generator inverter

[nanbert]

We have a 25' Keystone 2020 Passport and are wanting to do some boondocking. We are looking to buy a Briggs and Stratton invertor 2200 watt generator. Is this gonna be big enough to run our A/C and small fridge?Thanks in advance for the help!

[chuckster57]

Welcome to the forum!!

It depends on the BTU rating of your AC and if it’s one of the “new generation” units that come with a “soft start” capacitor.

If your boondocking, run the refer and water heater on LP and it will reduce your load. General accepted rule is 3500 watts or better for AC. If your adding the outside kitchen refer, then I would definitely go with at least 3500W.

[sourdough]

That unit only has 2 120vac outlets on the front which tells me it isn't meant to carry the load of your AC and electrics. The B&S 3000 looks like it is the smallest in that line that has a 30A plug on it. That is about as small as I would go or go with the 2200 and the companion unit that attaches to it.

[Canonman]

Our 3000w Dometic generator starts and runs our 13.5k Coleman Mach A/C really well.
I agree it would be best to run the fridge on LP as long as the A/C is on as the 3kw gensets don't leave much headroom for other 110v accessories.

[flybouy]

Amps X Volts = Watts. so for a full 30 Amp service @ 120 vac would require 3,600 watts.
That said, there are basically 2 sizes and 2 types of air conditioners. 13,500 btu or 15,000 btu. Among those there "High efficiency" units that use less amperage during compressor start up.

Generators also have 2 ratings. Continuous wattage and surge wattage. Reducing the load can help by as was stated running the available appliances on LP gas. Bear in mind that the converter will also be drawing power depending on it's size as well.

[nanbert]

thanks Everyone for the great advice! Will look into the 3000.

[travelin texans]

Check out the Harbor Freight generators, any of them should be MUCH quieter, which everyone you camp next to will appreciate, than any brand with a Briggs & Stratton engine.

[Lee]

Nanbert: You are following the path I just completed ;-) Needing to run the A/C while Boon-docking, I recently bought and installed a "soft-start" for my A/C,... then I caught a 3100W Inverter/Gen set on sale at HD..... even has remote start!!!!!

[sourdough]

Check out the Harbor Freight generators, any of them should be MUCH quieter, which everyone you camp next to will appreciate, than any brand with a Briggs & Stratton engine.



That's exactly what I thought (used to own one) but pulled up their website and the 3000 unit was only 58db as I recall so not like the plain old generators of yore.

[JRTJH]

Harbor Freight generators have "Chinese knockoff Honda motors". I've heard that many of Honda's motors are now also made in China rather than Japan. So, the "design features of the "more quiet Honda" are actually incorporated in the HF generator power plants. That's not true with many of the B&S motors used in many competitor brands.

Which is "really quietest" ??? Hard to tell just from engine brand or design, because the frame design, sound baffling, engine speed control circuits, size of the inverter and many other factors will all affect the perception of noise and how far it travels before it's at an acceptable level. Heck, just the frequency of the noise is a factor in how "irritating" it is to some people while other people (who worked on the flightline around jet engines) can't even hear that frequency range....

So, as much as the specifications for sound (58dB) might "sound good" <pun intended> the true test of any generator is to actually stand beside one in operation and compare it to what you heard yesterday at "the other big box store"....

[nanbert]

thanks everyone....very helpful!

[Cometman]

I bought an Atima 3000- it wasn't enough to run the AC. I upgraded to a Predator 3500. Everything runs great now, and its cheaper too.

[majbill]

I bought an Atima 3000- it wasn't enough to run the AC. I upgraded to a Predator 3500. Everything runs great now, and its cheaper too.
3500 starting watts 3000 running watts? I have a 2013 Keystone Hornet Hideout and have been looking at inverter generators. Someone mentioned the Predator 3500 and said it was quiet. Just wondering if that would be enough generator for my camper? From what you wrote seems like it may be.

[Cometman]

I think the 3500 would be fine for your RV.

[kayakjim]

Not every generator is created equal, even though they state the same Watts. I have a Micro Air Easy start that I added to my 15000BTU AC unit. I can run it with one Honda 2200i at 6,000 foot elevation. Sea level I can also run the fridge with the A/C on. I will admit that at 6,000 feet elev. everything is on propane and I have solar hooked to the batteries to minimize the need of charging. I also have a Honda companion I bring to the high elev. trips, so we can run the TV etc. with the AC on.

Good article on generators:
http://www.micro-air.com/knowledgebank/Home/Detail/what-to-know-about-using-my-a-c-with-an-inverter-generator

[Gunny Mike]

We bought a Champion 3400 inverter for our Outback and during the breakin i would run the ac and a 5gal compressor at the sametime. When I ran the microwave it finally tripped off.

[duh1]

We had a 2910 bh and went to Home Depot and the champion 3400 was the one that ran everything AND restarted the ac after it hit the appropriate temp and needed to power back up. I would get the system I thought would work, test it out, and if it did not work, would take it back to either the same home depot or another one near where we were. That was three years ago. It is a bit noisier than a honda, weighs right at 100 lbs but starts every time with one or two pulls even after sitting for six months. im a fan.

[JSisemoreTX]

We have a 25' Keystone 2020 Passport and are wanting to do some boondocking. We are looking to buy a Briggs and Stratton invertor 2200 watt generator. Is this gonna be big enough to run our A/C and small fridge?Thanks in advance for the help!
I recommend looking into the Predator 3500 from Harbor Freight, love mine. Use for 30 Amp power to my 38' Laredo. I only use 1 AC at a time as it isn't meant to power 50 amp. Quiet inverted generator....at fraction of the price of a Honda. It can be paired with another generator to run in parallel if you want.

[JSisemoreTX]

3500 starting watts 3000 running watts? I have a 2013 Keystone Hornet Hideout and have been looking at inverter generators. Someone mentioned the Predator 3500 and said it was quiet. Just wondering if that would be enough generator for my camper? From what you wrote seems like it may be.
Love my predator 3500! It is good to 25 amps and comes with a 30 amp converter. So my trailer is a 50 Amp...I simply use the adapter (50/30) and only run 1 AC of using generator. Predator will run entire unit as long as you don't use 2 ac at same time. You can also buy 2 and run in parallel. Quiet, dependable, raving fan....far cheaper than a Honda. Also, you can see digital Guage on hours of usage, amount of used power in Amps and Watts.

[Buckeyexx]

Just received my wen 3800 inverter generator. 3800 surge watts and 3400 rated watts. It has great reviews online so I decided to give it a shot. I got mine from amazon but you can also get them from Home Depot.

I like that it is a super quite and has the rv 30 amp plug built in so no adapter needed. Also love the fact it has a fuel shut off so that it will run its fuel out of the carb before shutting down.

Will see how it does on a long run time but the initial out of the box run went great. Hooked it up to the camper and ran my ac along with microwave and it didn’t skip a beat. It’s not a Honda but it is pretty close to being just as quite so far and for less than half the cost I think it will be a great investment. 27803

[Bill-2020]

Read the service intervals of those Harbor Fright generators... :popcorn: then read the service intervals of the Hondas and do that math. I put my $ on the Honda.

[JRTJH]

I just read the pdf periodic maintenance charts for the Harbor Freight 3500 generator and the Honda EU3000IS. The oil change requirement, air filter cleaning requirement, spark arrestor cleaning requirement are the same. Honda requires a spark plug change at 300 hours or annually, HF doesn't address changing the spark plug as periodic maintenance.

I'm not sure what point you're trying to make, but these manuals indicate very similar maintenance requirements.

https://manuals.harborfreight.com/manuals/63000-63999/63584.pdf
http://cdn.powerequipment.honda.com/pe/pdf/manuals/31zt7601.pdf

[JSisemoreTX]

Do the 1st 2 oil changes after 8 hrs. Also get a magnetic dipstick upgrade. After that, I do them every 25 hrs of use. Easy oil change on the Predator 3500.

[Bill-2020]

I just read the pdf periodic maintenance charts for the Harbor Freight 3500 generator and the Honda EU3000IS. The oil change requirement, air filter cleaning requirement, spark arrestor cleaning requirement are the same. Honda requires a spark plug change at 300 hours or annually, HF doesn't address changing the spark plug as periodic maintenance.

I'm not sure what point you're trying to make, but these manuals indicate very similar maintenance requirements.

https://manuals.harborfreight.com/manuals/63000-63999/63584.pdf
http://cdn.powerequipment.honda.com/pe/pdf/manuals/31zt7601.pdf

This can be read several different ways. And perhaps HF has changed their manual(s) since I last looked about a year plus ago because I don't recall all of the oil change intervals it shows here now ( :banghead: ), but here's why I said what I said. Every 20 Hrs? I understand Honda's position of changing after the first 20, then every 100 hrs. HF leaves a bit to the imagination i think. I have two Honda's (EU3000's). They are essential for hurricane season and portable for recreation use (occasional boondocking, and I mean "Occasional!" I prefer a 30amp pedestal power source). I chose the Honda's over the HF because of the service requirements at that time. I applaud HF, and their manufacturer, for this new service interval. They even skipped the first 20 hour requirement on this revision, which may mean it has a larger oil capacity. :cool:

[JRTJH]

Do the 1st 2 oil changes after 8 hrs. Also get a magnetic dipstick upgrade. After that, I do them every 25 hrs of use. Easy oil change on the Predator 3500.

I change the oil in my Champion 2KW generators every 25-30 hours. For the amount of oil needed for an oil change, I use synthetic oil. It seems to make "pulling the starter rope easier, but that's probably speculation on my part. I also use alcohol free gas and keep the generators off the ground when in use. I find that operating them "on the ground" increases the dust filtered through the air cleaner and putting the generator on a concrete surface or on a "3'x3' foam board when operating keeps the air filter cleaner. I also keep them covered when not in use. In the evening, after the generator is turned off and cooled, I put the cover back on them to protect from dew, possible rain and from "the neighboring campsite male dog"... Maybe I've got a bit of OCD about keeping my stuff protected, but it seems to work for me.

[skids]

(snip)
Which is "really quietest" ??? Hard to tell just from engine brand or design, because the frame design, sound baffling, engine speed control circuits, size of the inverter and many other factors will all affect the perception of noise and how far it travels before it's at an acceptable level. Heck, just the frequency of the noise is a factor in how "irritating" it is to some people while other people (who worked on the flightline around jet engines) can't even hear that frequency range....

So, as much as the specifications for sound (58dB) might "sound good" <pun intended> the true test of any generator is to actually stand beside one in operation and compare it to what you heard yesterday at "the other big box store"....

John that is a very good description. The dBa rating may have nothing to do with ASTM standards. Heck, claims about dBa may not take into consideration whether it is at full load and how far away from the muffler outlet it is. You almost need to do the DW test, but nothing will be quiet enough for her (mine) so good luck! LOL

[JRTJH]

John that is a very good description. The dBa rating may have nothing to do with ASTM standards. Heck, claims about dBa may not take into consideration whether it is at full load and how far away from the muffler outlet it is. You almost need to do the DW test, but nothing will be quiet enough for her (mine) so good luck! LOL

Frequency, direction, distance, load, preventative maintenance, previous abuse/misuse, early shutdown (when the windings are hot), direction the exhaust is pointed, operating in the truck bed with the tailgate open (think metal megaphone), humidity, ambient noise.... Just a few of the things that come to mind when trying to determine how loud a generator might be.

Then there's the way the generator box is built and insulated, what materials are used, how "well it's secured inside that box", the proximity of bearings to openings in the box, (ie: good engineering or poor engineering)… And while most of the physical quality can be related to generator price, that alone is not an indicator of what any generator is going to "sound like when you start it up behind the trailer or in the bed of your truck.....

Honestly, I don't have a tremendous amount of "generator time in campgrounds" but I can attest that on some days my generator seems to blend into the background and other days, it's as annoying as hell, as it intrudes on everything we're trying to escape by being as far from everyone as possible... So, among everything else that must be considered, I suppose we'd need to include "attitude, fatigue, alcohol, population of friends that relax us vs friends that make us tense" No doubt, depending on the situation, even the best generator might be a "pain in the neck" on any given evening.....

[Bill-2020]

John that is a very good description. The dBa rating may have nothing to do with ASTM standards. Heck, claims about dBa may not take into consideration whether it is at full load and how far away from the muffler outlet it is. You almost need to do the DW test, but nothing will be quiet enough for her (mine) so good luck! LOL

DW test--- right!

Skids... Florissant Colorado or Missouri? I've been through the CO Florissant on the way to Eleven Mile canyon to get many a fly wet.

[skids]

DW test--- right!

Skids... Florissant Colorado or Missouri? I've been through the CO Florissant on the way to Eleven Mile canyon to get many a fly wet.

Florissant, Colorado. Yeah, 11-mile is about 6 miles as the crow flies, or a 30+mile drive to my shore fishing spot. With half the season gone due to the virus, I may forgo getting a license this year.

[Miloski]

I also went with the WEN after lots of research and yes cost was a factor. Quite and the electric start is great for my wife and my shoulder. At the time going through the WEN site was the lest expensive, even Amazon at that time. Consider the two smaller units and thither them together when needed. Most trips you'll only need one.