from faucets served by uninsulated outdoor pipes. Keep the warmth in and the cold out by installing storm windows or insulating your windows from the inside with plastic. You’ll also want to check around your doors for air leaks and add weatherstripping where needed. Keep an eye out for tree branches that might be a danger to your home if they fall. Trim those branches and don’t forget to make sure your roof and shingles are in top condition so they can withstand heavy snow and strong winds.

3. Stock up on supplies

If you live in an area where ice storms frequently cause power outages, make sure you have a first aid kit, medications, a portable phone charger, batteries, flashlights, and a battery-powered radio, as well as a three-day supply of water and non-perishable food for your family and your pets. It’s also smart to keep your gas tank full and have extra propane or gasoline on hand to fuel your portable generator. 

4. Secure and protect outdoor items

If you have items outdoors that could be damaged during a winter store, go ahead and store or cover them now. No matter how bad the weather is outside, for the safety of you and your family, it’s never an option to run your portable generator or inverter inside. The best way to protect your generator is with a Champion Storm Shield generator cover. You can run your generator with confidence in severe weather, since the cover withstands winds up to 70 mph, snow loads up to 18 inches and rain up to 12 inches a day.  

5. Purchase a snow blower

Unless your idea of fun is removing waist-high snow from your driveway with a shovel, you might consider purchasing a snow blower. Give that shovel and your back a well-deserved rest, and get a snow blower. A snow blower can help you clear your driveway after a snow storm in record time, and it could be a lifesaver if you need to leave your home during an emergency. Do you already own a snowblower? If so, don’t forget to get it serviced so it will be ready to go when you need it. 

If you’ve been putting any of these items on the back burner, get prepared now and you and your family will be able to face the unknowns of winter weather with peace and confidence.

Travel plans for pretty much everyone have been disrupted in a big way this year. However, many families are still planning to get away from it all and spend time together in the great outdoors, all while staying safe. How? In an RV. 

It’s RV season, and whether you’re brand new to RV camping or if you’ve been doing this for years, now’s the time to make sure you have the right generator to power everything you need so you can relax and have a great time. 

There are several important things to consider when you purchase a generator for your RV. 

Is your generator RV-Ready?

RV Ready means your generator has either a TT-30R or a 14-50R outlet so you can plug your RV directly into your generator without the need for a separate adapter. By the way, TT stands for travel trailer, and the R stands for receptacle. Look for a Champion generator that says “RV Ready.”

Is your generator quiet? 

Campgrounds and parks have noise ordinances for many reasons, and it’s wise to make sure the generator you purchase will stay well within the boundaries of what’s allowed. No one wants to be known as that obnoxious family with the loud generator, plus, you are probably camping to enjoy the wildlife, not scare it all away. Champion inverter generators are quiet and popular among seasoned RVers. 

How much power do you need? 

Do you plan to run an AC, fan, or heater in your RV? Obviously, you’ll need to run your lights and refrigerator, and then think about other items you’ll use and whether or not you’ll be using several of them at the same time, like your coffee maker, microwave, blender, or slow cooker. For entertainment, don’t forget about your TV, satellite receiver, laptop, and gaming console. Champion has a handy Generator Selector that makes it easy to think through your power requirements so you can see which generators will be the best fit for your needs. 

How much does your generator weigh? 

If your generator is on the heavy side, make sure you get one with a handle and a wheel kit so you can move it around on your campsite when you need to. Considering the weight of your generator is important if you plan to take it with you off-site for boating, fishing, or other activities. Many people really love the flexibility of Champion’s ultra lightweight inverters that are parallel ready. If you buy a parallel kit, you can use it to easily connect two compatible inverters together when you have greater power needs. Whenever you need lightweight, portable power on the go, grab one inverter and take it with you.

What type of fuel does your generator require?

You can choose a generator that runs on gasoline or propane or both. A Champion Dual Fuel generator can be operated right out of the box on gasoline or propane, and since only one fuel source is allowed to operate at a time, you can easily and safely switch between fuel options depending on which is most effective for your needs.

What other features are important to you? 

Portable generators for RV use are available with many other special features, such as electric push-button start, wireless remote start, economy mode, USB outlets, surge protector, and much more.   

Whether you plan to travel for the entire season, take a week or two with the family, or enjoy a quick weekend getaway, you’ll have peace of mind knowing you’ve chosen the best portable generator for RV season. 

At this point in 2020 everyone is ready for good news, so do we really need to bring up hurricanes right now? It’s a fact that hurricane season is upon us, but as long as we stay informed and make sure we’re prepared, this doesn’t necessarily have to mean bad news.

The Weather Company’s 2020 Atlantic Hurricane forecast predicts this season to be more active than usual with 18 named storms, 9 hurricanes, and 4 major hurricanes (category 3 or higher). For comparison, an average season has 13 named storms, 7 hurricanes, and 3 major hurricanes.

The official Atlantic hurricane season is June 1 to Nov 30, so now’s the time to make sure you’re prepared. 

Due to the fact that many of us are still sheltering in place, it’s more important than ever to make sure the power in our home stays on. Our homes mean safety and protection, and owning a reliable generator will make sure you and your family have peace of mind when a storm hits. 

Here’s a handy to-do list to make sure you’re prepared for whatever hurricane season brings. 

Evacuation Plan: Know the recommended evacuation route, and keep your gas tank full.

Supplies: Keep bottled water and other supplies on hand.

Hurricane Kit: Include a first-aid kit, medications, a battery-powered radio, flashlight, batteries, whistle and local maps.

Copy Important Documents: Back up your computer, and keep copies of important documents in a safety deposit box.

Prepare Your Home: Secure or store outdoor items, and make sure your roof, shingles, and gutters are in good shape to withstand strong winds. Check your trees and landscaping, and make sure you know how to board up your home if necessary. 

Back Up Your Power: If you don’t have a plan for backing up the power in your home, determine what type of generator you need in case of a power outage. 

There are two main types of generators for hurricanes: portable and home standby. 

A portable generator is a convenient solution if you only want to back up a few essentials. Portable generators come in different sizes, they run on either gasoline or propane, and they don’t need to be installed. 

If you’d like to power more than just the essentials, or even your whole home, you may want to have a standby generator installed. Standbys never need refueling since they are connected to your propane or natural gas system. Your home standby generator starts automatically when the power goes out and returns to standby when power is restored, ensuring security and convenience for your family during a hurricane power outage.

Things that used to be no big deal take a lot more time and effort due to the current strain on our country’s resources and the restrictions many of us are under. Now is not the time to wait until the last minute. The security and safety of your family is more important than anything. When a hurricane causes a power outage, you won’t regret your decision to have a safe source of power. 

While the weather is still calm, make the preparations you need so when a hurricane occurs, the good news will be that you and your family are ready. 

It Takes Drive To Be A Champion

Tenacity is defined as having great determination and it is this tenaciousness that drives the five Champion Power Equipment sponsored athletes to deliver inspiring performances.

We are very proud to have Grant Enfinger, Kaique Pacheco, Shane Lineberger, Jason Lentz, and Casey Currie on our team for their 2019 seasons. (Click each athletes image to view their video)

https://youtu.be/xv1eL5hinA4

Grant Enfinger

Beginning in 1996 racing go karts, Grant has steadily climbed the ranks through the years, winning his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race in 2016 and qualifying for  the NASCAR Truck Series Playoffs in 2018. The 2019 season had a thunderous start with Grant taking P2 at Daytona, followed by seven other Top 5 finishes, four Top 10 finishes and winning the POLE Award at the Kentucky Speedway in July. As Grant drives the ThorSport Racing truck onto the track, the constant cheer and support of his fans always helps propel him forward.

Kaique Pacheco

The last few years the name Kaique Pacheco has been synonymous with professional bull riding. Kaique started bull riding at the young age of 17, and has since claimed the PBR Rookie of the Year title at age 21, followed by second place wins in the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) World Standings for 2015 and 2016. To further ignite his rankings, Kaique became the 2018 PBR World Champion with a whopping 5,444.16 points.

Shane Lineberger

This year we welcomed the newest addition to our team: Shane Lineberger, a professional bass angler. Fishing in Bassmaster Opens since 2011, his top  performances earned him a spot in the Bassmaster Elite Series for the 2016 and 2017 seasons. In 2018 he received an invitation to again compete in the 2019 Elite Series. In one of his best performances so far he finished 16th out of 221 boats at the Basspro.com Open in Lake Chickamagua. As the season continues, Shane stays focused and is ready for more of that biting action.

Jason Lentz

A young Jason Lentz is eight years old when his splits his first log; jump ahead five years where he competes  in his first junior division wood chopping event. In 2010 he makes the leap into his first professional series: Stihl Timber Sports. A fourth-generation professional lumberjack, he’s since earned the world number 1 rank in 2018 and the title of the Tony Wise All-Around Lumberjack. 2019 is off to a steady start with Jason winning his first show of the season and earning several top finishes thereafter.

Casey Currie

Motorsports is not just a trend for Casey Currie, it’s the family business. For over five decades, his family has built rear ends for many off-road and NASCAR racing styles. At just 16, he rode his first race truck and six years later created an eight-truck team for Monster Jam events. In 2017 and 2018, he took champion wins at the  King of Portugal and Baja 500 and 1000 events. He also grabbed his first Rally win in the Desafio Inca rally. Fast-forward to 2019, he’s taken the title of Rookie of Dakar and spot one in the Ultra 4 Class at the Mint 400. “Boundaries” is not a word in Casye’s vocabulary.

These are a collective group of athletes that push the Champion team forward in many ways. They have proven time and again that no obstacle is too great to overcome and we can hardly wait to see what the rest of the 2019 has in store for our tenacious athletes.

If you’ve ever been caught unprepared when a hurricane hit your area, there’s no doubt you’ll have all your ducks in a row the next time hurricane season comes around. We spoke to several people who survived Hurricane Hugo in South Carolina and Hurricane Andrew in Florida to get their recommendations on how to prepare for hurricane season. When we asked them to share their most important hurricane preparation advice, our survival experts came up with these words of wisdom.

1. Gather supplies and prepare a safe area in your home. Make sure you have a first aid kit, medications, batteries, flashlights, and a battery-powered radio, as well as a three-day supply of water and non-perishable food for your family and your pets.
2. Take advantage of technology. Purchase one or two portable phone chargers, and make sure they’re charged up. Download a smartphone app that will notify people of your location and whether or not you’re safe. The Red Cross has a free hurricane app you can download. Check redcross.org and this article for a list of great apps to get you through an emergency.
3. Be prepared to evacuate. Even if you don’t live on the coast, you should still have a plan for evacuating, and make sure that plan includes your pets. Put important family documents in a binder so you can take them with you. Familiarize yourself with evacuation routes, make sure you keep your gas tank full and have your supplies ready to go.
4. Prepare your home and your street. Reinforce garage doors, and board up your windows with ⅝-inch plywood or hurricane shutters. Bring in outside items if they can be picked up by high winds, and check the storm drains in your neighborhood to make sure they’re free from debris. If not, organize your neighbors to get together and clear away any debris that could clog drains and create drainage issues.
5. If you own a portable generator, it’s smart to have plenty of extra propane or gasoline on hand to fuel it, as fuel will be in high demand during and after the hurricane. If your generator has been in storage, follow the instructions in your owner’s manual to make sure it’s ready to provide backup power when the power goes out. Here is a helpful video on how to remove and prep your generator from storage.

Readiness for a hurricane power outage should include a generator. During the hot summer months, going for days without air conditioning is not only miserable, it can be dangerous for you and your family, plus the high temperatures and humidity can damage your home’s interior. Depending on the type and size generator you own, you can have access to your lights, air conditioning, refrigerator, stove, and more, not to mention access to the weather and news.

There are two main types of generators for hurricanes: portable and home standby.

A portable generator is perfect if you only want to back up a few essentials. Portable generators come in different sizes, they run on either gasoline or propane, and they don’t need to be installed.

If you’re interested in powering more than just the essentials, or even your whole home, you may want to have a standby generator installed. Standbys never need refueling since they’re connected to your propane or natural gas system. Your home standby generator starts automatically when the power goes out and returns to standby when power is restored, ensuring safety and convenience for your family during a hurricane power outage.

Following the advice of hurricane survivors to prepare now is smart, plus knowing you have a safe source of power ready to go will provide peace of mind for you and your family during any season.

https://youtu.be/9qAM7VFLfps

As California power companies take responsibility for helping to keep our communities safe from the danger of wildfires, we all need to be prepared in the event of a Public Safety Power Shutoff. When vegetation is dry and high winds occur, if a live power line goes down, conditions are ripe for a fire to break out and spread rapidly, putting lives and entire communities in the path of devastation. During extreme weather conditions, especially during periods of high wind, power may be turned off for days in order to prevent wildfires from occurring and spreading.

Many people here in California have never experienced a prolonged period without power, and have not had a reason to think about what to do and how to prepare for such an event. Most of us would be able to deal with a power outage of a few hours, but there’s a strong possibility that we need to be prepared for the power being shut off for an extended period of days.

Here are some practical steps you can take right now so you’ll be ready ahead of time when the power goes off.

1. Always have a reliable generator by your side. A portable generator is fueled by gasoline or propane, and some models even allow you to switch between fuels. A portable generator can back up a few essentials or almost everything in your home, and should be chosen based on what items you need to power, your preferred fuel, and what features are important to you. A home standby generator must be professionally installed and is connected to your home’s propane or natural gas system, so it never needs to be refueled. When the power goes out, your home standby starts automatically, and when power is restored, it returns to standby.
2. Make sure you can open your garage door manually. In case you need to leave your home or evacuate while the power is out, you’ll need to be able to get your vehicle out of the garage. Locate your owner’s manual or contact the manufacturer if necessary to get instructions, and practice opening it ahead of time to make sure you can do it successfully. It’s also important to keep plenty of gas in your vehicle’s fuel tank so you’ll be ready to go if you need to.
3. If you own a backup generator, make sure it’s operational. It’s important to test your generator periodically to make sure it’s ready to safely provide a source of backup power for you. Don’t forget to review your owner’s manual to make sure you know how to operate your generator safely. If you plan to use a portable generator to back up your power during a Power Shutoff, make sure you have a supply of either gasoline or propane on hand. Check your owner’s manual to learn about the approximate runtime for a tank of fuel to determine how much fuel you should purchase.
4. Put together an emergency supply kit. Make sure your first-aid kit is new or replenished with fresh supplies. You’ll also need flashlights, lanterns, a radio, extra batteries, a written out list of emergency phone numbers and contacts, non-perishable food, bottled water, supplies for your pets, and cash.
5. Make sure you have backup charging methods for your phone. Purchase additional backup battery phone chargers for yourself and your family so you’ll be able to stay in touch with emergency contacts and reach out for help when you need it.
6. Plan ahead for medical devices that rely on power and medications that need to be refrigerated. The medical needs of you and your family are top priority. Keep prescriptions together in an easily accessible location, and keep necessary medications on hand. If you have medications that require refrigeration, or medical devices that require power, secure an emergency plan for relocation or an alternative source of  backup power. For emergency lifesaving medical devices, it’s important to follow the ADA Emergency Power Planning Factsheet and contact your local power company to inform them of your needs and discuss the available options.

Although power companies plan to send out an alert to customers when the power is about to be shut off, it may not always be possible depending on weather conditions. Since we’re based in California, all of us here at Champion Power Equipment are preparing our homes and families for this challenge right along with you. Our team is available to provide the support you need and answer your questions as you make plans to secure a safe source of backup power. If we take the time and make the effort now to prepare our homes and our families, we can face a Power Shutoff together with confidence and peace of mind. For more information and helpful resources, please visit calpowershutoff.championpowerequipment.com or the official California Public Safety Power Shutoff website at www.prepareforpowerdown.com.