Generators Why Two ???

[Big Al Greer]

New to 5th wheeling and I see several applications where people use a two smaller generator set up instead of one 5 or 6K unit ?

No dough there is a good reason for this and I will be getting one (or two) for mine soon.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[bncinwv]

Small Honda weighs 47 pounds. Big generator weighs a heck of a lot more, which would you rather lift? If you leave it in the truck, it may be different, just a personal decision. We did it the easy way, built-in 5.5 Onan.
Bingo

[Big Al Greer]

Like I stated there has to be a good reason...

As long as the power issue is the same it makes good sense to me...

The ones I seem are mounter on a rack in the back of the pick up...

Thanks for your quick response...

[seahunter]

Hey Big Al,

I think the main idea is it's a lot easier to move two smaller ones than one big one. Also that way if you only need a little power, you can just pull out one small one instead of one big one. Another plus is you can use it for other things than just the RV.

[Big Al Greer]

Again I knew there was something behind this...

No sense reinventing the wheel...

Great information...

[7.3Ford]

Big Al,

I have a Honda IS 3000 and it is heavy. If I had to do it all over I would use two IS 2000. Two smaller ones will put out more continuous power than the 3000. Since I have solar, I have only used my Generator 2 times. I don't even bring it unless I am going to be gone for more than a week (just in case there is no sun where I camp).

[Big Al Greer]

Thanks a bunch...

[jsmitfl]

I bought a Honda 5000 when we first started, well after trying to put this thing in the bed of the truck,,,,yea. Works nice when we have a hurricane and loose power. Hook it to the house during the day and keep freezer and refer going and then run the fiver at night for a/c. But now we also have a 2000. Love it

[Big Al Greer]

Will a 2000 run one of the a/c units ???

[Tom S.]

quote:Originally posted by Big Al Greer


Will a 2000 run one of the a/c units ???

If (big word) you had nothing else running, including the inverter that charges the 12 volt system, then in theory, yes. Remember, while your refrigerator and most of the lights are 12 volt, your inverter runs to keep the battery charged. IMHO, I wouldn't do it though. Starving the a/c motor for amps can shorten it's live span.

We have two Honda 2000i units and when we were in Alaska, and didn't need the a/c, one generator worked just fine us.

[DQDick]

I agree totally with Tom. We have the two and yes they do sit in a rack on the truck, but when we use them they are removed and behind the Monty. The weight is an issue for us old men (a few years ago I came to the realization that I'm not the man I never was) but the two are also handy when you need portable power away from the rig. If I just need 110 for a tool or something I just have to haul one of them.

[RickW]

Another advantage to two is if 1 starts to give you problems then you have a backup.

You do have to be using an inverter type generator in order to link the two together. You will need what Honda calls a parallel kit to do it. The sensitive electronics in your rig will also prefer the clean power from a inverter style generator vs the contractor types.

I have the Honda 3000is. I can run a A/C with it. Mine is mounted behind the skirt on the truck. If I did not have a place to mount the generator I would have gone with the smaller and lighter 2000is (50# vs 135#).

[Big Al Greer]

One last question and I can put this to rest...

Will the 2 ea 2000 K generators keep up with the whole trailer ?

2 a/c units with all the other fix ens...

...Allen

[Thrappas]

The reason I got two Honda 2K generators was because of weight (47lb ea),cost, and quiet running. Two are needed running paralel to run one ac unit but even one 3K wouldn't do the job & 30 lb heavier at twice the cost. The most important concern from your generator is the THD (Total Harmonic Distortion) sometimes refered to "Clean Power". The levels should be no greater than

[snfexpress]

No, Allen, two 2000's will not power the entire trailer's power needs.

We have two 2000's mounted on a custom made carrier. When we want to use ONE A/C, we put one generator on Eco mode and the other has Eco mode turned off.



We have approximately 8 gallons of fuel onboard.

With our setup, we can run our comfort needs, including an air conditioner for nearly 12 hours. What I mean by this is if we are boon docking or Wal-docking, we can run one A/C, our satellite, TV's, Dish, refrigerator on electric, converter, lights like we normally use them and computers, etc.

Without the A/C, we can go for quite a bit longer because we run just one generator on Eco mode - not worried about the air conditioner compressor kicking on.

Oh, by the way, we did put hard start capacitors in our A/C's to help.

We also use meters to tell us how much power we are consuming which allows us to make intelligent power management decisions.



As you can see, we can get our consumption down to just about nothing. We do have LEDs for all of our lights.

(Click the thumbnail to get a larger picture in a new tab)

[Big Al Greer]

Great information from everyone...

This is a cool sight...

Super friendly / helpful folks...

Of course if you wasn't you wouldn't be in a Montana

Thanks to all...

[Art-n-Marge]

Well, it's not quite put to bed. Here's some other information about Honda's flexibility.

The EU2000 will fit in a truck bed AND under a truck bed cover and when tied together will provide a peak of 4000 watts versus a Honda 3000 providing only 3000 watts peak which is equivalent to support 30 amps. I can lift each EU2000 with its full fuel tank into the truck bed, but I won't even try an EU3000 of any kind.

I have NOT heard any examples of experience, but if you want to power both A/C units in your rig and still have power remaining for other electronics with portable generators, I have seen a cable that allows you to interconnect THREE EU2000s (you'll need a third generator, too) to gain 6000w of peak power or 50 amp support, but I don't know how good this works and have not seen any documents whether Honda supports this (after all, Honda would prefer to sell larger generators, not a bunch of small generators). It sure makes sense and if I ever get a second A/C, I'll consider a third EU2000. So far 30 amps has been quite suitable for our rig.

Now for the disadvantages...

Run time. The smaller the generator the smaller the fuel tank and hence the need to refuel more often (which is scary when adding fuel to a hot generator that has been running for 4 to 8 hours). To solve this, people have made their own or there are kits that you can buy to extend runtime because an auxiliary, larger fuel tank and plumbing automatically provides refueling and you only need to refuel the aux tank which is typically not hot. This easily allows the gennys to run for the full day until they get shut down at night (to respect the quiet hours). Then refill everything the next morning and you're set for the rest of the day. This is the advantage to two (larger and heavier) EU3000s since they will provide the 50 amps when connected in parallel.

Another disadvantage is security. The portability feature of these smaller units also means they are stolen easier than a huge, heavier unit. But there have been a multitude of designs to secure these to solve this problem whether secured in the truck bed (and this means your truck is stuck) or standalone behind the rig (see snfexpress pictures for an example) which then frees up your TV.

The last disadvantage I can think of is cost! However, the features these dual (or triple) generators provide are worth the money in the long term. I think Yamaha is trying to copy this capability with their units so there is some flattery of Honda in what many of us now use.

But disadvantages aside, I love and prefer the flexibility (ability to separate the gennys for other uses), the clean power (less expensive units may damage sensitive equipment over time), the quiet (larger units can be louder in db's), the weight (I can load these by myself), and the size (they fit under a truck bed cover or inside a suitable truck bed tool box). Take a deep breath, pay the money, then exhale when you learn to love all the advantages, then spend a little more time and money to resolve disadvantages!

[RickW]

I recently saw a parallel kit that allows you to connect 3 Honda's. I wish I had book marked it.

Also if looking at larger portable generators take a good look at the receptacles specs. Example the Honda 6500is is a 6500w peak/5500w continuous generator. You should be able to run everything in the trailer with it just like as if you were hooked up to a 50amp connection but the 6500is has 2 30A plugs. So you will have to have a box that plugs in to both 30A plug and combine them to a 50A plug. You will still only have 30A on each leg for a combined 60A. Hooked up to the power pole you have 50A each leg for a combined 100A. It would most likely never be a problem but if the A/C & Microwave are running at the same time you could trip one the 30A breakers on the generator. Something to keep in mind.

[Big Al Greer]

Thanks for the information...

Several ways to go on this topic...

...Allen

[CORattler]

That makes sense to me!

quote:Originally posted by seahunter

Hey Big Al,

I think the main idea is it's a lot easier to move two smaller ones than one big one. Also that way if you only need a little power, you can just pull out one small one instead of one big one. Another plus is you can use it for other things than just the RV.