Suitable generator for a Camper Trailer

I have recently purchased a 4x4 Camper trailer.
Have on board 120 amp hr batteries in trailer plus dual battery system in Prado.

Has anyone had experience with a generator set up to complement battery power especially output to run 47 arb fridge, various led lights plus tv in future.
Any advice welcome
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Reply By: kiwicol - Friday, Jun 03, 2011 at 17:28

Friday, Jun 03, 2011 at 17:28
Look at the christie generator.
Col
AnswerID: 456278

Reply By: Adam J - Friday, Jun 03, 2011 at 17:33

Friday, Jun 03, 2011 at 17:33
G"Day
I brought a 3.2kva Genset from AGR Machinery http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160555827826%29. Its a great little unit, runs for 8 1/2 hours with the same fridge, 2 x 240vlt fluro's, and some other small appliances. Good value for money. My mate had a Honda Genset there, and you couldnt tell the difference in noise output. Highly recommend it!
AnswerID: 456280

Follow Up By: Member - Porl - Friday, Jun 03, 2011 at 22:06

Friday, Jun 03, 2011 at 22:06
uhm, do an ABR search on this company. Not offering an opinion cause i am just a risk manager but have a look and make your own mind up.
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FollowupID: 729354

Follow Up By: Adam J - Saturday, Jun 04, 2011 at 13:24

Saturday, Jun 04, 2011 at 13:24
Well all I can say is that I am very happy with this Genset. I had a smaller Cummins one before this one. This leaves it for dead and so far I have had no issues.
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FollowupID: 729404

Follow Up By: Wilko (Parkes NSW) - Saturday, Jun 04, 2011 at 18:06

Saturday, Jun 04, 2011 at 18:06
Sorry guys is it ABR or AGR????

Cheers Wilko
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FollowupID: 729426

Follow Up By: Member - Porl - Saturday, Jun 04, 2011 at 18:51

Saturday, Jun 04, 2011 at 18:51
what i meant was it's not a company selling it and there is no business name registered in Australia with the name AGR Machinery, so they may be great units but I'd be a little concerned about the warranty.
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FollowupID: 729431

Follow Up By: Adam J - Saturday, Jun 04, 2011 at 19:26

Saturday, Jun 04, 2011 at 19:26
I'm not right up on it, but they are an EBay store out of Sydney, and I am led to believe they carry parts etc.. AGR Machinery is there EBay shop name. I live in QLD. The Genset turned up with 5 working days. We had excellent contact from them re delivery. The genset itself has been excellent. I brought it for a backup power source when the cyclones where around. But have flogged it camping this year as we have finally had some good weather. Everyone who looks at it, is very surprised at how cheap , quiet it is. Hopefully it will be a "good thing" for years to come.

There email address is agrmachinery@gmail.com if that helps.
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FollowupID: 729432

Reply By: Battery Value Pty Ltd - Friday, Jun 03, 2011 at 17:47

Friday, Jun 03, 2011 at 17:47
Hi Paul,

you probably know this already: generators and alternators are great for high current (bulk) charging of batteries.
A state of charge of up to 80% can be achieved within a relatively short period of time.
But for good battery health, it is highly recommended to recharge them to 100% SOC before discharging them again.
Because it takes time to recharge them from 80% to 100%, and also a higher voltage, solar is the most economical option while you're stationary.
You could use your alternator for a few tens of minutes in the morning, followed by hours of solar charging through a 80/100W panel.

cheers, Peter
AnswerID: 456282

Reply By: Member - Bucky - Saturday, Jun 04, 2011 at 06:04

Saturday, Jun 04, 2011 at 06:04
PaulJ

Why not go solar !

Less noisy, less polution, safer.

A 120-140 watt folding solar panel will keep you going, easily, privided you have not gone overboard with electrics.

Cheers Bucky


AnswerID: 456329

Follow Up By: CSeaJay - Saturday, Jun 04, 2011 at 08:47

Saturday, Jun 04, 2011 at 08:47
Yes Bundy

Less noisy and all that , AND less irritating to fellow campers trying to enjoy peace and quit

CJ
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Follow Up By: Member - Paul P2 - Saturday, Jun 04, 2011 at 09:37

Saturday, Jun 04, 2011 at 09:37
I have used two good batteries and upgraded my alternator to a larger size and never need a genset.
I gave up on gensets after a generator fire and now I have noticed that national parks are banning gensets due to the fire hazard.
Also have some consideration for your fellow campers leave the noise at home you don't need a genset with with a good battery setup and a redarc isolator and now with solar to top up your batteries why carry the extra weight of the genset and you also have to carry fuel for it.
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FollowupID: 729370

Follow Up By: Shaker - Saturday, Jun 04, 2011 at 19:28

Saturday, Jun 04, 2011 at 19:28
Have any of you anti generator league got under bonnet showers or kids with mini bikes?
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Follow Up By: Member - Paul P2 - Sunday, Jun 05, 2011 at 10:24

Sunday, Jun 05, 2011 at 10:24
I also run a glind under the bonnet shower and have not had a problem with the battery I do not run the motor when using the shower once the engine is warm there's no need to.
The glind shower has lasted 10 years and I recently put a rebuild kit through it and we used this unit for a 4 person trip recently.
When I update my ute soon I will be putting another one of these showers in it.
Sparks
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Follow Up By: Member - Geoff A (VIC) - Sunday, Jun 05, 2011 at 12:21

Sunday, Jun 05, 2011 at 12:21
Bucky,
Solar is not 100% reliable........sometimes there just ain't enough sunshine.....

Paul P2,
Is running 4 odd litres of car engine more considerate than a small Honda genny?

Cheers,
Geoff
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FollowupID: 729502

Follow Up By: Member - Paul P2 - Monday, Jun 06, 2011 at 08:40

Monday, Jun 06, 2011 at 08:40
My shower is heated by the waste heat of the engine after a day of exploring not by running the motor in camp while we are relaxing
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FollowupID: 729588

Follow Up By: Shaker - Monday, Jun 06, 2011 at 09:28

Monday, Jun 06, 2011 at 09:28
A lot start & run their engine in the mornings for hot showers too.
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Follow Up By: Member - Bucky - Tuesday, Jun 07, 2011 at 04:15

Tuesday, Jun 07, 2011 at 04:15
Camp shower is a solar gag that holds approx 4 lts water, and I just heat 1/2 hot water on the stove, mix them and hang the bag in a tree, or for the girls over the top of the portable privacy screen
Magnificent ..

Cheers
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FollowupID: 729741

Follow Up By: Alloy c/t - Tuesday, Jun 07, 2011 at 10:40

Tuesday, Jun 07, 2011 at 10:40
Anti genset league ,gotta love em , fools sooner have a big 3+ lt diesel vehicle ideling at x amount db next to them rather than a 1kva genset that can be moved away from the campsite , noise = nil ,especially near a beach enviroment.
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FollowupID: 729762

Reply By: Wilko (Parkes NSW) - Saturday, Jun 04, 2011 at 18:12

Saturday, Jun 04, 2011 at 18:12
Hi Paul,

I've got a Honda 1kva and it charges my 200 a/h deep cycle with a 20 amp charger. I run the engel 40lt and a flouro light at the same time.

I dont wanna get into a Honda v Yamaha debate as they both are good

Cheers Wilko
AnswerID: 456370

Reply By: geocacher (djcache) - Saturday, Jun 04, 2011 at 18:29

Saturday, Jun 04, 2011 at 18:29
Hi Paul,

I've added a Ctek D250S to my camper.

Its got two inputs - one for the solar and one for the alternator feed from the front (taken straight off the aux battery under the bonnet.)

I've got a Ctek mains charger wired across the battery also for camping on powered sites and looking after the battery when we're at home.

The D250S is a 12v powered charger. It's significantly more advanced than a simple isolator. It's extremely difficult to charge a camper battery from the vehicle when on the road each day because it is generally hanging off 6 - 10 metres of cable, and often that cable's too small to do the job because the cable that they should have used is heaps expensive.

The D250S takes the 12.5-12.9 volts that arrives down the back end of the camper where the battery is, bumps it up to 14 or so which is required to charge the battery and also computer manages that charge.

It's even cleverer, as when we're at camp it will take the input from the solar panel and charge the camper battery, and if I then leave the vehicle plugged into the trailer (I carry an Anderson-Anderson extension lead to do that) it will also charge the auxiliary in the vehicle once the camper battery is full.

So I would suggest if you want a quiet camp site go the solar option, but manage your camper battery better so that it is actually charged when you arrive at camp. That way it's going to last a lot longer at camp before you need to worry about either the solar panel or a generator.

Dave
AnswerID: 456372

Follow Up By: Member - Paul P2 - Saturday, Jun 18, 2011 at 22:55

Saturday, Jun 18, 2011 at 22:55
Well said Dave with new Tech it's simple to maintain your batteries and carry less weight which means less fuel burn which is good for everyones pocket and for also for our environment.

Paul
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FollowupID: 731124

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