On board generator
Was wondering if I made a mistake, ordered a 2014 Montana 3625re without generator prep. Thought I would never dry camp and here we are about to dry camp in two weeks at our local mountain bike park f...
Forum Discussion
Acei wrote:
I was under the impression that most of the larger Onan generators also matches engine speed on load demand? Is this different from "inverter based" generators?
Yes, inverter based generators are different than Onan generators.
All the Onan generators I am familiar with have 2 cylinder engines and 1800 rpm generator heads. This makes them considerably quieter than cheap single cylinder 3600 rpm (contractor) generators. But they are not near as quiet as an inverter generator WHEN THE INVERTER GENERATOR IS NOT UNDER LOAD.
Inverter generators generate DC current then the inverter synthesizes AC current out of the DC current. The more load put on the generator the faster the generator has to run and the louder it gets. Since the inverter part of an inverter generator synthesizes AC current out of DC current it doesn't matter how fast the engine is running the inverter will always synthesize the AC current at 60hz.
When a Onan generator is under load it has to work harder and the engine does run louder but it is still only running at 1800 rpm. If an Onan generator ran at a speed significantly different than 1800 rpm then the frequency of the AC current (60hz) would be significantly off.
I agree... it seems like Onan (Cummins) should get with times and come out with a quality inverter generator that could be put into the standard RV hole.
