Do I need a generator, a pure sine wave or a Digital inverter generator

We use a Honda 01 Generator to power all you will need, except maybe A/C in a van.

"My camping needs are very basic....Do I need a generator"
If your needs are as basic as you say no you don't require a generator at all. I'd look at more battery storage 1st before carrying a (bulky, noisy, smelly) generator which often can't be used at many campgrounds anyway.
KISS
Cheers Craig...............

We carry a Yamaha 1kva genny but rarely use it, but its good to have as a back up if needed.We can go about 3 days until we need to charge up.Thats stopped in the same spot, no solar.After this I fire up the genny for about an hour, to charge up the batteries.We do this through a Ctek charger.
Our genny is a Inverter type so all appliances can be used of its 240v supply but rarely use that.Most stuff is charged of our 300w inverter.But it is there if needed.Plus its that much quiter than non inverter types, worth the extra just for that.We set it up under the camper(day use only) and really its just a quiet humm.Parks that dont normally let you use gennys have told us we can use it no worries of a day.
Id rather listen to the gentle humm of a genny that someone's crap music blearing away anyday.

"A 50 AH battery or sometimes even smaller is sufficient recharged by a 40 watt solar panel"

No, it's just so obviously not sufficient at all


As Crackles says, you definitely do need more battery capacity ($350) - not a $2,OOO genny, because you don't have enough battery capacity to be able to maintain the accessories you have now.

Maîneÿ . . .

If you are game Supercheap have a Chinese inverter for about $500.


In preference I bought a Yamaha 600W non inverter second hand hardly used for $300 on Ebay. It weighs 25Kg instead of an inverter at 13Kg but for $300 I am willing to lug 10Kg. I have a 20W ( max for my 95AH AGM) 240 volt 3 stage charger .
Have never used yet but should only take a few hours to give a high % recharge to the battery..

Regards Philip A

Cruiser,

Unless you are also running a fridge, your present system may be adequate for your purposes, provided the battery can be charged from the vehicle. As others have said, more battery capacity is very desirable, but recharging by something other than the solar panel will also be required. The cheapest generator is the one already fitted to the engine. For a small system, I'd put in a small dc-dc charger (ABR Sidewinder is a commercial member of ExplorOz and offer a 7A battery to battery charger that might be ok, though a bit on the small side - talk to Derek at ABR) to charge the auxilliary battery, arranged so it is only connected when the engine is running - maybe just connect to the auxilliary circuit. On days you're not travelling, run the engine on fast idle for an hour if the sun isn't shining. If you run a fridge, ignore everything I've said here!

Generators - You are absolutely correct about the pure sine wave ones having to run at 3000 rpm (that's 50 revs per second) to supply the 50 hertz mains frequency. Inverter types are pretty good and can run at lower speeds, but being high power switch mode gadgets they do have their own issues. I would avoid generators because of noise, smell, weight, and the impact on neighbours, which means they can't be used everywhere. Your electrical requirements are too low to justify one anyway.

I commend your use of all 12V power supplies for your gear. Easy, safe, and more efficient than using an inverter off the battery.

Finally, for a lot of relevant material, suggest have a look at our blog - Electricity for Camping.

Cheers

John

I totally agree with John.

From your post, the only real need for the 50 Ah battery, is to run a light?
If you use something like a Versalite fluro, or similar, the amp draw is around 1 amp.
Or an Evakool Torpedo compact fluro draws around 1/2 amp.
In either case the 50 Ah battery is sufficient for your needs.

You should easily be able to recharge the battery from your vehicle alternator as well as the solar panel and therefore you do not need a generator to complicate your camping life.


Bill.

Thanks to everyone who replied, your comments are really apprecated.

You have convinced me that I don't need a generator (which I don't like actually for all of the reasons you mentioned)
But having encountered times when I needed a little more than the solar could provide I thought that was my only option. (the laptop for my photography is the most power hungry device I have)

You guys however have enlightened me that there are a number of other better options. At the moment the car to car charger seems like a good option for my simple needs.

Thanks again