1000 vs 2000 watt generator for A122?

[rana]

Originally Posted by bikendan

Hope you showed him all the posts from those of us who recommended the 2000w, in the first place!😉

X2. For the price difference there really isn't a great argument for going smaller .

[rsdata]

I am going to add that you can purchase a $120 Harbor Freight 800 watt generator (2 cycle, oil and gas mix) that runs for about 8 hours ( I have run mine as long as 9+ with lite loading) on a gallon of fuel. These ARE EPA/CARB approved gas engines. They weigh about 25-30# and is easy to carry and handle. Not as quiet as a Honda, but only 1/5 th the price. You can bring along 100 feet of power cord and run it behind a tree and you will not hear it running, except at night and you should not be running a genny in a campground at night anyway.

I have owned this HF genny now for about 15 years.... same one... and I have hauled it all over creation, from Canada to Florida. I haul it in my van and never smelled it... ever. I take along a 3 gallon fuel container and a quart of 2 cycle oil mix. It is easy to start, usually only taking 2-3 pulls and it is easy to pull/crank. I will often run it out of fuel, and when it does it is ready to store for a long time like over winter. Otherwise you can turn off fuel valve and run the carb dry for the same effect. I always store WITH stabilized fuel FULL in the tank to minimize condensation and getting water in the gas tank. I have even used it to help me start my larger 4.5Kw generator in the winter, when it is cold. I start the small one, put it outside near the larger genny, pointing the warm exhaust toward it, then throw a tarp over everything. The hot exhaust warms the larger genny making it much easier to pull/crank start in the cold.

I have run laptops, TV's, charged deep cell batteries with a charger, and even recharged my TV battery with it once when I left my interior light on. I have camped with it in the back woods of Canada for 10+ years (my original purpose) and dry camped with little more then this generator with several friends for as long as 3 weeks. During those trips the genny would run for 8 to 16 hours every day, recharging boat batteries on two boats, providing some electric lighting in camp when we got home from fishing late, and powering any 120V appliance within it's wattage capability that you can imagine. These days I use it for 5 days at a time going to a music festival with my Shamrock HTT, and only to keep the HTT battery charged while running our Fantastic fans all night in hot July weather.

I have looked at using propane for longer term emergency use with my 4.5K genny at home, but after research I found that the amount of propane necessary to power the unit for any length of time, would be a larger consideration to maintain then having 4 or 5, five gallon gasoline containers for fuel as I do now. I keep my emergency fuel rotated, using it in my autos once per year and re-filling the containers every summer so to keep fresh gas from going stale.

Going this route will get your feet wet with a gas genny for $120 (as little as $90 when they go on sale) and you can decide for yourself after a few trips what YOU actually need and want to do with a generator while camping. I know many people that have never used A/C while camping and you might join that group.

Just a suggestion from someone that has been there and done that...

Good luck with your choice!http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ignhavefun.gif

[bikendan]

How about telling her how loud it is! Like in decibels.

[rana]

Originally Posted by bikendan

How about telling her how loud it is! Like in decibels.

I would tend to agree. It's generally best to stay away from those "contractor' type genny's. Some camp grounds flat out prohibit their use, but even where allowed you're not going to make many friends of your neighbors.

[rsdata]

OK, I think I pointed out it was not as quiet as a Honda...
but it is NOT a contractor generator at 800 watts and the sound is more of a loud purr than a roar...

I wish we could all afford a Honda... I have never had a complaint running my HF at a public campground, NEVER. Of course I am careful not to run it so that other campers CAN hear it, usually mid-day when everyone is out and about.

You tube comparison here https://youtu.be/fH_4rY1CbNA

Decibel ratings, like it or not very depending on the distance from the source so they are almost meaningless, because they are NOT standardized measurements.

" The distance of the measuring microphone from a sound source is often omitted when SPL measurements are quoted, making the data useless. In the case of ambient environmental measurements of "background" noise, distance need not be quoted as no single source is present, but when measuring the noise level of a specific piece of equipment the distance should always be stated. "Sound pressure - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I have sat close to a Honda, a Yamaha and my HF 800 watt genny, and both of the others are very quiet, can't hear them running from 20 feet away, while mine is just simply "not loud" MY QUOTES, and with a wind blowing in the trees, can't even hear it at 40-50 feet...
Simply trying to give the new campers an inexpensive option to figure out what they need...
anyone got a used HONDA out there to sell, cheap?

[Kanikamom]

Bikendan: Abso friggin' lutely! But one can only bring a horse to water!

[Kanikamom]

Originally Posted by bikendan

Hope you showed him all the posts from those of us who recommended the 2000w, in the first place!😉

Abso-friggin-lutely, I gave him the responses from everyone. You can head a hotse to water... Anyway, bottom line, after many challenges, we now have a 2000!

[rana]

Originally Posted by Kanikamom

Anyway, bottom line, after many challenges, we now have a 2000!

Thataway. And you can't really go wrong during kani season. Cheers on ya.

[Kanikamom]

So excited! We were able to use our Honda 2000w genny with our trailer in the garage, testing the microwAve and phone charging capabilities that we now have. THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR EXCELLENT ADVICE ON THIS MATTER. The man may get a propane converter in the future, but right now gasoline works just fine. Now the man is building sliding drawers under the table. Can't stop the mods once they start! Luv it!

[MinneweeseMI]

Originally Posted by Kanikamom

So excited! We were able to use our Honda 2000w genny with our trailer in the garage, testing the microwave and phone charging capabilities that we now have...

Is it able to start the A/C?

[youroo]

Hey, Baby Steps! Youroo!!

[Kanikamom]

Baby steps? Absolutely! I'll try to test the A/C with the 2000 next weekend at the campground. So many of you responders say you do it with a 2000, even tho the A/C manual says it won't work.

[deartruc]

We tried the 1kw for our pup about 10 yrs ago. Yes, the $100 price tag was the selling factor. Besides sounding like a chain saw rev'ing next to us, everyone else was quite upset (enough to get the ranger over to talk about when to use..though we never ran early AM or late PM). So, for the rest of our boondock trips, we'd use two deepcycles and a battery charge. One battery on the camper, the other at the bathhouse getting charged. When we got our first htt, I wanted a gen that would kick over the a/c. I called Yamaha after reading several reviews about the 2400 watt being able to do it. Yamaha said they state it won't kick over the a/c compressor on a 13.5k a/c. They recommended the 3k. I was told (by Camping World) once bought, you can't bring th gen back. So, 3kw it was. Was going to do solar panels for our one week a year boondocking, but that trip has fallen through. State campgrounds here don't allow pets and we lost our dog sitter.

[Pooneil]

Hey. 2K all the way.