Just got back from my first camp outing of the year, and also the first trip for our new generator. I thought some of you who are in the market for a generator might want to know how it ran. This is an unbelievable generator! Extremely quiet, had it running at full output right next to the trailer and didn't even have to raise our voices. Ran the a/c with no problems, and the only time I even heard it load up was when the microwave was just starting up, and even then it was whisper quiet. I originally had wanted to have a generator piped in the 5'r, but 4500.00 was a little much. For less than half the price and NO inside the trailer noise I am very happy. I would definately recommend it to anyone who is looking for a high end generator. It's supposedly much quieter than the new Honda, at least going by spec sheets, and a little cheaper, not to mention if I ever need it for anything else I'll be able to move it around. Only drawback is you have to go outside to turn it off, instead of hitting a button. It's got a great "econo" mode which enables it to basically idle and give power only when asked for. When you do that you almost can't even believe it's running. Finally an excellent product that lives up the hype.

Hey Rob,


Sounds like a sweet unit. Did ya come my way for your first trip out or maybe out in the desert? How's them fuel prices in Reno?

Steve,


Came right through Susanville going up to Fall River. I'm sure you've heard of it, most people haven't. It's right next to McArthur Burney Falls off 299. Have to say it was more of a golf trip than a camping trip, we stayed right in the dirt parking lot of the golf course, but same amenities as dry camping. It sure is pretty up through Lassen Volcanic National Park. Plus, I think highway 89 is the prettiest drive I'll ever take. That's until you hit the gas pumps up there. Paid 2.60gal filling up for the trip back, but that was out in the boonies. I thought it was bad in Reno at 2.39gal.

YES, it is beautiful from my area on up that way. I was just up at Fall River last week at the JD tractor dealer (first time). Made me think about buying some property in that area when I saw it.

HD4fun, Keep your generator chained up. Hopefully, if anyone tries to steal it, the chain will slow them down, while you give chase with a baseball bat.
The info is good to know, about the Yamaha. I would have figured Honda, to be the way to go.

Thanks for the info on the Yamaha. I've been looking at them and hoping someone would post personal experience with one. It probably wasn't warm enough to need it, but did you try running your AC with it?

TC

HD4fun, how about run time on a tank. Loaded/unloaded? Also, did the generator have a 30 amp plug? Or adapt to 15 amp plug?

Tsckey,


I did run the A/C with it, just to try it out - worked perfectly, no hot plugs or cords. I didn't even notice it load up during the start cycle of the A/C either. I really didn't need it, never got above 72 the whole time we were there, but had to try it out.


Max Owner,


Run time is supposed to be 20 hours on 2.8 gallons of gas unloaded. Its rated at 51 decibals in econo mode and 57 decibals in fully loaded mode. I can vouch for the quietness, we didn't even have to raise our voices talking right next to it. I can tell you we ran it about 10-12 hours total in the two days basically just using the TV and DVD, plus the auto battery charge (two 6v) and ALL the lights on, never had to fill it up. There is still about half gallon in it from what I can tell. As far as the 30 amp plug, I had to buy an adapter for it, but really couldn't tell you for what amperage. It was a very heavy duty adapter though, I'll check and post late tonight or tomorrow. Funny, I never even checked.


On Edit: I just checked the Yamaha website, the adapter is for 30amp service. 20.5 hours runtime at 1/4 load. Rated at 51-57dba.Edited by: HD4fun

HD4fun, excellent news. Glad you had a good trip. I will give my trailer it's first trip the weekend after Memorial. Going to Pyramid Lake. That is the generator I was looking at as well. Just need to figure out if I really need it or not. Where are you paying $2.39 for fuel? Sids is at $2.11 as of yesterday. By the way, where did you get your generator? And if you don't mind me asking, what was the cost?Edited by: WOJO 1

HD4fun, thanx for the reply. Glad to hear some real world info, and not a sales pitch. Will find the website, and look into. Any idea on weight?
Sean.

I think I am gettin one of them bad boys in a partial trade for tranny job... I am really excited about it now.!http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Clap.gif

MaxOwner,


It weighs in at 150lbs. You can definately feel the weight, but not as much as you might think- it's very compact, moves freely on the casters, and not near as bulky as those open frame units.


WOJO1,


I heard deisel was coming down fast, but the last time I filled up was last week at the Chevron in Stead, and on the return trip had to use some out in the boonies gas station. I'm actually looking forward to filling up this time! I got the generator at Safari RV on Kietkze - $1950 plus tax. He is on allotment, as they all are. Had a price of $2000 at Michael's. That's pretty much the same as the internet sites after you add in shipping. I had a friend who picked one up at Sprad's RV for $1900 out the door, but he had just purchased a $35,000 5th wheel with it. Have fun at Pyramid. That's a nice lake, I prefer Lahontan myself, so I don't have to deal with the alkaline water in my jetski.


dmaxallitech,


If you can, get the one with the boost, that's what I got. It gives you up to 500w extra boost for starting power hungry equipment (A/C and microwave) by using its battery in conjunction with the generator for 10 second intervals. That really helps when running a lot of stuff at the same time. They also have just the 3000w with no boost, it was about $100 less. For the 100 bucks it was worth it to me. It also comes with a separate battery charger station.

yeah, it has the boost.. I am hoping it will be big enough, was told I need a 5k watt for my unit, but this really looks like a nice genertor

HD4fun, thanx for the info. Thought about getting a 5000 watt generator (use for a home application as well) but would be pretty heavy, trying to lift into the back of my truck. Quit going to the gym, when I met my wife. But at least I have a better center of balance.http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Big Smile.gif

I was waffling between Honda and Yamaha. Now I think I will go for the Yamaha. The price is better and more places have them in stock.


I know that buying a pair of Honda 2000's are popular due to the light weight.


Eric, I think you'll be fine as long as you don't run 2 A/C's do a load of wash and have every light on. There are still a lot of 5'vers out there with only 30 Amp service.


Thanks for the review HD4fun!

Didn't know they could handle an AC, thought that wasn't possible with one of these "little" generators. I'd have to force myself to buy a....ugh...Yamaha http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/HiHi.gif, I'd never hear the end of it from my Nephew.


http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Evil Smile.gif!Ride Red or Go Home!http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Evil Smile.gifEdited by: VFRRider

HDFun,


I am assuming that generator has electric start??


You might be able to do what I did with mine (Artic Cat 4000DGE). I took out the start switch and moved it to inside the trailer and inside a storage cabinet in our slide out. Fabricated a wiring harness using 7 pin trailer wiring connectors (I only needed 5 wires though) and put the female end on the generator side and another female end at the back of the trailer through the bottom metal flashing. Using alot of 12 gauge wire and the male wiring plug ends made a 12 foot cable to go from the generator to the trailer and ran the wire inside some flexible plastic wire harness tubing and taped it shut. Ran the wires from the female trailer plug along the frame of the trailer and joined other wires running under the trailer into the slide out and fished it through to the cabinet and put the switch in that cabinet. Now when you plug the electric cord into the generator I also plug in the starter harness and we can start the generator from inside every time. Wife absolutely loves it!!!!! She (me too!) can start and stop the generator without ever going outside (especially when it's raining) when she wants to blow dry her hair, make popcorn, coffee, microwave, etc.

I am thinking about getting two of the Honda 2000 watt gensets. They can be plugged together to make one 4000 watt genset. And they are only 50 or so pounds each. With some looking around on the net you can get them for about $1700 delivered, and the plugging setup to connect them can be made for less then $30.


I like the idea of the small Honda's because I have a bum left hand, and I would be able to load one at a time. Also there are times where you do not need all the power of a larger unit. Such as winter time camping. I know one couple that has one, and they claim it will run there microwave with no problem. I do not know about that. I have a generic 2500 watt genset, and a bag of popcorn takes more then 7 minutes. So I do not even use the microwave while camping without electric hook ups now.

Sprintmod1,


Sounds like a sweet deal if you don't plan on using the generator in another fashion. That pretty much makes it linked to the trailer I would guess. I have a friend who is planning on a similar project with his Yamaha. He said something about a remote start, but as far as I know one isn't available yet. BTW, it is a turn key, not push button, but I'm sure similar wiring applies to both. Me, I like the idea of being able to bring the generator sans 5er. We sometimes take stereo or karaoke out to the beach for just the day. It's great to have that running and not even being able to hear it over the tunes.


hdmax,


1000w microwaves are the norm anymore, and I thought that was max running power. How many watts does it need to kick on when started? If you're having problems running the microwave at 1000w, are you using any other equipment at the same time? I don't know much about this stuff, but I would think even if the batteries were charging and you had some lights on watching TV that microwave should still work fine. Just my .02 there.

hdmax,


1000w microwaves are the norm anymore, and I thought that was max running power. How many watts does it need to kick on when started? If you're having problems running the microwave at 1000w, are you using any other equipment at the same time? I don't know much about this stuff, but I would think even if the batteries were charging and you had some lights on watching TV that microwave should still work fine. Just my .02 there.


I am not sure, but I think the microwave in the camper is 700 watt, but I know it is not 1000 watt. And I had nothing else running. I thing that it is most likely the generic genset. It has a 5 hp Briggs and Strat. it does run good. the tank could stand to be a lot bigger. 1 quart fill up runs about 1 hour 10 minutes under normal use, so it is a little hard on fuel for what it does.


I really want a good genset that I can carry with one hand, and lets people talk without having to yell.

HD4fun,


Actually, that was the original problem but I bought a second key switch and put it back on the generator and now I can start it either way because we now drag this generator from the camper to the race trailer constantly. It's nice having an electrician in your race team but it was not difficult to accomplish.

I've got a 5kw Devilbiss with 10 hp Briggs engine. Damn thing will wake the dead! I bought it when we were racing and needed extra light in the pits. Who cared how much noise it made?


Now we're not racing and I'd like to use it camping. Adapted a universal "silent" muffler for compact car, maybe 18"X8" X4". Still way too loud for campground use if you have any consideration for your fellow campers.


I've got the damn thing and it's paid for and I'd like to find a way to use it. The folks over on RVNet turn up their nose at it and say that it as much "mechanical clatter" as exhaust and I'll never quieten it down w/o choking it to death.


Anybody had any dealings along this line? Any suggestions?

Dirty Old Man,


Here's one for ya. My wife and I decided the "quiet" generators were too much money and were looking for a deal. The guy at Kragen had a brand new coleman 5000w for sale for $499. He said he has just sold one to an RV'r who put a new muffler on it and it was as quiet as can be. We thought it sounded like a great deal, ignoring the voices in back of our heads asking us why nobody else thought of this. What a great idea! We bought it, had a muffler shop put 2ft of tubing and a big honking muffler on it ($150), and lost maybe 5 decibals. Took it out one time and the TV volume wasn't loud enough to hear over that racket, not to mention it took 3 of us to lift it into the truck. Worst (stupidest) investment I ever made, although it works well to drape the kid's crap over it in the garage, plus it keeps it nice and clean.


So to make a long story longer, don't bother trying to quiet that thing down, won't happen. My buddies and I worked on that thing for an hour out on the beach. By the time you got it quiet enough it wouldn't be able to run an alarm clock.


BTW, got a brand new COMMERCIAL generator for sale, CHEAP!

If you guys south of the border are thinking about buying a generator you can get them in Canada for the same dollar value eg. $2000cdn or $2000us . with the exchange rate your price is $1400us.


think about it.


good luck

in iraq we made 3 sided plywood enclosures to help muffle the sound of the 5k generators we used to power stuff. You could probably build a collapsable one and use spare carpet to line the inside and it'd help somewhat. You can make it 4 sided with a roof, but ensure that you have enough standoff from the "door" so the gen still gets ventilation.

HD4fun





where did you get your generator and if you dont care how much did you pay for it i was lookin at the honda but littel out my price rang if you can let me no thinks

I just aquired one of those litte jewels, havent hooked er up yet, but that sucker is quiet, turned it to full load and we stood over top of it having a normal conversation.....We'll see if it'll run the 5er with the a/c on now......

Sunny4x4Chick,


I got mine for $1950 plus tax here in Reno at Safari RV. I did some searching for Internet pricing first, and with shipping it looks like it gonna be around $1900-2000 no matter where you get it.


LETSGO had a good idea about buying in Canada, but I would think the shipping charges would be a lot more coming from way up there.