Generators - Montana Owners Club

ken-lin · 02-05-2006, 06:09 PM

I'm thinking of buying a generator for our Monty. I'm looking at a Guardian Quietpact 40LP 3400 Watt Propane. It is made by Generac. Does anyone have one or know anything about these units? They are a lot less expensive than the Onans.
Thanks,

Ken & Linda
04 Ford F250 SC PS6.0 TD
06 Montana 3400RL

Sweetfire · 02-05-2006, 06:25 PM

We use Generac generators on a couple of our fire trucks. The electric start models seem reliable so far and we have had no problems with them over the last four years. However, they are well maintained, used regularly, and have always had stabilized fuel. They are not as quiet as the Honda generators and engines we use, but they are cheaper.

I thought of going with the built in Onan generator because my father used them for years in his motorhomes and never had any problems that I know of. I decided to go with the Honda portables because of their versatility (not fixed to the RV) and reputation. There has been a lot of discussion on the Kipor and McCulloch brand chain saws, do a search and you will find those threads.

On edit; One big advantage to a built in generator, its a lot harder to steal.

stiles watson · 02-05-2006, 08:12 PM

My criteria for a generator is (1) whisper quiet (2) size/weight manageble (3) economical operation (4) reliable (5) cost effective, and in that order. If I can get the first four plus cheap, it is a winner.

dsprik · 02-06-2006, 02:07 AM

Stiles, did you ever find one of those?

jrgwdenner · 02-06-2006, 10:35 AM

Generally, the opinion holds that if you want a generator that is acceptable anywhere other than remote boondocking areas, you need to invest in one of the generators made for RV use. These are primarily Honda and Yamaha, probably others. If you're in a campground, such as a provincial or state park, no one would welcome the noise from a construction type generator. The noise level is the main drawback.

HamRad · 02-06-2006, 08:54 PM

Ken-lin,
I think jrgwdenner has stated the situation pretty well. Buy the quietest generator you can find for RVing. You will appreciate it and ALL your neighbors will also appreciate it.

Built-in generators are harder to steal. You are correct.

But if you are planning on using the generator anywhere near other RVers you want the quietest one you can find. The "contractor" series are NOT quiet.

Good luck and happy travels.

HamRad

315RLS · 02-06-2006, 10:43 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by ken-lin

I'm thinking of buying a generator for our Monty. I'm looking at a Guardian Quietpact 40LP 3400 Watt Propane. It is made by Generac. Does anyone have one or know anything about these units? They are a lot less expensive than the Onans.
Thanks,

Ken & Linda
04 Ford F250 SC PS6.0 TD
06 Montana 3400RL

Ken & Linda,
When I was looking into generators the I found that the Guardian wasn't very well rated for quality and if we had gone for a built-in it would have been an Onan.

jrjones · 02-08-2006, 04:43 AM

I bought a Honda EU3000is and added a remote start that I got from Sun Honda. I used it at Quartzsite a couple weeks ago and the coaches we were with couldn,t believe how quiet it is. Remote start is great I just kept it in my truck bed and hit the button on a keyfob and it puuurrrs.As far as theft goes My uncle had a lock with a long rubber coated cable on it that if the cable is cut an alarm goes off. The cable is long and will attach through the tiedown brackets on my truck. Thats my next purchase.

Here is the link for the remote start kit if anyone is interested :
http://www.sunent.com/miscpage_007.asp

dsprik · 02-08-2006, 05:05 AM

Would a Honda EU3000i handle a 3400 with A/C in the desert?

jrjones · 02-08-2006, 05:42 AM

I got my EU3000 last June and my Arctic fox TT that I owned then had same sized ac as my Montana and ran the AC with no prblem. Originally I bought a EU2000 and It would not kick in the AC compressor or what ever they call it. The fan ran but not the main unit so I returned it. When I got the 3000 I hooked it up that day and it was 93 degrees ran like a champ. You can also run micro and other items tv's ect. Works great for me.

Sweetfire · 02-08-2006, 05:54 AM

Could generator power work like shore power, in that it may run your appliances but if there is too much draw (like low GC voltage) you could be working the compressor too hard and risk burning it up.

jrjones · 02-08-2006, 08:11 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Sweetfire

Could generator power work like shore power, in that it may run your appliances but if there is too much draw (like low GC voltage) you could be working the compressor too hard and risk burning it up.

The Gen kicks out if there is to much draw. It has never done it in normal use with my Montana but when we had my uncles Seeya Gold motor home hooked up also it would kick the thing out when they would forget to not run everything in the coach. There gen broke.
I don't know for sure I just know with our everyday use it works great. The largest draw from the AC is at startup. Then it doesn't seem to pull as much.

jrgwdenner · 02-08-2006, 10:37 AM

Basically all single ACs in the Montanas can be run by the Honda 3000, Yamaha 3000, or two Honda 2000s in parallel. We bought the Yamaha 3000 with the Boost feature which helps start up the AC. It is so quiet that we have used it in the parking lot at Cracker Barrel, I couldn't even tell it was running when I walked up toward the truck.

kvote1 · 03-22-2006, 07:03 AM

Does the 3000 series start a 15,000btu air conditioner?

Kathi · 03-22-2006, 07:43 AM

We have the Onan 5500 and is all we do is walk to the closet, push the button and it goes. The noise is nonexistant so far. Never had a problem or any complaints from people in the CGs and we love it. The installed it at the factory, did a wonderful job. It is propane because we didn't want to haul xtra gas around.

jrgwdenner · 03-22-2006, 08:08 AM

The Yamaha 3000 that we have has a Boost feature that kicks in temporarily when the AC starts. It starts our 15,000 BTU unit easily. We showed it to our neighbor a couple days ago and he couldn't believe how quiet it was. Being portable, we can use it the next time we lose electricity during a storm at the stick house.

richfaa · 03-22-2006, 09:05 AM

I would consider the Kipor 3500.It is a dead ringer for the Honda. Our Rv dealer has started to handle them and we are going up next week to see the Kipor in action. www.kipor.com the 3500 can be had for @ 900.00

bobneal · 03-22-2006, 10:08 AM

Will the Honda 3000 run your air conditioner overnight on a tank of gas or do you have to refil it?

bob

kwbosch · 03-22-2006, 11:16 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by bobneal

Will the Honda 3000 run your air conditioner overnight on a tank of gas or do you have to refil it?

bob

Bob,

Here are the specs.

Fuel Tank Capacity 3.4 gallons

Run Time on One Tankful :
7.2 hrs. @ rated load
20 hrs. @ 1/4 load

HTH,

Ken

Broome101 · 03-23-2006, 01:13 AM

Rich let us know how the Kipor does, I would like to know what the total load it can handle good would be. 1 AC or both or 1 AC and what else can be run on it. AS you had said before $900.00 is long way from $1,700.00 for the Honda that I have seen. I have a Friend that has Kipor the only problem he has is cranking it, usually takes him little bit to get it going good, but after it fires once it runs good. Let it set a day or so it takes while to fire, but does eventually fire off.

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