Gas Generators 12v/240v (1 Viewer)

[Saint76]

We are going to the NEC in October to look at gas generators with a view to purchasing a system.

We already have a refillable gas system fitted.
Don't see gas usage as being an issue as only use 50% of available gas in a year and thats with all year camping in Europe and UK
Have looked at E-Foy system had to be revived with smelling salts + have to carry the spare fuel until you need it. (already have the gas storage capacity)

What sort of weight and space are we looking at (don't have any payload problems).

Have double floor fitted and plenty of locker space and good sized garage.

Do they do a system that will supply both 12v & 240v.

Typical cost to purchase and install.

We have solar panels and inverter already fitted and dont want the worry of running batteries flat because we have left 240v appliances on (have additional Beverages fridge in garage which we run on 240v as it murders 12v).

Have a silent Honda generator that runs on gas which we use but have the security worries that go with leaving a desirable silent generator outside (have a good security chain and lock ,but cordless grinders are the tool of choice these days for the opportunist/professional thief).
Is there much choice in manufacturers.

We spend 50% of our touring on Aires and are thinking of going skiing in the New Year and dont trust a budget airline to get us there or home any more if we cannot drive to it we aint going!!!

 

[michndan]

Out of interest how does your Honda perform now on gas? I was thinking of converting mine as when we go skiing the smell of petrol fumes can be smelt from our bed. Do you plug it into you BBQ point? I might have to build a sealed box for Gerry can and generator this year as it's not something you can do without when skiing. If I was going fully installed route I would go Telair or Dometic weight is around 40-50kg they are bigger than you think though all depends on your van. They supply a 12v output but it will be supplying 240v at the same time so don't see why you would need it you only get both when running as far as I am aware.

 

[Saint76]

Purchased the generator 7 years ago with a propane conversion kit do exactly that plug it into the outside barbecue point
and then long security chain to the chassis.
Have never ever run it on petrol so dont have a comparison to speak of but certainly runs every thing that we require.
Also no Petrol can to remember to fill and then store in garage

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[Imbiber]

We have a Honda Eu 2.0i generator that we used to take skiing (essential really!), but I got fed up of hooking it up, carrying petrol and generally pissing about in the dark with it whilst it was snowing!

So, after plenty of research and conscious of the noise on-board generators make I opted for this one > . It's fully automatic; however, we've only ever used ours on the manual setting.

We have 2 x 11kg re-fillable gas tanks and have never found it to guzzle the gas, even when we've been running it for an hour or so charging the electric bike batteries up.

We also have 300 Ah of batteries and 250w solar but the Telair adds even greater flexibility whilst off grid.

Ours is mounted under the rear of the van (which is double floor) and to be honest it doesn't sound like a generator at all. There's a bit of a hum internally through the floor but nothing major and outside it is far more noise friendly than the Honda ever was.

It's a great bit of kit and allows us all the goodies without fear of draining the batteries. One thing I would advise is to have a decent battery monitor though, just for greater peace of mind.

We have a 1600w inverter wired to all the mains sockets and a remote switch. If we want a Nespresso in the morning or her ladyship wants to use the hairdryer we just turn the 'Telair' on in 'Hare' mode and when the voltage drops the Telair starts up and runs for a couple of minutes before turning off again.

Mick at SAP in Doncaster fitted ours for us, cannot remember exact cost but was circa £3K+ fitted.

Hope this helps.

 

[Imbiber]

Some images of our installation and the control panel fitted in our wardrobe. We opted for the extra hours counter and external remote oil filler. Two-Stroke oil every 100 hours or when the oil light comes on the panel.

 

[funflair]

There was a gas genny running here at Lincoln show and it stank of gas, don't know if they all do.

Martin

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