This is my view on Generators.

JayDee · Guru

This is my view on Generators.

iana · Guru

Dougwe · Chief one feather

I have never had a problem if gennie is needed cos I only start her up at 2am, that way everyone is asleep and can't hear her.

Corndoggy · Senior Member

Sometimes I would rather listen to to quiet monotone of someone's generator than the ruckus of what some call music which can go well into the night.

Tony Bev · Guru

I sit on the fence on this topic, as I can actually see both sides of the topic/argument/discussion

Pro's

My wife is tougher than me
We inherited a genny, when we purchased our current RV
The wife said that as we have it, we shall take it with us, in case we need it
We used it once, (before we knew anything about solar), as the built in Jayco/Setic charger, was hopeless
We have met travellers, who need the genny at night time, for their breathing machines, and fully understand why they are being used

Cons

We have come across travellers, (in free camps/music venues with no power), who have had their genny going nearly full time
I have asked people why they use a genny, (not to be a smarty pants), but as a means of learning things
Genny in the free/donation camps were being used for, (in my opinion), non-essential reasons, such as for TV/Air Con etc
Some Gennys are very noisy, especially the two stroke ones
Some RV's, (I am thinking some Jayco Motorhomes), come with a slide out, for a Genny, so they may be a (salesman listener), status symbol, for some

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

I am of the view that petrol powered generators are not an appropriate choice in this day and age.
It makes no sense from financial, social or ecological view points.
We ONLY free camp and have not carried or needed a generator for 15 years (and counting). We also use more electricity than most campers and are slowly heading towards getting rid of our last gas and replacing that with electricity too.
Cheers,
Peter

-- Edited by Peter_n_Margaret on Thursday 9th of April 2020 07:10:12 PM

yobarr · Guru

Peter_n_Margaret wrote:
I am of the view that petrol powered generators are not an appropriate choice in this day and age.
It makes no sense from financial, social or ecological view points.
We ONLY free camp and have not carried or needed a generator for 15 years (and counting). We also use more electricity than most campers and are slowly heading towards getting rid of our last gas and replacing that with electricity too.
Cheers,
Peter-- Edited by Peter_n_Margaret on Thursday 9th of April 2020 07:10:12 PM

Well done Peter'n'Margaret.It is so easy to be "gas free",and save heaps of money into the bargain.The only gas appliance in my van is a griller,which I never have used,and which soon will be removed.Electric frypan,microwave,slow cooker,air fryer, toaster,bread maker,electric jug,airconditioner etc etc.All electric. I have a brand new Yamaha 2800i that was bought as a backup.Never used....has not yet had oil added to sump....and now lives happily in the back of the shed! Cheers

Eaglemax · Guru

Breathing machines- CPAPS- dont require a generator at night to power them. The three main items that drain our power is- waeco drawer fridge 30L day 1.5-2amps, tv 3 Amps for 5 hours and Devilbiss cube cpap say 3-4 Amps We have one agm 130a battery and 300w solar. In the morning our voltage is about 12.2v down slightly from before bedtime. No dramas. We dont have a generator but we can charge up via Solonoid on the tug but only do that in transit Tony

blaze · Guru

I swing both ways
When on the road traveling we get by with 400w of solar and 2x100 amp batteries
When We go on the chrism-as camp for 10 days I take a 4.5 kva genie and may have 4 vans plugged in for various reasons, mainly take it for daughter and grand kid needs. runs abut 4 hrs a day. There is another genie in camp and that runs a communal freezer, that runs about 6 hrs a day.
There is often 50 adults and kids in our camp (and often 20 + dogs from yappy to danes
cheers
blaze

Radar · Guru

blaze wrote:
I swing both ways
When on the road traveling we get by with 400w of solar and 2x100 amp batteries
When We go on the chrism-as camp for 10 days I take a 4.5 kva genie and may have 4 vans plugged in for various reasons, mainly take it for daughter and grand kid needs. runs abut 4 hrs a day. There is another genie in camp and that runs a communal freezer, that runs about 6 hrs a day.
There is often 50 adults and kids in our camp (and often 20 + dogs from yappy to danes
cheers
blaze

This is a very good example of when generators are of great use.

Dogs, kids and generators about equal on my list.

Love to have another dog but not while we are travelling.

Like kids but not in my travel plans.

6years ago after buying my first solar panel sent the generator down south to a home that each year enjoys more blackouts then we had in the last 10years. My sister at her home has a real need for these 2 small generators to run water pumps and the home basic.

I am very anti noise when freedom camping.

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

Eaglemax wrote:
Breathing machines- CPAPS- dont require a generator at night to power them.

Correct, but it is a good idea to choose your CPAP carefully when you purchase one because some are more power hungry than others.

Cheers,

Peter

Cupie · Guru

This topic is only of passing interest to me as we rarely bush camp.

My thoughts ...

I suppose that it is possible to install enough solar including panels, batteries, inverters perhaps & chargers to provide sufficient power for most situations, but this comes at a cost & the requirement for enough technical knowledge to operate them satisfactorily.

Of course you will probably need to park up away from the comfortable shady trees to maximise your exposure to the sun (not forgetting of course the placement of portable panels) and hope for not too many cloudy/rainy days in a row.

On the other hand, it is a simple solution to carry a, say, 2kva 'generator' that would replace the solar side of your power set up but probably not at least some of the battery installation. This too comes at a price of course.

So for me it comes down to how much I am prepared to spend to escape the noise of a gene, assuming of course the solar solution is the more expensive.

I suppose that each of us will bias our decision based on our camping preferences.

BTW I love gas for my HWS, fridge and occasionally the cooker when off power and I have a 200w fixed panel serving a 135ah (supposedly) battery via a 15a DC/DC controller/charger. All lights are LED of course and we have a 12v TV option & lots of charge points for phones, Computers et al. We do have the capability to bush camp for a few days with our 2x75L? fresh water tanks for bathing, several 10L containers for drinking water., a grey water tote tank & chem toilet and of course 2x8kg gas bottles.

We are very happy with our set up & see no need for either a Gene or more solar capacity. The price of gas is a minor consideration as we don't set out to do it all at the lowest possible cost ... we even use real toilet chemicals & stay on the dearer caravan park sites (you know, the ones with the views) and drink bottled wine (not casks) out of real wine glasses while eating off china (glass really) crockery with French Provincial cutlery ... LOL

Edit ... Oops, I forgot to mention that we always use table cloths too & (almost) never wear thongs or stubbies. LOL

-- Edited by Cupie on Friday 10th of April 2020 11:43:54 AM

Aussie1 · Guru

Cupie wrote:
This topic is only of passing interest to me as we rarely bush camp.

My thoughts ...
I suppose that it is possible to install enough solar including panels, batteries, inverters perhaps & chargers to provide sufficient power for most situations, but this comes at a cost & the requirement for enough technical knowledge to operate them satisfactorily.
Of course you will probably need to park up away from the comfortable shady trees to maximise your exposure to the sun (not forgetting of course the placement of portable panels) and hope for not too many cloudy/rainy days in a row.

On the other hand, it is a simple solution to carry a, say, 2kva 'generator' that would replace the solar side of your power set up but probably not at least some of the battery installation. This too comes at a price of course.

So for me it comes down to how much I am prepared to spend to escape the noise of a gene, assuming of course the solar solution is the more expensive.
I suppose that each of us will bias our decision based on our camping preferences.

BTW I love gas for my HWS, fridge and occasionally the cooker when off power and I have a 200w fixed panel serving a 135ah (supposedly) battery via a 15a DC/DC controller/charger. All lights are LED of course and we have a 12v TV option & lots of charge points for phones, Computers et al. We do have the capability to bush camp for a few days with our 2x75L? fresh water tanks for bathing, several 10L containers for drinking water., a grey water tote tank & chem toilet and of course 2x8kg gas bottles.

We are very happy with our set up & see no need for either a Gene or more solar capacity. The price of gas is a minor consideration as we don't set out to do it all at the lowest possible cost ... we even use real toilet chemicals & stay on the dearer caravan park sites (you know, the ones with the views) and drink bottled wine (not casks) out of real wine glasses while eating off china (glass really) crockery with French Provincial cutlery ... LOL

Edit ... Oops, I forgot to mention that we always use table cloths too & (almost) never wear thongs or stubbies. LOL

-- Edited by Cupie on Friday 10th of April 2020 11:43:54 AM

Hi Cupie,

Love your approach, happy Glamping biggrin

Whenarewethere · Guru

Cupie wrote:
......and drink bottled wine (not casks) out of real wine glasses while eating off china (glass really)......
Edit ... Oops, I forgot to mention that we always use table cloths too & (almost) never wear thongs or stubbies. LOL

Versailles!

the rocket · Guru

Strop and i travel with a jenny but rarely is used as we have solar. Usually used when it has been raining a few days and we are free camping.

we were at a donation camp a few years back in qld. and an older couple were having a month long holiday from victoria there but limit was 7 days from memory, not exactly sure now but certainly not a month. They decided to move spots and move right next to us. Anyway. The Hubby said to me, do you mind if i run the generator? No i said. He replied, i run it at night, the wife likes her electric blanket. I said, in that case i do mind. During the day, not a problem, not at night. I was gobsmacked. If she needed her electric blanket that badly, she should have stayed home.

update , now the donation camp only lets people stay a few days And there are set times to run your generator. Often wondered if they were part of the reason they clamped down and ruined it for everyone.

-- Edited by the rocket on Friday 10th of April 2020 02:24:50 PM

Cupie · Guru

Whenarewethere wrote:
Cupie wrote:
......and drink bottled wine (not casks) out of real wine glasses while eating off china (glass really)......
Edit ... Oops, I forgot to mention that we always use table cloths too & (almost) never wear thongs or stubbies. LOL
Versailles!

Huh?

I don't understand ........ although we did once visit the fantastic Palace of Versailles and the cutlery that I described as French Provincial might be better known as 'Laguiole' style. I got a set cheapish at a 'closing down sale' of a Robin's Kitchen store at Port Macquarie.

Aussie1 · Guru

JayDee wrote:
Generators ( Gennies) can be good for some people then there are people who detest Gennies

Anyway Gennies are part of the lifestyle of many many Campers. I am of course referring to Bush Camping. NOT C.Parks.
Jay&Dee

I agree Jay & Dee,
I am one of the many that consider our generator part of our lifestyle. We have solar but have good use of the generator when I consider it needed. Solar is good but I like to know that the 240v power is there when I decide it is needed. I also agree with Corndoggy re noise from loud so called music, compared to our modern quiet generators.
I will not be changing from generator usage anytime soon. It may be a bit controversial to some but, I never consider it necessary to "clear" with anyone about its use where we are free camping. Especially when we are camped in location first and others choose to be near us. Don't like the sound of generators?, move away. Personally, we have a hate of camp fires, loud voices, dogs barking however that is our problem. If we do not like it we are happy to move away from those annoyances
In addition, I have found it great when at home and experience a power outage (been a few here in WA recently) and simply start up the generator in the garage (doors open of course) and ran house refrigerator, house lights, freezer, TV, computers etc for many hours.
In fact thinking of up grading the Honda 2.0 to the new 2.2 Honda.
Just love the genny generation .

-- Edited by JayDee on Thursday 9th of April 2020 05:39:18 PM

Mobi Condo · Guru

We have good solar set up, (3 x 120 Watt panels, 3 x 120 AH A.G.M. batteries & 1800w 240 V inverter.) but also carry a generator. We have an LPG gas heater as well. We thought we were free of a genie until about three to four years back.
Why the genie now?
Well one of us has some serious health afflictions and as a result needs to be cooled quite a tad in warm weather. So the genie is there for the Air Con.
We also have on 2 occasions in our near 15 years with this van, been put in shade when in a private van park and thus been short of power for the 12 v fridge (our biggest elect power draw).
Others genies don't worry us either. Few if any other campers have left them on all night and we can sleep through a storm!
Cheers - Ian

Farmhat · Senior Member

Aussie1 wrote:
JayDee wrote:
Generators ( Gennies) can be good for some people then there are people who detest Gennies

Anyway Gennies are part of the lifestyle of many many Campers. I am of course referring to Bush Camping. NOT C.Parks.
Jay&Dee

I agree Jay & Dee,
I am one of the many that consider our generator part of our lifestyle. We have solar but have good use of the generator when I consider it needed. Solar is good but I like to know that the 240v power is there when I decide it is needed. I also agree with Corndoggy re noise from loud so called music, compared to our modern quiet generators.
I will not be changing from generator usage anytime soon. It may be a bit controversial to some but, I never consider it necessary to "clear" with anyone about its use where we are free camping. Especially when we are camped in location first and others choose to be near us. Don't like the sound of generators?, move away. Personally, we have a hate of camp fires, loud voices, dogs barking however that is our problem. If we do not like it we are happy to move away from those annoyances
In addition, I have found it great when at home and experience a power outage (been a few here in WA recently) and simply start up the generator in the garage (doors open of course) and ran house refrigerator, house lights, freezer, TV, computers etc for many hours.
In fact thinking of up grading the Honda 2.0 to the new 2.2 Honda.
Just love the genny generation .

-- Edited by JayDee on Thursday 9th of April 2020 05:39:18 PM
Hi Aussie 1.
How do you connect the generator to the house?
Joe.

Aussie1 · Guru

Hi Joe, Good to hear from you. Actually I don't connect to the house. I simply run a lead from the garage to the family room to a power board. Then connect all required appliances to the power board. The "guru's" tell me a bit dangerous to run it through the house wiring. So it's completely separate. Hope that makes sense. Stay safe and healthy mate.

rgren2 · Guru

I had a sparky fix my power board so in the event of a blackout I just flick a switch, fire up the genny and have power. I make sure the pool and aircon is off as my genny is not capable of handling them.

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

Aussie1 wrote:
Hi Joe, Good to hear from you. Actually I don't connect to the house. I simply run a lead from the garage to the family room to a power board. Then connect all required appliances to the power board. The "guru's" tell me a bit dangerous to run it through the house wiring. So it's completely separate. Hope that makes sense. Stay safe and healthy mate.

It is not just "a bit dangerous", it is very illegal because it could make the cables in the street "live" and you could easily kill a power line worker. Besides, there is no way to connect the generator to the house without an illegal connection arrangement.

Using a power board is not without very significant risk either unless there is an RVD in the circuit.

Cheers,

Peter

Farmhat · Senior Member

Aussie1 wrote:
Hi Joe, Good to hear from you. Actually I don't connect to the house. I simply run a lead from the garage to the family room to a power board. Then connect all required appliances to the power board. The "guru's" tell me a bit dangerous to run it through the house wiring. So it's completely separate. Hope that makes sense. Stay safe and healthy mate.

Thanks Aussie1.

You stay safe too, and the same for everyone else as well. Seems it's not a nice thing to catch for many folks.

Joe.

dieseltojo · Senior Member

Must be a good sparky then.....My son is one and I asked him to do that for me. I have an 8 kw stand buy unit. He said that it was not the right unit even though it was an inverter supply.

And it is not a simple transformation.

You have to proved protection back to the power supply to prevent back flow to the mains. also it messes with metering.etc etc. You also need the power company to know what you have done.

I just stick to 15 amp leads to the appliances.

But I know nothing.... smile

Phillipn · Guru

dieseltojo wrote:
Must be a good sparky then.....My son is one and I asked him to do that for me. I have an 8 kw stand buy unit. He said that it was not the right unit even though it was an inverter supply.
And it is not a simple transformation.
You have to proved protection back to the power supply to prevent back flow to the mains. also it messes with metering.etc etc. You also need the power company to know what you have done.
I just stick to 15 amp leads to the appliances.

But I know nothing....

We have a connection attached to the power box to connect a generator, installed by a sparky.[ all legal]. Their is a switch [ three way, power from grid, off and generator] which stops power going back to the grid. connected only to power points and lights, not to stoves,oven or hot water system.

We take a generator with us, it it good to have power back up when needed. We carry spare tyres. Extra space and weight but very handy when you need them.

I bet the ante generator mob carry spare tyres!

Cupie · Guru

Strange that some say that connecting a standby gene to your home can't be done.

My Son had a reputable Electrician install one at his place ... all legal.

Perhaps I'll do a bit of digging to see if there are any issues.

KJB · Guru

Phillipn wrote:
dieseltojo wrote:
Must be a good sparky then.....My son is one and I asked him to do that for me. I have an 8 kw stand buy unit. He said that it was not the right unit even though it was an inverter supply.
And it is not a simple transformation.
You have to proved protection back to the power supply to prevent back flow to the mains. also it messes with metering.etc etc. You also need the power company to know what you have done.
I just stick to 15 amp leads to the appliances.
But I know nothing....
We have a connection attached to the power box to connect a generator, installed by a sparky.[ all legal]. Their is a switch [ three way, power from grid, off and generator] which stops power going back to the grid. connected only to power points and lights, not to stoves,oven or hot water system.
We take a generator with us, it it good to have power back up when needed. We carry spare tyres. Extra space and weight but very handy when you need them.
I bet the ante generator mob carry spare tyres!

Just because something is a "good idea" it does not mean that it has to be dangerous and/or illegal. Modern GenSets are an efficient useful tool .
KB

-- Edited by KJB on Saturday 11th of April 2020 10:25:32 AM

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

I have a generator under the bonnet called an alternator if I run out of solar (which is extremely rare).
Why do so few people not make use of them and carry a heavy, expensive, polluting generator that needs a separate and dangerous extra fuel supply instead?
Cheers,
Peter

Bryan · Guru

Corndoggy wrote:
Sometimes I would rather listen to to quiet monotone of someone's generator than the ruckus of what some call music which can go well into the night.

Me too.

Aussie1 · Guru

Phillipn wrote:
dieseltojo wrote:
Must be a good sparky then.....My son is one and I asked him to do that for me. I have an 8 kw stand buy unit. He said that it was not the right unit even though it was an inverter supply.
And it is not a simple transformation.
You have to proved protection back to the power supply to prevent back flow to the mains. also it messes with metering.etc etc. You also need the power company to know what you have done.
I just stick to 15 amp leads to the appliances.

But I know nothing....
We have a connection attached to the power box to connect a generator, installed by a sparky.[ all legal]. Their is a switch [ three way, power from grid, off and generator] which stops power going back to the grid. connected only to power points and lights, not to stoves,oven or hot water system.
We take a generator with us, it it good to have power back up when needed. We carry spare tyres. Extra space and weight but very handy when you need them.
I bet the ante generator mob carry spare tyres!

Hi Phillipn,

I have a neighbour who has the same system as you described. All legal as well. That's how I found out how it would be dangerous to connect to the house system. The installer (fully qualified) was the Guru I referred to above. Always nice to have continuous power at home eh.