Another Generator Thread

[el_jefe1]

I'm looking into generators and I'm in option overload. Somebody help me sort it out?

We're taking a trip in November, pretty much overnighting at Overnight Parking or Walmarts along the route. I'd like to run the TV for the kids for a couple hours at night and recharge the batteries and all our devices with the generator. I can't imagine I need anything too big for that.

So does it make sense to just get a big generator that can run the AC and everything for next summer when we want to do a similar kind of trip in the hotter weather?

Or get something 2000 Watt(ish) now that is parallel ready to add to for future boondocking adventures? Or is the parallel thing not really very practical?

Or just get something small and cheap now for a couple hours of recharging in the evening?

How do you all transport and store gas for boondocking? I don't have a truck bed to put it in, it would have to go in either the van with us or in the pass through storage? Any tips with that?

[pianotuna]

Hi,

Solar generates just fine as I trundle down the road.

A group 29 battery contains about 1300 watt-hours. A golf cart jar holds a bit more. That leaves a usable capacity of 650 watt-hours per unit. It is unlikely that the entertainment devices would use more than 100 watts per hour.

Without knowing the duty cycle (how much time per hour does the furnace run) it is not possible to gauge what the demand is. I can't help, as I simply don't use my furnace much at all. For me the furnace is an emergency back up heat source.

A guesstimate based on a 1/3 duty cycle for heating for nine hours would be about 400 watt-hours.

With twin batteries 50% capacity is about 1300 watt-hours. Demand for furnace and entertainment are about 700 watt-hours. That leaves lots of power to keep the fridge running on propane, and for led lighting.

el.jefe wrote:

Solar is great in theory, but 2 problems 1) I'm driving during the day and stopping after dark and 2) counting on solar in November in this part of the country seems like a bad idea.
Even if I invest in the kind of battery capacity that will let us run a 300w inverter for a couple hours in the evening plus run the furnace all night, I can't imagine I'll get more than 1 day of that with a battery setup up, will I? 300 watts for 2 hours would be about 60 amp hours, wouldn't it? Can I get significantly more than that with a 2 12v parallel or 2 6v series setup?

[2oldman]

el.jefe wrote:

Solar is great in theory, but 2 problems 1) I'm driving during the day and stopping after dark and 2) counting on solar in November in this part of the country seems like a bad idea.

Solar panels on the roof charge all the time. Can't help you with November.

..a 300w inverter for a couple hours in the evening plus run the furnace all night, I can't imagine I'll get more than 1 day of that with a battery setup up, will I? 300 watts for 2 hours would be about 60 amp hours, wouldn't it? Can I get significantly more than that with a 2 12v parallel or 2 6v series setup?

A 300w inverter doesn't mean it always draws 300w. It draws what you ask of it, plus a little bit for itself. If you actually did draw 300w, it's more like 50ah. That's about 1/4 the capacity of 2 6v in series.

[enblethen]

We run two small inverters, one 150 watt for rear TV, one 500 watt for front TV, satellite box and DVD player. We can last one night with two six volt batteries during the winter with furnace running.
I would not try it with two 12 volters.
We run the genset(onboard) for a half an hour or so while doing breakfast. It does a fair job to charge batteries but they are not nearly fully chrged after shutting genset down. We then run genset in afternoon or evening for another half hour or so to put more charge into batteries.

I upgradedthe converter to allow a larger charge into the batteries from what came with the rig. This helped alot in battery recovery rate going from less then ten amps to 55 amp rating.

[el_jefe1]

Well first, I'm talking about parking lots in November. Not campgrounds.

Secondly, I'd love to run the whole thing off battery, but I'm not seeing how. So if somebody can show me how to do it on battery I'm all ears. My big question for this particular trip is how do I recharge it if not with a generator?
Solar is great in theory, but 2 problems 1) I'm driving during the day and stopping after dark and 2) counting on solar in November in this part of the country seems like a bad idea.
Even if I invest in the kind of battery capacity that will let us run a 300w inverter for a couple hours in the evening plus run the furnace all night, I can't imagine I'll get more than 1 day of that with a battery setup up, will I? 300 watts for 2 hours would be about 60 amp hours, wouldn't it? Can I get significantly more than that with a 2 12v parallel or 2 6v series setup?

[Boon_Docker]

The longest my pair of Champion 2000 has ever run in 6 years was for about 1/2 hour one night before bed time for the AC in southern BC. All other times I run it for maybe 3 mins the odd time for a baked potato.
Have never needed them to charge batteries as the solar does a good job on that.

[SoundGuy]

el.jefe wrote:
It seems simpler just to run a small generator for a couple hours in the evening and charge the battery while we run the tvs and such off the generator power, and then turn it off for the night.

2oldman wrote:
Everyone loves camping next to someone running a generator to watch tv.

THIS for sure. 😞 Whenever you're camping without shore power do yourself and everyone else around you a huge favour and not run that genset any more than necessary. Recharging batteries is a necessity, watching television is not. Equip your rig with an adequately sized battery bank, a suitably sized inverter (preferably PSW which will more universally run anything without restriction), and some means of recharging those batteries, most reliably a genset. If you're not prepared to do this right then don't do it at all and plan to instead camp on electric sites where none of this would be needed. Believe it, NO ONE is interested in listening to your "quiet" generator drone on all night, night after night just so you can watch television or play video games. :R

[2oldman]

el.jefe wrote:
It seems simpler just to run a small generator for a couple hours in the evening and charge the battery while we run the tvs and such off the generator power, and then turn it off for the night.

Everyone loves camping next to someone running a generator to watch tv.

[Lantley]

allen8106 wrote:

hawkeye-08 wrote:
First, I would only buy an inverter generator for RV use. HF Predator or Honda or one of the many in between in price..

Why? I've used a small non-inverter generator with no issues.

You may not have any issues. However if there is anyone around you they will wish you had an inverter genset.
Don't take the savings of a non inverter genset at the expense of your neighbors solitude and peace.

[allen8106]

hawkeye-08 wrote:
First, I would only buy an inverter generator for RV use. HF Predator or Honda or one of the many in between in price..

Why? I've used a small non-inverter generator with no issues.

[el_jefe1]

SoundGuy wrote:

el.jefe wrote:
Not sure about a battery that will run 2 screens and a game system:). For this trip I'm going to have at least 7 kids with me, possibly 8 if my adult daughter comes too. So I want to be prepared.

You're not anywhere near prepared to dry camp with that amount of anticipated use. At the very least you'd need a pair of GC-2 6 volt deep cycle batteries which would offer approximately 220 AH, half of which will be usable, OR a pair of G31 12 volt batteries which would offer similar capacity. They'd get you through one night but then you'd need a genset (or large solar system) to recharge those batteries.

Right, that's my thinking too. That's why I'm posting about generators. But some have suggested a battery and inverter solution, and I'm saying why I don't think that will work for me. I mean, I could make it work and we could just use whatever power is available, I don't HAVE to have 2 TVs and a game system available, but even with a decent battery solution I will still need to recharge it. It seems simpler just to run a small generator for a couple hours in the evening and charge the battery while we run the tvs and such off the generator power, and then turn it off for the night.

[SoundGuy]

el.jefe wrote:
Not sure about a battery that will run 2 screens and a game system:). For this trip I'm going to have at least 7 kids with me, possibly 8 if my adult daughter comes too. So I want to be prepared.

You're not anywhere near prepared to dry camp with that amount of anticipated use. At the very least you'd need a pair of GC-2 6 volt deep cycle batteries which would offer approximately 220 AH, half of which will be usable, OR a pair of G31 12 volt batteries which would offer similar capacity. They'd get you through one night but then you'd need a genset (or large solar system) to recharge those batteries. I've already recommended a Honda EU2200i as a great solution to this - it will easily handle your battery recharging needs and should you decide to next season also power your A/C you can always add a Micro-Air Easy Start to the A/C. If that still doesn't do it then you always have the option of paralleling to a second EU2200i. Charging from your vehicle? - won't suffice, 'though you can significantly improve the situation by installing a DC > DC charger such as the CTEK 250S. Don't kid yourself, there is no "cheap" solution to this - if you want more capacity, it's going to cost. If that's not suitable then your other solution is to camp on electric sites.

[Huntindog]

I do it different than most here do. (not unusual) I run my generator all night, when the power use is greatest. (furnace and dehumidifier)

Before everyone gets their panties in a bunch.... I do NOT use campgrounds. The only ones I have to worry about is my camp.

With EU 2000 50' away, I cannot hear the generator with a Tv or furnace running. My unit has 3 TVs, so at least one is usually on.
After breakfast we turn the generator off, and coast thru the day on the batteries. Unless it is super cold out, when the furnace would be running... If it is that cold, then I need the generator anyway to power the heat tape I installed on all of the plumbing lines.

The OP is correct in that driving will NOT fully recharge the batteries... At least not without some modifications.

A generator is the most flexible way to meet his power needs... All of the rest of it, solar, inverters etc, are nice to haves in ADDITION to a generator. But inverters drain batteries and solar doesn't work at night or when it is raining. Bottom line: Get a generator first.
As for the brands.... Lots of debates out this.
The more you use one, the more likely you are to end up with a Honda EU2000-2200.

At the dog trials I have been attending since 2001, I have seen a lot of campers using generators. The overwhelming choice is Honda. Those that show up with another brand, end up with a Honda in short order.

Some things just flat out work.

[el_jefe1]

I looked at some inverter options also, but it seems like I still need to charge the batteries, won't I? Will the camper batteries really charge during a day of driving? I also will need to run the furnace and don't want to run the battery too low.

I love the thought of just using battery, but I looked at some other portable battery solutions, but they are quite expensive for the number of amp hours j can get, plus they will take a long time to recharge the following day. For multiple days in a row on the road, it seems like I need to be able to fully recharge each day.

The other issue with battery and inverter is I might want to option of running both tvs. And maybe also the Xbox. I'll be traveling with at least 7 kids on this trip, which means it's very possible I'll have a board game or cards going at the table, a movie in the main tv, and a couple kids on a video game in the back. Not sure about a battery that will run 2 screens and a game system:). For this trip I'm going to have at least 7 kids with me, possibly 8 if my adult daughter comes too. So I want to be prepared.

[Sandia_Man]

For the November trip I would just install a small inverter in your entertainment center for overnighting at Walmart or other similar overnighting sites. We could power our HDTV, HD Sat receiver, bluray dvd game console, soundbar, and charge all phones or tablets using our 300 watt inverter with room to spare. We have a pair of golf cart batteries and a couple hours of inverter usage hardly puts a dent in them. Your batteries should be in decent shape upon arrival if they are indeed receiving a charge while towing.

That being said, we have a couple of generators as we do most of our RVing off the power grid, often times in extreme weather where our solar array does not always keep up. Our rig has an onboard Onan and 3 years ago we picked up a Champion 3100 inverter genny with remote start being accustomed to one button power on and off simplicity when genny power is required. Running a portable genny at Walmart is fine as there are no rules that prohibit their use, the fact they can be readily taken is a major concern.

As it pertains to future boondocking, your best bet is a multiphase solution that includes sufficient solar and 12 volt reserves in addition to whatever generator configuration you decide to buy. Having a smart converter to ensure quick recharging will certainly reduce genny runtime, incorporating a psw inverter for low powered 120 VAC items reduces it even further. There are dual fuel generator options if carrying gas is an issue, although propane will be more costly as it is consumed at a much higher rate by comparison.