Portable Generators

[Geoff_5120515]

To date we have always used Sites/CL's with electric hook-ups. Can anyone give me any advice, tips, etc about selecting, buying and using a generator with the view to using CL's without electric. What are the benfits and constraints, which is the best buy, etc. Thanks

Geoff

 

[swpostie]

Hi Geoff,

I would imagine people use CLs for the peace and quiet they offer.

Assuming that's true, and with only 5 'vans per site, your generator will stick out like a sore thumb!

Imagine what it will be like for the other 4 'vans - all they will be able to hear will be your generator.

If you want to run lots of electrical gizmos why not go to a site with hook-up and use it? Loads of CLs offer hook-up too.

Save the CLs, without hook-up, for the times when you don't want to use a lot of electrics - and remember the other people there probably won't want to listen to your generator!

 

[Legsmaniac_374344731]

We went away for the first time last week without electric hook up, our 9th time away in the van (the other 8 being on EHU). This was done as a test to see how long we can run on battery only.

We have two 113Ah batteries, one in the van and one we left in the car in case the one in the van went flat. We stayed at a local site for just two nights and in that time, we watched the TV (LCD TV with built in DVD + Satellite box) for around 20 hours and STILL the voltmeter showed 11.6 volts at the end of the stay. We were conservative with the lights and the light in the washroom is LED anyway.

I measured the current consumption of the TV and Satellite and they were only 2.4 amps in total. So theoretically, we should get 47 hours use off one battery for the TV/Sat alone. So I reckon we can go 4 days per battery, 8 days in all with the two batteries, so a week away no problem.

We looked into getting a genny and solar panels too, but now we know we can go away for this long on batteries, we're not gonna bother with a genny or solar. Plus batteries are far cheaper.

Don't forget that some CL's offer on-site charging facilities.

 

[Damian]

Geoff, to answer your question, if you need a generator, as we do at times, then for the sake of the electronics in your van you need a good generator.

A 4 stroke with sine wave inverter technology is the best and safest and are generally very quiet in use.

Do not even consider a cheap 2 stroke, they are noisy, need very regular maintainance and can produce huge voltage spikes which would fry any of the sensitive electronics such as charger unit etc.

We use a Kipor Ti2000 which is virtually identical to the Honda, but at a much lower price.

With the cost of fuel, they are not cheap to run, using a tank of fuel in 4 hours at full output use, but they have an intelligent speed control which automatically adjusts the sped to match the load.

Some sites do not allow generators but lots do, and providing you are sensible in its use and not expect to run it 24/7 then it should not cause any problems.

 

[Craig_374360216]

Get one of the quiet suitcase type by Honda - Very Quiet and handy!

Craig