Is 3000W genny enough?

Boon Docker wrote:
Get a couple of Champion 2000 (sound level 53db @ 23 ft.) and parallel kit.

Not under the load of a 15,000 BTU A/C - those Champs will be working just as hard as a pair of EU2000i would. :R

I have two Honda 2000's and also a Champion 3100. My nod goes to the Champ.

Get a couple of Champion 2000 (sound level 53db @ 23 ft.) and parallel kit. You would be pleased with that purchase.

Maurice45 wrote:
Definitely not interested in a noisy unit. The honda 3000iS seems to be the quietest out there but its is so heavy. Being 71 alraedy and planning on 10 more years that weight is a killer. The Champion 2800W inverter seems like a nice compromise but I don't know anything about their quality or reliability.

Hey, I'm a boomer too and just sold my second EU2000i that weighs but 50 lbs as it just got too heavy to be lifting in and out of the truck. :E

The larger, electric start EU3000iS is the class leader but at around 150 lbs you'd want to put it in the truck and leave it there. Keep in mind though that even it may not be sufficient to always start a 15,000 BTU A/C under all conditions because as exterior ambient temperature rises so too does A/C compressor head pressure, meaning that while the A/C may start fine at 75F it could easily fall flat on it's face at 95F, just when you'd want A/C the most. Also keep in mind that while this genset may also start your A/C at sea level it may not at higher elevation, especially above 5000' if you've not rejetted it for proper operation. In that size of generator I'd be looking at a Yamaha EF3000iSEB (with boost) that would be more likely able to start a 15K A/C under a variety of conditions than would an EU3000iS... otherwise, if you're in this for the long haul and want to be assured of your genset running pretty well anything you want you could hardly go wrong with a fuel injected Honda EU7000iS that will run perfectly at any altitude. Expensive, and heavy as a pig to be sure so you'd be best to mount it in the truck and just leave it there.

Maurice45 wrote:
Definitely not interested in a noisy unit. The honda 3000iS seems to be the quietest out there but its is so heavy..

Get 2 Honda eu2000i. I have that setup.. works great. Two gens for big stuff, one for light duty.

As someone with a similar setup, if I were to do it all over again, I'd pay higher price and buy a Honda eu7000i, and not go with a 3000 watt unit for a 15k, or even a 13.5k BTU A/C.

My 3000 watt generator runs my A/C unit... but I'm sure that it bogging down when the compressor starts is not doing any favors to the A/C's lifespan, and factors like the gasoline type and fuel additive can mean the difference between the compressor starting, versus it bogging down and overloading. With a larger generator that can handle the 60+ locked rotor camps coming at it, even with eco-throttle on, one can have the A/C unit run effortlessly, as well as handling the wattage at a lower RPM and noise level. Of course, a higher wattage generator allows more stuff to be run.

Once I go to a motorhome, even though it will have an Onan genset, I will definitely have a Honda eu2000i in one of the bays, just because it uses far less fuel than the Onan does when running it to charge batteries. Plus, it makes a lot less noise and can be set away from the motorhome so it doesn't vibrate it. Of course, if the MH batteries are dead, the Onan won't start, so having a generator which can start without needing a battery is always useful.

Definitely not interested in a noisy unit. The honda 3000iS seems to be the quietest out there but its is so heavy. Being 71 alraedy and planning on 10 more years that weight is a killer. The Champion 2800W inverter seems like a nice compromise but I don't know anything about their quality or reliability.

Trackrig wrote:
Cabela's 3500/4000W Champion generators for $349.99

Sorry, could you please YELL by typing your entire response in CAPS so we can hear you over all the racket that open frame Champ genset you're recommending is making?! :E

Trackrig wrote:
If he was buying one, he might as well pay less for it.

Different generators for different purposes.

Who are we kidding here? ... every generator is noisy, but open frame synchronous generators such as you linked to are NOISY and not at all suitable for use anywhere anyone else may be around. And yes, as one who has owned two EU2000i gensets, even they are noisy, just less so than an open frame. As for "dfferent purposes", nonsense - the purpose of any genset is to provide a steady source of 120 or 240 vac power, nothing more, nothing less. Cheap out on an open frame genset for camping and it's a given you're going to PO an awful lot of people who may be unfortunate enough to be within hundreds of yards of where you're running that racket bomb. :M

SoundGuy wrote:

Trackrig wrote:
Cabela's 3500/4000W Champion generators for $349.99

Sorry, could you please YELL by typing your entire response in CAPS so we can hear you over all the racket that open frame Champ genset you're recommending is making?! :E

If he was buying one, he might as well pay less for it. I have three 2000i generators and I consider them to be rather noisy - prefer the sound of my 7.5KW Onan, but then I've lived around around a lot of diesel generators. To bad they don't make a portable 8KW Witte.........

I also own some Champion generators for things like my air compressors with heavy start loads that a Honda Inventor generator won't get within a 100' of without dying.

Different generators for different purposes.

Bill

It's funny how posters ask about buying a generator to run their ac's, yet I see so very few ever actually doing that. When it gets hot, they sit outside.

I think most people find it a hassle to mess around with a generator to run a/c all day. They seem to have no trouble running it to watch TV.