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Old 07-17-2021, 04:07 PM   #21
chuckster57
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And all this time nobody has said anything about the title of the thread?
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Old 07-17-2021, 05:26 PM   #22
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The heck with spell check and most of the time I talk to my phone Lady is answering me so I have to redo it two or three times. Most of the time it still doesn’t come out right. I like pictures and there still people that question the picture. As for Flybouy he very Seldom makes a mistake.
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Old 07-17-2021, 05:35 PM   #23
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My SIL lives in deep east Texas & has the accent that goes along with living there! When she text the DW, 99.9% of the time without proof reading, we have sit & think about her accent before being able to cipher what the hell she's texting. I told she needs a phone that understands hillbilly.
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Old 07-17-2021, 05:44 PM   #24
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I speak hillbilly! Years ago when I was going to Dallas on a regular basis (corp headquarters at the time) and the folks down there would talk about the Texas hillbillies. I told them that I knew people in West Virginia that would make the Texas hillbillies look like the Jetson's. No disrespect to the people of West-By-God-Virginia, my parents were from WVA and I still have relativbes in that state.
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Old 07-17-2021, 07:21 PM   #25
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Back to the thread topic for a moment:

This is intended to be a "sobering reminder" of just what can happen using a generator (any type of generator) to power an RV on a "consistent basis"...

https://upnorthlive.com/news/local/m...orses-festival

There were 5 young men in their 20's, camping in a travel trailer so they could attend a festival just south of Jackson, MI. One of their friends called the sheriff's office because they hadn't heard from them and none of the five were answering texts..... The sheriff checked on them and found all 5 unresponsive, inside the trailer. Three were pronounced dead at the scene and two are in critical condition in a local hospital...

The incident is under investigation, but it appears they were exposed to CO from a generator they were using to power the trailer..... The generator was outside, but apparently not far enough away from the trailer to operate safely....

A WORD OF CAUTION, IF YOU'RE GOING TO OPERATE A GENERATOR FOR AN EXTENDED TIME TO COOL A TRAILER FOR CHILDREN AND DOGS, DEPENDING ON THE WIND DIRECTION, "THE END OF THE SHORE POWER CABLE" MAY NOT BE FAR ENOUGH AWAY FROM THE TRAILER .....

One incident like this is a tragedy, to read about another one that involves a member of this forum who is trying to keep his family comfortable would be another tragedy. ONE IS ENOUGH !!!!!
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Old 07-18-2021, 02:32 AM   #26
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A few years back at the Little Sturgis rally in Kentucky. There is a one lane paved road through out the fair grounds with thousands of motorcycles running up and down the road. The camp ground did not have shore power every camper was running some kind of generator on a hot and Muggy July evening. I have a CO2 detector that was beeping. I mentioned it to my neighbor he said his was going off. The Carbon monoxide from outside was causing the CO2 detectors to go off. It’s a good idea for all campers to have a CO2 detector installed in their living area or sleeping area .
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Old 07-18-2021, 05:11 AM   #27
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jim1 View Post
hey B-O-B'03 Was just wondering what connection you used to BACK FEED the entire house.
I have a 50 amp RV outlet on the driveway and made up a 30 <> 50 amp cable that connects to both legs. Not the best setup and if done incorrectly very dangerous, but it was below freezing out (low was -2) and had dropped down to 50 in the house over night.

Before doing it again I would install an interlock device to ensure the main is off, before you can engage the 50 amp breaker. It is just me and the DW at home and I doubt she would drag the generator out of the shed and attempt to hook it up, but better safe than not.

As it was, I flipped off the main and all 220 volt breakers, plugged the cable into the RV outlet and the generator, started it up and flipped the 50 amp breaker on. That gave us power on both legs of the panel and with judicious management we were able to keep things going and run one, gas, furnace at a time. I am glad we had converted most of the lighting in the house to LED.

The DW thinks we should invest in a whole house system now, having 220 available means we can run the pool pump and keep all that from freezing, instead of wrapping it all in blankets with a 150 shop light under them and also the AC system in the summer if we have an outage. I priced a few out and for the load we have a system that will run "everything" is really expensive and I am not sure we would ever get our moneys worth out of it, especially at our age.

Our neighbors with pools lost thousands of dollars worth of pumps, heaters, filters, chlorinators, and piping, some also had flooding in the home from frozen pipes.

-Brian
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Old 07-18-2021, 05:26 AM   #28
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With out proper connection between the generator and the breaker panel the power can back feed through the secondary line to the transformer. This can produce high primary voltage back on the power lines putting the nice linemen and utility workers in a very deadly situation. Just a heads up. Be safe! Thanks!
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Old 07-18-2021, 05:58 AM   #29
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Quote:
Originally Posted by B-O-B'03 View Post
I have a 50 amp RV outlet on the driveway and made up a 30 <> 50 amp cable that connects to both legs. Not the best setup and if done incorrectly very dangerous, but it was below freezing out (low was -2) and had dropped down to 50 in the house over night.

Before doing it again I would install an interlock device to ensure the main is off, before you can engage the 50 amp breaker. It is just me and the DW at home and I doubt she would drag the generator out of the shed and attempt to hook it up, but better safe than not.

As it was, I flipped off the main and all 220 volt breakers, plugged the cable into the RV outlet and the generator, started it up and flipped the 50 amp breaker on. That gave us power on both legs of the panel and with judicious management we were able to keep things going and run one, gas, furnace at a time. I am glad we had converted most of the lighting in the house to LED.

The DW thinks we should invest in a whole house system now, having 220 available means we can run the pool pump and keep all that from freezing, instead of wrapping it all in blankets with a 150 shop light under them and also the AC system in the summer if we have an outage. I priced a few out and for the load we have a system that will run "everything" is really expensive and I am not sure we would ever get our moneys worth out of it, especially at our age.

Our neighbors with pools lost thousands of dollars worth of pumps, heaters, filters, chlorinators, and piping, some also had flooding in the home from frozen pipes.

-Brian


Unless done properly backfeeding can be a deathtrap for a utility lineman. When we had the recent storms we were without power for several days. I've not had, nor had the need for, a generator for decades but got one so I wouldn't lose what was in 1 freezer and 3 fridge/freezers. When the power guys finally got there they said they heard the generator and weren't going to work on it until they went up and looked over the fence and saw I was just running extension cords to the appliances vs connecting to the breaker panel - which I wouldn't do.

As far as whole house generators; when the unprecedented "big freeze" hit TX this winter and the power grid went stupid I was in FL and lost contact with my security system and everything else. Depending on a neighbor who recently lost her husband seemed really lame so determined I would install a whole house gen when I returned. Made an appt. with our electrical contractor to meet me as soon as I returned as I figured they would be really backed up with requests....and they were, but....

I had pretty much guestimated the cost and was right on the money and wanted it done right away until we did a walk through. As we surveyed the property the contractor informed me of all the issues with clearances, distances and little "no no's" when doing the installation. With all the walks, flower beds, sprinkler systems etc. we ended up having to put the gen halfway in the yard digging up sprinkler lines etc., placing it in one area and digging up the sprinklers then routing under walks AND THEN placing a 150gal.? LP tank right next to the gate going to the front yard or last; placing the gen right square in the middle of BBQ central and all my cookers - blasphemous as this is sacred ground as I told him. DW was with me and she was thumbs down on everything but BBQ central and that area was a no go for me. So now I have a little generator and will probably just endure any future event praying nothing bad happens, and if it does promptly begin kicking myself in the butt for being so stupid. All that to point out that there might be other considerations to putting in that whole house gen set other than cost.
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Old 07-22-2021, 07:42 AM   #30
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My first bit of advice, get to higher ground and find a shady tree.
My second bit, buy the biggest, quietest Honda generator you can afford. The only problem I have ever had with a Honda was it getting stolen out of my truck in Phoenix…

We were in S. UT in June 21, and I had plenty power but the AC couldn’t keep up with the heat. A campsite at 9,000 ft solved everything.

Best!



Quote:
Originally Posted by RNTFREE View Post
We have been full timing for almost a month now. Most of our time is spent in a space with full hookups but we do boondock as well. We purchased a predator 3500 inverter and it's just not cutting it. We are in northern Arizona so it's been hot out, so when we are running the generator it needs to run 24/7, and once the predator gets warm it goes into overload and everything has to be restarted. Looking into another generator so looking for some input on better ones. I like the price/ power of the champion inverters, looking at a 4500 watt now. What's a good generator that won't break the bank but can run 24/7 when needed? Any input would be great, thanks.
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Old 07-22-2021, 09:25 AM   #31
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These folks know their stuff

Quote:
Originally Posted by RNTFREE View Post
We have been full timing for almost a month now. Most of our time is spent in a space with full hookups but we do boondock as well. We purchased a predator 3500 inverter and it's just not cutting it. We are in northern Arizona so it's been hot out, so when we are running the generator it needs to run 24/7, and once the predator gets warm it goes into overload and everything has to be restarted. Looking into another generator so looking for some input on better ones. I like the price/ power of the champion inverters, looking at a 4500 watt now. What's a good generator that won't break the bank but can run 24/7 when needed? Any input would be great, thanks.
Whatever you do, pay close attention to these folks here giving you advice. My fella and I live full time in our Outback 328rl. I came here for advice on cords and power after a near miss using improper power cords. I followed their advice to the T, spent a bundle but now have the safest equipment possible. We're on our own, no kids, but we have a cat and we NEVER leave him locked inside because you never know what could happen.

Also, boofocking...I love that new word...has a nice ring to it!
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Old 07-23-2021, 02:11 PM   #32
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I have been living off grid with my wife, since late 2017. I started out using a champion 100222, which put out 4000-watt speak, and 3500 Watts full runtime. It barely kept up, because we ran the 15KBTU air conditioner AND the ice maker. If we wanted to run the water heater on electric, we had to turn off the AC. If we wanted to run the microwave, we had to turn off the AC.
In late 2018, I upgraded to the model 100216, which is 4500 W Peak, 3650 Watts run time. That one, of which I now own (6) each, outputs enough energy all day and all night long to run the air conditioner, the ice maker, teo TV's, and barely run the microwave... I say "barely" run, because it bogs down the generator too much. So, still better to turn off the AC while you use the microwave or the water heater.
Living off-grid gives us some advantages. We have put up a rack with (12) 370w PERC-72 PV panels, running through a Midnite Solar Classic 200 charge controller, into 200 amp hours of 48-volt prismatic lithium iron phosphate rack-mounted pods. These are smart pods, and they output through a 5000 watt AIMS inverter. So, we are getting everything we need, during the day.
Before I assembled the solar system, I was running generators day and night, one at a time. That means I ran that generator for days on end, just keeping it fed with gasoline, only stopping it to change the oil every hundred hours. They don't last a real long time without proper maintenance. However, they'll get the job done.
At one point, I had a generator failure which required me to borrow a generator from my son-in-law. His was a 6500-watt roll-around generator, which was ridiculously heavy. However, you could run everything in the trailer off of a 110 volt socket with a 20 amp breaker.

The funny thing about most generators is they run so much wattage, but each outlet is still rated very much like a home system. Standard 120 volt, 3 prong connectors are rated at 20 amps. The 30 amp RV connector, which you find on most trailers and fifth wheels still has a 20 amp breaker, but will run 30 amps. In fact, we often run the entire RV from the RV connector on the generator. Never had a problem with those connectors.
I recommend the champion open-frame 4500 / 3650 Watt generator, because it actually has the 30 amp RV connector on it. It also has a selector for 120v and 240v connections, using a locking 4-prong connector.. I highly recommend this model, because it's one of the most portable, it's easy to grab onto with its open frame, it's easy to pull maintenance on, and it runs all day and all night. And, yes, you can get a wheel kit for it.

I would emphasize this caveat:
Put everything in the shade, if you can. Make sure you shut it down and perform oil changes every hundred hours. Get yourself a small fan to push air across it, that way it'll stay cool even when there is no Breeze.

You can go to Tractor Supply, pick up this generator for less than $400, and it will serve you well for at least a year. Champion's warranty for defects and workmanship is 3 years, their online support is 5 years. DO NOT by the Tractor Supply warranty. It will do you no good. Owning six of these, I talk to Champion support, periodically. They have treated me well, have answered my questions well, and I trust them.
Knowing that you have dogs that you leave at home, I would recommend that you set the thermostat at like 78 to 80 degrees, while you are gone.
Air conditioners are only capable of creating a temperature differential, and there's no good reason to overwork them. By all means, put that travel trailer in the shade. Put a tent over the generator. And run a fan on that generator.
Hope this helps, and good luck!!
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Old 07-23-2021, 02:41 PM   #33
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Originally Posted by RNTFREE View Post
We have been full timing for almost a month now. Most of our time is spent in a space with full hookups but we do boondock as well. We purchased a predator 3500 inverter and it's just not cutting it. We are in northern Arizona so it's been hot out, so when we are running the generator it needs to run 24/7, and once the predator gets warm it goes into overload and everything has to be restarted. Looking into another generator so looking for some input on better ones. I like the price/ power of the champion inverters, looking at a 4500 watt now. What's a good generator that won't break the bank but can run 24/7 when needed? Any input would be great, thanks.
I believe it would be to your benefit to create a signature with your trailer's year, make and model and same for your tow vehicle if you pull the trailer. It would allow questions to have context. It can be done at the UserCP at the top left of each page. You didn't mention if your trailer is 30A or 50A.
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Old 07-23-2021, 02:51 PM   #34
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Originally Posted by jim1 View Post
hey B-O-B'03 Was just wondering what connection you used to BACK FEED the entire house.
Jim1, I did much the same during the blizzard of 21! This is what I use:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Reliance...0CRK/205793178

I have a Champion dual fuel genny that makes just under 4K watts and has an RV plug on it and use an adapter to go from RV plug to regular 30A plug then the electrical outlet (I guess inlet would make more sense) is on the outside of my home. I had an electrician run power to the box mounted just under my home breaker box and be switched over quickly. I keep 10 gallons of gas handy. It was more complicated to hook up that transfer switch than I was comfortable with and used a master electrician. I have the master bedroom, my home office, kitchen, living room connected. In the kitchen, we can not use the stove or microwave as they are on separate circuits and not wired in. Stove is 220 and microwave draws too much. We have a Coleman camp stove for cooking and can watch TV and have internet on the genny.
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Old 07-23-2021, 03:03 PM   #35
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WDPatterson View Post
I have been living off grid with my wife, since late 2017. I started out using a champion 100222, which put out 4000-watt speak, and 3500 Watts full runtime. It barely kept up, because we ran the 15KBTU air conditioner AND the ice maker. If we wanted to run the water heater on electric, we had to turn off the AC. If we wanted to run the microwave, we had to turn off the AC.
In late 2018, I upgraded to the model 100216, which is 4500 W Peak, 3650 Watts run time. That one, of which I now own (6) each, outputs enough energy all day and all night long to run the air conditioner, the ice maker, teo TV's, and barely run the microwave... I say "barely" run, because it bogs down the generator too much. So, still better to turn off the AC while you use the microwave or the water heater.
Living off-grid gives us some advantages. We have put up a rack with (12) 370w PERC-72 PV panels, running through a Midnite Solar Classic 200 charge controller, into 200 amp hours of 48-volt prismatic lithium iron phosphate rack-mounted pods. These are smart pods, and they output through a 5000 watt AIMS inverter. So, we are getting everything we need, during the day.
Before I assembled the solar system, I was running generators day and night, one at a time. That means I ran that generator for days on end, just keeping it fed with gasoline, only stopping it to change the oil every hundred hours. They don't last a real long time without proper maintenance. However, they'll get the job done.
At one point, I had a generator failure which required me to borrow a generator from my son-in-law. His was a 6500-watt roll-around generator, which was ridiculously heavy. However, you could run everything in the trailer off of a 110 volt socket with a 20 amp breaker.

The funny thing about most generators is they run so much wattage, but each outlet is still rated very much like a home system. Standard 120 volt, 3 prong connectors are rated at 20 amps. The 30 amp RV connector, which you find on most trailers and fifth wheels still has a 20 amp breaker, but will run 30 amps. In fact, we often run the entire RV from the RV connector on the generator. Never had a problem with those connectors.
I recommend the champion open-frame 4500 / 3650 Watt generator, because it actually has the 30 amp RV connector on it. It also has a selector for 120v and 240v connections, using a locking 4-prong connector.. I highly recommend this model, because it's one of the most portable, it's easy to grab onto with its open frame, it's easy to pull maintenance on, and it runs all day and all night. And, yes, you can get a wheel kit for it.

I would emphasize this caveat:
Put everything in the shade, if you can. Make sure you shut it down and perform oil changes every hundred hours. Get yourself a small fan to push air across it, that way it'll stay cool even when there is no Breeze.

You can go to Tractor Supply, pick up this generator for less than $400, and it will serve you well for at least a year. Champion's warranty for defects and workmanship is 3 years, their online support is 5 years. DO NOT by the Tractor Supply warranty. It will do you no good. Owning six of these, I talk to Champion support, periodically. They have treated me well, have answered my questions well, and I trust them.
Knowing that you have dogs that you leave at home, I would recommend that you set the thermostat at like 78 to 80 degrees, while you are gone.
Air conditioners are only capable of creating a temperature differential, and there's no good reason to overwork them. By all means, put that travel trailer in the shade. Put a tent over the generator. And run a fan on that generator.
Hope this helps, and good luck!!
Tractor Supply in Bandera has Champion Power Equipment 6875/5500-Watt Portable Generator, Wheel Kit, 100340 for $549; they must have ordered a bunch when the blizzard hit last winter as they still have a bunch of them. I have been tempted.
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Old 07-23-2021, 04:32 PM   #36
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wiredgeorge View Post
Tractor Supply in Bandera has Champion Power Equipment 6875/5500-Watt Portable Generator, Wheel Kit, 100340 for $549; they must have ordered a bunch when the blizzard hit last winter as they still have a bunch of them. I have been tempted.
I saw those. They're a good buy. That generator won't labor, at all. While the initial cost is a little more than some people might want to spend, that's still a very good deal. In my experience, I've learned that it's probably better to get more generator than you need, so that it doesn't work so hard.
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