Generators (1 Viewer)

[kennygd]

Good day to all,
Is anyopne using a generator and if you are what size are you using? as a back up I will need to run the fridge/freezer, TV and a bit of lighting mainly, anyone recommend a good make?
Thanks
Kennygd:thumb:

 

[pappajohn]

this will go down well....

BUY A KIPOR !!!!!!

2200watt Kipor = c£450

2200watt Honda = c£1000

over £500 more for a quieter silencer

this is the model i use to run all the electrics including the roof aircon unit.

Link Removed

 

[scotjimland]

Good day to all,
Is anyopne using a generator and if you are what size are you using? as a back up I will need to run the fridge/freezer, TV and a bit of lighting mainly, anyone recommend a good make?
Thanks
Kennygd:thumb:

Ohh dear I feel another long Kipor versus Honda debate coming on

I'll kick off..

IMO .. you want the best ? ... buy a Honda.. In saying that there are plenty of happy Kipor owners . ... or so they say

As for size, I have a 2kw ...which I used recently during a power cut at home, fridge, freezer TV etc all running from it .. bigger than that are heavy and unwieldy.

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[Wheelie]

Hi
i have just bought a 2kva hyundai generator 58 db @7mtr priced at 449.99 yet to load it but tried it in the garden to see how noisey it was

 

[Frankia]

Put bicycle on a stand then attach an alternator to rear wheel and tell her indoors that if she wants to watch Corrie she has about 4 hours of pedalling to do

 

[old-mo]

"HONDA"

..Rules..

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[mulaz]

I have had my KIPOR 1kw for 2 years and it's only been used a couple of times, and has served well topping up my batteries the odd time or so.
nice size not too heavy.... check out before buying one that needs a crane to lift

Yes the Honda is the one to have!!

but if you are only going to use it now and again and your life doesn't rely on it , then buy the yellow half price honda clone!!.:thumb:

 

[Sundowners]

we have had (and been happy with) a 2.6 Kipor for 2 years, and although we will keep it for 'heavy work' we have just lashed out on a 900w Honda, it will power what we have to have and only weighs 13kgs, and will only sip fuel to keep us running.
Nigel & Pamala

 

[Kon tiki]

It's a wonder nobody has come up with a generator that uses the vans engine (just think of the power 2-3-4-5................. Kwatts) instead of struggling lugging these yellow or red boxes. I'm sure somebody could come up with something that you could engage with the engine to produce electricity. Even if the initial outlay was high the convenience of being able to just start the engine & flip a switch instead of messing filling it with petrol, plugging cables in & then trying to start it :Blush:. The other alternative is just have a decent sized inverter & run the engine while your using it

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[pappajohn]

It's a wonder nobody has come up with a generator that uses the vans engine (just think of the power 2-3-4-5................. Kwatts) instead of struggling lugging these yellow or red boxes. I'm sure somebody could come up with something that you could engage with the engine to produce electricity. Even if the initial outlay was high the convenience of being able to just start the engine & flip a switch instead of messing filling it with petrol, plugging cables in & then trying to start it :Blush:. The other alternative is just have a decent sized inverter & run the engine while your using it

imagine the fuel consumption on a 7ltr V10 RV petrol engine...

 

[robnchris]

kipor v Honda

Hi All,

Just a point that might help, the kipor is larger in size than the Honda.
ie. kipor ig 1000 = 460 L x 248 w x 395 h weighs 14kg. price £275.

Kipor 2000 = 520 L x 300 w x 425h weighs 22kg. price £375.

Kipor 2600 = 564 L x 317 w x 453 h weighs 26kg. price £475.

Kipors come with 2 yrs warranty.

Honda eu10i = [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]450 L x 240 w x 380 h weighs 13kg. price approx £645.[/FONT]

Honda eu2000i = 510 L x 290 w x 425h and weighs 21kg. price approx £1020.

Hondas have a 5yrs warranty though this could depend from where you purchase.

Hope this helps.

Rob and Chris.

 

[JQL]

The best Kippers come from Craster on the Nortumberland coast.

You just can't beat a Craster Kipper for breakfast...



oops wrong kipper:Blush:

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[John The Foot]

It's a wonder nobody has come up with a generator that uses the vans engine (just think of the power 2-3-4-5................. Kwatts) instead of struggling lugging these yellow or red boxes. I'm sure somebody could come up with something that you could engage with the engine to produce electricity. Even if the initial outlay was high the convenience of being able to just start the engine & flip a switch instead of messing filling it with petrol, plugging cables in & then trying to start it :Blush:. The other alternative is just have a decent sized inverter & run the engine while your using it

They have its called an electrolux unit made by a company called Mase, still available today, no idea of cost etc, try googling it.

 

[robnchris]

kipor

Kipor 2600 just arrived, mmhh a tad larger than I thought it might be

Still it`s a lovely yellow and sooo quiet, mind you we haven`t started it yet.

Just have to decide where we are going to keep the bloody thing...oh:

 

[JaG]

KIPOR - Every time.

• Cheaper (you can buy 2 and half for the price of one Honda).
• Almost as quiet - well who's going to split hairs over a few decibels?
• No-one will ever nick it with forums like this and if ever it is you will see it for miles before it disappears in the sunset.
• Reliable - always start after a couple of pulls
• Likely to outlive a Honda by donkey's years - like VW Camper does in the motorhome world.

We have the 2600 and are more than happy with it. A bit like the working man's Mason's.:thumb:

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[Biker]

12v plug

KIPOR - Every time.

• Cheaper (you can buy 2 and half for the price of one Honda).
• Almost as quiet - well who's going to split hairs over a few decibels?

I agree,


I have the 1000 but trying to get the odd 12v flat pin plug so I can make up a longer charger lead, anyone know where to get one?

:thumb:

 

[barnybg]

Norton........same thing happened to them,didn't it ,when Honda turned up....now its KIPOR !!?





Have you tried a caravan shop ? or even B&Q ?

 

[Biker]

Have you tried a caravan shop ? or even B&Q ?

Tried everywhere and searched the web,, no luck

Something like this

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[jhorsf]

have you tried the guy on here who runs planet generators? he usually has a solution


members name planetgen

 

[Tiderus]

Recently asked the auto electrician the same question, which is best as I have a honda 1.0 and a Kippor 2. KW. He replied unless you run air con units, or a microwave. A 1kw one is ample. Also they charge the leisure batteries through the M/Home unit at about 10 amps. The engine altenator however puts out 70 amps. So he recomended that I run the engine when needed, and manage without. The Honda runs everything with lots to spare, and less than a gallon a day, compared to two gallon with the Kippor.
Rgd's Graham.

 

[jhorsf]

I agree,


I have the 1000 but trying to get the odd 12v flat pin plug so I can make up a longer charger lead, anyone know where to get one?

:thumb:

does it look like this one (look in genny spares)Link Removed

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[ips]

Recently asked the auto electrician the same question, which is best as I have a honda 1.0 and a Kippor 2. KW. He replied unless you run air con units, or a microwave. A 1kw one is ample. Also they charge the leisure batteries through the M/Home unit at about 10 amps. The engine altenator however puts out 70 amps. So he recomended that I run the engine when needed, and manage without. The Honda runs everything with lots to spare, and less than a gallon a day, compared to two gallon with the Kippor.
Rgd's Graham.

This is exactly what I have thought and done a few times purely to charge the leasure battery. Seems to give it a good boost even after 15mins or so and cant use that much deisel on tickover. Does anyone know how long you would have to tick over for to charge a leasure battery from 1/2 to full. ??

 

[shortcircuit]

This is exactly what I have thought and done a few times purely to charge the leasure battery. Seems to give it a good boost even after 15mins or so and cant use that much deisel on tickover. Does anyone know how long you would have to tick over for to charge a leasure battery from 1/2 to full. ??

I understand that the priority of the alternator is to charge the vehicle battery and it will then reduce to a trickle charge. You will therefore get a good initial charge to your leisure battery and then near nil, so a prolonged tick over is just a waste of fuel.

Experts????

 

[ips]

I understand that the priority of the alternator is to charge the vehicle battery and it will then reduce to a trickle charge. You will therefore get a good initial charge to your leisure battery and then near nil, so a prolonged tick over is just a waste of fuel.

Experts????

Oh well thats that theory out the window then oh:
Will an 850W genny be sufficient to charge the leasure battery and run the lights and how long would it be on for full charge as above

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[JeanLuc]

The main point here is that running a diesel engine for extended periods without load is not good for it. This is the condition that would apply if you leave the engine ticking over in order to charge the battery. I understand that the cylinder bores become coated with a hard varnish-like residue that affects compression, performance and life of the engine.

Philip

p.s. on my Hymer, the alternator charges the leisure batteries at high current for quite a long time when on the move. I guess it may be to do with the particular control mechanism, which is factory standard. I do not have a Sterling Battery-to-Battery charger fitted, or any other after-market gadgetry.

 

[wireman]

probably be shot down here but.....running a alternator will put a load on the engine, OK not as much as pulling the whole shebang about but maybe up to 25hp consumption when really charging an engine and I always thought that diesel engines were invented for static use running at fixed RPM's...

 

[JeanLuc]

probably be shot down here but.....running a alternator will put a load on the engine, OK not as much as pulling the whole shebang about but maybe up to 25hp consumption when really charging an engine and I always thought that diesel engines were invented for static use running at fixed RPM's...

I am no expert, but I understand that diesel engines optimised for generator use, have different characteristics to those used in vehicles. They are designed to run at much lower speed for a start. Also, a large generator will put quote a load on the engine (most diesel generators are big ones - certainly they are a lot bigger than an alternator).

After a bit of searching, I found the link below, that whilst aimed at boat owners, anwers some of the questions.

Philip

http://coxengineering.co.uk/bore.aspx

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[Jaws]

Kipor 2kva ( or 2.2, canna remember )

I am a Honda man.. I earn my living due entirely to one model of Honda bike.. Love em to bits and build quality is amazing

However..................................

I bought my Kipor at a show for £275.
It has not blinked once since I bought it ( and I would expect the Honda to be even better )
The thing is that, being realistic, I can buy THREE Kipors and still have change over the one Honda
And no matter what, even the most anti-Kipor person in the world would have to admit that it would be bloody amazing if Kipor produced a bit of kit so unreliable it would fail in a 3 to 1 ration with even the mighty Honda.
My genny keeps the water heater, on board heating and all the other bits and bobs going just fine ( though I do turn off the water heater when woman wants to nuke something in the microwave as I reckon that might make it grunt a bit !)

 

[ips]

Is 65db at 7m quiet or not ???

 

[JeanLuc]

Is 65 db at 7m quiet or not?

That's quite loud, but not painfully so. The decibel is a complex unit of measurement, firstly because it is a logarithmic unit, and secondly because it can be applied to three different definitions of sound.
A log unit increases exponentially: i.e. each single unit increase means a proportional increase over the unit below it - it's not linear.
Decibels can be used to measure Loudness (perceived) and that's what we are most interested in: sound pressure, and acoustic intensity. The reason for mentioning this complication is that not all specifications are based on the loudness measure, but let's assume for the purposes of this answer that you are considering a generator where the loudness at 7m is specified.

By comparison (and I hate to mention the Red Giant) the Honda EU10i and EU20i both produce 52 db at 7 metres under rated load (900W and 1.6 KW respectively). So the one you are considering is 65 - 52 = 13 db louder. Now owing to the logarithmic effect, the extra 13 db means it will sound almost 2.5 times as loud as the Honda. Not just 25% louder, which you might expect by comparing the simple differences between the two db numbers.

If you want to read up on decibels, I have attached a link to a website that contains detailed explanations and a calculator.

Philip

http://www.sengpielaudio.com/calculator-levelchange.htm

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