hi,
thanks to a generous offer to site my live-in caravan, I am looking into what kind of generator may be useful and affordable. I am new to this and am wondering
- will I be able to heat my caravan (fan heater 1000w max),
- how much petro/diesel are they using if strong enough?
- which brands are known to be less noisy?
- what to look out for if buying a used one?
- what about the weight?
thanks for advice from those in the know!
------------- Barbara
- enjoy life, this is not a rehearsal -
Can you not get hook up? Using a generator all the time is going to be expensive.
If hook up isn't an option I would get some solar panels on the roof.
A generator is only really going to provide enough power for low wattage devices or for battery charging.
I would have thought that gas would be your best heating option if you have not got an electric hook up.
DaveS1
Unless your caravan is very small, a 1kw fan heater would have very little effect on a cold day. You would need 2kw or even 3kw to provide adequate heat. That would make electric heating impractical, particularly from a generator. Gas heating would be a far better bet.
Electric heating from a generator is very inefficient. You would be using a liquid fuel (petrol) to drive an engine that turns a generator to produce electricity which powers a heating element, and electricity is not good at providing heat. Much more efficient to burn a fuel (gas) directly to produce heat.
If you cannot get mains electricity and need a generator to provide power for other things, I believe that Honda do some excellent, quiet ones. However, if you are living in a caravan permanently you would need at least a 3kw generator, I would have thought. And that's without using electric heating.
Your much better heating with gas than using a generator and electric heater.
Honda ones are quieter but not silent and the times your going to need it late at night and early morning maybe an issue.
Check the fuel consumption and also check at what load rating that applies, similar with the noise.
It maybe 70db at 1 metre distance but it maybe at 30% throttle, where another one may appear noisier but at 80% throttle.
Fuel consumption under load may increase by quite a bit also. a 2000w generator may only last 4 hours on a full tank running a 1000w heater. + fridge and lights etc.
thanks for some leads in the replies. The caravan is old
and the gas pipe line is not working; I may have to look into getting that repaired rather than buying a high-power generator then. Do they come with the socket for the caravan lead btw? And for fridge and lighting in mid-winter I would still need a generator...? I don't see solar panel for now (winter, too pricey).
------------- Barbara
- enjoy life, this is not a rehearsal -
To connect generator to caravan you need to make up a lead with caravan socket on one end & probably generator end will require 3pin mains plug. Cheap generators are often unsuitable for direct connection to caravan electrics though as voltage can spike momentarily when appliance is disconnected in caravan.
To stay warm & well fed in winter in a caravan without mains electric supply you will need to cook & heat yourself with propane gas though. A generator is only suitable for lower drain electrical appliances. Tv & lights etc.
You will also need to think about where to put the generator. It will need to be under cover but with plenty of ventilation, and you will need to be able to get at it to top it up with fuel when it runs out in the middle of you favourite tv programme. Bearing in mind that it will be dark and raining at the time too.
Thought you said your caravan was old? 1995 is modern compared to mine!
Don't blame you for not watching TV, with all the rubbish that's on today.
Seriously though, it shouldn't be too difficult to get someone to fix the gas system. Try one of the mobile fitters. Also, shouldn't be too difficult to build a small shelter for the generator, just so that it is under cover and secure.
so, just in case I get the gas repaired and still don't think solar panel is an option, I'd still need a generator for fridge and lighting, right? would that be one of those clipped to the battery? I have seen pictured on ebay and was a bit confused, as I expected them to be stronger and go onto the caravan cable, but I am still learning. Then, I have not seen any images with them clearly having connecting points/sockets for such a cable. Mmh.
Must remember to buy lottery ticket, at this rate...
------------- Barbara
- enjoy life, this is not a rehearsal -
Fridge runs on gas. You will need to charge the battery yes. But using a generator will be a costly way of doing so.
Cheaper generators have a low duty cycle also. They may need time between runs and not designed to run for 8 hours or more.
It may need running 2 - 6 hours to charge your battery. A cheap one may run out of fuel before its charged so a trip out to refill it maybe needed. Not fun in the freezing cold and wet.
A few solar panels will be much cheaper than a decent generator. Seriously consider a site where you can connect to the mains though.
If solar then work out how many watts you use per day and get enough panels to be able to put that back into the battery in 2 - 4 hours. With solar you can keep on adding. Add more batteries to start with. This will extend the total running time and panels to keep it topped up. If it drops then connect to your car to recharge.
- something else I don't understand here: - how did that changing of the battery come in? I had not referred to it and I don't understand it. What does it relate to?
Thanks.
------------- Barbara
- enjoy life, this is not a rehearsal -
It assumes the caravan is fitted with a leisure battery. If it was then this would be a more viable option than running a generator at all times particularly, as pointed out a cheap generator is not really suitable for plugging directly into caravan electric due to possible voltage spikes. You need to pay out for something like a Honda generator to be safe plugging direct into caravan.
If the electrics in your caravan are still complete it would include a transformer/charger, leisure battery & mains electric hookup. Also it will have a 3 way fridge which will work on mains electric or gas.
So your best option for comfortable living with no mains electricity would to be cooking, heating & fridge running on propane gas bottles. lights & tv running off 12v battery with battery being charged by being disconnected from caravan when flat & charged up using generator & separate car battery charger.
If the interior electrics of your caravan have been partly removed then it is difficult to advise without knowing actually state of caravan.
If you want to stay warm, cook & run a fridge all on electric you will realistically require a generator that delivers around 10amps & even then you will not be able to run cooker & heater at same time. I would have though something like this might be suitable although I stand to be corrected by anybody with specialist knowledge.
The caravan lights work off 12v, usually a leisure battery so you can use the caravan lights whilst offgrid.
Some fridges require 12v as well as gas to run, as well as the gas water heater. And unless your leaving a generator running 24/7 you wont have lights with it off without a battery.
If you switch it off at night you wont have lights when you goto the loo etc.
The best way of going off grid is to have an alternate power source and a bank of batteries is usually the answer. You have power stored between charges so you dont have to charge every couple of hours.
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Topic: generator
