1000 Watt Generator

[kab449]

Costco has a 1000 watt/1200watt surge generator at a really low price. My thinking is to carry it for emergencies as I don't drycamp. Is 1000 watts enough to operate the convertor/charger and have a little extra to charge say a cell phone. By the way the price is $199. 99 and is an inverter generator.

[scductman]

Keith a 1200W gen will put out 10amps. Watts divided by 120v=amps I would think it would pull what you are talking about but I am not a electrician Jim Fisher is and will know for sure maybe he will be along to tell you for sure shortly.
Bobby

[Art-n-Marge]

I wouldn't recommend anything less than 2000W for any RV. for 110v/120v, a 2000W generator is like a single 15 amp house circuit, which would recharge and allow for a little more.

When you think about a 1000W generator, the run rate is something less or about 850W or about 1/2 of a house circuit. These are intended as a single source for small electronics. If you use this for an RV and its converter for charging a battery there won't be anything left for much of anything.

My opinion is leave the 1000W for very low electricity requirements and an RV needs 2000W or more. 1500W is close but the runrate may not be high enough for too much.

[NCFischers]

At that price, it probably isn't very quiet either. That can be a problem in many campgrounds. My construction generator is 1800 watts but is way too noisy for RV use. The gen you are looking at will only produce less than 8.5 amps at 120 volts.

[HamRad]

Keith,
A 1000 watt machine certainly will do what you've indicated you were interested in. You might be able to watch a little television. The 1K machines actually are really good for exactly what you are asking about. But get a quiet one. There is NOTHING more annoying than a noisy generator in an area where quiet is the norm. A truck parking lot.... well you could probably get away running it there anytime of day or night! Good luck and Happy Trails! Dennis

[mtheo]

Not sure about the noise level, but a 1000 watts is plenty for what you want. I used a 650 watt honda for 10yrs. and it worked great. I could charge the batteries and watch TV. Only reason I got rid of it was DW wanted to be able to use hair dryer.
That old Hoda still goes camping with a freind, taht not only charges his batteries,but also uses it to seal wrap his fish.
Good luck, just make sure it is noise is down in the 50,s or low 60 decible range.

[DQDick]

My guess would be it's a rough power generator, not a pure sine wave. Might cause problems with some of your electronics even if it could power them.

[drsmart]

You indicate a 2012 Montana on order in your signature. Our 2011 came with a Progressive Dynamics PD4590. You may want to find out what converter/charger is coming in the 2012's. This is the link to the PD4500 series.
http://www.progressivedyn.com/all_in_one_pd4500_1.html
The Maximum Continuous Input Power is 1550 watts. I don't know what would cause it to draw maximum but it might tax a 1000 generator.

Dave

[kab449]

quote:Originally posted by drsmart

You indicate a 2012 Montana on order in your signature. Our 2011 came with a Progressive Dynamics PD4590. You may want to find out what converter/charger is coming in the 2012's. This is the link to the PD4500 series.
http://www.progressivedyn.com/all_in_one_pd4500_1.html
The Maximum Continuous Input Power is 1550 watts. I don't know what would cause it to draw maximum but it might tax a 1000 generator.
Dave

Dave:
I did check after reading your post and with the Hickory Package the Convertor /Charger is 90 amps. I guess that means when the batteries are low and the charger goes into the initial high charge rate it will need 90x120=1080 watts plus the additional for the efficiency loss for a total of around 1300 watts. I guess I will need a 2000 watt.
Thanks for everyone's input, and btw I just got the word today that the 3750FL is going on line the week of December 5th.

[firetrucker]

Kieth,

The initial charge rate for a battery is far less than the rated capacity of the converter/charger. You may pull 30 to 40 amps (about 500 to 600 watts figuring for inefficiency) when you start charging two batteries that are significantly discharged. That current, though, will drop quickly to about 12 to 15 amps, or about C/10 (capacity of the batteries in Amp Hours divided by 10), which is a recommended charge current. Higher charge rates will heat up the batteries and increase the production of hydrogen and should be monitored closely.

The extra capacity of the converter/charger is meant to supply the dc loads of your trailer when you are on shore power.

If the generator you are looking at has a continuous output of 1000 watts, it really should meet your needs, but a good way to check is to borrow a generator and measure the output current as you fire up everything you want to use.

Watch out for misleading numbers, though. For the Honda EU2000, 2000 refers to its maximum, or surge, rating. Its continuous rating is 1600 watts, and their EU1000 unit is rated at 900 watts continuous. Costco seems to have made the manufacturers make the continuous rating more obvious, as with the 1000 watt unit you're looking at.

Bob

[kab449]

quote:Originally posted by firetrucker

Kieth,

The initial charge rate for a battery is far less than the rated capacity of the converter/charger. You may pull 30 to 40 amps (about 500 to 600 watts figuring for inefficiency) when you start charging two batteries that are significantly discharged. That current, though, will drop quickly to about 12 to 15 amps, or about C/10 (capacity of the batteries in Amp Hours divided by 10), which is a recommended charge current. Higher charge rates will heat up the batteries and increase the production of hydrogen and should be monitored closely.

The extra capacity of the converter/charger is meant to supply the dc loads of your trailer when you are on shore power.

If the generator you are looking at has a continuous output of 1000 watts, it really should meet your needs, but a good way to check is to borrow a generator and measure the output current as you fire up everything you want to use.

Watch out for misleading numbers, though. For the Honda EU2000, 2000 refers to its maximum, or surge, rating. Its continuous rating is 1600 watts, and their EU1000 unit is rated at 900 watts continuous. Costco seems to have made the manufacturers make the continuous rating more obvious, as with the 1000 watt unit you're looking at.

Bob

Thanks Bob.
I posted this on rv.net and got opinions all over the spectrum as here on moc. Seems to me that the people who actually camp using a small generator have provided me with enough of information for me to order one and see what happens. When I receive it I will test it by discharging the batteries overnight, then plugging in the shore cord to the gen. I'll post the results.