GENERATOR FOR TRAVEL TRAILER

We have a 3000I in our 5th wheel. We can run AC, Refrid, and TV. We have to turn off the electric water heater. We have friends that have 1000w, and they use it to charge batteries and watch a little TV. They run the refrid. on propane.

Barb

Bob,

the frig and water heater runs on propain then is there a pilot light that must be on? i assume?

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Propane water heaters come in two different flavors; one has a standing pilot light, and the other uses an electronic ignitor to start the burner only when needed. Even the ones with the standing pilot use very little propane, but most people prefer not to have to go outside and re-light the pilot every so often. Also, electric heating elements come in various sizes from aout 400 watts up to 1500. If your hot water needs are not excessive, a smaller element is probably adequate, 'tho you may have to wait longer to come up to temp.

They say a 10,000 btu A/C needs 1500w and 2200 to start. a Frig needs 700 and 2200 to start.
Does that mean that To run the fridge, even though it only needs 700, i would still need a 2500-3000 watt unit?

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A household type refrigerator uses a compressor which has a heavy starting load, but most RV designed reefers use a constant draw heating element when running on shore power or generator or inverter. That said, they are far less efficient on electricity than when on propane, and your batteries will run down in short order.

Bottom line, unless you are a camper that can get by with minimal power -- go for as much power as possible considering needs and trailer size.

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Fully agree with that. Plus the option of electric start available on larger units can't be over emphasised. Not much fun having to go outside in bad weather to pull on a rope.

How does a frig use propain to cool? I dont see how that one works.

Here's a simplified explanation of the process.

A word of advice: RV (propane) refrigerators need to be fairly level to operate properly. If you run one for an extended period and it's not very level, it can stop working altogether.

Follow-up

We had to go to the storage lot where my late father-in-law stores has 32 foot Airstream.  It was well into the high 80's with high humidity and heavy sun load.  Four of use spent from 11am to 2pm cleaning out the trailer.  We took my Honda 3000 with use to supply power to the trailer.  The Honda is rated for 20A continues.  It worked great.  We ran the A/C, some lights, and a vacuum sweeper without a sign of trouble.  We did have to "cheat" though.  Did not have the right adapter to plug the 120v trailer cable to the 120v generator outlet.  So....using one of my PAINTED RED LIMITED USE double male adapters, we back fed one of the trailer exterior outlets.  We did not try turning on the refrig. to see if the Honda 3000 could also handle that with everything else.  As I said it worked O.K. but I would not want to be camping next door w a window open.  The Honda is a fairly quiet unit but is not the quiet.

Don't forget that modern fridges use a circuit board, that draws electricity, even when in  "Propane mode".
I use a small 1200 watt model, run it twice a day for two hours each, and keep batteries charged all month in Elk camp.
We never run the AC, since it pulls so much to startup, but that isn't an issue in the fall, anyway. We also never run the microwave.
The water heater is propane.
We run the water pump for showers only while the gen is running. That is our biggest draw.
There are 12 volt TV/DVD players in 15-17 9nch sizes, so that draw is lessened (even 120 volt tvs run on 12 volts in many cases, with a transformer inside) obtainable through Truck Stops, like Flying J.

They do not yet show it in their ONLINE catalog but Camping World now has a 30 amp twist-lock (Generator type) to 30 amp RV type adapter  Price was not too bad either.

They also have 15 amp (Standard outlet) to  both 30 and 50 amp Twist Lock Marine type adapters (What most RV's use as inlets if they don't have a fixed cord you pull out)

I'll second that regarding the fridge still pulling power while on propane.    For the more "modern" versions with an electronic ignition, you need some juice to fire it.  Add in the juice the more modern units use to "monitor" so it knows when to fire.

We never had a problem until recently when we parked our trailer for about a week with just the fridge on.  We came back a week later and it was off, the battery totally dead.  Looks like the deep cycle battery was marginal and at some time during the week it pooped out and the fridge went with it, even though we had plenty of propane.

We've since installed a much better battery monitoring system (other than the little LED battery guage on the wall), as well as having gone to a dual-battery system and added a trickle-charge solar charger to keep the batts topped off.    I don't want any more hot beer when I get to the trailer 

WT

I do a lot of boondocking with my TT and I bought the Honda 2K inverter to charge the battery and to run my wife's hairdryer as well as  the vacumn cleaner on occasion.  Works for me!

Has anyone heard or used a Yamaha 2400is? Saw a couple at a Yamaha dealer when we picked up the grandson's new 4 wheeler his Mom bought. They had 2 side by side and they were connected together as you see on Honda's. Down side was the $1350 each, but by buying 2, they threw in the 30A bridge free. The salesman was honest up front and said that he had never heard them run, and didn't know the noise level specs, but did say that quite a few folks had purchased them for travel trailers.

Update: just googled to check the part number - yup, had it right. This is how the web site listed it:

New Yamaha EF2400is (EF24iS) Super Quiet Inverter Generator.
Only 70lbs and runs most 13,500btu RV AC's!
Compact at 20.7" x 16.5" x 18.1" (LxWxH)
2400 Watts
53-58dB Noise Level
Super Clean Power
TwinTech? Parallel Capable
Smart Throttle Equipped
1.6 gallon fuel capacity
Over 8.5 hour runtime at 1/2 load
Load bank tested to hold a 25 Amp load* for up to 10 seconds.  That's 3000 Watts of surge capability

I may have to go back and check them out. It's a bit more than Honda, but it also produces a bit more power, and at 53db, quiter than Honda.

Larry

"So....using one of my PAINTED RED LIMITED USE double male adapters, we back fed one of the trailer exterior outlets.?"

Does this present a problem for the on-board electronics, such as the converter?

Larry,

Some people had one at Quartzsite last January. I heard it run and it was about the same noise level as the Honda 2000EU'S - pretty quiet for a standalone unit. His also had a remote (RF) starter on it, which made it pretty convenient, once we got it working. The guy who installed it originally got the wiring mixed up :

Thanx Karl.

I as still a bit on the wishy-washy on which to get ... the Honda's are the cheapest (well, least expensive), but the Yamaha does have a bit more available power. I understand that because they are inverter type generators, they are more pricy, but it just sort of rubs me the wrong way that they want so much for them vs. the good ole noisy contractor models.

Oh well, having electrical power available is a no questions must have because of medical equipment, so guess I'll bit the bullet and get a Yamaha as I can get it local instead of driving all the way to Chatanooga (nearest camping world) and paying a bit less, but spending the saving on diesel to get there and back.

Before I do though, I'll have to check some of the local honda motorcycle dealers to see what they have.

Larry

I strongly advise against contractor type gensets. They make a lot of noise compared to rv types, and your neighbors may have some rather unkind words for you - assuming they don't stick a potato up your exhaust pipe in the middle of the night.

Karl said:

I strongly advise against contractor type gensets.

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Karl - when you say "contractor type gensets", are you referring to all permanent mount units, or just the lower quality brands?  I was wondering if permanent mount sets exist that are as quiet as the Honda EU2000.

Thanks
Gary

Gary,

The contractor sets are usually fairly high power units, have a large gas tank on top, and make a LOT of noise. Onan makes several different models of permanent install gensets that are quite quiet. They generally start at about 3.5-4KW and go up from there. If you parallel two EU2000's to get roughly the same power as one Onan 4000, chances are the noise level will be about the same, and you have the additional chore of starting them individually. Of course there's nothing that says you can't permanently mount the Honda's or Yamaha's, but they may require some modification for proper cooling and exhaust extraction. I did see and hear a Kabuta (I think that was the name) at RV Lifestyles in Quartzsite last year - similar in design to the stand-alone contractor units, but MUCH quieter. Could be permanently mounted also with the same caveats.

You may want to consider the new line of Yamaha generators. I have a small fifth wheel and use one of their 2400s.  It is super quiet and power the 13000 btu air and all.  I do mean super quiet.  Beats any of the Honda's.  You can hook two up in a series as well.

In my previous post, I mentioned Kabuta. I meant Kipor. Sorry for any confusion.

Beats any of the Honda's.

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Actually, the sounds ratings for both units are identical.

You can hook two up in a series as well.

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You hook them in parallel, but we knew what you meant.

If you parallel two EU2000's to get roughly the same power as one Onan 4000, chances are the noise level will be about the same, and you have the additional chore of starting them individually.

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I believe that running two generators in parallel won't necessarily be that much noisier.  I'm basing that on a test done with one Honda generator in operation, two Hondas in operation, and one contractor generator about the same capacity as the two Honda's running in parallel.

Last spring, mechanical engineering students at the University of Alabama did some noise control tests with portable generators:  Noise and Directivity Tests: Honda EU2000i Generators in Single and Parallel Operation and Pincor 2000W Contractor Generator  The pdf file for the test is located here.

When I came across this, I was planning to buy a generator.  The Kipor looked very attractive, but I kept running across sites on line where dealers had stopped carrying them -- one dealer's reason was lack of support for the dealers by the manufacturer.

I ended up buying the Honda 2000i.  I've only used it so far to test it and to run it loaded about every month.  However, it is very quiet, when running in the eco(nomy) mode.  Originally, I wanted a larger unit with an electric start.  However, the 49 or so lb weight means that I can put it away by myself.  The recoil start is very smooth and easy.  The generator didn't start right away out of the box.  I was starting to get a little frustrated and then it started.  Every start since then has been on the first or second pull.

We will probably buy a second generator to extend our ability to dry camp in some areas even when it is hot enough to make air conditioning a welcomed comfort.

One word of warning about buying a Honda Generator at other than a dealer.  The Honda warranty requires information regarding the dearler that you bought it from.  We bought ours on eBay and thus have no warranty.  We also got it a couple hudred dollars cheaper than what out local dealer was selling it for on sale.