Generator Advice

[MTRCYCMAN]

Hello All

I am sure this topic has been discussed before but I can't seem to find a good thread on this. I have the Bigfoot 25B25RQ. We are considering the Honda Eu2200i for boon-docking. We do not plan to use the AC while running the generator. We are pretty simple campers. We only need the generator to run the appliances and TV in the evening. We use a small portable solar powered charger for charging the batteries when not hooked to shore power. The Honda has great reviews, it is light weight and seems to run a long time on less than a gallon of gas. Does anybody use this as a stand alone generator? We do not want the companion since we have no intentions of ever running two generators.

Thank You
MC

[Glenn Baglo]

I have two 40 watt solar panels and I leave my Honda generator at home. I don't annoy my neighbours. I don't have to carry gas. I don't have to take it in for service or run it from time to time for the exercise.
All the appliances I need run on 12 volt or propane.

[Jon Vermilye]

Originally Posted by MTRCYCMAN

Hello All

I am sure this topic has been discussed before but I can't seem to find a good thread on this. I have the Bigfoot 25B25RQ. We are considering the Honda Eu2200i for boon-docking. We do not plan to use the AC while running the generator. We are pretty simple campers. We only need the generator to run the appliances and TV in the evening. We use a small portable solar powered charger for charging the batteries when not hooked to shore power. The Honda has great reviews, it is light weight and seems to run a long time on less than a gallon of gas. Does anybody use this as a stand alone generator? We do not want the companion since we have no intentions of ever running two generators.

Thank You
MC

If you are definite about not running the AC or microwave, consider the Ryobi 700/900 watt propane only generator. Fine for the TV, charging the battery, etc & you don't need to carry a can of gas. Runs on 1 pound disposable cylinders or with an adapter (that is included) a standard 20 pound tank. I've been pleased with mine. Available on line from Home Depot.

[MTRCYCMAN]

Thanks for the heads up on the Ryobi. Can you run the microwave on that? We can do without the microwave but the wife normally uses it a lot.

[Jon Vermilye]

Originally Posted by MTRCYCMAN

Thanks for the heads up on the Ryobi. Can you run the microwave on that? We can do without the microwave but the wife normally uses it a lot.

At 700 watts running, I doubt it. I run my microwave with a 1500 watt inverter fed by a pair of 100 amp hour lithium batteries without a problem, then use the generator to recharge the batteries if the sun isn't shining.

[redbarron55]

I carried a Harbor Freight Predator inverter (the first old one) and it was heavy and I always hated having to carry gasoline with me.
Recently I bought a Gas/LP inverter (2200 watt) unit on sale and this one will run 10 hours on a 20 lb tank. The weight of this unit is 45 lbs and comes with the LP regulators.
I installed a second tank so that I would have a tank to refill and one to run.
I have never put gasoline into this generator and I don't worry about the smell and fire hazard with it in the back of the TV.
This is the one I bought from Newegg.com
Pulsar 2,200W Portable Dual Fuel Quiet Inverter Generator with USB Outlet & Parallel Capability, CARB Compliant, PG2200BiS

Mine was hard to start until I figured out that you needed to bleed the air from the system and then shut off the LP valve, start and then turn the valve back on.

[Raspy]

Originally Posted by MTRCYCMAN

Thanks for the heads up on the Ryobi. Can you run the microwave on that? We can do without the microwave but the wife normally uses it a lot.

My old microwave in my Oliver was 1200 watts. No way, as Jon noted, to run it on 700, or 900 watts.

I switched my microwave out as part of a re-modeling project in the Oliver, and installed a 700 watt microwave in it's place, which works very well. It would definitely run on the little generator as long as there was no other loads of more than a few watts.

If you want to use the microwave a lot, this might be the answer, as they put such a high demand on the batteries.

[charlsara]

I have the Honda 2000. It will run all my appliances including the 8000 btu AC. Very reliable and a gas sipper!

[Jon Vermilye]

Originally Posted by Raspy

My old microwave in my Oliver was 1200 watts. No way, as Jon noted, to run it on 700, or 900 watts.

I switched my microwave out as part of a re-modeling project in the Oliver, and installed a 700 watt microwave in it's place, which works very well. It would definitely run on the little generator as long as there was no other loads of more than a few watts.

If you want to use the microwave a lot, this might be the answer, as they put such a high demand on the batteries.

Just be sure the 700 watts is the rated wattage (input) of the microwave, not the advertised wattage. Microwaves draw more than the magnetron tube rating.

When I had my Escape 17, with a 1000 watt inverter, I needed to go down to a 600 watt microwave to keep the inverter happy.

[MTRCYCMAN]

Thank You for all the replies.

I am real interested in the propane models. My only concern would be the availability of the fuel in remote areas as opposed to gasoline. According to all these replies most people are happy with a smaller generator.

Thanks Again
MC

[thrifty bill]

Three issues I have with propane.

1. Propane puts out less wattage than running gas.

2. Propane is more expensive than gas.

3. In relatively remote areas, propane can be harder to find.

Full disclosure, we have a Champion dual fuel generator but almost always run it on gas. I have a 2800 watt unit as I want to able to run AC. If I don’t need AC, then I just take solar panel instead (not running big appliances).

[redbarron55]

Many if not most are dual fuel systems and you can run on whatever is handy.
For my purpose I have only run on LP, but I can put gasoline in if necessary.
My reasoning is to keep the smell down.
I have two tanks or enough to run for 40 hours at 1/2 power. One of the tanks is a Costco with built in fuel gauge and the other a swap out Blue Rhino that can be swapped many places or can be filled at a lot of RV parks.
Gasoline can also be bought many places as well.

[Darwin Maring]

Do yourself a favor and get a larger one and do it at Harbor Freight.

[Alex in LA]

We use A-iPower generator with engine from Yamaha that we bought from Cosco last year for roughly $500 while Honda 2000 was $1,000 and Yamaha was $900. I am pretty sure that short of branding it's exactly the same as Yamaha. It started from the first pull after being stored for winter and worked fine all summer and hopefully many more to come and we could power small microwave and everything else in our Casita except AC.

I must say having a dual fuel option does sound attractive, though. If reliability reports on that Pulsar unit are good, it may be a better alternative.

[mmolnar]

I love Honda products, have several, but we use a Champion generator with our Bigfoot 21FB. Couldn't be happier, at about 1/3 the price. Here's a quick review I did on my YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/LDCAiXkYafE

Hope this helps!

[Rzrbrn]

I have a built in Oman 2500 LP gen that runs off my twin 30 lb tanks (2019 Big Foot 25RQTailer). Can only run one major appliance at a time. Energy output reduces with altitude. Very hard to get 30 lb tanks out of the neat looking cargo box.

I have a microair easy start installed.

What a pain in the butt the LP gen is because I have had to take the tanks out to have them filled. Every single time. Not one place would fill with the tanks inside the beautiful fiberglass cargo box. But wife likes it and it runs well.

If I were to do over, I would get Honda 2200 gas, with a second to run parallel. Maybe even a 3000, permanently mounted where the cargo box is. It would be gas. Easy to get gas. Gas delivers more energy.

[MTRCYCMAN]

what causes the loss in power as elevation increases

[Jon in AZ]

Less oxygen. Tow ratings decrease with altitude, too. It’s usually in the fine print.

[Raspy]

Originally Posted by MTRCYCMAN

what causes the loss in power as elevation increases

Internal combustion engines, cars, generators, etc, lose power at a rate of about 3% per 1,000' elevation. This is because they can't get the as much air as they can at lower levels. 5,000' will cost about 15%. Suddenly, your 2,000 watt genny is only a 1,700 watt genny. That is enough to stop it from running the AC, or stopping it from running the battery charger while running the microwave, when it will do those things at sea level.

This is really noticeable with small generators that are working very hard and have little or no reserve power. I have run mine the most at about 5,000' or higher and it is really noticeable.

I really notice it with my Jeep too. Up here at 5,000', I'm used to how it runs. Then down at sea level, it is much faster.

[thrifty bill]

The motor is the same, the rest is different. But for half the money with the quality Yamaha motor, it’s a no brainer!