As I've said beore I'm a newcomer to life on the road, 5 weeks to date. we have had a week or more of rain , now my battery is down (on the trailer) and the solar panals can't keep up, the fridge is on strike and I'm buying ice by the bags. So we start looking for a generator to charge it up for times like this. Now I look about and don't understand some of the tech speak. what is a sine wave, is it like the royal one? OK I need help, what should I look for?
-- Edited by Bru on Monday 31st of March 2014 05:02:25 PM
G'Day Bru, I've been down your path recently.
If you only want to use a battery charger running off a genny then there are lots of options.
If you plan to run a TV,laptop & other electronics off the genny then a pure sine wave is the way to go.
We decided to have a 12 Volt TV & all electronics ( laptops, radio,mp3, LED lighting everywhere + more ) running off 12 Volts ( Batteries ).
That made it easy for us.
As you, we use solar to charge the batteries.
Plus a 1 KVA Yamaha genny for a spell of bad weather.
Second hand. We were on a tight budget.
Saw plenty of the obscure brand 2 stroke gennys new & second hand.
Waited & found a 4 stroke.
My thinking was
" Some campers will tolerate a running genny.
Even less will tolerate the noise & 2 stroke smoke of a 2 stroke."
A quiet 4 stroke will be less intrusive.
When we need to charge the batteries with the genny we will use our quality
240volt / 12Volt battery charger plugged into the 240V outlet on the genny.
This is our way of looking at it.
It's not the only way. But it works for us.
Honda and yamaha are about the best that you could buy, There are a lot of cheaper ones on the market , BUT you pay fpr what you get, Stay clear of the cheap chinese one from the local hardware store etc.
A good Honda/ Yamaha is going to cost the best part of about $1800.00. So a few dollars there. But whether you think that is a good investment or not is up to you. But if i were to purchese a generator tomorrow, Honda would be the top of my list.
All AC generators put out a alternating current, this means that the voltage goes from a positive voltage to a negitive voltage so many times per second. How many times per second is call the frequency of the AC voltage ( and in Australia we use 50 cycles ( Now called Hertz ) per second and the USA use 60 Hertz.
If you whant to find out about sine waves, voltage and currents , do a google serch on ' Alternating current'. That way you may find a answer that you are looking for, and may be explaned in a better mannor than what i could ever type.
-- Edited by valiant81 on Monday 31st of March 2014 05:43:09 PM
I am hoping to settle on a generator in the next day or so. My needs, due to having been burnt 55% and having been grafted, is airconditioning. So, I need to be able to run the aircon before most people would require it. Reckon I might try one of these as they are in Ballarat.
Aussie Paul.
-- Edited by aussie_paul on Monday 31st of March 2014 05:46:50 PM
Bru, generators come in many sizes and styles, and most people seem to settle on a 2kva (roughly 2,000W) generator, and most are using them with caravans, and ogten to run their air conditioner. In your case it sounds as if you will only be running your battery charger, and it is likely that a 1kva would be more than enough for your immediate needs.
A bigger generator will do the job, but it is typically more expensive, bigger, heavier, and dearer to run.
It would be a good idea to work out how many watts you can use, then add say 30% and use that as a guide to what size generator you need.
It all depends on howmuch you are going to use it. I have a Praelia 2kva Chinese gen,and works well for me. It was $317 delivered to my house , and will run the aircon, microwave, and computers easily. You can,t tell me that a Honda is 6 times as good for people who don,t use them all the time.Puts out 10 amp/12v to charge batteries, and has been reliable to date. Thanks, Bill
It all depends on howmuch you are going to use it. I have a Praelia 2kva Chinese gen,and works well for me. It was $317 delivered to my house , and will run the aircon, microwave, and computers easily. You can,t tell me that a Honda is 6 times as good for people who don,t use them all the time.Puts out 10 amp/12v to charge batteries, and has been reliable to date. Thanks, Bill
I agree with Bill. I've had a Fuji 2kva for some time now and apart from replacing fuel hoses no problems. Now have solar as well so only use the gennie to top up the battery when necessary. I've heard all the hype about quality, but at less than 1/4 of the price of a Honda (which I believe is also made in China now) I'm more than happy with the cheapie.
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Cheers, Marianna.
The more I learn about people, the more I like my dogs (Mark Twain)
We have a Honda 2 kva - it won't run the aircond in hot weather - we got a Fuji 4.4 kva for $840 - runs everything ... agree with what said above - a 1 kva is probably sufficient for your needs
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you might like to consider spending the $ on a better solar/battery kit as an option. We never need a gen...............try Googling Aussie Solar & Batteries in Qld for free advice.
