WHICH GENERATOR??

Unfortunately this is a subject rarely covered on this forum :(

Unfortunately you thrown in the one nasty appliance into your equation.....the Kettle.

The kettle will more than likely be the limiting factor as to what genset you need. Most kettles are around the 1800-2200-2400w power comsumption levels. If you want a genset to run this, then the little portable ones may not cut it (unless you make sure it is a 1800w kettle and 2000w genset.

The A/C would probably require a better genset than the $150 cheapies...though you "may" get away with it. Better off purchasing a "good" sinewave genset if you can afford it in the first place.

My advice would be not to believe anyone unless they have a system setup similar to what you require that is working. Then buy the same setup as it is almost guaranteed to work :-) Salepeople, whilst the majority are ok, may not sell you exactly what you require eg. go to supercheap and they will probably sell you the cheapie.

Hope this helps

Andrew

Hi John,

I currently run a "cheapy" and it is doing a fine job but with the range of equipment you want to run i would sugest getting one of the better quality units. They are quieter and have much "cleaner" power which is important if you decide to run a computer or TV off it.... as you probably will in time. For quite a while HONDA has been the market leader in the INVERTER style light weight generator market but recently YAMAHA has started importing a range that are Quieter, more powerful and CHEAPER. yOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO PICK UP A 1 kVA unit for around $1400 and a 2.4Kva unit for around $2000.Check them out on the NET. The defining word for this recommendation is "CARAVAN" to me this means you probably won't be using your genset in the middle of nowhere all on your lonesome. Quite often you will be in designated camping areas where a QUIET & CLEAN generator will not only be appreciated by yourself but the others within 200m of your van.......... happy camping

Johnny

Be careful what you buy and how much you pay if you buy a lesser brand. When you go shopping you will notice that they all look the same but are different colours. That's because most of the cheaper units all come out of the same Chinese factory. This is where the fun starts. Some rate them by the maximum possible Kva..... some rate them more correctly at its realistic constant capacity so you will have one that is called a 1 Kva and another that is a 850 Watt........ make sure you check how they are rated because it can be very deceiving and they may in fact be exactly the same.. Next thing to do is calculate your maximum possible usage....add a bit and get a generator 30% bigger again. Generally speaking most of them will do the job for you as long as you don't constantly run them at their maximum limit..........same as your car. if you redline on every gearshift you will shorten it's life dramatically.

I concur with the advise on doing away with the Kettle if you want a 1000 watt Kettle. When your shopping for kettles and you have 240vac the higher the wattage the better, works quicker in theory. When it comes to making your own power or with a generator the opposite applies.

The cheaper generators have various negatives in my opinion (IMHO).
- They are noiser (Until you have owned a Kipor,Honda Inverter you wouldnt know)
- They arent as reliable and don't provide clean electricity for other devices, laptops
- Honda, Kipor etc have "eco modes" for even quiter operation
- Overall build quality isn't comparible, Honda-Yamaha by far the best, Kipor next

When it comes to camping and a caravan you want to relax and enjoy the experience, get the gennie that bests does the job and offers options for you in the future. Kipor 2000watt can be had for almost the same price as a Honda 1000watt, so you have some choices.

And just to stir the pot 1 more little bit ,,at todays c/van & camping show in Brisbane ,, Honda 1kva for $1450 and get factory rebate of $150 making total of $1300 ,, Yellow Kipor 1kva $899 ,,good thing that this is the "free entry" show held at this time every year ,because if you had to pay to get in you would be very dissapointed.

Diesel generator

After you work out just how many watts you are going to use, consider how loud the generator is going to be. A lot of caravans parks wont allow them and some remote places only up to certain hour.

I run a one kilowatt honda which is tidy and does it for me but I had a bloke next door crank up a four Kw open plan gennie that drove me nuts.

Main reason I have the gennie is cos it will run a small fridge but I have found that a 12v fridge is the better option. A kettle is out of the question with only 1kw and gas is cheaper than petrol.

Gennies is good for lights and a few power points around the camp for charging all the batteries but would not make everyone happy. I would think about it a long while and look at what others are doing with their 12v systems.

Owen

hi jb
been through the same dilema over the last 2 weeks.
have a scorion 850 gen
would have trouble starting up a small drill and is har to start
needed some thint to charge batteries and run fridges and lights
running an a?c was also desirable
eventually bought a honda 10e for 1459 locallyy =1300
if you have access to an abn deduct 10%
a 20i was about 500 dearer and wil do ac
my 10 wil run fridges, drills and power saw
forget the cheapies, try a honda, search net for prices

Like Mike, I'm a cheapskate;-) and have a GMC $89 special from Bunnings. I have a dual battery/Redarc in the Cruiser and a 12v system in the van + another battery in the boot for good luck. The GMC keeps those happy when my solar can't keep up (have one 80w panel) and everything runs off those batteries. I reckon it's all you need.

Having said that, I was recently camping near a bloke who bought his Honda 10i (or earlier version) in '85 - SECOND HAND - don't know how old - it looked like it'd seen better days but fired up first pull, every bloody time. Pricey, but you've got to admit, they're unbeatable.