what size portable generator??

[JD GUMBEE]

And pardon the second post but...

1. I did not see B and C's suggestion before I posted above.
(Good call on the small engine shop.)

2. You said "Newbie" right?
Make sure you are not putting money that could be put into Solar...into a HF heavy ass fuel sucking genset.
3000 watts is a heavy S.O.B. About the fiftieth time you lug it out and fill it up...you will not like it so much.

We had the Honda EU2000 long before we bought another RV...but if I had it to do all over from scratch on a budget, I would have made sure the big Onan worked and spent the $$$ on solar power instead.

We have 1,000 watts on the roof and by 10 AM we are throwing 65A into the battery bank.
Warming a coffee in the microwave is doable, but you cannot cook a turkey in it...or run the A/C units.
(The Honda would not do this either. Well, not the A/C at least.)
The solar system has also served us well sitting in the driveway during my latest convalescence.
While our neighbors were in the dark for more than a week...we had big screens, internet, lights and fans...causing our neighbors to kind of all come over and have me show them this "magic silent electricity" Mrs G and I got from the sun.

It cost us $40 per DAY in gasoline to run our roof units...and that was just during the hot part of the day.
(Ventura Beach in late May...Oy VEY!)
24 hours of generator, I would near double that figure.

That adds up really quick over a year when you compare it to solar power...even if you just buy cheap lead acid batteries.

Few here run A/C in a boondocking scenario. They head to higher ground where it's cooler.

 

[4RunnerBlues]

Thanks for info about Moix. I went there but didn’t buy anything. Anyone know of place that services Roadtreks in the mid-south? W Tenn, E AR and N Miss area.


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[keysbottles]

Ya'll won't believe what happened!!  I was complaining to my son and he suggested I file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau,,which I did.  Within 4 hours Mr. Moix called me and said bring it back and they would fix the gen. or take it someplace local and they would pay for the fix.  What a shame that you need to threaten a business before they give you what you paying for. 

I guess I'm getting paranoid as I get older but it seems that things are falling apart in our society.  Between drugs, health care, corrupt gov't, scam phone calls, crime, failing family.... In the past banks, phone company, elect.,cable tv etc. were trust worthy.  I understand why people want to go the middle of nowhere and try to grow their food and live off grid.  I'll get off my soap  box.  Sorry for getting carried away.

I'm taking my gen to a local guy.  any suggestions what I should ask done to it since the other guy is paying.

 

[keysbottles]

JD I hear you regarding solar.  Thats in the plan someday.

 

[Trebor English]

I'm taking my gen to a local guy.  any suggestions what I should ask done to it since the other guy is paying.

If it starts, runs, produces 120 volts 60 hertz that's what you bought. 

For about $20 at Home Depot or Ace hardware you can get a "Kill A Watt."  Plug it in to any outlet.  It will show the voltage and the frequency.  You want the machine to start and produce 120 volts plus or minus 12 volts at 60 Hz plus or minus 6 with no load.  After that, turn on a space heater, hair dryer, steam iron, toaster or electric fry pan.  After the cheap heater type load try the air conditioner.  Don't try the expensive air conditioner until after the cheap heater type load works.   Finally try the air conditioner and some additional load.  A hair dryer on low with the air conditioner would be good.  If it does all this without funny voltage or frequency then you can turn on the breakers for the 12 volt converter and the fridge.  Don't use expensive things to test the generator.  Destroying a $10 hair dryer is no big deal.  Destroying the fridge or the air conditioner is bad.  

Ideally plus or minus 5%, 6 volts and 3 hertz, would be good. Plus or minus 10% with no surging or strange behavior is what you need.  If you have a place to plug in you can use your Kill A Watt and do a test just with shore power so that you are comfortable with checking it yourself.

 

[JD GUMBEE]

I would ask the guy to check it out totally and make sure when the oil is dumped and the filter is changed (changing the oil filter is a MUST) cut it open and inspect for metal particles.
The first thing is fuel.
It is highly likely that you suffer from varnish syndrome.
Your genny, if it came with the RV, should be modern fuel friendly, so you shouldn't have those concerns.

Otherwise, I would say SCORE FOR YOU!

BTW...when you use it, remember to run it to full warm up each time.
Five minutes is not enough time.
More like 15 as a minimum will serve you better.
And again, since you said newbie...make sure you know how low to bring your house batteries before recharging them.
(lots of newbies burn through a set before they learn this practice)

 

[LoupGarou]

Try sucking out a pint of oil.

Skip to 2:20.