How Big a Gen to Run a Converter? Some Info.

BFL13 wrote:
It is true the topic does not directly include other factors for picking a generator, such as RV limits on space and weight.

However, those very things will bring into play the exact topic. You will want to know how much of a converter you can run with the biggest, heaviest gen you can take along and that gen might only be a 1000 or 2000.

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Ignore the rest here if you are busy--

In my own case, I have been constrained by the limits imposed by camping in provincial parks "Up-Island" here in winter time, while still being able to pig out on daily AH usage without cutting back to cramp our style..

That has proven to be near 200AH a day when it is near freezing. There is no solar in the woods, so it is all 50-90s (40-90s if necessary) by generator.

The park rules are gen times 9-11am and 6-8pm. Since it is dark 6-8pm then, I choose to ignore that window and try to get by with a gen time of 2 hours in the morning window to replace my near 200AH.

I have learned I can do it for three or four days in a row before going home, if I take along 6 batteries and use the Honda 3000 to run somewhere over 130 amps, where 155 works better so I don't have to "cheat" by going over an extra 15 minutes or so :)

Meanwhile, the park staff are using chainsaws to trim trees :) Enforcement of the 2-hour rule is not to be found, and usually we might be the only ones in the park. But I like to play by the rules anyway, even if nobody is looking.

So there are various limits and restrictions any RVer has to design his set-up around, and being able to judge how much generator he needs to do his recharge in the time allowed (he has already done the calculation for how many amps charging he needs so he knows his generator VA supply requirement) and whether his rig can even carry that generator is all part of the big picture we all have to deal with.

If he can't carry that much generator or that many batteries, he has to get a bigger RV or change his lifestyle. Whatever.

You do need to go big when choosing the gen, but you can also be pushing the limits on space and weight, so you need to have a good idea what is possible. This is where having some correct specs and knowing how to use them matters.