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What generator should I get?


gr8white

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I would like to have a quiet generator on the back of my RV and was told that Honda is the quietest. They arent cheap. Is Honda the best to get for the RV or is their a quieter one? Also, is what is the lowest I guess it would be ampage that I can get that will run my appliances and AC?

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I would say Yamaha is just as quiet but it's only about $100 less then the same KW Honda you well pay for the quiet. I have found with my ham radio gear the Honda has electrical noise the Yamaha does not. All though I don't own either one I have used both and I would buy the Yamaha. If you need to run the A/C and any thing else 3KW. Some have used Honda 2KW but that really is pushing it and even quiet generators running at max power are not as quiet as you might like, that is why I would go with a 3KW.

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what derek said about air conditioner, Honda 2KW, by their specs, will not run the 13500. i have never heard the 3KW run. because it is much heavier for me it wouldn't be portable enough. but as mentioned even the honda 2KW at max output is a little on the noisy side, but still imo better than most. one thing i did run across recently was that costco had a 2KW with the same noise level (db) rating as honda, have never heard it run, was less than half the cost of honda or yamaha. maybe someone here has compared them in person. it was about 2 months ago, something i had never noticed before. i didn't get any info off of it as i had already bought a honda.

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Dometic makes a 300wt generator that is 59 decibles ,I think same or close to the Honda, strong enough to power any air conditioner and only 20lbs more than the Honda. Also way cheaper than any quality 3000wt gen set I have ever seen. I have found no bad reviews to date

http://www.adventure...or-p-29041.html

Linda S

Correction it only weighs 11 lbs more than the Honda 2000 and I checked sound level is the same

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Well not as quiet as the Honda and Yamaha but a lot cheaper, Dometic (71-74 Db) Honda 3KW (49-58 Db) but fairly quiet. Be advised it is Chinese (rebranded as Dometic among others) and it's 2.6KW run watts 2.8KW start (no 13,000 A/C and micro wave at the same time) I think I would wait awhile to see how they stack up. I have used a Honda 3KW and it it is quieter then the Honda 2KW (there are two 3KW's one is quieter then the other) I guess it's how much you like the quiet I would have to be very tired to sleep through my 2.8 Onan with the A/C on.

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Well not as quiet as the Honda and Yamaha but a lot cheaper, Dometic (71-74 Db) Honda 3KW (49-58 Db) but fairly quiet. Be advised it is Chinese (rebranded as Dometic among others) and it's 2.6KW run watts 2.8KW start (no 13,000 A/C and micro wave at the same time) I think I would wait awhile to see how they stack up. I have used a Honda 3KW and it it is quieter then the Honda 2KW (there are two 3KW's one is quieter then the other) I guess it's how much you like the quiet I would have to be very tired to sleep through my 2.8 Onan with the A/C on.

Very curious because this Dometic is supposed to be a rebadged Magna Generator and that one is rated at 59 decibela. I don't think they would have made it louder.

Linda S

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looks interesting. not sure who's engine is used, but personally having a honda motor is worth some money to me, have had several and they always start, at least until death. only other small engines I've had was b&s and after a couple of years they don't start as easily, especially after sitting for awhile.

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I picked up a Ryobi at Home Depot on serious sale it was an inverter 2KW. I filled it with fuel and oil hooked it to the camper ran it for maybe 20 mins. packed it up and took it back to HD the same day. I have never seen any thing leak oil like it did wheeled it back into the store trailing oil behind it the entire way. You get what you pay for.

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looking for a generator I have a 7100btu a/c

what is the lowest watt i can go and not max out gen? want to keep quiet and not over load generator

1987 mini cruiser

Edited by Derek up North
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the 2000 watt should be fine. if you want to be able to run microwave at the same time then 3000 watt. someone posted here that the 3000 honda was as quiet as the 2000. nice part of a little bigger than needed one is that it will be able to run on econo mode which is very quiet and can run longer on a tank of gas that way. when i bought mine the place i got it also rented them so i hooked up a rental first and tested the air and microwave first. they were happy to do it. i have a 5000 btu wall unit and a 700 watt microwave, cooking watts. the microwave uses more juice than the air conditioner.

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Just bought used/new Onan 2400 portable generator $200

off of craigslist wholesaler

they wanted $250 said they put gas in and only runs half choke

went down looked new out of box(missing one of the wheel levels)

started 1st pull set choke to half and runs

offered $200 because the way it ran

took home put some GOOD super unleaded and ran perfect

they used(87) gas prob old at that to get it running..as soon as burned off smooth running(under minute)

post-6388-0-59734600-1347120243_thumb.jp

post-6388-0-45743200-1347120370_thumb.jp

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Our 91 Dolphin has an Onan 2800 that I thought was bad as when I ran it on the hill we park on it would now work properly at all, tried to adjust it no joy. But when I tried it when the rv was level it seems to work fine after slight adjustment, runs everything even the air conditioner and microwave at the same time, not advisable due to the microwaves current draw, just as a test. Our air conditoner claims to be a Dou Therm 11,000 but it draws less then half what the microwave draws. By comparison the the 2 12,000 BTU portable home units I have in the house drew more than twice the amps and put out a lot more air that is a lot colder than the RV's output, So I didn't bother with this

http://www.modmyrv.c...start-capacitor .

But if you AC is large enough these might help.

Vanman

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  • 1 month later...

definitely the one to get for long term.

Im thinking of getting the 90$ harborfreight generator.

just for when im ready to take off into the blue yonder.

http://www.ebay.com/...=item3cc8f39872

http://www.harborfreight.com/engines-generators/gas-engine-generators/800-rated-watts-900-max-watts-portable-generator-66619.html

its actually 80 right now without coupon

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Just a quickee guestimate fact

the harbor frieght generator putting out 50% charge, lasts 5 hours on 1 gallon.

your toyota truck 700watt alternator giving out..... 2000 rpms ( guestimate on half charge power) uses more than a gallon an hour and less than two.

making those two in a generous side by side example 5-10 times less gas using the harbor frieght gas guzzling generator.

just a guestimate. your results may vary I estimate that no generator made uses more than 1/5th the gas charging batteries a 4 cylinder car does

many are larger, but better built.

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Man good luck! I just can’t believe a generator made entirely of Chineseiem for $80 will be even remotely reliable.

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Its not reliable at all. Best for a back up. Single long trip away from society. Definitely a spot where cheap and worth it do meet

You actually can get five of these for the price of a chinese portable generator.

Its also inverted. Local store warranty for returns. Smart buy

There are 364 reviews of it on their site, overall good.

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Regarding th Harbor Freight unit ($90) - Good reviews, particularly from a business owner who gives a step by step instruction on how to break it in (replace spark plug, tighten bolts, etc).

IMPORTANT - this is a 2 cycle machine and requires oil/fuel mix

This is NOT an inverter type.

It is 800 watts, small size, seem slike a good deal for $90.

John Mc

88 Dolphin 4 Auto

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Its an AC generator, runs at 3600rpm to give 60hz out. This is not an Inverter type generator, just a regular Ole AC generator.

I seen the discount coupon, very good price, $79 or $89.

John Mc

88 Dolphin 4 Auto

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my son has one of these two small to run ac though. I have a simler one sold by shucks same two cycle . ok for basicks charge rv battery run a light will power my eletric impact wrench try it on old 500 watt wards microwave worked ok . you can use a commen auto battery charger also. as i am on retirment i cant aford a honda have two cycle yard tools i am very ok mixing gas and oil. SAVED a LADY up camping RAN solder gun to fix a car out in the woods.

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fits the side storage very well a little hard to start when real cold otherwise ok i dont think i would run a computer on it. battery charger ok. have run rv on it also i dont have a modern convertor. AT THIS PRICE I AM SHURE THESE ARE NOT A FULL SINE WAVE OUTPUT but ok for some uses.

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5Toyota - the 800 watts output is very limited, If you have a modern converter (one of the 3 stage jobs) this generator will do a good job of charging the battery. I probably won't run a microwave, coffee pot, or a small A/C unit, just not enough umph.

Its an AC generator, so It should be sine wave output, 60hz at 115 volts.

John Mc

88 Dolphin 4 Auto

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That generator should put out a full sine wave, its a AC generator. As opposed to the "Modified" sine wave that cheap inverters put out (square wave)

If someone wants to swing by the house, I'll put my scope on it a take a picture.

John Mc

88 Dolphin 4 Auto

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I want to look into a enclosure for it , outside, theft resistant and rain resistant. Cheap obviously. Then I can just permanently hook it up to the converter box for some battery charging and powering the laptop etc.

I don't have a generator space in my rv.

I'm thinking... a milk crate? Somehow fastening it to the bumper.

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