# Generator Question



## rmsmith1208 (Nov 18, 2006)

well alot of camping is done in fields and would like any info or links on good generators to be able to power t.v. and a/c. price is a concern but thinking of spending maybe around 1200 hopefully less. thanks all


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## hyewalt34 (May 9, 2004)

Hello,

I have the Honda 2000 and like it alot. It's not so heavy that I can't lift it into my truck by myself. It runs great and is super reliable.

The price is a bit less than $1000.

The downside to the 2000 is that if you are going to run any of the big amp items in your trailer, like the AC, Microwave or a blowdryer, you will need to shut off the trailers charger/converter first. It's a "hidden" big amp item! I don't find this a problem.

If your back is strong and you want to run everything at once a bigger generator is necessary.

Walter


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## outbackinMT (Oct 7, 2006)

I have a yamaha 2800 that I love
It only wieghs 65 lbs so it doesn't kill your back to lift it
It runs the ac fine and the rest fine except it wont run the microwave and ac at the same time(no biggie to me). IT runs around $1200 new but I lucked out and found a slightly used one for $650









Kory


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## rmsmith1208 (Nov 18, 2006)

thanks ya'll i used a yamaha in oct. but didnt need to run the a/c. i was looking at the honda 2k also and may get this unit. now if it doesnt have the 30 amp plug can you just use the regular adapter for the 110/120 to power the a/c. someone told me not to use this for a/c and high amp stuff or else i'd burn up the units


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## docks5 (Oct 4, 2006)

rmsmith1208 said:


> thanks ya'll i used a yamaha in oct. but didnt need to run the a/c. i was looking at the honda 2k also and may get this unit. now if it doesnt have the 30 amp plug can you just use the regular adapter for the 110/120 to power the a/c. someone told me not to use this for a/c and high amp stuff or else i'd burn up the units


Just double check the noise level of whatever generator you get. I have a brand new onan sitting in my garage for our t/t, and after running it I discovered that it would be way to loud for camping, so i guess its headed to the lease. Wish I would have asked your questions before i got it.


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## ED_RN (Jun 25, 2006)

One Honda 2K will run the A/C at lower altitudes but it is really working and the A/C is slow to start up. I don't do it because I'm afraid it will damage the A/C. At around 5800 feet last summer the A/c overloaded the one 2K running alone. No problem running two 2K's with the parallel kit but that's going to cost about $600 more than you want to spend.
If your going to use an adapter for the 30 amp plug make sure it rated for the amperage your going to pull. There are some really cheap ones out there.


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

I only use my small generator to charge my battery for trips >5 days, so can't help with one that will get you power for AC and microwave, I'm sure you'll get a lot of answers to this.


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## rmsmith1208 (Nov 18, 2006)

ya i wasnt sure about damaging any units with low amps. i think i burned up the compressor in the pop-up running it that way. thanks for the info


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## Moosegut (Sep 24, 2005)

I have a Honda 3000is - love it. It is heavy, but there are ways to get around that - ramps, perhaps. I've run the AC a number of times with no trouble at all. I do turn it off when using the microwave. I ran them both when I first got the gen, but a 1000 watt micro leaves only 1800 or so for the AC so I turn off the AC for the three minutes of micro cooking.


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## z-family (Oct 2, 2004)




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## N7OQ (Jun 10, 2006)

I have a Kipor 3000thi and it will run the AC or the Microwave but not both at the same time. But I did run my AC above 6000 feet with the converter/charger running and 2 computers with no problems. Plus it only weighs 65 lbs and is super quite and it only cost $900 delivered to my door.


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

z-family said:


> How do you shut off the converter? And you are able to run the ac with the 2000? I am very interested in this because I have not heard of running an ac with a 2000 honda yet. I tried the microwave and it was not running properly with our honda but I did not shut off the coverter.Thanks
> 
> Rob


There is a breaker to do that in the fuse/breaker panel. I actually would not recommend turning it off as the load is not that high during most operation. The only time the current draw from the converter is high is when the batteries are real low and you just start charging.

Start the generator 20 minutes before you want to run the AC or the Microwave. This allows the generator to warm up and the converter to get the bulk charge mostly done. Items to make sure that they are shut off are the frig is in gas mode and do not use the AC for the water heater.

Also the main reason you have a need for a generator is you do not have shore power and are using the batteries. If you turn the converter off to save on generator load you are not charging your batteries that you will need to run the lights at night.


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## 7heaven (Jun 4, 2005)

Kipor Question: The KGE3500Ti weighs 132 pounds and the KGE3000Ti weighs 60 pounds??? What are the other differences in those 70 pounds? What am I missing?







Thanks.


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## Bill H (Nov 25, 2006)

7heaven said:


> Kipor Question: The KGE3500Ti weighs 132 pounds and the KGE3000Ti weighs 60 pounds??? What am I missing?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I thing the 3500Ti has an electric start..... so add for a battery, starter and I think a steel case.. I'm SERIOUSLY considering a 3000. I just learned about the WalMart policy this past year.....


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## 7heaven (Jun 4, 2005)

What Walmart policy?


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## Bill H (Nov 25, 2006)

7heaven said:


> What Walmart policy?


I didn't know you could stay in a WalMart parking lot. I met a couple in the outer banks that would stay in the WM lot on the island with a generator. This would give them a huge jump on the traffic!!


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## 7heaven (Jun 4, 2005)

Also, is This Thing a waste of money?


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## Northern Wind (Nov 21, 2006)

rmsmith1208 said:


> well alot of camping is done in fields and would like any info or links on good generators to be able to power t.v. and a/c. price is a concern but thinking of spending maybe around 1200 hopefully less. thanks all


Wondering which to buy myself. The Honda and the Yamaha are both very quiet and seem the have the best efficiency ratings as they have full modulators, only rev as high as needed.
Coleman and others I have checked seem to have either idle or full bore, nothing in between.

Steve


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## Calvin&Hobbes (May 24, 2006)

7heaven said:


> Also, is This Thing a waste of money?


 Hummmm....... I think I just found something for my wish list!


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## tripphammer (Oct 3, 2006)

7heaven said:


> Also, is This Thing a waste of money?


Just think about it for a minute. You are putting a plug into a dual outlet. Normally an outlet circuit is 20amp. However just to be simple let's go with a 15amp circuit. OK now following the wiring (older versions would be on a 12guage wire (20amp) and newer wiring is 14guage wire (15amp). Of course I'm talking only residential wiring. So now you've followed the wire back to the circuit breakers and lo and behold there's a 15 or 20 amp breaker. Now tell me, how can you get 30amps out of a 15 or 20 amp single circuit? It's impossible. The language in the advertisement is carefully worded to confuse and mislead. It does allow you to plug into a dual receptacle but it's no better than the $4.99 adapter that you can buy for the power cable to plug into a single outlet. I am a handyman, not a licensed electrician, but it doesn't take rocket science to see this is a scam. Save your money for something better.
Take Care,
Tripp


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## 7heaven (Jun 4, 2005)

That's kinda what I figured...


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## Scott and Jamie (Aug 27, 2006)

7heaven said:


> Also, is This Thing a waste of money?


All this is is the adater your TT comes with so you can plug your TT into a standard recepticle. It will NOT get you any more power than the source it is comming from! If you do Have a generator with 2 15 amp circuits You will need to have a 3000W generator +...which should already have a 30 amp outlet.

So is it a waste of money? No if you need a adapter it works great and will stay in the recepticle better than the stock TT "single" adapter.

Scott


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## Calvin&Hobbes (May 24, 2006)

TrippHammer said:


> Also, is This Thing a waste of money?


Just think about it for a minute. You are putting a plug into a dual outlet. Normally an outlet circuit is 20amp. However just to be simple let's go with a 15amp circuit. OK now following the wiring (older versions would be on a 12guage wire (20amp) and newer wiring is 14guage wire (15amp). Of course I'm talking only residential wiring. So now you've followed the wire back to the circuit breakers and lo and behold there's a 15 or 20 amp breaker. Now tell me, how can you get 30amps out of a 15 or 20 amp single circuit? It's impossible. The language in the advertisement is carefully worded to confuse and mislead. It does allow you to plug into a dual receptacle but it's no better than the $4.99 adapter that you can buy for the power cable to plug into a single outlet. I am a handyman, not a licensed electrician, but it doesn't take rocket science to see this is a scam. Save your money for something better.
Take Care,
Tripp
[/quote]
..okayyyyyy, I'll take it off my wish list....


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## 7heaven (Jun 4, 2005)

We just purchased one of these on ebay.


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## edt (Jan 30, 2004)

>I have a yamaha 2800 that I love

I'll second this. I looked for a generator that can run the AC. The Yamaha fits the bill. It is also light enough that I cam move it around myself - though it is easier with help. The way I see it is that the 2800 can run any single 15amp circuit. This has proved true. On the home front I used it last weekend to run my sump pump and oil furnace (one at a time). I had winterized the unit. Dewinterizeing consisted of adding gas - it started on the third pull (if its not winterized it starts on the first pull). Yamaha has done some seriously good engineering on this unit.

Ed


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## Mgonzo2u (Aug 3, 2004)

7heaven said:


> We just purchased one of these on ebay.


We also own a KIPOR 3000ti (see signature line).

The KIPOR runs the AC no problem and some other electronics such as DVD/TV, satellite box, laptop (don't forget your surge protector for max protection), some TT lights and of course the fridge at the same time.

NOTE: You can not run the AC and the microwave at the same time. Too much draw with both on this gen set. But how big a problem is this issue anyway?

Because we bought from an authorized KIPOR dealer, the factory warranty is two (2) years. I purchased some oil from the dealer that doubled the warranty to four (YES, 4) years!

I got this deal for $960 delivered to my door.

Yes, we paid more than you did but I'll take the 4 year extended warranty on an expensive piece of equipment like this for the $160 difference any day.

Bottom line, I recommend the KIPOR "TI" line of portable generators.

p.s.

We looked at a Yamaha 2400IS portable generator and decided to go with the larger Kipor because we found the Kipor to operate at a lower decible level with a small load on it. Maybe not a noticeable decible diff to some but to me, I heard the difference.


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## ED_RN (Jun 25, 2006)

Starting to thing I maybe should have waiting on buying the Honda's and looked into the Kipor's a little more. Big price difference


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

ED_RN,

I don't think I would ever feel bad about the Honda generator. Yes the Kipor is tempting from a price point of view, and from the people that are using them around here (CamperAndy in particular) it appears to be a good unit, but it does not have the track record Honda does.

Honda, in all it's incarnations, has been around for a long time. Honda also has a sterling reputation for building an impeccably engineered, and high quality product. Is it better than the Kipor?







But, I do know I would sleep well with the Honda generator in my garage. And to me... That's worth something!









Happy Trails,
Doug


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## Mgonzo2u (Aug 3, 2004)

PDX_Doug said:


> ED_RN,
> 
> I don't think I would ever feel bad about the Honda generator. Yes the Kipor is tempting from a price point of view, and from the people that are using them around here (CamperAndy in particular) it appears to be a good unit, but it does not have the track record Honda does.
> 
> ...


I agree, you can't go wrong with the Honda.

But one has to be made aware that KIPOR generators have been around for 15+ years. They were not sold in the US until a few years ago.

It was nice for us when we went shopping for a quiet, clean power (sine wave), affordable portable gen set as we finally had other viable options beyond the much higher pricing of Honda/Yamaha.

Information is (= buying) power!


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