Generators, 1 or 2?

[oletimer]

Dick T,

 

One more thing to consider. You mention your inverter/charger and I assume you are thinking you will use it to charge your batteries. I don't know which one you have but I have a Magnum 2800 that will put out 125 amps. Unfortunately, my Honda 2000 will not drive the inverter/charger at that charge level. I have to set the load sharing value to no more than 15 amps or the Honda will shut down or pop it's internal protection breaker. About the most I can get out of it is 60-70 amps of charging. And, when it is running wide open like that it is noisy, regardless of what anyone says. My onboard Onan 5500 on the other hand will drive the charger at its full rate and barely sound like it is working at all.

 

 

My setup is similar to Rif's: Onan 5500LP, Honda 2000, Magnum Energy inverter—I agree with everything he said.

Like Dick T, I put very few hours (<250 hours) on our Teton-installed genny and have thought of removing that expensive, large, heavy, inefficient beast that lives in the front of our coach.

That being said, I just can't bring myself to remove it. Despite its negatives, the convenience of pushing a button cannot be dismissed. As boondockers, we sometimes (albeit rarely) find ourselves parked where we need to run the A/C for an hour or so to take the edge off the indoor temperature. As Rif said, it has the ability to quickly bring our AGMs to a comfortable point where the solar—even on a cloudy day—can finish the job.

This begs the question, "Why carry the Honda"? We use our Honda 2000 to supplement our solar during extended, cloudy days during the winter. Though inconvenient to drag out of its storage, the Honda sips fuel and is quiet when running @ <half speed. The only time I'll bother to set it up is when I know we'll be parked in one place for a long time under the conditions mentioned above. Let's face it, 46 pounds gets heavier & heavier every year while pushing a button gets easier and easier.

Mark

Just when I think I have it figured out!! I was in the Feed & Seed business for 35+ years, back when alfalfa seed came in 2bu(120#) bags, and fertilizer 80# bags. Didn't have a fork lift for many of those years, but now, it's tuff for me to lift the mourning paper. Got to give this more thought. I don't think so good anymore either. Dick T