Aldi 800watt generater is it big enough to charge batterys (1 Viewer)

Jun 19, 2014
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I'm a newbie
Hi Aldi are selling a 240v ac/ 12volt dc 800 watt generator on Sunday would it be big enough to charge batteries on motorhome it is 2 stroke 50/1, 4 litres tank it does not say the weight .Robert
 

Snowbird

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In answer to your question, probably, but no way would I plug it into my motorhome.

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ukbill

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Snowbird

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why not ?

Because its not inverter technology. Its 2 stroke and will stink and a good possibility of destroying MH electrics. You pays your money and takes a chance, but personally I wouldn't bother.
 
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Because its not inverter technology. Its 2 stroke and will stink and a good possibility of destroying MH electrics. You pays your money and takes a chance, but personally I wouldn't bother.

Well I didn't see that coming

I would have replied as per UKBill, why has this never been used as a reason to weigh in all the Kippors?

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ukbill

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ok sorry didnt know ya reasoning but i would agree with you
 

ukbill

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my kippor is great and the fact it annoys makes it even greater
 
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Just had a look on Aldi's web site at the generator.
It does what it says on the tin (top).
WORKZONE.
It is not a quiet generator, it is very noisy, especially as it is a two stroke.
OK for building sites but not for camp sites, and I wouldn't put my neighbours through hell by running it at home.

It's not motorhome friendly really. (n)

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Tootles

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A lot of problems with these gen sets. Firstly, they are two stroke, and you have to mix the stuff up in the correct proportions. Many problems with leakage of fuel, which then 'melts' the rubber feet. They are very noisy, and they produce loads of exhaust smoke, and spares are non-existent. Plus, they aren't full sine-wave, and so battery chargers, camera chargers etc, can catch fire if plugged into them.
They aren't new. Trade warehouses are flogging them off at stupid money. Beware if you buy one.
 

thehutchies

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We have been using a cheap (£60) chinese 2 stroke generator for a while.
They do stink for the first two minutes and do sound like a bag of spanners falling down a lift shaft but no problems with the van electrics and it will run a 45A intelligent charger
 

scotjimland

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A lot of problems with these gen sets. Firstly, they are two stroke, and you have to mix the stuff up in the correct proportions. Many problems with leakage of fuel, which then 'melts' the rubber feet. They are very noisy, and they produce loads of exhaust smoke, and spares are non-existent. Plus, they aren't full sine-wave, and so battery chargers, camera chargers etc, can catch fire if plugged into them.
They aren't new. Trade warehouses are flogging them off at stupid money. Beware if you buy one.


I was with you until you said.. "aren't full sine-wave" ,.. infact they are.. however...

the problem is this..

it's the genny speed that determines the frequency and it isn't governed very well, which means you can get frequency spikes when they start and when load is applied..

If in any doubt.. ask someones dad.. ;)

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Tootles

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I was with you until you said.. "aren't full sine-wave" ,.. infact they are.. however...

the problem is this..

it's the genny speed that determines the frequency and it isn't governed very well, which means you can get frequency spikes when they start and when load is applied..

If in any doubt.. ask someones dad.. ;)

Sorry Jim, I thought these small cheap gennies used square wave as a 'get you by' alternative. I surrender to your superior knowledge!...(My dads dead, and anyway, all he was an expert at was driving tanks and women) :)
 

hilldweller

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Because its not inverter technology. Its 2 stroke and will stink and a good possibility of destroying MH electrics. You pays your money and takes a chance, but personally I wouldn't bother.

And The Noise !!

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Our little 700W kipor does the job ok plus
It's yellow
It annoys the Honda owners
And at a push it will run a 500watt fan heater

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Tootles

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You are getting confused with cheap inverters.

A magnet rotating in a coil produces a sine wave in a power station and little genny.

Thanks Brian. I go with Jims 'revs = spikes' thing then. So how do these new inverter generators work?? Is it a normal armature set up, with an added inverter, or are they packed full of smoothing coils?
 

Wildman

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it is the voltage spikes that cause a problem, however if the output is connected directly to the battery via a modern multi stage battery charger and not via the onboard control unit whatever that may be then you can charge your batteries without a problem and your onboard electrics will be safe.

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Tootles

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Is that because a charger is fully smoothed, Roger?? I have heard people say that they use 12volt battery chargers for all sorts of 'genteel' equipment.
 

Wildman

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a charger will take out the spikes, as for using one to run other equipment remember a charger will put out well in excess of 12v to fully charge a battery (up to 17v)so should not be connected directly to a stand alone 12v unit always connect anything via the leisure battery.
 

Tootles

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Sorry, that's what I meant. (y)

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Wildman

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smoothing is taking out the spikes I knew what you meant. Changing from A/c to DC includes a number of smoothing capacitors. As to the noise, they are not that bad but then I'm deaf any way, hee hee
 

hilldweller

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So how do these new inverter generators work?? Is it a normal armature set up, with an added inverter

That is exactly the case. The coil charges a big capacitor to 350V ( approx ) via a rectifier. An inverter ( changes DC to AC, inverts it ) then changes this to 240V AC 50Hz.

I often see "pure sine wave" generator, but since all there is in there is an inverter there may be "not so pure" sine waves. But even "not so pure" will be an accurate 50Hz.

What is pure sine wave, you may ask, well it's a smooth sine ( wave like ) shape from 0 to +339V to 0 to -339V. YES the mains does hit 339V at it peak but averages 240V

But a non-pure one is a series of steps 0, 1, 10, 50, 100, 200, 300, 339, 300, 200, 100, 50, 10, 1, 0, -1, -2 etc so a series of steps like a staircase. Because it jumps from 100->200 some things like audio can have a buzz in the sound. Some things just can't cope with the steps.
 

pappajohn

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Thanks Brian. I go with Jims 'revs = spikes' thing then. So how do these new inverter generators work?? Is it a normal armature set up, with an added inverter, or are they packed full of smoothing coils?
I had cause to rip my kipor apart a couple of years ago.
Checking the actual generator output before the inverter board it was 360vac.

Into the inverter board and pulled, presumably, down to a more usable voltage (?) then converted to DC current, then smoothed and regulated and inverted back to 230vac
Possibly in the inverter board but at no point did i see 12vdc.

It would appear a bit more complicated than a 12v/230v inverter.

I had a cheap 700w generator go faulty and the only way to get 230v was wind the throttle fully open....but of course the hz rate was then rediculously high, certainly no where near 60hz.
60hz equates to 3600rpm...this thing was revving twice that at a guess.

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Snowbird

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You cant beat a Kipor. It comes with the bonus that its a nice colour, similar to an older model Hymer :wink:
 

scotjimland

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...............So how do these new inverter generators work?? Is it a normal armature set up, with an added inverter, or are they packed full of smoothing coils?


From the horse's mouth..

The generator's alternator produces high voltage multiphase AC power. The AC power is then converted to DC. Finally the DC power is converted back to AC by the inverter. The inverter also smoothes and cleans the power to make it high quality. A special microprocessor controls the entire process, as well as the speed of the engine.

Honda uses only high quality inverters in our generators, which produce stable, consistent power.

The end result? Clean enough power to run even the most sensitive electronic equipment.

http://powerequipment.honda.com/generators/inverter-generator-advantages

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