what size genny

woody · Veteran Member

what size genny

gst · Senior Member

I always beleive in a little over kill when it comes to gennys the first one was 1.4kva then I found out 2kva was the min as I need to charge some power tools and charge some battries to get someone out of trouble in a flood area where we were strandard for a week hope this helps 2kva help me get through Yasi and keep my fridges and lights going for the week at home in townsville I ran a fridge 2 freezers 1 Tv and two lights plus put other local friends food in our freezers so 2kva min.

Ma · Guru

We run all that you want to run woody and we found the 2kva to be quite sufficient. Also runs the microwave on occasions too.,

_wombat_ · Master (of Mischief)

Honda 2kva will run microwave only by itself, nothing else running, it's the starting that takes the power

Bosshog · Newbie

1 KVA is plenty big enough you could go even smaller. Big is not always better as they are more costly and heavier, you have to look into the tea leaves and see what you might need for the future

goinsoon · Guru

For the little extra in cost go for a 2kva

jimricho · Guru

I'm not a generator owner but from general knowledge I would concur with the 2kva comments. However a smaller one should be ok if you don't wish to run a microwave, toaster, jug etc.

If purchasing one of the newer inverter types check that the output is a pure sine wave. The better ones are but I'd be wary of some of the cheapies out there.

A smart charger around 20 - 25 amp capacity would enable a quick recharge of the "house" (aux) battery and probably reduce the amount of time on the genny. The 12v output is to the best of my knowledge unsuitable for effectively recharging a battery.

Elle on Wheels · Guru

I will be using a 12v tv, 12v fridge, laptop, and a couple of lights plus will also have battery led lights. I am installing 2 x 180w solar panels on the roof of my poptop.

In my ute I will have another 180w solar panel on the canopy charging another battery. I will also have a 3 way car fridge in the ute which will run on gas while free camping. So I can always switch off the caravan fridge if it looks like power is getting low.

I was told that with a good battery charger the solar panels would be more than enough to keep the batteries charged.

I was also advised I would only need a small generator - 1kw max - to charge my batteries in the event of prolonged cloudy weather.

With this set up I hope to be able to free camp indefinitely.

jimricho · Guru

Will you have solar as well. There are times when using a generator is not appropriate, even quiet ones can be noisy in the still of a calm night at a bush camp that you're sharing with others.

One of the joys of genuine bush camping is the quietness and tranquillity of a camp fire undisturbed by the noise of generators or TVs and stereos.

woody · Veteran Member

Will possibly have solar as well, have had experience in freecamps with gennys running, but i think most people are aware and turn them off at a reasonable hour, ( hopefully!)

Thanks for the feedback smile , it seems that it might be better to have the extra "grunt" of a 2kva and still maybe be able to occasionally use some accessories that I had not contemplated using, eg a/c , and microwave/toaster.

03_troopy · Guru

We ran 2 Honda 2KVA 20i generators (using one while the other was being serviced), each on a weekly rotating basis for 6 months to power up 2 full sized fridges, a full size freezer, a 68cm colour TV, an Xbox and half a dozen lights. The only thing you had to be aware of was when restarting the genny after refueling, was to switch the fridges on individually a few minutes apart so that they didn't all try to kick in at the same time and trip the overload on the genny. If we wanted to run the microwave oven we switched off the fridges or a fridge and the freezer for a short while while using the microwave. Also, because the microwave was one of the older types (not inverter type), you had to use it on full power as lower power settings cause the microwave magnetron to switch on and off to regulate the power output causinig the load on the genny to fluctuate too much and sometimes it would cut out. So, to answer your question, to power up a camper fridge and small telly plus a few lights and battery chargers you'd probably be fine with a 1KVA something like the Honda 10i or other well known brand equivalent. The only reason ours were being so regularly serviced was that they were being used almost 24/7 with this load for such a period of time, so just normal servicing as recommended by the manufacturer is all you'd need.

-- Edited by 03_troopy on Tuesday 22nd of November 2011 11:51:04 AM

gold dandelion · Senior Member

one k.v.a. is around 1000watts, so you can see if you have a 2000 watt jug, no go. Yamaha have a beauty at the moment 3kva about the same as a 2kva honda. enough to run your house when you get home if needed. the cheaper models are ok if you dont need to run them 24/7

jimricho · Guru

gold dandelion wrote:
the cheaper models are ok if you dont need to run them 24/7

The real issue with the cheaper ones is that they may not be pure sine wave, depending on the model. I would be very reluctant to run any electronic stuff on an inverter or inverter type generator that wasn't pure sine wave.

03_troopy · Guru

jimricho wrote:
gold dandelion wrote:
the cheaper models are ok if you dont need to run them 24/7
The real issue with the cheaper ones is that they may not be pure sine wave, depending on the model. I would be very reluctant to run any electronic stuff on an inverter or inverter type generator that wasn't pure sine wave.

The other issue is the quality in some of the cheaper ones. Before the Hondas, we used a cheaper brand (they also have budget priced power tools) 2.4KVA and it went through oil like crazy and rattled itself to death in 2 weeks of running 24/7. The noise would just about send you crazy too.

03_troopy · Guru

gold dandelion wrote:
one k.v.a. is around 1000watts, so you can see if you have a 2000 watt jug, no go. Yamaha have a beauty at the moment 3kva about the same as a 2kva honda. enough to run your house when you get home if needed. the cheaper models are ok if you dont need to run them 24/7

The 3KVA would be excellent for running your house emergency power for blackouts, but for a travelling power source with minimal load it would be a bit of an overkill. The 2KVA Honda came in at around $1800, so the 3KVA would be pretty expensive too for this purpose, not to mention unnecessary bulk and weight. The 1KVA would be an ideal light weight compact mobile power source for running a fridge (RV type) a telly, a couple of lights and charging up batteries for cameras etc.

Nichol · Member

Hi,

I agree with most of the posts here. The 1 and 2kva generators are great for travelling. The 3kva units start to get a little big and heavy.

What you should do is work out what your maximum load is. I used to travel with a 2kva generator. It was hardly ever used to its capacity. Since then I have installed an inverter charger. Now I carry a 1kva generator (much smaller and easier to manage) and the inverter charger allows me to boost my power to 2.6kva for short periods if I am running something that needs extra power.

Cheers,
Nichol

woody · Veteran Member

Well the Kipor 2kva is looking to be reasonable value for money so far. Looks like quite a few people in the general forums have gone that way too. Are available in Bunnings, and the price looks good compared to other retailers. Might be a good move from warranty point of view, also as they (Bunnings ) are all over Oz

-- Edited by woody on Thursday 24th of November 2011 01:22:06 PM

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

Generators and free camping don't mix.
Spend the money on a decent solar system and you won't need a generator, you won't need to buy or carry dangerous smelly fuel and you won't have to put up with the noise or upset the wildlife.

Cheers,
Peter

woody · Veteran Member

Thankyou all for your input, some of it was very useful. smile

I ended up with a 2Kva Kipor from ebay.

I am very mindful of the environment and of other campers.

-- Edited by woody on Friday 25th of November 2011 05:34:13 PM

jimricho · Guru

Peter_n_Margaret wrote:
Generators and free camping don't mix.
Spend the money on a decent solar system and you won't need a generator, you won't need to buy or carry dangerous smelly fuel and you won't have to put up with the noise or upset the wildlife.

Cheers,
Peter

No argument from me on that one.

Peterpan · Guru

We like to bush/free camp on the odd occasion.

We spent an Easter at Sheepyard Flats near Mansfield Victoria.

Our van is a 97 model and has only 240V power and 12v light systems only.

Gas for cooking. The Tug doesn't have a 2nd battery. For short stops we use the gas for coking if a fireplace is not available and torch light for seeing/reading. At sheepyard it was dutch oven meals.

I have devised a method of connecting a battery to the caravan connection so that I can use the 12v lights.

Unfortunately the battery doesn't last too long and so out comes the Genny to charge the battery.

Fortunately mine is a very quiet 2kva genny and didn't impinge on the other campers in the area. Those around us were quite surprised at the quietness of the Genny.

We only charged up during the day and were able to assist other campers in charging up their mobile phones.

Until I can get around to aquiring more ready cash I can't get the van rewired to accept a solar system with all its ancilliaries.

So until that happens I will use the Genny with commonsense and decorum. I may even hire a wombat to dig a hole to reduce the noise even further.

Brownie

woody · Veteran Member

Fortunately mine is a very quiet 2kva genny and didn't impinge on the other campers in the area. Those around us were quite surprised at the quietness of the Genny.

What brand of genny do you have peter pan?

Peterpan · Guru

Woody,

It's a Honda. There was a yellow Genny operating across the other side of the camping area that was very noisy. Those camping near to us were vert pleased with the lack of noise from the Honda.

Brownie

woody · Veteran Member

My circumstances have changed , and the Genny tha I was to purchase is still available on ebay. It is a new in the box Kipor 2Kva for $799, this is about half the normal price. Anyone interested, ring Martyn on 0458 627 896