Advice on Generators

[Colin_5040106]

I'm thinking of buying a Generator, courtesy of e-bay, but am unsure of what to buy. I need to be able to charge the battery and provide lights. (wife would like to use her hair dryer but I guess that would be out of the question ?)

Would a Europa KGE9800TC 900w silent digital generator be suitable ? or can any one provide alternative advice on what I should look for.

Many thanks

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Colin,

An increasing number of sites are providing electric hook ups, so unless you are deliberately trying to avoid them, generators may not be necessary.

However you have asked the question, You will need to establish the 230vac maximum power you will need at any one time. Having lost most of my hair I'm not sure how many watts a hair drier needs, but i would guess 900W on low setting and 1500W on high. Your generator wold need to be able to deliver this at least.

If you can avoid the hair drier, then you may not need to spend out on a generator. A fully charged battery with careful usage will last a weekend or more. Don't forget you already have a battery charger in the car, A suitable box in the boot, and a lead to connect to the towing electrics, you can recharge the battery whilst out during the day, some people use a solar panel (a 40 to 50Watt version can keep a battery topped up).

There are certainly some cheap generators available on eBay, but I have heard two unsubstantiated reports that some of the cheap inverter gennie's such as the KGE9800TC 900w may not be up to the quality of the well known brands such as Honda etc. And of course even the ones that claim to be "super silent" still make some noise!

I'm sorry I cant offer any hard advice to you, but I hope that the possible alternatives may give you food for thought.

 

[BrianStAlbans]

I think generators should be banned, their shape means that if it were to hit a small child at speed it would certainly cause a great deal of damage and their fuel comsuption of 0 mpg is worse than any gas guzzling 4x4 ....Brian (",)

 

[Lol1]

Brian, you have just made my night! In one short comment you have reduced me to tears of laughter, thankyou!

 

[LMH]

Brian

Well said and they're noisy, they keep babies and small children awake at night.

Lisa.

 

[BrianStAlbans]

Oh Lisa, what have we started?

 

[Lol1]

I have heard that dogs and small mammals fear them..and that they require the soul of your first born to make them start..

 

[BrianStAlbans]

No Lol ,I think thats The Terminator!

 

[Colin_5040106]

Hello Colin,

An increasing number of sites are providing electric hook ups, so unless you are deliberately trying to avoid them, generators may not be necessary.

However you have asked the question, You will need to establish the 230vac maximum power you will need at any one time. Having lost most of my hair I'm not sure how many watts a hair drier needs, but i would guess 900W on low setting and 1500W on high. Your generator wold need to be able to deliver this at least.

If you can avoid the hair drier, then you may not need to spend out on a generator. A fully charged battery with careful usage will last a weekend or more. Don't forget you already have a battery charger in the car, A suitable box in the boot, and a lead to connect to the towing electrics, you can recharge the battery whilst out during the day, some people use a solar panel (a 40 to 50Watt version can keep a battery topped up).

There are certainly some cheap generators available on eBay, but I have heard two unsubstantiated reports that some of the cheap inverter gennie's such as the KGE9800TC 900w may not be up to the quality of the well known brands such as Honda etc. And of course even the ones that claim to be "super silent" still make some noise!

I'm sorry I cant offer any hard advice to you, but I hope that the possible alternatives may give you food for thought.

John, many thanks for your sensible response and advice.