Right size generator for me

[RVtrek]

Hello All,

I'm building out my big trailer, and I'm working on figuring out which generator to buy.  A nice potential side benefit is that while the big trailer is being built, I can grab the genny and take it with me and my truck camper for the next couple months too.

The genny will be powering a high-power battery charger.  The trailer is being built with a substantial 48-volt battery system, and it'll have a couple different methods of charging that battery bank depending on available power sources.  The charger that this generator will be running is capable of sucking up somewhere between 1400 and 1500 watts of power to dump into those batteries.

My two top contendors for generator are:

1. Honda eu2000i
2. Champion 3100 (75537i)

The Honda is an obvious choice, everyone seems to love them.  Not a lot of bells and whistles, but it gets the job done and is very quiet, which is a huge plus for me.  The honda is rated at 1600 watts continuous usage, so technically it should be able to run the charger when the charger is going at full tilt.

The Champion is around the same price, offers some nifty features (like remote start/stop), and is rated at 2800 watts continuous usage.  It is also very quiet, and would be running at about half load versus the honda running at full load.

Honda: Spectacular reputation, most quietest unit available
Champion: Lots more power, more features, nearly as quiet

I've been mentally flip-flopping between the two for several days now, and I'd like to get some opinions from the community.  Which would you go with, and why?

 

[jonsun]

champion all day. It's obnoxious having a generator just short of powerful enough, especially one that's apparently made with gold muffler bearings.

 

[Almost There]

The key word is 'technically'.

Technically my Honda 1000 should be able to handle the needs of my Iota 55 amp battery charger...zzzzz

Northern AZ Wind and Sun did the research for me including contacting Honda directly. When the gennie consistently browned out on start up of the charger, I thought it was my decade old Honda and had it rebuilt. Still nada when the charger was pushing bulk charge in to the battery bank. Because I can't lift a 2000 in to the back of the van I bought a second 1000 figuring I'd do one of two things. Sell the old gennie or parallel the two.

The new one wouldn't handle the load of the charger in bulk mode either. 

Either the ratings for the charger don't really take in to consideration the start up power for bulk stage or the Hondas' actually output is just slightly less than rated.

IIWM I'd get my  hands on a Honda 2000 and test it when the battery bank is depleted enough that bulk charge will kick in before buying anything.

Even on eco mode I can hear the 2 gennies idle down when the charger comes off bulk. At that point I can turn off one of the gennies and let just one do the rest of the work.

 

[Blanch]

My personal experience is that the red Honda is a thief magnet. The Champion is not.


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[highdesertranger]

Honda's also come in camo. I would post a pic but you can't see it. LOL highdesertranger

 

[jimindenver]

I will add that the Honda running at near full capacity is anything but quiet. Also since you are so close to the capacity at sea level that climbing in altitude will make the Honda useless as a battery charger. At 10,000 ft where we currently are the Honda is good for more like 960w. The only down sides reported about the Honda by those that are using it are that it can take many pulls to start it and the lack of a fuel shut off can lead to a gummed up carburetor if you can not run it dry or use a additive which doesn't always help.

The Honda version of the Champion 3100i is the Honda Handy. Personally I would look at the Champion 3400 inverter generator for its ability to run off of gas or propane.

 

[Almost There]

Hmmm, neither of my two Hondas' need more than one pull to start UNLESS I've run them dry by mistake...then it takes a few pulls to get gas back in to the carburetor. When the older one did become hard to start it was because it needed a tune-up.

Like any generator they need to be exercised regularly so I never worry about the gas in them. If you're going to put them in storage then yes, Stabil or SeaFoam or running them dry is recommended to stop the carb from getting gummed up. And of course you need to run them after adding an additive to get it up in to the carb which many people don't think about doing.

I've never used them as a battery charger directly but only as a power source to run a good battery charger. IIRC they're more like a trickle charger than anything else aren't they - so they'd be pretty useless to charge a battery bank IMO.

I have to say though that with both of my Honda's running at a fairly high RPM when the Iota is bulk charging I can still talk normally just a few feet away. I had a neighbor 2 winters ago at Fortuna Pond with a Champion 3000 in the back of his pick up truck at a 100' and we had to raise our voices to be heard over the damned thing. He had no battery system except the crummy battery that came with his 5th wheel so every time he wanted to make coffee he fired up the generator....sigh!

 

[rvpopeye]

While you're figuring out which will power what........ :-/ .................

Are you going to have to lift it? Or carry it ?

 

[Preach]

Try looking at a Yamaha 2300ish generator.runs my air, and anything else I want.

 

[RVtrek]

At 10,000 ft where we currently are the Honda is good for more like 960w.

Personally I would look at the Champion 3400 inverter generator for its ability to run off of gas or propane.

That's a good idea to consider – at altitude, wattage capacities diminish.

The ability to run off of propane isn't all that useful for me.  The RV I'm building won't have any propane, but it will have a stupidly-massive battery bank and an equally stupidly-massive solar system covering the roof.

 

[RVtrek]

I've never used them as a battery charger directly but only as a power source to run a good battery charger. IIRC they're more like a trickle charger than anything else aren't they - so they'd be pretty useless to charge a battery bank IMO.

I wasn't planning on using the genny to charge the batteries directly, that'd be pretty pointless as you've mentioned.  Instead I'm going to use it to run a big high-draw battery charger.

 

[RVtrek]

Are you going to have to lift it?  Or carry it ?  

I'm planning on putting it in the back of my truck and adding a topper to my truck.  So, pretty much, no, I don't plan on moving it around much.  If I did have to move it around a bunch, then I'd definitely be looking at a lighter option, but since it'll pretty much just sit in my truck, I don't really care what it weighs.

 

[jimindenver]

What large charger/converter are you looking at? My 55 amp converter pulls a max of 975w. I had thought of a Power Max adjustable voltage 120 amp charger but that requires more than a 2000 inverter model at sea level and certainly requires more at altitude. Since my back could not handle the big generator anymore I switched to a 800w inverter generator and a Meanwell 30 amp adjustable power supply. Those my back can handle.

 

[RVtrek]

What large charger/converter are you looking at? My 55 amp converter pulls a max of 975w.

That makes sense for a 12v system.  I'm building a 48v system.  I'm looking at the Interacter 48v 20amp model.  According to the specs, it can max out at 1,404 watts or about 1500VA.

 

[John61CT]

Why 48V?

Good chargers I've seen in the 12/24V world can be derated as needed/appropriate to suit the upstream supply.

 

[RVtrek]

Why 48V?

Because the RV I'm building will have a 48v battery system.  I'm going with a high voltage system primarily to power the 48v-DC powered mini split air conditioner / heat pump.  Having a higher voltage system also reduces the requirements on cable sizing, which helps make the cable size reasonable (likely 2/0) when powering a 4,000-watt inverter as well.

 

[jimindenver]

There is a guy on RV.net that uses a 48v system, he goes by oldguy I believe. You could search him there and see how he handles his system. Those mini splits are so efficient that I drool over the numbers except for the high voltage part. Right now if I were to be so ambitious I would get the 9000 BTU roof mount that runs off of 12v and uses 600 watts. I know it is not as powerful nor efficient but it would be much simpler to install and power.

With your charger using that many watts and not knowing if it is PF corrected I am going to say the Honda EU2000 will be too limiting. Any derating due to altitude or heat and it will loose power and leave you frustrated. The Champion 3100i or any of the 2800w inverter generators will cover you anywhere, maybe even the Yamaha 2400.

 

[RVtrek]

With your charger using that many watts and not knowing if it is PF corrected I am going to say the Honda EU2000 will be too limiting.

I agree, and I've decided to go with the Champion 3100.  I don't technically need it right this minute, so I'm going to wait until I actually do to buy it since generator technology is always improving, and who knows, maybe some other wonderful fantastic thing may come along.

 

[John61CT]

Yes that aircon unit looks great!

Not too many 48V solar controllers, generators, shore chargers though.

I wonder if a robust 12V>48V DC converter just for the aircon might be simpler and cheaper?

IMO the lower cost wiring resistance issue is NBD in a small space, and fact is you'll need to step down to 12V for lots of devices, or use a lot of inverter for shore power gear, also expensive.

 

[RVtrek]

Yes that aircon unit looks great!

Not too many 48V solar controllers, generators, shore chargers though.

I wonder if a robust 12V>48V DC converter just for the aircon might be simpler and cheaper?

IMO the lower cost wiring resistance issue is NBD in a small space, and fact is you'll need to step down to 12V for lots of devices, or use a lot of inverter for shore power gear, also expensive.

I might not be living up to the "cheap" part of RV living in this build.  This new trailer is designed as a "luxury" full-time unit that will keep me from going crazy.

Solar controller: Outback FlexMax 80
Generator: All I need is a 120v generator, which they all are
Charger: I'm actually going to use two different chargers depending on power available.
High power charger / inverter: Magnum MSPAE-4448
Low power charger: Interactor 48v 20amp

Yes, I am going to have some 12v items, but a simple 48v->12v (30-amp) converter looks like it'll meet my needs.  That'll power the lights, wynter fridges, and probably a few other things.  The high-power items (air conditioner, water heater, inverter) are all 48v direct.