Giveaways and Reviews

Don’t Be Left In The Dark

I often debate with my kids who has the better life right now – they wish for no bedtime and unlimited access to the pantry, I long for the carefree life of my childhood where my biggest worry was the upcoming test at school. Being an adult is a pretty good gig, most of the time, but not without stress of course.

There are many parts of being an adult that are plain un-sexy. Taxes. Yearly doctor’s exams. The way your joints pop and crack when you get out of bed in the morning. Yet, we know, that taking care of ourselves is paramount to living a good life as an adult and do the things necessary to achieve that.

When I proudly showed my husband the sparkly new Champion 3000W Gas Generator in the garage, I knew we had hit true suburban adulthood when he then texted a friend to share his new amazing item. Yep, twenty-years ago a generator would have been the last thing on our minds, but now with a household and three kids it makes total and complete sense – and I’m OK with that.

Champion 3000W Gas Generator

This model in particular is available at Canadian Tire, and while Father’s Day is still a few months away, I’m planting the seed now for consideration for the hubby or granddad who seemingly has everything! It’s also just a smart consumer purchase, with the possibility of a tax return this year and where that money can be best used.

The Champion 3000W Gas Generator features cold start technology that starts the generator easily even in cold weather, and that’s the only feature that I understood (lol!) Here are the rest:

– 3000W rated and 4000W surge power
– Powered by a 196cc Champion gasoline OHV engine
– 3.4 gallon (13 L) fuel tank ensures that you have 10 running hours at 50% load
– Has a noise level of 68 dBA from 23 feet
– Integrated control panel with 120V twistlock, two 120V duplexes and circuit breaker protection
– Low oil shut off prevents engine damage
– Includes 8 inch (20.3 cm) never flat tires, folding handle and voltmeter

It’s one of those products that you don’t ‘need’ until you really really need it and then you’re frustrated you’re left without. Power outages in the winter have been an issue here and there in my city, but thankfully there have been no stories of families being left without for too long.

It’s more so in the summer months where storms can wreck havoc here in Saskatchewan (did you know we’re part of tornado alley?) and many times families are left without power for hours at a time. It’s then that having a generator for power would be hugely essential – not only to keep the family comfortable and happy with lights, air conditioning and more but also to ensure your fridge and freezer items don’t spoil. I have been unfortunate enough to have smelled what an unplugged freezer full of spoiled food smells like, and let me tell you – you don’t soon forget!

The above video shares some great information from Canadian Tire on how to choose a generator, with information on how much electricity some products in your home use, so you can choose the best item for you. It also better explains all those features listed above, so you can better understand the WHY and the HOW when it comes to owning a generator.

If you need more good reasons to purchase one, aside from that emergency use, I’m told that camping can be taken to a whole new level if you have a generator on hand to meet the needs of a large family (I love this idea!)

Champion Generators are available in Canada at Canadian Tire, and are certainly worth a discussion in your household this spring.

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We went to know a situation where you could have used a generator in the past. Enter your name and email address in the form below, then leave a comment sharing your story. You’ll be entered to win a $50 Canadian Tire Gift Card!

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  • A generator would be helpful at my parents trailer when the power goes out for a few hours at a time because of the need for the system in the park to be upgraded. No refrigeration is no fun.

  • A generator would have been handy when our power went out for 8 hours a couple of winters ago. Luckily nothing froze up.

  • We have a 150 gallon saltwater fish aquarium. Thankfully, we have not had an extended power outage since getting it but it could quickly become problematic if we lost power for longer than a day or two. Poor Nemo!

  • A generator would have been useful when during a very cold snap this winter, our power went out at 4 am (due we later found out to a semi hitting a pole). We were without power from 4 am till 9 am. We woke up the kids and brought them and their blankets into the living room. We brought the two cats and the dog in too, then proceeded to shut bedroom & bathroom doors and the door between the living room and kitchen….essentially leaving the living room the only room where 6 humans and 3 animals huddled under blankets. We lit 17 tea light candles and were able to stay comfortable till the power came back on.

  • would have come in handy a number of times when we lost power for hours due to someone hitting a power line or other reasons.

  • I generator would have been useful out camping where there were no hook-ups. It was in the mountains and quite chilly.

  • About 8 years ago we were snowed in and our power went out.. I was panicking about all the food in the fridge & freezer. We did not have a generator & it would have been a life-saver! Also have been on many camping trips where this would make life easier!

  • A generator is absolutely on our list! It’s part of our emergency preparedness plan. Power outages, inclement weather and the occasional camping trip are all great examples of when we need this.

  • We could’ve really used a generator our first summer in our new home, about 2.5 years ago, with 3.5 year old twins and a 2 year old, when an accident caused our power to go out for one and a half days. Because of how little they were, we had no choice but to pack up and go to my parents- a two bedroom condo!

  • We lived in Nova Scotia when I was younger and the power went out regularly during winter storms. We could certainly have used a generator then, as it often didn’t come back on for a day or more.

  • A generator would have been handy when our power went out for several hours a few winters ago and our home was freezing. It also would have been great when the power went off for many hours during the summer, to keep our chest freezer and refrigerator working and I had to throw out our milk, eggs, meats, cheese, etc.

  • We’ve lost our power a few times each winter, so a generator would have been useful those times. I didn’t mind losing power so much before we had kids, but now I don’t like it as much. We get cold, and they get a bit scared, and I worry about our food going bad (we keep our fridge and freezer a lot more stocked up now that we have kids, so we have more food to lose than before).

  • Here in Newfoundland. A generator is a must. I was staying with my mother December/January while she was recovering from hip surgery and the power went a number of times for up to 8 hrs. That is not long considering just before that the power was out in the the community for 2 days up to a week for some.

  • I could have used a generator during Hurricane Juan when we lost power but luckily our neighbors had one and invited us for coffee.

  • Last winter we had a power outage that lasted 54 hours. The area stores ran out of generators, but luckily a neighbour lent us a small back up genny they had, which kept our freezer and heat running. They are handy to have.

  • A generator would have been useful when we had an ice storm and the hydro went out. We were also preparing for a post-wedding party for my brother and his wife the next day. The hydro was still out but the party went on! We were able to borrow a generator for the party day but it would have been helpful to have one while prepping the food etc. before the party.

  • We could of used the generator in the last ice storm.. We also could use the generator when we are camping in the summer. sometimes when Travelling – we can’t get to an area when we can plug in the trailer so, the generator would be so handle to help make my morning coffee..

  • It was a few years back and we had an ice storm that took the hydro out for 3 days, we ended up getting a flood in our basement because the sump pump wasn’t running, total was a little over 20 thousand and lost a lot of personal items, if we had a generator we would have been all good and wouldn’t of lost anything!!

  • It would have been very useful here the other night. We had a huge store with almost 70cm of snow. Our power went for 6 hours. We could have used it to power a heater. Thanks!

  • I’ve been in a few snowstorms when a generator would have been useful. If you have a well, you don’t have any water if the power goes out.

  • This definitely would have come in handy during a major ice storm that we had two years back! and just overall would be a relief to have one

  • I live rurally so a generator is always good, I remember 7 years ago the power went out in the winter for about 15 hours. It was Christmas eve actually, it went out in the later evening – it might have been longer than 15 hours, I don’t remember but at any rate a generator would have been good then. It was chilly

  • We could have definitely used a generator last Easter when we had an ice storm and were without power for 3 days! It got so cold (and boring) in the house. Thanks for the chance!

  • A generator would have been useful last month when we lost power for three days and had the grandkids visiting

  • Living in the country, having no power seems to happen more often. One summer we lost our power for days. Lost everything in our freezer and fridge. It has always been a dream of ours to someday own a generator. Peace of mind

  • Would of been helpful after a tornado went through our area and we were without power for 3 days. We lost everything in the fridge & freezer.

  • A generator would have been handy to us when we were out of power for a full day in the dead of winter and I was supposed to bake cookies for a dinner party. Needless to say there were store bought cookies involved

  • We’ve had a few times when the power was out all night and still out the next morning. We have to make toast and coffee on the BBQ! 🙂

  • Oh jeez! I would have loved a generator a couple of years ago when the power went out at my house during a storm. The water in my basement sump hole was rising fast and bailing it out by hand was crazy!

  • We lost power for 3 days once when my kids were all really little. It was horrible. We also had pink eye at the time. Worst weekend ever!

  • We like to go out to the lake year round and have had the power go out with bad weather – it would be helpful to keep a space heater going in the cooler months!

  • We were part of the blackout in Ontario in 2003. We were one of the luckier ones when we got power back after about 30 hours. We sure could’ve used a generator that August.

  • We were part of the blackout in Ontario in 2003. We were one of the luckier ones when we got power back after about 30 hours. We sure could’ve used a generator that August.

  • A couple of summers ago, a goose flew into a hydro pole in our neighbourhood and our power was out for 2 days. A generator would have been very helpful then.

  • this would have been useful last winter when the power went out when it was about -30, the transformer blew up the street and it took them about 2 hrs to fix it, go pretty cold in here

  • Growing up, we lived on acreage with a well which meant when the power went out, no water for days. This would have helped with two girls in the house!

  • A couple of years ago we had a power outage in the winter that lasted just over a day. That was the winter that we got rid of our wood fire, so we were very uncomfortable. A generator would have been perfect.

  • A generator would have been very useful when the hydro went off the whole Canada-US eastern section for many days.

  • Growing up in Nova Scotia, the power went out everytime we got a big wind storm and you never knew how long it would take to get it back on. It would have been so nice to have a generator back then.

  • A few years ago the hydro went out all over Ontario and for some of the USA. It was out for days in some areas. A generator would help to get water through out the house also heat it and heat the house

  • I would have been grateful to have a generator during the 1998 Ice Storm. A week without power was quite the experience!

  • We had a power outage and it lasted a long time, a generator would of been great. I think everyone should have one.

  • We haven’t had a long power outage in many years. It was maybe 15 years ago and I remember we boiled water on our gas BBQ to make coffee. Would have been nice to have a generator for that event.

  • We certainly could have used this when we were camping and the breaker kept going on the post outside and it was mighty chilly that weekend. We do have batteries but it took a lot of juice from them and we had to keep starting the truck to make sure the batteries stayed charged. This would have been a big help.

  • A generator would have been very useful about two years ago when our power was out for two days. We had to keep our frozen food and things in coolers packed in ice. It was not a fun time. Hard to cook also with no power so a camp stove worked and the bbq.

  • So many times this would have been useful to us. We live in the country and when we bought our house it had been abandoned for 8 years. No water and 3 outlets! While renovating it would have been amazing to have a generator.

  • Several years back we were without power for three days, it was unpleasant and a generator would have made all the difference.

  • It would have come in handy a few years back when we lost our power for 3 days , glad we have a wood stove to keep us warm and cook on 🙂

  • a few years ago it was in Oct. We had a huge wind storm and we had lost power for 3 days. On the second day we packed a small bag for me and the kids and headed to the motel. A generator would have been nice for those three days

  • When my kids were younger we had a week long ice storm. The generator could have come in handy because we went for a day without electricity during that storm.

  • Anytime the power goes out. One of my kids is deathly afraid of the dark, so when the power goes out its absolute mayhem around here, and candles normally don’t cut it.

  • A generator would have been helpful when we were living in New Brunswick, during the ice storm and lost power for two days.

  • We could have used a generator last summer when the whole campground power went out. We lost everything in our freezer.

  • A generator would have been useful for the power outages we experience due to snow storms. Without a wood stove in our house any longer, it is a challenge to keep warm.

  • A generator would have been helpful when we ran out of power for 5-6 hours on a cold winter day. It’s also very handy to have when Camping on crown land.

  • Hmmm we’ve lost power a couple of times from storms so a generator would have been a big help to keep us from losing everything in the fridge.

  • I remember losing power during an ice storm a few years ago. Thankfully, it didn’t last too long but during that time I was worried about the food in the fridge and freezer. Having a generator would give some sense of relief if anything similar were to happen again.

  • We had a storm a few years back where it was scarey for me without hydro. I have sleep apnea and depend on medical vices to sleep. Needless to say I stayed awake all through the night.

  • Back in 2014 we suffered through almost a week of power outages lasting 10-12 hours at a time. Sometimes longer. It was in January and we had frigid temperatures. It became known as #DarkNL throughout social media. Now whenever there’s a storm or low temps I get so nervous that we will see a repeat of that time.

  • A generator would be useful in camping at areas that do not have electricity. We have camped many times in the past at non electric camp sites.

  • Power went out and it was raining like crazy outside. The sump pump couldn’t kick in and our newly finished basement flooded.

  • power outages seem to be common and now that hubby has a C-pap machine to help with breathing at night it would be great to have a generator on standby.,

  • We go yearly to the star party in Cypress and in the beginning only about 5 spots had electrical and water (now they expanded and all of them do) But when we go , we like to park further back into the trees because our camper is from the 70’s (its old but its paid for) so we either don’t plug in or we plug in but are not in the spot/shade we’d like…we like to be further back for privacy…I like to camp but like to pretend I’m all alone in the woods lol

  • it would’ve come in handy for that huge blackout that occured in August 2003. while i wouldn’t have changed anything, it might’ve been handy to loan to a business or to help someone in need of a generator.

  • a generator would be handy when I was cooking a turkey on Christmas Eve, and the power went out for a few hours – eek! I was truly panicking! But everything turned out ok!

  • on Christmas Eve one year, I had a turkey in the oven, roasting, and the power went out – I was freaking out! The power was off for a few hours! But, everything turned out ok and the turkey was saved

  • A generator would have been very useful last November, when we had a 24 hour power outage (and we’re rural, so it was brutal).

  • I would have been grateful for a generator when our power was out for days. I threw out so much food and it was a shame.

  • When my son was just under a year the power went out during a snow storm. The roads were impassable unless you had a four wheel drive so we were stuck at home in the cold. We had no source of heat since our furnace needs electricity to run. We had no idea it would be out for so long. It ended up being almost 2 days. If we had a generator at least we could have plugged in a space heater. Instead we wore winter coats and snuggled under blankets with our entertainment being board games and story reading.

  • This generator would have saved our basement when we had some flooding in our community and there was no electricity and our sump pump did not function

  • We like camping but we don’t have a generator and often end up with a campsite with no power because all the electric sites are taken.

  • Several years back when Ontario and part of the US had a massive power failure we went a week with out power. We really could have used it then to save all our food and some of the neighbors. We cooked up all the meat on the BBQ and shared it around. It had gone down just as people would be preparing dinner. We live on a single income and had just done the months shopping and we weren’t alone in that. If I had a generator today it would be even more important as my mom has COPD and must have her oxygen 24/7 and which electricity is required to deliver. They get lots of power outs in Barrie, its scary for my mom and everyone. With an emergency generator I wouldn’t have to worry as much.

  • We didn’t have too many power outages, but when we did have them I sure wish we had some back up in place. Even a few hours that they lasted put us in danger of loosing a lot of food from the fridge and freezer.

  • We lived through the ice storm that swept across Ontario and we were without power for a week.A generator would have been so handy to have then. It damaged five trees in our backyard and we had to have them removed. We were cold and afraid of losing everything in our fridge and freezer. It’s a time I will never forget!

  • We live in a spot where our power goes out often so could definitely use. One time in particular, it was a snowy night and the power went out right when we were about to make dinner. There was too much snow for my car and we were hungry and cold. The estimated power-on time was the following morning. Luckily some friends grabbed us in a 4×4 and we stayed over night at their house as the power was not back on til 9 the next day.

  • We have done a lot of camping with and without power. Now that we have kids it’s a lot more serviced camping. Some of the most beautiful camping though is without power , so taking an opportunity to go to a place like Lac Eauclaire would be perfect with a generator and a quiet one like this one. Roughing it is ok for a few days but when you want to spend a month at the lake this would definetly bring some comforts of a hot shower:)

  • We were camping at Wabamun Lake in AB 5 years ago with our 2.5 yr old and me being about 7 months pregnant. A giant storm ripped through the campground (everyone was okay, thankfully) but due to trees being downed, the power was out for many hours. We had propane tanks but were on our way home from Jasper and they were down to almost empty so we bundled up and cuddled until we had power again. A generator would have been perfect to keep us cozy that night!

  • During a storm our power went out and we had no heat. Fortunately our neighbour had a fireplace, so I could go to her house with my little ones. A Generator would have made things easier.

  • Are you allowed to take those things camping? LOL. I’m a girl who likes a little glamping more so than camping – if you could take one of these to get things all powered up that would make camping all that more appealing to me!

  • We could have used a generator when the power went out a few years ago, basement flooded because the sump pump had no back up battery.

  • when our furnace broke down in the dead of winter….a generator would have helped power the heaters until our furnace was fixed

  • The power tends to go out in our neighbourhood whenever we have crazy weather. A generator would have come in handy a few weeks ago.

  • A generator would have been helpful last year when a garbage truck knocked down our power line and we were out of power for 2 days.

  • Our sump pump is in a very shallow hole for some reason and runs on power from our house. Anytime the power goes out, the sump stops working. Unfortunately for us, that always seems to happen when we are getting a bad rain storm.
    When this happens, which is often, my husband or I have to bail out the water that rapidly flows in…in the dark.
    Moment I could have really used this generator: Oct 13th, 2016 at 2 am. Husband just had triple hernia surgery. Power is out for 2 days. Sump stops. I am up all night hauling buckets and buckets of water out of the basement since he couldn’t life a bag of potatoes at that point. Would have LOVED to have had that machine set up to help me then. It only takes 2 hours of no power for the basement to flood, so a new generator would be AMAZING.

  • I don’t think I’ve had a situation where a generator would have been useful, as we’ve never had a power outage more than 3 hours long.

  • A generator would have been so useful to us a few winters ago when the power went out for quite a quile and it was getting to be REALLy chilly in the house. We were considering moving everything from the big freezer outside and going to a hotel in the city when the power finally came back on.

  • There was a blackout for a few days close to Christmas times a few years ago. It took more than 4 days for the power to get back on and we had to leave our home since it was way too cold especially we have kids. So if at that time, if we had a generator, we did not have to leave our home.

  • We had a 18 hour power outage a few years ago in the summertime after a major storm. My hubby rigged up a temporary generator using his grandpa’s old car just to keep our fridge running. We were able to also use the toaster. He is super handy, but a generator would’ve been awesome at the time, hahaha!

  • I think if I won this, it would make the very cold winters here a lot less worrisome. Plus my husband would be so appreciative… LOL, well wouldn’t that be a wonderful bonus.

  • a generator would be useful for my husband at his truck where there isn’t always ready power for anything he needs to fix or clean and then great to use here in case of outage.

  • Living on Prince Edward Island the weather often knocks out power, especially in the countryside. So having one would be great so we wouldn’t freeze if there was a huge storm!

  • Sure would have been good when the large city breaker decided to blow and create black smoke for the whole area to see leaving us in the dark for 3 days. This sure would have been perfect for this situation.

  • We have been lucky enough not to lose power for a few years now but with 6 children I would absolutely hate to lose power and not have a back up.

  • we had an ice storm here in the GTA 2 years ago and we were without power for 3 days. It was brutal. Thank goodness for friends who let us come visit and cook our food!

  • This past winter my son, his wife and 3 girls all under 6 moved to a farm. Needless to say it was a rough one for them and boy could they have used a generator many times throughtout the winter.

  • We had a 15 mth old, it was a couple of days before Christmas and a huge ice storm took out our power. Power was out for 4 days. We had to move out during that time, but a generator would have been nice to stay home.

  • We live in the country and always had a wood fire that kept up warm and fed in case of power outages. We just got rid of the wood fire and the power was off for two days – it was a trying time.

  • Few years ago right I purchase a large meat order to fill our freezer…there was a freak storm that left parts of town with NO power for almost a week…wasted lots of money!

  • a few weeks ago we had a huge ice storm, my boyfriends father was out of power for 6 days, he stayed with us. But It would have been nice for him to have one. He lost alot of the stuff in the fridge and freezer.

  • We could have used it this passed week as our power kept going out and for miles and miles there was no power. It upset my son to not be able to have any lights on. Thank goodness for already charged portable DVD player.