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Generators


Hi all we want to do some semi off-road travelling,have solar and 210ah battery capacity,do we really need to be carrying a generator and petrol on these trips



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GW Cheetham


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oooop's, a Generator post cryhmmbiggrin

Oh well blankstare


I carry one and always will. Honda 20i. It really only runs my aircon on real hot days when 'off grid'. Maybe even top up batteries on real bad days if had a few in a row.

Yes, it runs my Ibis 3.

I also only run it around 2.00am as everyone is asleep and won't hear hit wink

 

 

Keep Safe on the roads and out there.

 



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Ventura wrote:

Hi all we want to do some semi off-road travelling,have solar and 210ah battery capacity,do we really need to be carrying a generator and petrol on these trips


 Hi 

If you want to run your air con or don't have an inverter to charge some 240 volt accessories you will more than likely need one if not you could get by with a dcdc charger run of your vehicle to top up batteries if that big heater in the sky is not shining.

Cheers



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We almost only free camp and have not carried a generator for 16 years. Even if we stay in a van park we choose an unpowered site and save some $$$s.
In many places they are not permitted. If you can do without one sometimes, you can do without one always.
The alternatives are much more friendly.
Cheers,
Peter

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Our issue is water. We have 100ah & solar & an extremely efficient modified fridge.

What are you trying to run?

 



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The answer, of course, is... it depends.

Solar is good if you have enough to meet your consumption needs but it does determine where you can camp; eg. my caravan is factory fitted with a 120W panel and currently I am camped in forest in NW Victoria - the usual *real* output from the panel per day is around 90WH or about 11% of its theoretical maximum. This is caused by the tree cover which keeps the panel in some shade for the whole day. Of course I could buy lots more solar and spend the day turning it to follow the sun or I could camp in a different location - neither option appeals. Without the generator I could not camp at this location or indeed most of the places I like.



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Ventura wrote:

Hi all we want to do some semi off-road travelling,have solar and 210ah battery capacity,do we really need to be carrying a generator and petrol on these trips


 Battery capacity is no doubt important,but you must have enough Solar to charge those  batteries.I am no expert on Solar,but others may be happy to give advice? My understanding is that you should have solar capacity that is twice the battery storage capacity,so for 210ah you need over 400 watts Solar.Happy to be corrected.Cheers



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So if you have not made an insurance claim for several years is that reason enough to drop that ? if it is not a problem to cart a genset why not take it 



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boab wrote:

So if you have not made an insurance claim for several years is that reason enough to drop that ? if it is not a problem to cart a genset why not take it 


 Unnecessary weight,unnecessary danger,unnecessary disturbance for other nearby campers. Insurance covers unforeseen circumstances,not intentional acts.Cheers



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It depends on how much power you will require, while travelling

We can all, only speak for ourselves, as we probably all use a different amount of power

My power uses, consist of in the main, a 12 volt compressor fridge, LED lights, 12 volt fans, and a 300 watt inverter to charge my 240 volt drill/Impact wheel nut gun

My phone/laptop/camera batteries/portable radio batteries, are all charged through 12 volt

I have 240 AH of AGM house batteries, charged by 300 watt of solar on the roof, and 160 watt of portable solar panel

I can also charge the house batteries through a DC/DC charger while driving, or starting the engine

I carry a genset, and have not used it for about three years, the other day I decided to give it a run, it would not start, and I found that the main jet of the carby, had gummed up

Talking to a brother, who is an experienced traveller, he advised me to run the genset at least every three months

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Tony

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Hi Ventura, if you do a search you will see that this is a regular topic.
My two bobs worth is that if you have say 200w solar and decent batteries you can live quite easily without a generator BUT only if you dont want air con when off grid.
A compressor fridge can suck some juice also so be careful of that if you have one.
I find that the sun usually shines enough daily to top up my usage, even on the dullest of days but I do carry a dc/dc charger as a back up to use the car as a generator if need be. (only used it once). FYI I have 300w solar and 230ah of deep cycle batteries. I have recently bought a 250w solar blanket so plenty of power if I need it.
Why not get out there without the genny and see how you go, always easy to buy a genny if in the unlikely event you find you need one.

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Of course you do. One with a big bright box that shows that there is a big noisy generator in it... Leave the generator at home until you can find a use for it.. Now the box.. You take it with you flat packed until you find a campsite, then place the big bright box out the front of your van .. I find that those people that do use them don't want to listen to yours and camp elsewhere...

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markmack wrote:

Of course you do. One with a big bright box that shows that there is a big noisy generator in it... Leave the generator at home until you can find a use for it.. Now the box.. You take it with you flat packed until you find a campsite, then place the big bright box out the front of your van .. I find that those people that do use them don't want to listen to yours and camp elsewhere...


 What an absolutely brilliant idea! I'm going to get one' Thanks.



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Dougwe wrote:

oooop's, a Generator post cryhmmbiggrin

Oh well blankstare


I carry one and always will. Honda 20i. It really only runs my aircon on real hot days when 'off grid'. Maybe even top up batteries on real bad days if had a few in a row.

Yes, it runs my Ibis 3.

I also only run it around 2.00am as everyone is asleep and won't hear hit wink

 

 

Keep Safe on the roads and out there.

 Oh boy oh boy! Should gone into the humour section - I laughed and laughed!


 



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Hi Graeme,

I will assume that you are a free camper.

Also, depends upon your camping needs.

Firstly, when the sun doesn't shine and the clouds and rain keep coming, and the batteries are being depleted...yep, you will need a generator.

If you get up in the morning and like an espresso coffee and toast and need to warm up milk quickly for breakfast...it's handy to have one.

I run mine for 5 mins in morning to get a quick breakfast...no great discomfort for neighbors  for a few minutes.

If I need to run the gennie for a longer time due to unexpected battery charging or running the aircon on unusually hot days, then as a free camper, I have no hesitation running the gennie under those circumstances.

Also, these days gennies are quieter than they used to be.

And......like Dougwe, I normally prefer to run the gennie at about 2.00am when campers are asleep.smilesmilesmile

 



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Dick0 wrote:

Hi Graeme,

I will assume that you are a free camper.

Also, depends upon your camping needs.

Firstly, when the sun doesn't shine and the clouds and rain keep coming, and the batteries are being depleted...yep, you will need a generator.                                       Not at all.I have no gas appliances on board,run my AC if and when I want,use microwave,frypan,diesel heater,air fryer,slow cooker,compressor fridge as wanted,and have only Solar power.....not even hooked up for charging from the car.

If you get up in the morning and like an espresso coffee and toast and need to warm up milk quickly for breakfast...it's handy to have one.

I run mine for 5 mins in morning to get a quick breakfast...no great discomfort for neighbors  for a few minutes.                                                                                            "..no great discomfort for neighbours..." you say! This would be all well and good if said neighbours were awake when you chose to run your generator!

If I need to run the gennie for a longer time due to unexpected battery charging or running the aircon on unusually hot days, then as a free camper, I have no hesitation running the gennie under those circumstances.

Also, these days gennies are quieter than they used to be.

And......like Dougwe, I normally prefer to run the gennie at about 2.00am when campers are asleep.smilesmilesmile

 


 



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thanks all for your comments, I will try running without on shorter trips and see how we go

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yobarr wrote:
Dick0 wrote:

Hi Graeme,

I will assume that you are a free camper.

Also, depends upon your camping needs.

Firstly, when the sun doesn't shine and the clouds and rain keep coming, and the batteries are being depleted...yep, you will need a generator.                                       Not at all.I have no gas appliances on board,run my AC if and when I want,use microwave,frypan,diesel heater,air fryer,slow cooker,compressor fridge as wanted,and have only Solar power.....not even hooked up for charging from the car.

If you get up in the morning and like an espresso coffee and toast and need to warm up milk quickly for breakfast...it's handy to have one.

I run mine for 5 mins in morning to get a quick breakfast...no great discomfort for neighbors  for a few minutes.                                                                                            "..no great discomfort for neighbours..." you say! This would be all well and good if said neighbours were awake when you chose to run your generator!

If I need to run the gennie for a longer time due to unexpected battery charging or running the aircon on unusually hot days, then as a free camper, I have no hesitation running the gennie under those circumstances.

Also, these days gennies are quieter than they used to be.

And......like Dougwe, I normally prefer to run the gennie at about 2.00am when campers are asleep.smilesmilesmile

 


 


 Hey yobarr, l've camped at greens plenty of times with Dick0 and l can honestly say l have never heard his gennie running.

Stretch.

 



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dont leave home with out your gennie

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Lots of people travel quite happily without one with less solar and battery than you have, others wouldn't be without one, its a personal choice.

We don't have one, most of our power needs are fairly low and we are quite happy using 12v fans instead of air conditioning most of the time. If its super hot and we really want to run the air conditioner we will pay to get a powered site. If its raining so heavily day after day that our solar can't keep up we move somewhere with better weather. We aren't travelling to sit inside in miserable weather!

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Unbelievable! Just what we need, someone running a bl...y generator in the mornings!
Especially when really not needed, what's wrong with mesh camp toaster on a silent gas burner, coffee on a silent gas burner and heat your milk in a pot on a silent gas burner. Then we can all enjoy the quiet............
The difference is that thankfully most people DO care and ensure that they are not annoying others.

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vince56 wrote:

Unbelievable! Just what we need, someone running a bl...y generator in the mornings!


Have you ever considered camping in more remote spots away from others?



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If you need or want to use your generator and you are camped in an area where they are allowed then go for it . last i checked this was still a free country .

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outlaw40 wrote:

If you need or want to use your generator and you are camped in an area where they are allowed then go for it . last i checked this was still a free country .


 

 

outlaw40, 100% correct. 



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terrola wrote:

dont leave home with out your gennie


 

 

Correct terrola, my genny is like a third arm. And given there are thousands out there, quite a few travelers would also agree with you as well.   As for those that consider generators dangerous, anything can be dangerous if not used correctly, heavy, only if your physical strength is lacking and even then, it's easy to leave mounted when in use (I do) noisy, rubbish, modern Honda's are very quiet and polluter's, also rubbish, Honda's meet all Australian standards re pollution. If they did not, then they would not be on the market.   I can only speak for the Honda brand, as that is what I use. In my opinion, 1). Generators are here and will always be used and 2) Combined with solar, it's the perfect marriage.        



-- Edited by Aussie1 on Friday 25th of September 2020 10:05:00 AM



-- Edited by Aussie1 on Friday 25th of September 2020 10:07:29 AM

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Hi Mike,
The point I was making is that a genny in the morning is a bit ordinary, go for your life later in the day, I have no issue at all. Because some dont know how to be polite maybe Parks should post generator times, ie, 10 till 6 or similar, just a thought.
Ive been camping for many many years, I guess Im just getting a little over the ever-increasing lack of empathy or downright selfishness of others.

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vince56 wrote:

Hi Mike,
The point I was making is that a genny in the morning is a bit ordinary, go for your life later in the day, I have no issue at all. Because some dont know how to be polite maybe Parks should post generator times, ie, 10 till 6 or similar, just a thought.
Ive been camping for many many years, I guess Im just getting a little over the ever-increasing lack of empathy or downright selfishness of others.


 

Hi Vince

I think having time slots for generators in formal camping areas is reasonable, they would need to cover the afternoon and/or have a exception for days over, say, 33C.

I stayed in a NSW national park camp last year on the south coast which had such a system.

In my case I spend probably 90% of my time at informal campsites usually where there is only room for one van; I have spent both Victorian C19 lockdowns in the forest in NW Victoria where the nearest campsite is 1km distant through the forest, no one hears my gen. and I cannot hear theirs. Sometimes I do not sleep well and may be up in the night occasionally and (like Doug :) ) I do run my gen at 3am but no one can hear it.

Such isolated camping also protects me from dickheads with 12 cases of beer and no brains - it protects them from me too so all is good :)

 

 



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I personnally don't mind you owning a portable generator or you overload your car and caravan, carry spare flammable liquid with you but I do hear them there generators running and disturbing the camp areas, that is annoying. Yes you can say there not noisy, the sales person said so but they are extra human noise to those who like the simple things.

Presently camped at a all most remote beachside camp, the gental breeze though the trees, salt air. Awesome. 

Not a generator in sight.

20200925_125548.jpg



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If you want to quieten the generator make a box & line it with engine room acoustic insulation. Whitworths Marine sell the stuff. Or use multiple layers of foam from Carbuilders, or similar. The thicker the better.



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