How to make sure your "quiet Honda" generator stays quiet even in inclement weather

[Mitzi Agnew-Giles]

Hi guys I want to share my experiences with how not to overload your generator so it becomes noisy and how to stay warm in the cold- all of which comes from not only experts but also my and my cousins' personal experiences.

This thread starts because of another forum member's experience with camping in cold weather and how the stress load from the microwave and the heaters made so much noise he had to freeze all night so as not to be a "bad camping neighbor".

I have the all-electric- and I have found that an electric kettle and a 200 watt heater plus fleece blankets top and bottom, along with a light coating of petroleum jelly applied every 6-8 hours or so, keeps one adequately warm at least into the 30s-40sF*. Did you read labels on your clothing? You want really cheap polyester or acrylic sorts of fabric- remember Cotton kills! (My Boy Scouts could chant along with me on our January Florida backpacks and remote Summer Camps lectures) Heck silk will keep you warm too, as will usage of plastic or emergency Mylar shiny foil survival gear. I pick up Silk quite cheap at the local Goodwill in PB County- but polyester works too!

I remember taking my 5 year old grandson snow tubing in the N Carolina mountains and staying in a small barely heated 12x12 cabin where the water had to be let run to prevent freeze-up- between the silk and wool and warm-not cotton - outer layers clothes and greasing up we wound up overheating on the tubing runs.

. Had we been stationary we probably would've been fine. And no, that was a year that snowmaking machinery-like the year I took my DS and it was in the 50s and he skied in a Tshirt- was not needed.

Since then I have invested in a 200 watt heater (heat rises so putting it on the floor near you is a great idea. I also purchased a Celiant (tm) mattress cover- same fabric as used to keep space station astronauts warm. You could substitute plastic but it doesn't breathe. (A negative review on the Celiant reviews said it was "just plastic and it kept her too hot". Sounds like she didn't want to be warm but that selling point is all thru their advertising- their target client is an adult suffering from degenerative muscle or bone disease. Can't move and suffering from pain and lowered metabolism because of immobility.

On the subjective side, you know that canopy curtained beds in the Middle Ages were to keep warm? The thing is you also wore your warmest nightcaps to bed(my stepfather, a wise old Marine, never forgot his teenage years as a cowpuncher- always told me "when your feet get cold put on a hat!"Also in the middle ages all the way up to Abe Lincoln's time, people usually didn't sleep alone. They were packed into beds like puppies in a pile (and infants slept with their wet nurses or mothers) (one cold night we had our boyscouts up in the mountains of NW GA to backpack over spring break, and all us adults-11- were packed into a 3 sided hut- yes, guys and gals together but we only pulled off our outer layers of clothing. We were so close to each other when one person turned over all had to turn over. Yes, most of us were wearing hats and I also was sleeping head at foot so I could warn my fellow adults if it started to rain. Or snow, as we got a day or two later.

Speaking of my Boy Scouts, I always packed small heat packs (iron filings) oxidizing in ambient air- on those backpacking trips. I wound up giving mine to the skinniest youth. 3 point warming- armpits and crotch- help keep you comfie. That was the trip it did snow on us and also my metal Sierra cup froze the water as I was pouring it in that morning!


The Inuit (or First Nations, as our neighbor Canada terms them) knew the best way to keep warm was to pack on the poundage, as well as treating any immersion cases with the first available grease (also a swimmer's trick to ward off hypothermia-as my cousins- varsity swimmers in the Midwest high school at practice times of 5 a.m.- did)and wear fur and leather.

Also when you wake during the night you eat and drink as the dry cold air saps your strength and you burn more calories staying warm-as well as losing fluids to cold air.

I know I will not convert any true believers of the need for propane. I'm hoping to reach the people anxious to both camp and stay warm and reap the benefits of a "quiet generator".

So do you really apply all your knowledge to reducing your generator load and being comfortable? or does cotton and dry skin sneak in somehow?
Just my 2 cents worth...
__________________
That's my job. I read...and I know things

[Rzrbrn]

Why run the generator at all during the night? I run my furnace set on a low temp but still much warmer than outside. Many nights I use a battery lantern rather the lights which reduces the load on the battery, not much but a bit. The next day when generators are allowed I start the gen to charge the battery for the next night. I plan on getting solar panels to help keep the battery charged so maybe I won't have to use the LP gen which consumes much too much propane. During gen hours I don't worry about noise.

[steve dunham]

I will admit that sometimes I can’t see the forest for the trees !!
Why would someone buy an all electric trailer ( No propane - No furnace) or one without a furnace and then purchase & run a noisy fossil fueled generator so they can heat their trailer electrically ? . It can’t be financial because a propane furnace is less expensive than a generator and any fuel savings is non existent.
I’ve been kept awake from people running a generator at night but never from the noise of a propane furnace
Long underwear , a good sleeping bag and a wool blanket , work well , make no noise , consume no fuel and are relatively cheap .

[Cliff Hotchkiss]

If I had to cover myself with petroleum jelly and wear everything I own to stay warm at night I would have to wonder why did I buy a trailer in first place. If I wanted a survivalist experience I wouldn’t need a trailer. At one point in my life I camped in single digits in a shelter built from pine boughs sleeping in old sleeping bag and a wool blanket. We had to cook breakfast on a coffee can lid because we forgot the frying pan. Not only did we make do, we had fun doing it. Fast forward 55 years I got myself a really comfy Escape 5.0TA. Set the thermostat to 55 at night and sleep like a baby. Don’t need no microwave or thermo pot thingy for breakfast my old percolater and frying pan work just fine on the stove. Just don’t understand the resistance to using propane 🥺

[Jann Todd]

Originally Posted by Rzrbrn

Why run the generator at all during the night? I run my furnace set on a low temp but still much warmer than outside. Many nights I use a battery lantern rather the lights which reduces the load on the battery, not much but a bit. The next day when generators are allowed I start the gen to charge the battery for the next night. I plan on getting solar panels to help keep the battery charged so maybe I won't have to use the LP gen which consumes much too much propane. During gen hours I don't worry about noise.

Maybe the noisy generators are what you have-propane. I haven't seen one but maybe that is the problem. We have a Honda 2000 gas generator and when it is running you have to be near it to hear it. We've been inside and thought it stopped because we couldn't hear it. We start it every 1-3 months at home and use it to do something just to keep it running like they tell you to. I wouldn't have an all electric trailer if I wasn't hooked up to shore power all the time. That means your fridge would quickly run down a battery. I have an RV to be comfortable not to rough it like we used to do in a tent. That's why they put propane furnaces, fridges, etc in an RV along with a water system and toilets.