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Boondocking and generator question


Bloodhound01

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Good evening, I purchased my first camper trailer (2021 coachmen clipper 12.0 TD XL Off-road) and will primarily be using it for boondocking. While I’ll be using solar for the most part to power small things such as lights or the stereo I know that once it gets hot I’ll need to use my AC. The camper has a 5,000 btu AC unit in it and my mind is spinning trying to figure out what size of inverter generator I should be looking into. Honda and Yamaha are running to the front but I have no idea how big I really need to go. Any advise? 
Thank you all!!

Edited for spelling errors

Edited by Bloodhound01
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A 5000 btu AC is a small unit.  It should be able to run on a 2000 watt generator.  I know of people running 13.5 k AC’s with the Honda 2000 watt generators (of course an AC that large needs a soft start adapter to allow the generator to get past the initial surge of the AC’s start up).  I don’t think a 5000 btu AC will have that issue, but I have never specifically tried it.

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Further to what Chad said above, a typical 5000 BTU a/c will draw about 500 watts and will surge to a about a max of 1500 watts on initial startup and then surge to about 1000 each time the compressor kicks in. So, yes, a 2000 watt generator will be adequate. 

Might I suggest that if you want to save some money you look at the Dewalt DXGNI2200 for about half the price of a Honda and it gets 75 points on Consumer Reports compared to 76 points for the Honda. 

Edited by Chalkie

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possible to have a number of batteries on board? i do not know your rv so i must ask.

as one can run a small ac unit off solar and batteries, just not for very long.

but yes to the honda eu 2000. it could start my 13 btu ac on a cold day, but never in the summer. (i do not understand the how, what, or why, ask a ac guy for this answer), so a eu2000 should be no problem for your needs, and might even look into one of the "easy start systems".

sure hondas co$t, but look at all the facts of all brands before having to buy twice. as not all "2000" watts are the same, this is the surge number but in reality the lesser units are much lower then the hondas, (up to 300 watts less surge. but still say 2000 watts surge) and how long can it last doing this? then total life of the units? fuel usage? portability? service? spare-parts? sound? etc.

i will always put my moneys on quality first. sure hurts, but only once.

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Lol thank you all for the replies I think I’ll go with the Honda for sure. The proven track record is well worth the extra coin for sure. 
 

as far as batteries onboard there is only one battery on this unit so there’s not a snowballs chance in hell that it’ll run my ac. At least not for long. 

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I have had very good luck so far with a Firman 2000 I bought at Costco for 359.99 complete with RV socket that can be used for 15 amp plug with adapter and parallel cables.  Also has a USB socket and 110 to 120 Volt socket. Sound level around 49 to 57db.  Oil port easy to access.  Spark plug on top of unit. May soon buy another at same price.

9 hours run time on .9 gallon at 25% power usage.  As others said lots of options.    Good luck to you.

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Edited by NamMedevac 70
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A lot of folks have had good luck with Champion generators. I know two people that have recently purchased the 2500 watt inverter generator. It sells for $479 at Home Depot or Lowe's. If you are a veteran you can get a 10% discount at Lowe's.

Champion 2500 watt at Lowe's

Tom
—————————————————
2005 Born Free 24' Rear Bath
Towing 1978 VW Bug convertible
Minneapolis, MN

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On 3/16/2021 at 3:08 PM, packnrat said:

possible to have a number of batteries on board? i do not know your rv so i must ask.

as one can run a small ac unit off solar and batteries, just not for very long.

but yes to the honda eu 2000. it could start my 13 btu ac on a cold day, but never in the summer. (i do not understand the how, what, or why, ask a ac guy for this answer), so a eu2000 should be no problem for your needs, and might even look into one of the "easy start systems".

sure hondas co$t, but look at all the facts of all brands before having to buy twice. as not all "2000" watts are the same, this is the surge number but in reality the lesser units are much lower then the hondas, (up to 300 watts less surge. but still say 2000 watts surge) and how long can it last doing this? then total life of the units? fuel usage? portability? service? spare-parts? sound? etc.

i will always put my moneys on quality first. sure hurts, but only once.

Honda 2000 has an actual sustained output of 1,800w.

 

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I camp often at the 7000' elevation and will search for such a chart to check for degradation of gen output.

Tom I use to have a champion 3000 and it was great and powerful.  sold it about 4 years ago along with other TT accessories due to family health issues.  Wish now I had kept it but I like my little firman so far.  Cheers from the rear.

P.S. As idiot Mel Gibson once said in one of his movies "being nuts pays well"

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Thank you all for the continued input, I really appreciate it. I have been looking at the champions as well, specifically the dual fuel models. The ability to switch over to propane if needed (or run it exclusively) is a very tempting feature. They also get some really good reviews. This is a deep rabbit hole!!! 

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1 hour ago, NamMedevac 70 said:

I camp often at the 7000' elevation and will search for such a chart to check for degradation of gen output.

Tom I use to have a champion 3000 and it was great and powerful.  sold it about 4 years ago along with other TT accessories due to family health issues.  Wish now I had kept it but I like my little firman so far.  Cheers from the rear.

P.S. As idiot Mel Gibson once said in one of his movies "being nuts pays well"

https://www.facebook.com/Pilot-Bill-Perkins-Exotic-Living-And-Travels-in-Far-East-and-SE-Asia-1425108021122523

Naturally aspirated engines lose about 3% for every 1000ft in elevation.

Randy

2001 Volvo VNL 42 Cummins ISX Autoshift

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5 hours ago, Randyretired said:

Naturally aspirated engines lose about 3% for every 1000ft in elevation.

That’s going to be a lot of loss at 10,000 feet up in Leadville, CO.  At that stage I’ll probably be thinking about picking up a companion generator. Thankfully our Wyoming and walsenburg properties are between 4-6 thousand feet. 

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12 minutes ago, Bloodhound01 said:

That’s going to be a lot of loss at 10,000 feet up in Leadville, CO.

I'm not so sure that the loss is really that bad, although I have read those same numbers.  If you are going to push the limit of capacity on your generator it wouldn't hurt to have two that parallel as there will be a noticeable loss when up that high. 

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
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2 minutes ago, Kirk W said:

I'm not so sure that the loss is really that bad, although I have read those same numbers.  If you are going to push the limit of capacity on your generator it wouldn't hurt to have two that parallel as there will be a noticeable loss when up that high. 

Very true, I suppose I can always start at a baseline and see what I can run at the house before blowing a breaker on the unit and then test it out little by little once I start climbing in elevation. Baby steps is a hard one for me to keep in mind as I’m used to jumping in head first on everything that I do lol. Mount Everest isn’t climbed in an hour. 

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1 minute ago, Bloodhound01 said:

I suppose I can always start at a baseline and see what I can run at the house before blowing a breaker on the unit and then test it out little by little once I start climbing in elevation.

That would be a good plan. Where in WY? We lived in Cheyenne for 18 years when our sons were in school. 

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

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46 minutes ago, Kirk W said:

That would be a good plan. Where in WY? We lived in Cheyenne for 18 years when our sons were in school. 

Our property in Wyoming is just outside of gurnsey. Overlooking greyrocks reservoir. Pretty neat when the big C-130s and blackhawks fly over to land at fort gurnsey during their training runs. Really nice to go do some walleye fishing over at the reservoir when the boat ramp is only about a 6 minute drive too! 

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On 3/19/2021 at 5:17 PM, Bloodhound01 said:

That’s going to be a lot of loss at 10,000 feet up in Leadville, CO.  At that stage I’ll probably be thinking about picking up a companion generator. Thankfully our Wyoming and walsenburg properties are between 4-6 thousand feet. 

i think i will run-out of breathable air before a honda 3000 will at 10 K feet.

maybe even just a cheap air compressor to supply a bit more air pressure into the intake port at higher altitudes?

like how my c-pap gives me a pos pressure while i sleep?

 

but yes honda now sells the eu2200 as the honda eu 2000 is no more, but from the testing i have seen the honda eu2000 has the highest surge ability (real time usage that is) than any of the "other" brands.

sound does tend to be a couple db's lower on the hondas.

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