Best Small Generator for t@b needs

Deltaboy59

I am shopping for a small generator to power the AC, lights, and Alde elec heat and water. 
Will a 2000 watt generator handle this load ?
i am currently looking at these...
Any experience with generators is appreciated.
I believe the AC in t@b is 5000 btu's ?

Bgkirk

I have the Honda and it works great including the A/C.  

jkjenn

Watch what the testing says about decibels. Some parks limit noise level. I believe Honda and Yamaha are both pretty good for noise but I am completely unfamiliar with the Westinghouse.

Nomad

I have the Honda 2000i - Great little generator. Everyone I talked to recommended the Honda over anything else as there's some sort of dealer in almost every town. And repairs are easier to come by.

Lisa33

I've shared my experience over in the LG forum, and there was a long discussion there recently that you might want to check out.  I originally had an SS with a 5,000 btu window unit a/c and a Champion 2,000 watt inverter generator similar to the Honda/Yamahas in specs.  It ran the a/c just fine at home, but I was unable to get it to run the a/c at 6,600 feet in Grand Teton National Park.  Your mileage may vary.  

With my T@DA, I have the Cool Cat heat pump A/C and decided to buy a Yamaha ef2400ishc with tri-fuel conversion kit installed.  This will allow me to run it with propane instead of gasoline.  I find traveling with gasoline to be a nuisance at best.  At home, I can also run the generator on natural gas for backup purposes during a power outage.  All that said, I haven't had a chance to use it yet, so this is still all theory for me!  

http://www.yamaha-propane-natural-gas-generators.com

mawebb

I have the Yamaha and I thing it's fantastic. I have not tried to run the A/C yet, but it should be okay. I have an S model and the A//C uses less power than the Cool Cat, so I agree that you need to go a bit bigger if you have the Cool Cat. I am a Honda fan (TV Honda Pilot) but chose the Yamaha for two reasons. It has a fuel gauge and you can run the carb bowl dry by shutting off the fuel flow and letting the generator run until it stops. The Honda combines the fuel shutoff with the ignition kill so you can't run the bowl dry unless you empty the tank. 

Deltaboy59

I can see where that feature would be very helpful for maintaining engine... I see the teardrop shop sells the Yamaha on their site...I have the S as well. Thanks!

Does it run all night on 1 tank ?

Deltaboy59

Lisa33... After reading up on the Yamaha tri fuel conversion, I agree that using propane, which is safer and easier to transport is a big plus!!!
You seem to have a lot of experience RVing and I enjoy reading your comments...I have gained so much info on this forum that will help me enjoy my t@b to its fullest. 

mawebb

The run time is rated at up to 10.5 hours at 25% load. I don't plan to use it overnight, but only to use 110 VAC devices or the A/C for a couple of hours at a time. 

Deltaboy59

That helps so much... Thanks.

radren

I have a 2015 CS-S. I could run the 2000 yamaha and it will run the AC? I had heard the 2000 wasn't able to handle the AC. I really want to be able to run the AC if I am boondocking. Would be very interested in real life experience with this. 

radren

I was also wondering if you had to charge the batteries with a generator, how long would that take? I am looking solar vs generator. Solar keeps the batteries topped off but won't run anything big, like the AC. The generator would run the AC, microwave ETC plus be able to top off the batteries. What are the advantages of one over the over?

Deltaboy59

Well for me personally living in the Deep South, I require the AC, since 95 degree days with 95 percent humidity are not uncommon... It is unfortunate with all the sunshine we receive in the summer, that a solar setup cannot provide that kind of power, but AC is a priority at least a few hours a night to sleep comfortably. Since the generator will also simultaneously charge the 12 v battery it is the better choice for my needs.
 I am jealous of those that can go solar!
I believe so far the Yamaha tri fuel is the best option for me,since propane seems the safest and cleanest backup fuel to carry in my TV.
BUT I still carry a 5 gallon can of gas... For the TV, after ALMOST running out of gas in Kansas at night in poor weather....be prepared.

Nomad

radren - I use my solar far more than the generator. If I had to give up one it'd be the generator. But, I don't haul along any AC appliances. I may change my tune when I need air though - Or just head to cooler air :-)
As far as how long it takes to top off the battery I don't know as my solar takes care of that but it takes 1.5 hours to recharge my laptop from 10% back to 100%. If for some reason my T@B battery is a little low I'll often times just charge from the TV rather than fuss getting the generator out.

Nomad

I'm under clear skies with a full moon and just noticed that the solar is trickle-charging. Not much but some :-)

mawebb

radren, I have not yet tried the A/C, but if I am correct, the A/C unit in the S models is a 5,000 BTU unit, which has a current draw of 4.8 Amp or 515 Watts. That is well within the limits of a 2,000 Watt generator. My decision to purchase a 2000 Watt generator was predicated upon it being capable of running the A/C. You may not be able to run your fridge on 110 VAC at the same time, but I haven't done the math on that combination yet.

In terms of charging the battery, while the generator does have a DC output for battery charging, I have not determined whether the charger in the T@B converter is faster or slower than using the DC charger of the generator. My guess is if you want fast battery charging, you would be better to use a high current charger, plugged into the 110 VAC output from the generator. I am not sure if there would be a need to disconnect the battery from the trailer when fast charging. That is something I would have to look further into.

Lisa33

Personally, I find solar far and away more consistently useful with the way I camp.  The kicker with a generator is that many campgrounds have limited generator hours and/or ban generators entirely.  I also seriously dislike the noise they create.  In the south, I'd probably find myself in campsites with shore power more often.  A generator isn't a great solution for a/c because it's just hard to have enough fuel to run it constantly even if the campground allows it.  That said, if you boondock, you don't need to worry about generator hours.  It really depends.  

Nomad

I bought the generator mainly to charge my electronics and as a backup for those stretches where there's no sun so no solar. It'd be nice if I could use it for some air conditioning once in awhile but I can't imagine running the generator for long periods of time. I'd probably head to higher (cooler) elevations/areas or just hit a campground with electrical hookup.
I think the 2000 watt generators use about a gallon every 8 hours so to cool all day and all night for any stretch you'd need to hook a gas tanker to the back of your T@B.

mash2

Lisa, I share your dislike of the noise from generators.   I find myself boon docking to avoid the racket generated by these wonders.  

Deltaboy59

mawebb, do you know if a 1000 watt generator will power the 5000 btu AC in the t@b ?
since that is the sole reason for my choice of size in a generator ?
20 lbs in weight reduction, not to mention quieter and more efficient on fuel.

Deltaboy59

For example...

wizard1880

Its essentially guaranteed that a 1000w generator would not be able to start the A/C. I wasn't able to start mine with a 1200w 2-cycle generator.

mawebb

The A/C that we have in the newer "S" models is a Frigidaire FRA052XT7. The specifications definitely list the power draw when cooling at 4.8 Amps / 515 Watts. It does not state what the initial power draw is for compressor start-up and the duration of the initial start current draw. The Yamaha Ef1000is is rated for 8.3 Amps / 1000 Watts maximum and 7.5 Amps /900 Watts continuous.

Not all generators are created equal. The Yamaha and Honda generators are accurately rated and will supply what is published. That being said, the Ef1000is should be okay, but I would personally step up to the Ef2000is for the additional $200 and 20 Lbs in weight. I would expect that the efficiency in terms of amount fuel consumed / watt of power generated would be similar, so the fuel consumption on the Ef1000is should be comparable to the Ef2000is.

Nomad

"It does not state what the initial power draw is for compressor start-up and the duration of the initial start current draw."
That's where the problem is - I'd have loved to saved on cost and weight but every buddy and their brother told me the 1000 watt generators just couldn't handle the startup. And even more so the higher the elevation.

Deltaboy59

I'm with you...only need for generator is for AC... I am trying to save weight and space at every turn, but don't want to shortchange myself on power needs. With the 2000 watt generator I could use it to power everything when boondocking.

Nomad

My solar works for everything other than my computer and dust buster recharge and I think it'd work for those if I hooked the inverter directly to the battery - there's something weird with my inverter - if I can figure that out I'd only need the generator for a run of overcast/rainy days. Even though the new generators are fairly quiet, the solar is totally quiet.

TabyDD

PXLated said:

My solar works for everything other than my computer and dust buster recharge and I think it'd work for those if I hooked the inverter directly to the battery - there's something weird with my inverter - if I can figure that out I'd only need the generator for a run of overcast/rainy days. Even though the new generators are fairly quiet, the solar is totally quiet.

I just received my Renogy suitcase 100watter.  So new at all this, can you clarify why you can't charge your computer with solar power?  Thanks.  DD

Nomad

TabbyDD - Theoretically, you should be able to but for some reason if I plug my inverter into the T@B outlets and my computer into the inverter it throws an error screen. If I plug the same inverter into my TV, it charges the computer just fine. Why? Don't know. Could be something in the way the T@B converter works - not putting out quite enough juice for the computer. Someone suggested hooking the inverter directly to the T@B battery. If that worked without the error then it would narrow it down to something internal to the T@B - more than likely the converter. I've yet to try that as I can't remember where I packed the battery cable for my inverter (it's old). May just buy a new one if I can't find it.
 

mawebb

I have read a few posts on other sites that suggest the start-up draw an a 5,000 BTU A/C unit could be as hight as 1,400 Watts, which brings us back to a 1,000 Watt generator just not being enough to handle the A/C. 

Deltaboy59

That is just the info I needed. The members of this site are the greatest resource of knowledge and experience.

Nomad

Noticed today that there's probably 70 RVs/Campers spread out over three campgrounds where I'm at and 75% have solar systems. One of the tent guys does also.
Around 50% also have generators and of those 90% are the Honda 2000i.