i have a rockworth 2.8kva bought from b&q does the job but its far to noisy.like autotruckman says the honda casette type are the ones to have i am just looking to purchase one myself.
The Hondas are the quietest, but also the most expensive. There are a number around for the £50 - £100 range, most are the same with a different sticker and a different colour tank. I got one in Aldi about 2 years ago for £49. It is quite rare that we use it, but if the battery goes flat it can be a God send. You will find that around 50% of ralliers use a generator of some kind, about 70% of them will be a cheap 2 stroke one and the rest seem to have a Honda. Personally, they don't bother me, but some people do get a bit wound up when someone arrives and the first thing they do is start a generator up. It does seem a bit pointless when they almost certainly would have a fully charged battery. I only run a generator if we need to. It seems a false economy to run the fridge and heating etc on electric as petrol is more expensive than gas.
Discounted Insurance Quotes for UKCampsite.co.uk visitors! Up to 12.5% off!
Firstly, I find it odd that you need a generator for weekend rallying. Most battery systems will last for a weekend, even a long one.
Secondly, using a generator to charge up your van battery is not what they are designed for. These genny's put out 12v, to charge a battery properly you need a short time at 14.6v and then the charge rate drops to 13.8v. The battery is always missing the top of its charge. Charging a battery like this will shorten its life. The generators are designed for running 12v equipment, not for charging.
You can plug the generator into the van and use the onboard charger. Personally, I find a solar panel more effective in the summer, but will use the generator in the winter to watch an hour of TV and give the battery a top up.
i have tried both the Honda EU10i and the larger EU20i with a lpg conversion.
my opinion is the EU10i is a much sweeter motor, its light, and the sound is not so penetrating - it sounds like one of those 12v pumps you can get to pump up air beds etc.
the EU20i is very powerfull - mine can load up to 2360w, but they get a bit noisy when heavily loaded.
Quote: Originally posted by tourangang on 11/6/2009
i have tried both the Honda EU10i and the larger EU20i with a lpg conversion.
my opinion is the EU10i is a much sweeter motor, its light, and the sound is not so penetrating - it sounds like one of those 12v pumps you can get to pump up air beds etc.
the EU20i is very powerfull - mine can load up to 2360w, but they get a bit noisy when heavily loaded.
will the eu20i power a kettle,hairdryer when plugged into the caravan?hairdryer for the mrs
Quote: Originally posted by dr bacardi on 11/6/2009
Quote: Originally posted by tourangang on 11/6/2009
i have tried both the Honda EU10i and the larger EU20i with a lpg conversion.
my opinion is the EU10i is a much sweeter motor, its light, and the sound is not so penetrating - it sounds like one of those 12v pumps you can get to pump up air beds etc.
the EU20i is very powerfull - mine can load up to 2360w, but they get a bit noisy when heavily loaded.
will the eu20i power a kettle,hairdryer when plugged into the caravan?hairdryer for the mrs
Eu 20i will power a hairdryer , microwave , aircon , small kettle without problems we used ours for a weekend with no EHU and it met all our power requirements
thanks for that,the mrs will be happy.i know they are expensive but think it will be worth the expence and also the noise,think you can here the one i have half a mile away
Quote: Originally posted by Autotruckman on 11/6/2009
I would check the power rating of any implement before running it off a generator, it is so easy to ruin the generator.
most i would use is...charging caravan battery and hairdryer at the same time...fridge and water heater off gas..think it should be ok for those?
Quote: Originally posted by Autotruckman on 11/6/2009
If all adds up to more than 2000 watt it may overload the generator.
oh dear,the hair dryer is 2200 watts,will have to see about her getting a less powerfull one.my rockworth genny pumps out a bit more power than the honda one
Quote: Originally posted by fife-bloke on 11/6/2009
pity your so far away mate im selling one brand new never been used just advertised it on here(free plug lol)
Well I'm going to put my two pennorth in as well. We belong to a club so we go rallying a lot. We bought a generator so we could keep our battery topped up so we can use the motor mover back at storage. Our club made a rule that genetors had to be used between the hours of 11 and 1 pm and you had to stay in the van. We have just changed our caravan and have purchased a second battery with it as well and will possibly buy a solar panel for the summer. I think as long as your are considerate then people wont mind.
Also now when we go on rallies where we dont have electric, we dont take our television with us so the temptation is there to use it.