HOT weather

[jsmith948]

Well, summer hasn't officially arrived yet, but it's going to be 105 today and triple digits for the next week:( So...we rolled out the old Coleman Powermate 4000 generator that we use for power outages (and occasionally when dry camping). Filled her up with fresh gas, added stabil, and got the old girl running.
Hooked her up to the 5er, turned on the a/c and exercised her some. That old generator always just purrs along, albeit not quite as quietly as a Honda/Yamaha:D
Anyway, we're ready to move to the 'escape pod' if Edison can't keep up with demand:)

[chuckster57]

I hear ya!! Gonna be 100+ all next week, so we changed our hours last week to 7-3:30 with .5 lunch. I like your idea, I'll have to get the gen out and have it on standby

[MotownJG]

Would you go with the Coleman generator again if you had the choice? We're looking to dry camp at Cherry Lake next week without hookups. So a generator that runs the A/C would make momma happy.

And me too, of course.....researching.

[JRTJH]

I don't think the "old style" Coleman generators are even available any longer. There is a new "coleman line" called the Powermate generators. I haven't heard much about them, either good or bad, so for me, the jury is still out on their performance.

Champion builds a 4000/3500 watt generator that is much less noisy than the typical "construction generator" and many of us (me included) have one. Mine is now 4 years old, has been used for dry camping every summer and for emergency use during the winter when the house power goes off. Additionally, I use it at the pole barn to provide 110 power there. I'd guess I've got 300-350 hours on mine. They are all "trouble free" hours.

If you want the "Rolls Royce" buy a Honda or Yamaha setup ($2000), if you want a functional generator, check out Champion, you may find it does everything you need for less than $300.

[MotownJG]

Perfect Thank you VERY much.

I'm going to borrow a friend's Yamaha generator for camping at Cherry Lake next week. It'll give me some experience to go on...

[jsmith948]

Would you go with the Coleman generator again if you had the choice? We're looking to dry camp at Cherry Lake next week without hookups. So a generator that runs the A/C would make momma happy.

And me too, of course.....researching.

Sorry about the late answer. I bought this generator slightly used back in 2000.
We had moved to the country and needed something that would power the well in order to water our livestock in the event of an outage. Do to the fears generated by Y2K, you couldn't buy a generator anywhere. I drove 4 hrs to the bay area to buy it. We have not used it that often, but, it will run the well, or keep the freezers going and has no trouble at all running the camper a/c.
I wouldn't buy this same generator for camping (although we have used for that) because it IS very noisy and it is very heavy and it burns about 3/4 of a gallon per hr.
As John stated, the newer Champions, Yamaha's etc. are better suited for camping. In fact, we want to buy a 3100 W Champion inverter one day soon.

[mcsearch1]

Met the DW at the Airman's Club at Castle AFB in Merced. Spent 15 years in the valley all together. We could use some of that heat here in WI. We're still burning propane at night. I have a Honda 2000. It is extremely quiet, but won't run the AC.

[LuvsPalmTrees]

We have a Generac and it is not the most quiet generator but it gets the job done. We can run the air on it so that is what counts. I can get by without lights for awhile but when it is hot and we are camping in a field at the Indy 500 I want my air for sleeping. It also is our emergency generator for our house when the power goes out.

[GmaPaTime]

I don't think the "old style" Coleman generators are even available any longer. There is a new "coleman line" called the Powermate generators. I haven't heard much about them, either good or bad, so for me, the jury is still out on their performance.

Champion builds a 4000/3500 watt generator that is much less noisy than the typical "construction generator" and many of us (me included) have one. Mine is now 4 years old, has been used for dry camping every summer and for emergency use during the winter when the house power goes off. Additionally, I use it at the pole barn to provide 110 power there. I'd guess I've got 300-350 hours on mine. They are all "trouble free" hours.

If you want the "Rolls Royce" buy a Honda or Yamaha setup ($2000), if you want a functional generator, check out Champion, you may find it does everything you need for less than $300.

I'll second that on the Champion. My 2000w runs like a charm, hour after hour. Would buy again if needed, but I think this one is a keeper for awhile. :)

Steve

[jsmith948]

John & Steve,

We have been looking at the Champion 3100 inverter, but, it is quite a bit more than the non-inverter Champions. Do you guys have a feel for how loud these generators are? I'm guessing they are not super quiet like a Honda, but, surely they are quieter than my old Coleman? I like the idea of catching one of these Champions on sale for $299:)

[tank45]

I bought two Smarter Tools 2000w inverter generators from Costco.com. $599 apiece and the parallel wiring kit was another $60. Home depot sells same units for $650. These have the Yamaha MZ80 motors with the quiet mode technology. Great generators at a great price if you are looking for very quiet and inverter style.

[MotownJG]

From what I have been seeing doing my research on the internet, Champion has a good name, but the gold standard for less sound seems to be Honda and Yamaha at the higher prices.

Youtube videos seem to like it, the Champion, that is.

[Desert185]

I bought two Smarter Tools 2000w inverter generators from Costco.com. $599 apiece and the parallel wiring kit was another $60. Home depot sells same units for $650. These have the Yamaha MZ80 motors with the quiet mode technology. Great generators at a great price if you are looking for very quiet and inverter style.

I did the same. So far, so good, and they are just as quiet as the Honda/Yamaha.

[B-O-B'03]

John & Steve,

We have been looking at the Champion 3100 inverter, but, it is quite a bit more than the non-inverter Champions. Do you guys have a feel for how loud these generators are? I'm guessing they are not super quiet like a Honda, but, surely they are quieter than my old Coleman? I like the idea of catching one of these Champions on sale for $299:)

I picked up the non-electric start 3100 Champion inverter from Costco a few months ago, it was $699 + tax, free shipping.

We have used it on 2 week long camping trips so far and it works great, not a quiet as my friends Honda, but quieter than any contractor grade generator and it runs the 15K AC, both fridges and the converter when we plug into it.

I picked up a small hour meter, from Amazon, for it and it has around 30 hours on it so far.

The thing has started on the first pull, every time.

I would buy it again.

-Brian

[MotownJG]

Was able to borrow a friend's Yamaha 3100 generator to use the past three days at Cherry Valley Campground in Tuolumne County California. Worked like a charm and nice and quiet.

But it's BIG and heavy. I could not lift it alone and my wife can't help me (she's a real girly-girl "bouncey:). So I got help lifting it into the pickup bed and locked / tied it down there.

Made me think about being able to move the darn thing in and out of the truck by myself so I also did the SmarterTools thing as those above from Costco. Should be arriving by the end of the next week. (tx)

[Desert185]

The nice thing about two, 2000's is that you can run only one to charge the battery and run other items, which consumes less gas and is usually quieter than running one larger gen.

[MotownJG]

You raise a good point. At home I run the RV off a 20 amp circuit in the garage. I don't run the AC in the RV but everything else works just fine, including charging the battery.

So if I'm not running the AC (the big dog power user in my 5th wheel) I might get by with just one, which would be truly stupendous!

On another note, I bought two because someone raised the issue recently that here in California we're probably going to have more brownouts as the hydropower lakes drop due to the drought. Cherry Lake this week was 20-30 feet below normal and it showed.

So with two I can run more stuff at home if needed this August......just a thought.