Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Generator to run 16ft camper

Exactly what we learned. Two together might work, probably would, but that is a lot of coin.

We bought a used ONAN 4000W inverter type Generator with electric start and have been using it now for 3 years. It is not only powerful enough to easily run our camp trailer, AC, microwave etc. but when we have had power outages this unit keeps items in our home here that are critical to live like the fridge and DirecTV during football season going! Oh yeah, the pellet stove, too

Looks like I'm wrong

http://www.fs.fed.us/eng/pubs/html/03511304/03511304.htm

I still vote Onan. Best one out there. Quietest too based only on my observations. Expensive though

I found what I must have mistaken from before. At the bottom, you'll see they MEET National Parks noise requirements. 60db at 50 yards.

http://power.cummins.com/onanpowerW...arentId=533&linkName=RV%20Generators

Looks like I'll be looking for a throw away in the 3500-4000 range for as cheap as I can get one. Rost's idea sounds about the best unless I find a used one. powdr

The Honda 2000 watt gens are rated at 1600 with a surge rating of 2000.

Please add an extra muffler. I've seen people run those damn things all day and into the night. They are made for construction sites and loud as hell.

I bought a new Honda EU2000I,it wont run my air conditioner, but does a great job on everything else...they're bullet proof.

WE had a couple fo these, and they ARE loud, and they are badly over rated as to power output. Get a 5000W unit, and my might have one that will actually handle a 4K load. Plus 1 on the need for a better muffler and set it as far away from your camper as your chords will allow. THEN, put a large piece of thick plywood (best) or your spare tire (ok) against the unit to force reflect the sound away from your sleeping and eating quarters. BTDT x many and have the t-shirts and scars.

Check small engine shops. You might be able to get a spark arrestor for about anything.

The trick to getting any refrigerated unit (ac, frig, freezer) to run off a generator is to make sure the generator has enough surge power to get the appliance running.

Its not the running that draws the most amps, its getting the compressor started.

For ex., the typical frig will run at 800 or so watts, but it takes about 2200 or so watts to get the compressor running.

Most small generators are sold by watts (the big number sounds impressive), when actually they should be sold by amps (that's what is listed on the appliances the generator will be running).

Amps = Watts/Volts or .5 amp = 60 watts/120 volts (typical incandescent 60 watt light bulb)

Also keep in mind that an a/c will be cycling on and off. It will be repeatedly demanding the high wattage so you can't turn on the a/c, let it get running, then turn on other stuff when the demand drops.

When I was looking at them Honda only made their inverter generators up to 3K. They might make a 4K, but I don't recall seeing one.

Yamaha makes a 4K inverter, and my buddy has one. Bad ass generator, incredibly quiet, but heavy as fugg, cost over $3,000.00 brand new, and you only have one generator.

For around $2500.00 (more cheaper actually) you can have two very portable, very reliable, very quiet generators that can be paralleled and will likely handle most any task involved with campers.

That's why I recommend the two smaller Hondas. Or, two smaller Yamahas. I have another friend that has the 2K Yamaha's and he is very happy with them as well. I just prefer Hondas.




Travis

^This. More wattage/amperage, lighter, less money, and the ability to split them up if needed. The only reason to go for the Honda inverter 3000 is the ability to mount it on the roof or tongue of a horse trailer and start it using the remote. It sounds like the OP is going the other way toward a construction site type generator. I hope he is camping where there are no close neighbors.

This ^^^^^

And getting an AC to start up is the worst offender of them all. Yet for hot weather camping or hunting they are a HUGE plus to have. To be able to really rest and re charge one's physical "bodybatteries" in a cool place is monsterously helpful in making the next hunt, or morning, a fun thing and time VS "Here we go again, I hope I kill something so I can quit this hot messy chit"

I remember having a non AC equipped truck camper on a hot deer hunt not so long ago. My goodfreind and I had a great spot to hunt deer, and we had made a pact to only shoot a 4 point buck with antlers that stuck out past his ears. Early the second morning my freind shot a 2 year old 3 point buck, ready to quit the heat and all. I shot a moderate buck a couple of hours later so that we could GET OUT OF DODGE and get clean and comfortable. I have endured many long and gruelling, endurance testing hunts in the past, but I am pretty much done with that stuff now.

Good point. I have an Onan 4000 in my trailer. It is rated at 30 amps. The Honda 2000 is 13.5a. I still want a Honda though, I don't always want the Onan running because it sounds like a lawn mower compared to the Honda.

Regarding the start up power on a compressor (A/C, reefer, freezer, etc.) check the locked rotor amperage specification. Convert that number to wattage and size your generator to that power requirement. There are electronics that can be added to your compressor that delay the start up of the cooling fan on the compressor until the locked rotor amperage drops to the steady state running amperage. Be aware that these after market devices void the factory warranty. The newer RV A/C units have this delay built in from the factory. Put LED bulbs in your light fixtures.If you select your electrical devices carefully and manage the electrical load (don't run high draw devices simultaneously), you can run everything except the A/C on an EU1000 and parralel a second EU1000 when you need A/C. If your vehicle motor is a diesel, it's a pain to bring gas for the generator. Most small generators can be converted to propane but then you need a larger propane tank. Honda used to be the only quiet small generator but you pay for that exclusiveness. Suburu (Robin engine), Yamaha and others are closing the gap. You can quiet the Harbor Freight Chinese POS generators if you provide cooling air intake and direct the exhaust out a plywood/foam shroud but then you end up with a slightly less noisy POS generator for a lot of hassle. Most guys that buy them don't care about their neighbors so then their noisy generators are permanently silenced at 03:00 AM by their pissed of neighbors while they are sleeping off the effects of their drunken card game the previous evening (so I've been told).

I was in Cabelas recently and looked at the Champion generators they're carrying. They say they're very quiet.

The problem with most of these smaller generators is that they only output 120v. If I buy a generator, I want one that will run my pump in an emergency and that takes a 240v. A 3500W with a 240 will take care of my well and enough lights to get by for a week if necessary.

A 3500 is going to be pushing it to run a pump, fridge some lights etc. I run a 4400peak/4000 when our power is out. It's a strain say if your pump is running and the fridges compressor kicks on at the same time.

I have both a Honda 2k and 3k inverter generator. The Honda 3k is quieter and will run my 13.5 btu air conditioner.A much better all around generator in my opinion and better than the Onan 4k I had also, much quieter.

The Honda 3k is the quietest of all accept the little Yamaha 1k.



Jayco

Interesting mention about intake air on the cheaper gensets. I was told years ago by a friend in the marine business that most of the noise from these small generators actually comes from the air intake, not the exhaust. At the time I had a one cylinder diesel generator in my boat that operated at 3600 RPM, and was LOUD. An extra/larger muffler did not help much. I ran a 1 1/2" diameter thick plastic hose from the air cleaner "horn" to an intake fitting outside the hull in the the stern, and it cut the engine sound by an amazing amount. Also, on any diesel engine, the operating RPM has a lot to do with engine noise. The old style diesels running at around 2,000 rpm can be very quiet. I had twin 6 cylinder Cummins engine in that boat, running the exhaust through 2" pipe with no mufflers at all, and it was not noisy at all.