Generator (1 Viewer)

[Wizbangs]

Hi,

Over the weekend John got concerned over the level of the leisure batteries in the new Rapido. Even with the solar panel and great sunshine, it never seemed to top up past just over a third. So the search is on for a generator, basically for his peace of mind. The ones at the show were just way too heavy for either of us to lift in and out of the garage. Does anyone know of a good quality lightweight gen, that even I can lift out and start.

Mary

 

[duane0001]

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I have one, Ideal for charging, and small electrical items,
It comes with a free lock and a blue plug so no need for adaptors
its also 4 stroke and very quiet
(dont forget to order oil for the crank)

 

[Wizbangs]

We saw that one at the show. Still a bit heavy, though much lighter than the next size up.

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[JJ]

I agree with Duane...

I too have that model Kipor... not heavy, quite quiet and runs for hours and hours on one fill...

JJ:Cool:

 

[Vic]

Ok, as no-one else has asked yet....how long would a 700w take to charge a 110ah battery from flat....yes I know the battery would not be totally discharged, but I am an electrical numpty and it is the easiest way for me to understand.:thumb:

 

[ukbill]

that 1 is fairly light but for the extra cash its best to go for the 1k version i got mine at newark and paid just 200 for it it was only 6mths old so before you pay for a new genny check out the shows and maybe ebay

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[ukbill]

my battery at newark was at half charge and the 1k 1 took around 4 hrs for full charge
but ithe battery on mine although was showing half it may have been just below that so maybe at 3/4

 

[Vic]

ukbill,

Thank you.

 

[Snowbird]

Ok, as no-one else has asked yet....how long would a 700w take to charge a 110ah battery from flat....yes I know the battery would not be totally discharged, but I am an electrical numpty and it is the easiest way for me to understand.:thumb:

That depends entirely on the output of your on-board charger.

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[haganap]

Ok, as no-one else has asked yet....how long would a 700w take to charge a 110ah battery from flat....yes I know the battery would not be totally discharged, but I am an electrical numpty and it is the easiest way for me to understand.:thumb:

It would depend on the on board charger. Most are between 16-20 amps. So based on that, it would depend on how much charge your battery has discharged by.


I have a Honda 1kw generator light and brilliant.

However, it has not been out of the van since I fitted decent batteries and a B2B charger. Generators are great for instant power but have you thought of increasing your battery bank or adding more solar?

TBH if you struggled at Peterborough in all that daylight and all that sun, I suggest you are either paranoid (as we all are) or not set up right.

 

[ukbill]

my system has 1 leisure battery and because i had a problem with it while wild camping in portugal i decided to get a genny but as far as noise goes i dont see why you cant geta cheap genny to stay charged so long as its in the day but you will always get someone moan i suppose but if you aint worried about that then both of these are not to heavy but i think the 2nd 1 will be noisey
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[ukbill]

mary if ya batt never got over 1 3rd do you think the batt is ok pity i didnt know about it at Peterborough you could have tried me genny to see what the charge would have gone up to

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[Snowbird]

I see you have a modern Rapido motorhome. Take my advise and do NOT buy any generator that is not an inverter charger. These cheap and cheerful 2 stroke generators will do more harm to your motorhomes electrics than throwing buckets of waste water into the works.

 

[duane0001]

The 1k would not charge the hab battery any faster then the 770

 

[Ralph-n-Bev]

Yes I agree with Paul we can go days in - temps with our trojan batteries and posh new charger thing
( I have no idea what it is but it puts more power in than normal when we drive , and i can use my hairdryer straighteners and microwave etc when the engine is on ) Ralph put it on board its great .
We never hook up. This has even been the case with snow covering the solar panel.
We also use a lot of power having the webasto (diesel ) heating , because of the fan.
Plus we have the TV on on an evening , and the kids with all their electricery.

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[knokinonabit]

We have a 1kw generator (suitcase type, quiet running) and all it has been used for is to power SWMBOs 800w hairdrier when we are off hook up, plus to charge up my brother-in-laws battery on his caravan. This goes flat at the drop of a hat and he is too tight to buy another one.

 

[duane0001]

Stop this thread now
Get the kipor, its nice and light, will charge your battery as fast as a 1kw, its very good quality
and digital, and has a smart throttle so will only use minimal fuel when only charging your hab batt
it wont knack yer charger

Done

 

[duane0001]

my system has 1 leisure battery and because i had a problem with it while wild camping in portugal i decided to get a genny but as far as noise goes i dont see why you cant geta cheap genny to stay charged so long as its in the day but you will always get someone moan i suppose but if you aint worried about that then both of these are not to heavy but i think the 2nd 1 will be noisey
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That one on ebay might give you some trouble, have you noticed the brand?

PMT

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[Gromett]

It depends more on the charger and battery size than the generator. The fastest a charger can do is theoretically c/3. so for a 100 AH battery you would need a charger capable of 33amp. I have never seen a charger go this fast though.
at 33amps 13.8v = 455w so a 600 Watt genny would handle it.

If you have 2 x 110Ah batteries and a 25 Amp charger then at 50% it would take just over 4 hours to do the bulk charging bit.

I have 500AH battery bank and a weedy 25A charger and it takes most of the day to get it from 60% up to maintenance charge level. I do need a bigger charger. But even a big 50Amp charger will work ok on a 900 Watt Generator.

PS: Rough figures above just for purposes of example. A lot depends on your system...

 

[haganap]

Of course we have all missed the other option in reference to how quick you can charge via a genny.

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if you were to buy the Chris green machine type that are on ebay and connect direct to battery you could in fact charge at 50 amps :thumb:

 

[Deckard]

Of course we have all missed the other option in reference to how quick you can charge via a genny.

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if you were to buy the Chris green machine type that are on ebay and connect direct to battery you could in fact charge at 50 amps :thumb:

this looks robust and you can have an LPG option ....anyone using one?

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[Peter JohnsCross MH]

Hi Mary

Take a wander down to Johns Cross and have a look at what we have. you can pick Darren and Glenns brains and have a trial etc

Peter

http://www.johnscross.co.uk/petrol-generators.html

 

[pablomc]

Been through all of this myself as I am not a fan of generators (purely from a convenience and maintenance aspect as I am lazy ) and like Paul (Haganap) and Ralph-n-Bev believe the way forward is a decent set of batteries (industrial type) with a B2B (or A2B) charger and a solar panel to keep things topped up. If the battery does need a boost then the the engine can be run (1 hour will provide just over 45 amps with my setup).

Had this setup a while now and with a BM2 (battery monitor) to keep a track of it have not needed to run the engine to provide anything additional over a weekend away even with the Mrs hammering the battery to dry (177 amps ) and straighten her hair via the inverter.

Note everyones needs and use is different so rather than jump into buying loads of kit.

* Check your battery rating and make sure it is performing as it should.
* Check your usage. Are you leaving things turned on unnecessarily.
* Opt for a decent battery or batteries. This might be all you need.
* If you need more you can then look at things such as B2B, generator (standalone/ onboard) or if money is no object a fuel cell .

I did do a spread sheet a while back with the various options and biased towards convenience which is in the downloads section.

 

[ukbill]

That one on ebay might give you some trouble, have you noticed the brand?

PMT

lol i notice now so will only work out of monthly then

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[haganap]

this looks robust and you can have an LPG option ....anyone using one?

Chris Green has a similar one that he made himself. I have not seen many people with them tbh, in fact, none as I recall.

 

[Wizbangs]

The 700w Kipor looks like a goer as I could just manage it. I couldn't lift the bigger one. I tried at Peterborough.

The set up is literally brand new. Two leisure batteries and a solar panel plus an inverter, fitted by Wokingham Motorhomes onto a new Rapido. Everything they have done for us so far has been of excellent quality.

Hubby is the paranoid one on this, nevertheless, it did seem strange that we stayed at pretty much the same level all the time. We were only running the fridge and the tv at night. No lights.

The other set up mentioned, B2B etc, I have no knowledge of. If someone could put up an explanatory link to the product, it would be appreciated.

Mary

 

[pablomc]

As requested Link Removed

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[Jaws]

Dare I mention the fact that if you just start you van up and leave it ticking over it will charge your batteries ?

A LOT of folk seem to forget this !

 

[pappajohn]

Ok, as no-one else has asked yet....how long would a 700w take to charge a 110ah battery from flat....yes I know the battery would not be totally discharged, but I am an electrical numpty and it is the easiest way for me to understand.:thumb:

exactly as long as your onboard charger would take when on hookup.

unless you use the 12v 'charger' connection on the generator in which case it would take maybe twice as long as it will only 8amps...your onboard charger may be 15amps or more.

 

[pappajohn]

Dare I mention the fact that if you just start you van up and leave it ticking over it will charge your batteries ?

A LOT of folk seem to forget this !

for 4 or 5 hours at a time.......thats gonna put a nice glaze on the cylinders.

and as the engine battery will be fully charged already it will only be charging the leisure battery at a bare minimum rate..

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