Other-Than-Honda Generator

I just don't want to spend a ton on a generator. I am wondering if anyone has used any less expensive generators and are happy with them? I will just be using to bulk-charge after the nights of furnace use.

If I am loooking at a generator's abilities. Is it correct to say that if I have an 80 Amp Hour battery, and my generator, at it's 120V recepticle puts out 20 Amps, that it would take two hours to replace half the battery's charge.......I know, we were suppose to leave the math word-questions in college, but I want to know if I am looking at it correctly.

Thanks
Jason

[ShrimpBurrito]

A few things:

1) the main plus of the Honda generator is that it uses inverter technology. That means that, like all generators, it produces AC. Whereas in non-inverter generators, this AC output goes directly to your appliance, the Honda uses it to make DC power. Then an inverter turns the DC power back into AC. Sounds inefficient, so why does it do this? Your appliances require 60 Hz AC power, and in order to produce power at that frequency, the generator engine generally must run at 3600 RPM. That's fast and loud. With the inverter, that is not necessary, and as a result, the generator engine can run slowly when under light load, and increase its RPM automatically when a higher load is connected. Not only does this feature mean less noise, but it also means much less fuel consumption.

The cheap $400 5000 watt generators do not have this function. They run fast all the time, and are loud all the time. With inverter type generators, you are paying for less noise, and better fuel efficiency. There are companies other than Honda that make them, and some are a bit cheaper.

2) amps at 110 volts AC is NOT the same as amps at 12 volts DC. If you're just running a battery charger, you will be well within the 20A max on the generator. If you plan on using other appliances, you need to do more calculations, which we can help with.

3) the current rating you see on a generator outlet is not what it puts out all the time; that is simply the maximum it can deliver. It only delivers what the load draws, and nothing more.

4) you're not going to just connect the batteries directly up to the generator. There will be a charger in between, so it's the output charge current of the charger you need to focus on when determining how long it will take to charge a battery.

5) 100% of the power output from the charger does not make it into the batteries. More like 90% or so.

IIRC, the converter that is probably in your TM outputs about 6A, provided you don't have alot turned on inside the TM. So if you're battery is 80 Ah, and you need to recharge 40 Ah, it will take roughly 7-8 hours to restore that power.

FWIW, a generator may not be what you need. We have two 6-volt batteries, which together give us a total capacity of about 225 Ah, or about 150 Ah of usable power. We go camping when nighttime lows are in the teens for 3 nights, and although we've been close, we have never run out of power.

Dave

[Bill]

Dave mentioned, but did not emphasize, the noise factor. If you run a noisy generator, you will be unpopular. If you run a noisy generator after dusk, you will be WILDLY unpopular. If you are lucky, the worst that will happen will be a visit from the friendly ranger.

One of our latest camping trips was to Canyon Lake / Tortilla Flat Campground, in the Superstition Mountains northeast of Phoenix. Several sites away was a humongous motor home, and the owner (whom I referred to as a Generator Salesman) started his contractor-grade generator at 4 each afternoon, and ran it until 10 at night. The campground has 77 sites, well dispersed, and every one of them was disturbed by this idiot. Some people came out and camped to have a quiet evening by the campfire - NO! - and some had little kids that wanted to sleep - NO! I expected a lynch mob to form. One person went up and asked politely if the genny could be turned off earlier, and the coach switched over to the house batteries - undoubtedly a generous set. The reply, hard to hear over the roar of the TV-video player - was "I gotta right!" Some folks left. I heard one guy talking about stabbing the idiot's tires. Fortunately for us, the campground was good, the rest of the people we met were nice, and the kayaking and hiking a lot of fun. But this part of the experience wasn't pleasant.

Don't become The Generator Salesman to save a few bucks.

Bill

Originally Posted by Bill

Dave mentioned, but did not emphasize, the noise factor. If you run a noisy generator, you will be unpopular. If you run a noisy generator after dusk, you will be WILDLY unpopular.

This is why I wish battery monitors were standard equipment on more RVs. I hear people run gennys in their campsites daily and bet most are doing it because they don't have better visibility to their state of charge.

[ShrimpBurrito]

Originally Posted by Bill

Dave mentioned, but did not emphasize, the noise factor. If you run a noisy generator, you will be unpopular.

I'm glad Bill followed-up, and I agree wholeheartedly. I would not even consider taking a non-inverter generator camping, not only for everyone else's make, but mine too. Would you want to be sitting outside your TM listening to what might as well be a lawnmower sitting next to you? Yuck.

In case you were thinking about using your tow vehicle to charge your TM batteries, you can dismiss that idea right away. It's also noisy, generates lots of fumes, wastes TONS of gas, and of most relevance, it will take a LONG time (like a whole day) to restore 1-2 days worth of power to your battery.

IMHO, solar panels, more batteries, and strict conservation is the way to go in maximizing power.

If all you want to do is charge your batteries, the Honda 1000 inverter generator will be plenty. If you buy from one of the reputable online dealers (like Mayberrys or Wise Sales), I want to say I last heard they were about $650...or at least in that ballpark.

Dave

[Wavery]

Here are the cheapest, quietest, cleanest, carefree generators that you can buy:
http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...t=solar+panels

[B_and_D]

B and I went to visit another TM board member at New Brighton State Park a couple of weeks ago who had a really quiet 3000W generator. We sat inside the TM with her for a while and were really surprised when we went outside and discovered that it wasn't a Honda like we thought. I forget what kind it was, but she said it cost a lot less than the Honda and weighed about the same.

If you're just using it to recharge batteries, like she was, it might make $$ sense.

There is a huge thread (over 800 pages long) on rv.net about the Chinese 3000W generators.

We have a Coleman generator at home that we've used in the past to run the refrigerator and freezer when our power goes out for more than 12 hours, and I would never take that thing to a campground. I can't even stand listening to it outside the house for very long. Our uncle moved to Phoenix and gave it to us when he left.

We have an Yamaha EF2400is, which is a quiet inventer generator. But if someone is just going to charge their batteries, this is an overkill. A small, quiet 1000 watt generator should do the job. We use ours occasionally to run the AC, hence the bigger model.

fwiw...

I run my Honda 2000 for about an hour each day to recharge the pair of Interstate group 24 batteries.

If it is only 3 nights in the summer then I do not need the generator at all.

I hate it when someone 8 sites away starts up their generator exactly at 6 AM, when generators are permitted, and we can hear it in our campsite.

I have given up on the solar idea because I am always camped in full shade.

My truck is 30K. The TM is 25K. Generator was 900. Money well spent. I also use it as backup at home on a very rare occasion. I also can use it to provide power to run tools where there is no power.

Wayne mentioned something which hopefully will not be important...with the recent increase in earthquake activity in the Western Hemisphere, having a nice portable and powerful generator might just come in handy in the event we have another "big one." I keep ours by the garage door so I hopefully can get to it if needed. Of course, our emergency shelter (better known as the TM) is in the garage where it likely would be squashed. I have found the Honda very reliable and quiet and would not consider getting a different one just to save a few bucks...