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Generators

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Going to Yellowstone

OK - I'm sure you guys have seen trailers with

The generator that I am looking for needs to power a rv products/airxcel 8000 series air conditioner, but reading the manual doent show any specs, I take it it is a 13500BTU unit. Anyone have any ideas or are familiar with this product?
 
Those cheap construction generators are ok if you are not going to be around anyone else. They are LOUD!



Definately a big difference between 57dB and 65 or 70. I have a Honda EG3500 at work. It works really well, starts on the first pull every time, but I wouldn't want it anywhere near me in a campground setting.



Anyone have any real world experience with the Kipors, other than they are Chinese?
 
www.hayesequipment.com/wholesale.htm



Here is a good place to look at diff QUIET models. I want a larger quiet model but $$$$ wow the prices! I have been looking for one to run ac, air compressor atc for our race trailer, would like at least 3000w minimum, but more towards 4500w to 5500w .





anyone know where to get good, i mean GREAT, prices or sales? haven't really checked ebay yet.
 
Northern Tool seems to have reasonable prices EU3000 1799. 00 and the EU2000 999. 99 . I have a 4kw Onan but it is louder than these new Hondas. Most the noise on the lawn mower engine gen sets is from the engines running 3600 rpms. The Onans are generating at 1800 rpms which helps with the noise.
 
Don, $1300 is a good price. I shopped around quite a bit last fall, and the best I could find at the time was right at $1800 delivered. That was from Mayberry.
 
Interesting conversation. I used to have a 3800 Sears (Briggs and Stratton). I had two problems with it - it was too loud and too bulky to move with any ease. When I upgraded to a nicer 5er, I tried to use the 3800. I am not sure what size my AC is, but it would not run it. I thought about going with the EU3000, but I had the same concerns about amount of power. The weight of the generator was also a concern. I decided to go with the Honda EV6010, a generator made specifically for RVs. This was a more expensive route, but has solved all problems. It is 50 amps, so I can run ANYTHING I want, all at the same time. It may not be as quiet as the EV, but it is not overly loud, and it is permanently installed, so much less worry about theft, and I don't have to lift it in and out of the bed of the truck.
 
I recently purchased the new Yamaha 3000i, it has an additional 500 watt boost mode for up to 10 seconds, super quiet, comes with wheels, (honda doesn't). Cost less than the Honda with wheel kit and has more power. Used it all last summer with no problems on a 30' prowler. I don't know which air cond. you have, but anything less than five years old is already a soft start style. Hope this helps.
 
I found the camp power generators ,the 4000 watt gas and the 3600 watt propane powered version at Northwest Cummins for $1500. 00 and $1750. 00. These are new Onan units that they have an overstock of and I dont think you can get abetter unit for the money.





Robert
 
I am new to the R. V. world but when I bought my new Wildcat I picked up a Honda EU 3000, works awesome and I just leave it in the back of the truck and it does everything no sweat.
 
JoeDiesel said:
. ... . Also, the 2000's have a propensity to grow legs. As a matter of fact, ALL honda's do. Please take sufficient efforts to avoid helping criminals to these units.



This year at Quartzsite, AZ in late January, the Honda gen rep at the big tent said that some 70-80 gens sets had been stolen so far, most were the 2000s, only a few the 3000s (probably due to weight). Advice was to keep gen set chained up.



I run with a 3000 carried in the pickup. Have had Onan and one of those brand Xs, both were noiser. With the 3000, I practice load management, and don't try to run everything at once. This January at Quartzsite ran Honda overnight in economy mode in order to give power to wife's electric blanket. Powering just the RV converter, frig, TV, and electric blanket, the Honda ran at low idle. Total run time on Honda over three seasons is around 200 hours.
 
I like the hondas for sure... ... ... the 3000eu I heard running at a flea market was barely audible. I had to get within 10 feet of it to know it was running with the background noise. Anyway, I was looking for a generator to run my camper last fall and found a used kubota diesel generator on ebay. It is a gray market generator... ..... probably made in australia or overseas. Not illegal here in the U. S. , but not sold here. It is quite loud, but I enclosed it in plywood, mounted its 385lb butt on a trailer. The plywood enclosure cut the noise down by 75%... ... other than that it's just a thump thump thump... ... . runs at 2200rpm. What excites me about it is that it runs about 12 hours on 2. 77 gallons of fuel, plus it's diesel. Here are a couple photos, but I don't have a photo of it enclosed yet. It has a handle to crank it, like the old model T's. Oil bath air filter. Liquid cooled. Definitely not for everybody, but it runs everything I can hook to it and it's 5kw.



Waylan
 
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A recommendation! Find out how many amps your AC will take to start. That number is about 1 and 1 half times the normal running amps. Then take the wattage of your generator and divide it by 120 that will give you the amperage the generator puts out. Then compare the two and you have your answer.

I personally bought an inverter generator like the honda isb3000. I personably bought a Yamaha 3000 with the 500 watt boost to give me a little more power to start the air conditioner. It works great. Used it four months solid in Alaska with no problems. If you plan to run the thing many hours get an hour meter. You always run it more than you think. Good safety for oil changes.
 
walexa07 said:
I like the hondas for sure... ... ... the 3000eu I heard running at a flea market was barely audible. I had to get within 10 feet of it to know it was running with the background noise. Anyway, I was looking for a generator to run my camper last fall and found a used kubota diesel generator on ebay. It is a gray market generator... ..... probably made in australia or overseas. Not illegal here in the U. S. , but not sold here. It is quite loud, but I enclosed it in plywood, mounted its 385lb butt on a trailer. The plywood enclosure cut the noise down by 75%... ... other than that it's just a thump thump thump... ... . runs at 2200rpm. What excites me about it is that it runs about 12 hours on 2. 77 gallons of fuel, plus it's diesel. Here are a couple photos, but I don't have a photo of it enclosed yet. It has a handle to crank it, like the old model T's. Oil bath air filter. Liquid cooled. Definitely not for everybody, but it runs everything I can hook to it and it's 5kw.



Waylan



I would be cautious with this type of set up. I was told that generators that are not specifically made for RV installation require quite a bit of ventilation, and that enclosing them in a box without adequate ventilation will quickly burn up the generator.
 
Foil Freak 1211 said:
I would be cautious with this type of set up. I was told that generators that are not specifically made for RV installation require quite a bit of ventilation, and that enclosing them in a box without adequate ventilation will quickly burn up the generator.



I agree completely. The generator is liquid cooled, and a belt driven fan pulls air through the radiator. There are three 4. 75" holes drilled in the enclosure... ... 2 under the air intake for the engine and radiator, and 1 at the generator itself. Then there is a large cutaway at the backside with built-in baffles to guide the air from the radiator out. The entire exhaust system is also wrapped in exhaust wrap to lower temperatures inside the enclosure. I have run it like this for hours and hours and no problems yet, but we've not been camping in the middle of the summer yet either. I plan on adding a coolant temperature guage before summer gets here.



The engine is very unique. It is way overbuilt. It has roller bearings on the crank ends, it uses a wet sleeve design where you just tap out the liner and tap a new one in... ..... costs $130 for the liner, about another $100 for rings and piston, $19 for the head gasket... ... . so about $300 and it the top end is basically brand new. I do think the top end is tires as it uses some oil, so I might rebuild it sometime this summer. Sorry for just rambling..... I like stuff that is overbuilt for the application!



Waylan
 
RBuesser said:
We have a 4 horse trailer with a 10'short wall. I was wondering what everyone is running for power? I understand you wont be able to run the ac and the microwave at same time. I was thinking about the Hondas, but didnt want to buy two 2000's and link them. Is the 3000 big enough or go with a 4000 but how much louder is it than 2 2000's?



My 3000 won't run the AC and MW or Ac and wife's hair dryer at the same time. It does fine with AC, TV, and frig. My 97 TT had a 13500 AC that was harder to start and run than the Carrier V 15K in my fiver. I would check with your AC manufacturer. Starting amps are all over the map. My 3000 actuall starts the AC better in econo mode. I guess that is because it gets a little power surge when the throttle opens up.

I would listen to all the generators running at load before buying. Some of the other "quiet" generators have a very unpleasant pitch to the sound. The Hondas have a deep tone which IMO is less annoying.
 
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