I learned after moving to the Texas coast that a generaton would be nice. I found one that is 6.5hp and 2800 watts. What are some things this would run? I will be using in on a 34' 5th wheel will it run everthing in the trailer as long as its not all on at once ?
buying a generator and have a question
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277 Posts
HINT: I never heard a guy say "Man I sure like my new generator. I only wish I woulda bought one 25% smaller"
I would go with 4000 or 5000. I had a 5000 for a 36' HitchHiker with 2 airs and was very happy with it.
I would go with 4000 or 5000. I had a 5000 for a 36' HitchHiker with 2 airs and was very happy with it.
It depends on what you need to run. You will need at least a 5000 watt with a 7500 watt surge if you want to run a refrigerator or small window unit. If you just want to run lights and a fan, a 2800 will do. Lowes has been selling a Briggs and Stratton Storm Responder rated 5500 with a 8250 surge for $799 thats a good unit. Honda makes a fine unit, but they are definitely pricey.
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I had a Briggs and Stratton 6500 with a 8500 surge and it ran fridge, upright freezer, a small AC unit, plus all my computer stuff,tv, sat box and a 220 volt 24000 btu window unit with no problem. Ran for 6 to 8 hours on a tank of fuel.
It was in my garage when the storm hit so no telling where it is now.
It was in my garage when the storm hit so no telling where it is now.
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406 Posts
Generator power load
On the Honda generator website they have a section that lists the typical start up load and operating load for the items most frequently run off a portable. This should help narrow down the size needed.
Note it takes a surge of power to start up an electrical motor and a reduced power draw once operating.
Bigger is better unless you have to lift it by yourself.
http://www.hondapowerequipment.com/products/generators/content.aspx?asset=gg_wattage
On the Honda generator website they have a section that lists the typical start up load and operating load for the items most frequently run off a portable. This should help narrow down the size needed.
Note it takes a surge of power to start up an electrical motor and a reduced power draw once operating.
Bigger is better unless you have to lift it by yourself.
http://www.hondapowerequipment.com/products/generators/content.aspx?asset=gg_wattage
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118 Posts
Yes, some generators are way, way, way quieter than others. Some of the super-quite generators can barely be heard at 15 feet or so. Others are so loud you can't have a normal conversation withing 50 feet of them. Generally speaking, the quieter models have a 25%-100% price premium over those that do not have the better mufflers, quite-boxes, etc.
Just remember that you get what you pay for. If you just want something to get you by for the next few weeks, then probably no harm in going cheap. If you plan to use it for a while (especially in an RV), then be prepared to shell out some cash. Given the choice between the 2kW Honda and a 6kW generic brand for the same price, I would not hesitate getting the Honda. In many cases the name-brand power estimates will be highly conservative while the generic brand may be extremely liberal with their estimates. Basically need to read all the fine print.
As per the response above of "I never heard a guy say..." I personally have heard the opposite many times. I have seen many people "downgrade" since they bought too big a generator and it was too heavy, too loud, took up too much space, and used too much gas.
Best of luck.
Just remember that you get what you pay for. If you just want something to get you by for the next few weeks, then probably no harm in going cheap. If you plan to use it for a while (especially in an RV), then be prepared to shell out some cash. Given the choice between the 2kW Honda and a 6kW generic brand for the same price, I would not hesitate getting the Honda. In many cases the name-brand power estimates will be highly conservative while the generic brand may be extremely liberal with their estimates. Basically need to read all the fine print.
As per the response above of "I never heard a guy say..." I personally have heard the opposite many times. I have seen many people "downgrade" since they bought too big a generator and it was too heavy, too loud, took up too much space, and used too much gas.
Best of luck.
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122 Posts
Large generator vs small
I agree with the comment about going smaller on generators. I've had the 5500 watt power boss by Briggs and it was a heavy monster at about 160 lbs empty.
I realized I didn't need that many watts and sold it to my dad who has a use for it on the farm and he keeps on hand about 300 gals of gasoline for his tractors which is plenty of gas for the power boss.
I bought a 3500w Briggs Elite generator (120lbs) (4800 surge watts) and it powers my large frigerator/freezer and 55 inch HDTV, DVD player plus lights, and a 5000 btu window A/C unit not to mention various battery chargers for electric drills, cell phones, etc and it never seemed overloaded at any time. Given that I don't need to power anything else as my cable and internet was out until I got power restored, I think this size generator is very sufficient. Additionally I didn't need to power the refrigerator/freezer for 24hrs a day. I could unplug it for a few hours and cook food in the microwave or use a toaster oven if I needed to bake something. I even washed clothes and towels on generator power granted I didn't run the dryer but I could have since I have gas.
The big difference is fuel consumption. I can run about 11hrs on 4 gals of fuel with this generator running this load whereas the larger generator burned alot more gas doing the same thing about 7 gals. With all the fuel lines around Houston, I'd say that's a huge benefit.
A larger generator might be nice if you've got a large 220v welder or some other appliance that needed more than 20amps at 220v and you needed to power it away from the garage for whatever reason but be prepared to stock a lot of fuel.
All in all my generator made life pretty nice thru the last several days and I was fully prepared to go 3-4 weeks without electricity and be in total comfort. I've got plenty of fuel, motor oil, plugs, air filters, and food/water.
By the way, its a good idea to put an hour meter on your generator to keep track of the maintenance for it. These small engines need the oil replaced frequently as they don't have oil filters.
My biggest complaint is that my home phone system went out with the power and the cable system went out. What's the point of getting a home phone if it won't be on during an emergency? If I could get a cell phone to work with my alarm system I would ditch the home phone in a heart beat given the high monthly price.
I agree with the comment about going smaller on generators. I've had the 5500 watt power boss by Briggs and it was a heavy monster at about 160 lbs empty.
I realized I didn't need that many watts and sold it to my dad who has a use for it on the farm and he keeps on hand about 300 gals of gasoline for his tractors which is plenty of gas for the power boss.
I bought a 3500w Briggs Elite generator (120lbs) (4800 surge watts) and it powers my large frigerator/freezer and 55 inch HDTV, DVD player plus lights, and a 5000 btu window A/C unit not to mention various battery chargers for electric drills, cell phones, etc and it never seemed overloaded at any time. Given that I don't need to power anything else as my cable and internet was out until I got power restored, I think this size generator is very sufficient. Additionally I didn't need to power the refrigerator/freezer for 24hrs a day. I could unplug it for a few hours and cook food in the microwave or use a toaster oven if I needed to bake something. I even washed clothes and towels on generator power granted I didn't run the dryer but I could have since I have gas.
The big difference is fuel consumption. I can run about 11hrs on 4 gals of fuel with this generator running this load whereas the larger generator burned alot more gas doing the same thing about 7 gals. With all the fuel lines around Houston, I'd say that's a huge benefit.
A larger generator might be nice if you've got a large 220v welder or some other appliance that needed more than 20amps at 220v and you needed to power it away from the garage for whatever reason but be prepared to stock a lot of fuel.
All in all my generator made life pretty nice thru the last several days and I was fully prepared to go 3-4 weeks without electricity and be in total comfort. I've got plenty of fuel, motor oil, plugs, air filters, and food/water.
By the way, its a good idea to put an hour meter on your generator to keep track of the maintenance for it. These small engines need the oil replaced frequently as they don't have oil filters.
My biggest complaint is that my home phone system went out with the power and the cable system went out. What's the point of getting a home phone if it won't be on during an emergency? If I could get a cell phone to work with my alarm system I would ditch the home phone in a heart beat given the high monthly price.
I found this Onan online at Costco, seems to be a really good price for a really good quality generator. Opinions????
http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11298147&search=Generator&Mo=12&cm_re=1_en-_-Top_Left_Nav-_-Top_search&lang=en-US&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&Sp=S&N=5000043&whse=BC&Dx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntk=Text_Search&Dr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ne=4000000&D=Generator&Ntt=Generator&No=6&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Nty=1&topnav=&s=1
http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11298147&search=Generator&Mo=12&cm_re=1_en-_-Top_Left_Nav-_-Top_search&lang=en-US&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&Sp=S&N=5000043&whse=BC&Dx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntk=Text_Search&Dr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ne=4000000&D=Generator&Ntt=Generator&No=6&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Nty=1&topnav=&s=1
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Looks like a pretty good deal, might be kinda tough to find one. I've found a couple of sites that said they're out of stock due to the hurricane. Maybe you can get on a waiting list for one? It's not too quiet at 76 db (about like standing next to a vacuum cleaner according to one DB chart.)
Edit: Generator db's are measured from 21 feet away, so it would be as loud as standing next to a vacuum when you are 21 feet away from the generator. (Does that make sense?) Of course, if it's an emergency and it's running air and lights I don't think I'd care. I wouldn't want to camp next to it though.
Edit: Generator db's are measured from 21 feet away, so it would be as loud as standing next to a vacuum when you are 21 feet away from the generator. (Does that make sense?) Of course, if it's an emergency and it's running air and lights I don't think I'd care. I wouldn't want to camp next to it though.
Look at the peak on that Onan from Costco. 5000 watt with 5500 wat surge. NO WAY... that sucker won;t get your AC compressor started. and when the surge is so close to the continuous rating it means that the 5000 watt rating is right on the edge of what it can handle. Don't buy this thing, it is cheap cheap CHEAP
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277 Posts
I could be mistaken, but the OP was asking specifically about a generator to install in a 34 ft 5th Wheel and secondly whether or not 2800 was big enough.
For 17 years I lived for 100+ days/year in those exact conditions and I stand by my response that 5000 is better than 2800 and 125-150 lbs loaded in the generator bay (permanently installed seems to be the idea) does not create a weight issue.
He likely needs 35-50 amps and the only hang-up MAY be that he has to turn off the A/C for 3 or 4 minutes to run the microwave.
In all my years of living in those kind of communities I never heard of a single person trading down in size on a generator but I'm sure the very occasional exception exists.
Onan and Hondas are all I've ever owned and both were good. (although that unit Bobby has sounds like the shnizzle)
For 17 years I lived for 100+ days/year in those exact conditions and I stand by my response that 5000 is better than 2800 and 125-150 lbs loaded in the generator bay (permanently installed seems to be the idea) does not create a weight issue.
He likely needs 35-50 amps and the only hang-up MAY be that he has to turn off the A/C for 3 or 4 minutes to run the microwave.
In all my years of living in those kind of communities I never heard of a single person trading down in size on a generator but I'm sure the very occasional exception exists.
Onan and Hondas are all I've ever owned and both were good. (although that unit Bobby has sounds like the shnizzle)
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2,135 Posts
Power or watts is the product of amps X voltage. So, if you have a 5000 watt generator, it will have about 42 amps of available current. If you have an rv a/c pulling 42 amps, you have a serious problem. Also, most home window a/c's that run on 220v are on 10 ga. wire. That means they have can pull at most 30 amps or they exceed the rating of the wire. Again, muliply amps times voltage and you can have the power rating of the circuit. A lot of motor homes have generators as small as 4000 watts and they have 2 roof a/c's. The average size genset in an rv is 5500 to 6500 watts and they will handle all of the power needs of the rv. That includes 2 ac's, microwave, tv, lights, refrigerator and any misc items that rv'ers are likely to carry. I've been rv'ing for over 40 years and I have a bit of experience with generators.
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7,969 Posts
I have a cheapo pep boy 3500 watt and it ran a small window unit, full size refrigerator, a lamp and a box fan for 2 days this week. Burned about 9 gallons of gas every 24 hours. ( I kissed my little generator when the lights came back on and it will always have a hallowed spot in my garage)
I got lucky . Buy a honda as big as your wallet will let you.
I got lucky . Buy a honda as big as your wallet will let you.
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