Generator's

[VT Skier]

Thinking of buying a small generator to recharge the batteries as we will be doing a ton of dry camping the question is will a generator that has 1200 watts be enough to charge batteries or not and would it be enough to run the campers other things? Just a newbie trying to figure it all out.

Thanks

[TURBS]

What else do you want to run?
A/c ?
Furnace?
Electric heaters?

1200 is that running watts or surge?
That gennie is capable of about 10 amps which isn't much.
It'll charge your batteries fine but not much else.
I'll post a amp usage chart.

4000 running watts "33 amps" is minimal if you want full power in your camper.

TURBS.

[TURBS]

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...aws-17300.html

TURBS.

[rana]

Originally Posted by VT Skier

Thinking of buying a small generator to recharge the batteries as we will be doing a ton of dry camping the question is will a generator that has 1200 watts be enough to charge batteries or not and would it be enough to run the campers other things? Just a newbie trying to figure it all out.

Thanks

It would be helpful to know more about your rig, battery situation and planned usage. Ie. Do you plan to run an inverter? If so, which one. etc.

If you are just wanting to charge your batteries and use your 12v systems, then yes. A 1200watt genny will do the job, but 2000watt would be better. Less run time and you will get a deeper charge.

[Flybob]

Also important to know where you plan to camp. Most state and Fed campgrounds /lands require a Forest Service approved spark arrestor equipped generator. You don't want to show up for a week of dry camping only to find out your generator can not be used.

[rana]

Originally Posted by Flybob

Also important to know where you plan to camp. Most state and Fed campgrounds /lands require a Forest Service approved spark arrestor equipped generator. You don't want to show up for a week of dry camping only to find out your generator can not be used.

Better yet... go full on solar and increase your battery bank. A few weeks without a genset... No problem.

[acadianbob]

2000 to 2400 watts will run about everything except your air conditioner. It will run your microwave, a hair dryer, charge your batteries etc.

Do yourself and everyone around you a favor by getting a nice quiet generator; like a Honda or Yamaha.

Happy Camping!

[Canonman]

Originally Posted by VT Skier

Thinking of buying a small generator to recharge the batteries as we will be doing a ton of dry camping the question is will a generator that has 1200 watts be enough to charge batteries or not and would it be enough to run the campers other things? Just a newbie trying to figure it all out.

Thanks

I'm a UT Skier and we dry camp a lot. If running the AC isn't a necessity, then the smaller 2000 to 3000 inverter type units will do the job for you. Expect to spend $500 to $700 for non name brands. We went with the Dometic and have been quite happy with it. Stay away from the "construction" type units that are much noisier. These things drive everyone in the CG nuts. You can get a good inverter (they look like a suitcase) unit at Costco or Sam's. These are 1/2 the cost of the name brands and from our experience will do a good job of charging batteries and running the usual camper accessories.
Happy Camping!

[Evo2700]

If you intent is to only charge the batteries, you can get a decent solar system for what you will spend on a generator. It will be quieter and you won't have to buy gas to run it

[VT Skier]

Usage would be to recharge battery possible small period where we could use the outlets no AC no microwave.

[VT Skier]

Cannonman


Is that Alta or Snowbird?

[rana]

Originally Posted by acadianbob

2000 to 2400 watts will run about everything except your air conditioner. It will run your microwave, a hair dryer, charge your batteries etc.

Do yourself and everyone around you a favor by getting a nice quiet generator; like a Honda or Yamaha.

Happy Camping!

X2 And an amen on the Honda/Yamaha. Quiet is good.

[Herk7769]

Spend the money and buy a Honda 2000 COMPANION. That will do everything but run the AC. http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...5499_200585499

You can add a second Honda 2000 (NOT the companion) and a parallel kit if the AC becomes an issue. http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...5434_200585434

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...0099_200330099

They make a dual generator feeding fuel kit that will service both generators from the same tank of gas; BUT it ONLY works on the Honda 2000s because they have a fuel pump.

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...8951_200408951

OTHER generators use gravity feeds and will NOT work with an external fuel tank.

[rana]

Originally Posted by VT Skier

Usage would be to recharge battery possible small period where we could use the outlets no AC no microwave.

Then a 1200watt would be fine. Just be aware that a 1200 may not actually be a sustained 1200watts. Read the literature for sustained and surge wattage's. Also be aware that it would not be sufficient to run a heat pump, furnace, or electric heater.

[VT Skier]

Early and late season we would camp using shore power here in VT not much use for AC mostly just want to keep batteries charged if we are out for 3+ days replacing all the lights with LED'S.

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by VT Skier

Early and late season we would camp using shore power here in VT not much use for AC mostly just want to keep batteries charged if we are out for 3+ days replacing all the lights with LED'S.

That is exactly why buying the correct setup is important. Buy the wrong one first and it will sit in the garage when you have to retrace your steps and buy what you should have bought in the first place.

I almost made a second mistake when I almost pulled the trigger on the 2000 watt champion setup. While it can be paralleled, it does not have a fuel pump and can not be fed from a single larger tank (a deal breaker for me).


https://www.google.com/shopping/prod...&ved=0CJcBELok

[Canonman]

Originally Posted by VT Skier

Cannonman


Is that Alta or Snowbird?

The Bird, Mineral Basin.
We used a 700w generator and found it most adequate for simple battery recharge. We use rechargeable LED lanterns for both inside and outside and and recharged those at the same time (via the outlets in the camper) as we did the house batteries. While we could easily last a couple of days at a time, we found a daily charge would only take about 2 hrs to top off all the batteries.
Camping at anywhere from 6k to 10k ft elevations we often needed the furnace during the night. We had no problems keeping the charge level up with just a couple of hours a day recharge. Changed over to the larger unit when we started camping more in the desert and needed the A/C. Now that's "Glamping"

[camaraderie]

VT... You should size your generator at a minimum to power the charger you want to use to charge your battery bank. For wet cell batteries...the charger should be no larger than 25% of the amp hours in the bank...i.e. 50amps for a 200 amp hour battery charger (Batteries will not ACCEPT more than a 25% charging current so buying more charger is a waste.) It will take you at least 4 hours of charging to bring your bank from 50% to 100% charge due to charge resistance. You can get away with less for a few days provided you plug in somewhere to top up to 100%.

Now...sticking with the example I gave...a 50 amp charger @ 14V (approx bulk charging voltage) will require 700 watts + some loss to efficiency so I would size somewhere in the 900 to 1000 watt generator FULL time rating JUST for the charger.
(Note this is about right for a pair of 6V's or a pair of bigger 12V's) If you only have one coach battery...then the genny only needs to be about half that rating

Anything else you want to run at the same time you are charging should be factored in to the size of the genny using the amp draws of the item per Herks list and remembering some loads are AC amps and others are DC... multiply by 120 or 12 respectively to find how much wattage you need extra and DOuBLE it for anything with a MOTOR inside for peak start up draw.

Hope this helps. What ski areas are you near in VT? Lived in Winooskie for a while!