Take me to generator school

[jlgail4309]

Originally Posted by Skyliner

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.

it also has parallel capability so you can connect two units together for more power.

[Skyliner]

Originally Posted by Kenny kustom

But it's not a 70lb flywheel.


2016 Sabre 36QBOK
2015 Ram 3500 CUMMINS

Not sure where the savings come from, but I appreciate the light weight and it has served me well for 4+ years. Plastic has held up well, no cracks, no damage, and the only issue with the exterior is that the plastic has faded a bit. I can't complain, this generator has seen a lot of bad weather. This summer we had rain almost every day and every day we camped. It handles the bad weather without any hiccups. Many times I'm too lazy to shut the thing off so I let it run thru the night when it is pouring outside. That is why I'm buying another one with remote start and external marine fuel tank capability!

Is it a perfect generator? No. My main and only complaint is that the stepper motor isn't as fast as I'd like it. If I want to run the a/c, it is usually best to turn off the eco mode so the generator is operating at full rpm. A trick I found to avoid having to go outside to turn the eco switch off is to put a gradual load on the generator. I will plug in a 1500 watt heater and then turn it on 1 which is 500 wats, and then turn it 2, 1000 watt, and then on 3 which is 1500 watts....when the generator settles in, I'll simultaneously turn off the small heater and turn on the a/c on the same time...works every time and only takes 10 seconds so it doesn't really heat up an already hot camper anymore.

[CTGREG]

I purchased a Honda 2000ei generator a few years back when the northeast lost power for almost a week. I ran extension cords to the basement for the boiler and freezer, a cord to the kitchen for the refrigerator, a cord to the living room for the pellet stove, and a cord to the bedroom for lights, tv, radio etc. The 1.1 gallon tank lasted for about 8 hours. After fueling it up again, i changed the cord to a different zone i.e. boiler and freezer in basement. another 8 hrs went by, fueled up again and ran fridge, small tv in kitchen, cell phoned chargers light etc. All being said, i went through 3 gallons of gas in 24 hours. Not bad. Very little noise experienced. Now I have brought this generator when we are on the road with our CedarCreek 38CK as a back up source of power, although we usually find full hook up sites. It is comforting to know that this little quiet generator will keep our fridge, TV, lights and batteries up to full capacity if needed. One other thing I did was to replace the two twelve volt batteries with 4 true 12 volt deep cycle batteries (not the duel purpose ones that some dealers try to push). The trailer has a 1000 w inverter which I have found is plenty for what I need except for the A/C. The Honda generator is usually fixed price with a 50 dollar variable price at 999.00. The 4 deep cycle batteries will set you back about 900.00 but you might be able to get them cheaper. The reason that I did not go with 6 volt batteries, was the height and weight in addition to the cost. Another thing to look at would be the Renogy solar suitcase if you have a few hundred dollars to spare. I have not used it yet, but I expect to the next camping or (glamping) season. Sorry about the length of this post, but I wanted to keep someone informed of my experiences.

[AMG]

I had a 8500/7500 generator which had a lot of plugs you could use but only one 4 prong locking circle plug (I used an adapter to a 3 prong). I asked the mfgr and that outlet was 30A.

So basically not sure where you'll find a generator with a single RV plug that is 50A.

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by AMG

I had a 8500/7500 generator which had a lot of plugs you could use but only one 4 prong locking circle plug (I used an adapter to a 3 prong). I asked the mfgr and that outlet was 30A.

So basically not sure where you'll find a generator with a single RV plug that is 50A.

Champion Power Equipment 7,500/9,500-Watt Electric Start Gasoline Powered Portable Generator with 50-Amp and RV Outlet-41534 - The Home Depot

Has everything you need (except quietness!), though it is not too bad for a generator this size.

A DIY add on muffler system might help.

[AMG]

Originally Posted by Herk7769

Champion Power Equipment 7,500/9,500-Watt Electric Start Gasoline Powered Portable Generator with 50-Amp and RV Outlet-41534 - The Home Depot

Has everything you need (except quietness!), though it is not too bad for a generator this size.

A DIY add on muffler system might help.

Its 50A/240V, can you plug your RV in to that or if its 120V it would only use half the pairs and become 25A? I dont know.

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by AMG

Its 50A/240V, can you plug your RV in to that or if its 120V it would only use half the pairs and become 25A? I dont know.

There is a maximum of 50 amp available on each 120 volt leg of that 50 amp socket; just not all the time on both.

Plugged into a campground socket, that socket can supply:

L1 = 120 volts x 50 amps = 6000 watts
L2 = 120 volts x 50 amps = 6000 watts

or a maximum of 12,000 watts of stuff hooked up and powered at the same time.

BUT you can not get 6000 watts on BOTH L1 and L2 at the same time. The power is switched back and forth between L1 and L2 60 times a second (in the USA) so that the total needed at any given instant is 6000 watts.

This is true because the Neutral would need to be over twice as big to handle 100 amps if 50 amps was available continuously on both legs.

Obviously with 7500 watts available continuous total and 9500 watts peak with this generator, some power management is needed.

If you demand 50 amps continuous on L1, there will only be 12.5 amps available continuous (1500 watts) on L2 without tripping the generator off line. The generator CAN handle peak loads in excess of that, but only for a few seconds or minutes (depending on the generator) to allow for inductive load spikes like air conditioner compressors and fan motors starting up.

This generator will be perfect for your needs (again provided noise is not a big concern).

Here are some ways to reduce the audio DB

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ytx0M8fDpGo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EujojffYOmU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjeJaqahP3E

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by AMG

Its 50A/240V, can you plug your RV in to that or if its 120V it would only use half the pairs and become 25A? I dont know.

On re-reading, I did not answer your question:

Yes, you just plug your 50 amp male plug into the female 50 amp socket on the generator.

There is 120 volts available on each leg (L1 and L2) of the 50 amp RV socket.

The full 50 amps will not be available on both legs at the same time depending on load; but 50 amps may be available on one leg when needed on that leg, provided the total load demanded of the generator at that time does not exceed the peak wattage rating of the generator when both legs are considered.

[arpipeliner]

Just wondering there it a stealth exhaust for ATVs. It made a very noticeable difference. If it could match up to the exhaust it might help. Just an idea.


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[rmadera2002]

Originally Posted by Jane1550

We have a Champion 4k gen set. For less then $300 they are a steal. 30 A RV outlet, the voltage is regulated so TV, stereo, laptops are safe. The master tinkerer adapted an additional exhaust silencer to it and it is pretty quiet...No complaints in over 3 years and we camp at least one weekend a month in mostly State parks...

Jane - we just bought a Rockwood 2304s. Yours sounds like a great generator solution. Please tell me what exact models, what we need to hook up 2 in parallel and what it takes to get an exhaust silencer mounted? Sorry if that's a lot - we are new to trailer camping. Thanks!