Take me to generator school

[ykdave]

All comes down to what you want to run.

If you plan on only using it for battery charging and running a TV/satellite/game console, i would recommend what others have. get a pair of cheap ~2000w inverter generators capable of paralleling.

for the most part, just running a few small appliances its going to be quiet, and not burn a load of gas. If you feel the need to run an A/C or the ol ladys hair dryer and curling iron (LOL) you can flash up the second generator.



Also like mentioned, 4000w isnt going to run everything, but its going to run quite a bit of gear. If you are going to need to run more than one A/C, your going to have to step up your game.


Id also like to clear up something that was stated incorrectly earlier. An inverter generator is the best option when running sensitive electronics (tvs, laptops/computers/ game consoles, ect). Inverters produce 'clean' power, whereas the typical brushless generator produces a more 'dirty' power as the power supplied to the load is direct from the alternator, not run through an inverter or conditioner. This has absolutely nothing to do with the voltage and whether or not it has a voltage regulator. All generators have a voltage regulator!


If sound is going to be an issue, your options are pretty limited on a conventional generator unless you want to lug around an insulated box to put over it so your neighbours dont bust your knee caps with their baseball bats . I havent seen a conventional generator regardless of size, that i would personally like to hear running all day in the campground! but if cost is an issue, unless you can find a smoking deal on a pair of small inverters or a large one, its ALOT cheaper to go with a conventional generator (comparing apples to apples here locally its $570 for a conventional style 4000w champion, whereas its $1500 for a pair of 2000w champion inverters, not including the cost of the parallel kit).

another thing to consider too, is fuel cost. If you want to have power all the time, and dont necessarily need alot of power, this is where having the small inverters will shine. you can run one inverter and burn ~2gal a day instead of burning ~8gal a day and having to listen to the conventional generator making a racket all day for nothing.

[asquared]

Awesome info guys. And we don't need to worry about hairdryers/curling irons as I almost never even use them at home let alone camping. AC, I would only run one and if necessary at that.... I have a 15k in the main area or a 13k in the bedroom. Microwave is rarely used and vacuuming can be done at home. So it would be mainly, lights, ceiling fan, batteries, charging phones, ipad/kindle and some tv usage and as stated 1 AC if needed.

[ependydad]

For 1 A/C, I've come to the understanding that you need 3500 watts to run the 15k one.

[youroo]

Originally Posted by asquared

Awesome info guys. And we don't need to worry about hairdryers/curling irons as I almost never even use them at home let alone camping. AC, I would only run one and if necessary at that.... I have a 15k in the main area or a 13k in the bedroom. Microwave is rarely used and vacuuming can be done at home. So it would be mainly, lights, ceiling fan, batteries, charging phones, ipad/kindle and some tv usage and as stated 1 AC if needed.

Vacuuming when you get Home? If you travel it Is your Home! Even if shoes are removed Before entering Sand somehow has a way of finding a way In! Youroo!! My Vote is Honda 3000 for 1 AC use, If you need More power get a Bigger Honda,or Go to a 50A Campground!

[Skyliner]

An affordable Boliy 3000 watt generator is what I've used for past 4 years or so. I run the snot out of this generator when I dry camp-about 6-8 hours a day. It is a reliable and affordable lightweight clone of a Yamaha generator. Folks in my ATV club were surprised how quiet it was and several bought ones for themselves. I got mine from bottomline trading. I'm going to buy another one this summer because mine doesn't have wheels, handle, external fuel tank option, or remote start and use the old one as a backup for my home.

[B and B]

See my Sig..
Powerhouse 4000 w Fuel Injected electric remote start. A deal for sure at $1200.00 CDN sold at RV Show. Honda 3100 would be $2400.00 with less power, smaller gas tank and same noise rating.

[Kenny kustom]

Originally Posted by B and B

See my Sig..
Powerhouse 4000 w Fuel Injected electric remote start. A deal for sure at $1200.00 CDN sold at RV Show. Honda 3100 would be $2400.00 with less power, smaller gas tank and same noise rating.

My dealer was telling me about these powerhouse gennys.

Sounds like it's a hit?


2016 Sabre 36QBOK
2015 Ram 3500 CUMMINS

[B and B]

Yes, I bought it last winter at the Toronto RV show. Sweet deal if you are close to a show.

[Kenny kustom]

Originally Posted by B and B

Yes, I bought it last winter at the Toronto RV show. Sweet deal if you are close to a show.

No idea where the closest show would be...
Minnesota is only 8 hours from me.

Looks like the Toronto show is on a good weekend. We have the Monday as a holiday.

Toronto show worth going to?
Would really like to see a few super c in person.

2016 Sabre 36QBOK
2015 Ram 3500 CUMMINS

[jlgail4309]

Briggs Stratton 30553 Powersmart Series Portable 2000 Watt Inverter Generator | eBay This is on ebay an open box $150. off seems like a good buy

[Skyliner]

That Powerhouse 4000 fuel injected engine is LOUD! This from what I could ascertain is NOT an inverter generator. It is 3600 watts continuous with 4000 watt surge. The 4000 is misleading.

Noise Level @ 23 ft.
(Zero Load / Full Load) 64.2 / 73.3 dB

The generator I recommended is 58 dB at full load and 53 dB at zero load. FOR EVERY 3 dB INCREASE, SOUND IS DOUBLED. It is 3000 watts continuous and 3300 watts surge. For about 950 bucks you can't beat a Boliy.

If someone ran one of these next to my camping spot, I wouldn't be breaking out the baseball bats but a judicious amount of diesel fuel in the fuel with do the trick.

[Skyliner]

Originally Posted by jlgail4309

Briggs Stratton 30553 Powersmart Series Portable 2000 Watt Inverter Generator | eBay This is on ebay an open box $150. off seems like a good buy

Nice generator, decent price, but only 1600 watts continuous. Not enough to run airconditioning when other things are drawing power in the camper.

Another thing to consider is high altitude use. Even with proper carb jetting, expect to lose 3% in horsepower and ELECTRICAL POWER capacity for every 1000 feet gain above sea level. Without proper jetting, this value worsens.

My 3600 watt start, 3000 watt continuous generator puts out 600watts less at my typical camping location due to altitude. I have to ensure my battery bank is charged and make sure fridge stays on propane before I attempt my air conditioning. At full charge, my battery charger uses 750 watts and the fridge uses about 300 watts max when switched to 120V AC instead of propane.

1600 watts is sufficient to charge batteries and run the fridge on AC but with little reserve.....microwave use should be attempted if charger is done charging or shut off.

[Kenny kustom]

Originally Posted by Skyliner

That Powerhouse 4000 fuel injected engine is LOUD! This from what I could ascertain is NOT an inverter generator. It is 3600 watts continuous with 4000 watt surge. The 4000 is .

I guess you get what you pay for.

Yamaha it is...



2016 Sabre 36QBOK
2015 Ram 3500 CUMMINS

[Skyliner]

Click on the image to make it larger so you can compare some of the common generators in the 3000 watt class

[Skyliner]

Boliy versus Champion: Boliy vs Champion

Very comparable with some things favoring the Champion but the larger fuel tank on the Bolily is whey I chose it plus newer Boliy's have option of a plug in marine fuel tank for even longer times before refueling.

The seller appears to be biased towards the Champion and I think his profit margin on it is higher. I don't really care or need a trickle or USB port on a generator...that's kind of silly since my generator is usually put 25-50 feet away from my camper so we can barely hear it. The Boliy's battery is kind of weak and good for 2-3 starts only so make sure you have your fuel on and choke on before you attempt electric start-pull start is very easy and starts on 2nd pull when cold.

The champion has 2 120 volt outlets----who cares, I'm only hooking up to the generator with the 30 amp RV outlet plug/cable....

Not sure what the trickle charging feature is on the Champion which the Boliy doesn't have....but never needed this feature as far as I can tell. The Boliy does have a 12 volt output that can be used to charge dead 12V batteries directly if needed.

You can't go wrong with either the champion of Boliy but I favor the Boliy becuase it has served me WELL for many many hours and years. All I have done is change the oil and clean the spark plug once a year.

I use 5w40 diesel oil which has high detergent capability and does better job protecting engine that has no oil filter (none do that i can tell)....being a diesel oil it is designed to suspend soot and crud.

[Kenny kustom]

Interesting how that boily is half the weight of the others.

Where did the weight go?




2016 Sabre 36QBOK
2015 Ram 3500 CUMMINS

[doc73]

I'm sure to save cost it is more plastic and lesser strength material.. Not saying it is a bad unit, no Idea, but the weight and cost came from somewhere.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk

[Skyliner]

No heavy flywheel. Stepper motor maintains engine rpm and generator armature acts as flywheel.

[asquared]

all options to look into thanks.

[Kenny kustom]

Originally Posted by Skyliner

No heavy flywheel. Stepper motor maintains engine rpm and generator armature acts as flywheel.

But it's not a 70lb flywheel.


2016 Sabre 36QBOK
2015 Ram 3500 CUMMINS