Generators, solar panels whats the better choice?

JiminDenver wrote:
I'll have to look into the high altitude kit if not for more power, just to have the genny running better. The only thing listed by CPE is a jet for up to 3000 ft or so.

Please call CPE tech support. That is what I did. They sent me a kit free of charge. It helps smooth out the performance and reduce fuel amount. I love that remote start but not so much the noises. Hence solar.

It took me about 3 min to change out the jet - just a large screw driver tata fits the jet snugly (its made out of soft brass) and small wrench to take the bowl out. Leave the entire upper carb assembly in place on engine. The main jet is screwed inside the carb and take care not to lose the float, clip and the needle. I suggest laying out white cloth underneath the carb to catch dropped parts. I did this job about over a year ago.

Have a good day to you.

I'll have to look into the high altitude kit if not for more power, just to have the genny running better. The only thing listed by CPE is a jet for up to 3000 ft or so.

JiminDenver wrote:
Generators run up there, just not as well. There is a loss for elevation and heat so 8500 ft is around the limit for running a 13.5 air conditioner with a 2800w inverter or even a pair of 2000w. My 3500/4000 open frame will do it at 10,000 but not while charging too.

Maybe I missed somewhere, have you installed hard start kit in your A/C unit and high altitude kit in your carburetor? It worked well for me and yes I got 3500/4000 as well and it can run 15500 BTU A/C, fridge, charge batteries all at same time at altitude of 11,000 feet. I still have to turn off a/c to use microwave. I installed Supero kit and high altitude jet in my carb. The negative thing is when using generator below 5000 ft, I need to switch out the main jet to larger original size. So I can't lose this jet so I put it in a bag and put into toolbox.

Chuck

JiminDenver,

Yes, the U.P. can be quite hot or very cold and the same for Lake Superior but omit the "hot" word. We spent a lot of time in the U.P., Drummond Island, Tahquamenon Falls, Ontario Canada etc with one of our RV's or the TC etc in winters. Snowmobiling etc. This past winter was brutal+ up there and the last of the ice on Lake Superior just melted last Sunday, latest date ever! Lake Michigan west of Grand Rapids is still only in the low 60's and should be nearly 70 by now. perhaps we have a long very warm Fall comming as they said a strong el nino is forming and that means the nextbwinter will likely be in the 40's to 50 and very little snow here west of Grand Rapids on the lakeshore. Much will depend upon how warm Lake Michigan gets before mid october.

The heat rising off the warm lake blows over us on the lakeshore until about Febuary and it warms up anyway in March. You didn't get that luxury in the U.P. though. Many years here we have worn only sweatshirts along the lakeshore here but not on the Wisconsin side or 30+ miles inland or in the U.P. Went 7 years without blowing snow or running the A/C here and that's not completely normal either.

Hey, it was very cold in Florida last winter nearly all the nearly 3 months we were there. We were approx 150 miles south and Tallhassee and didn't get the bitter cold 9 degrees windy and the ice they got there. Just a lot of cold rain!

Generators run up there, just not as well. There is a loss for elevation and heat so 8500 ft is around the limit for running a 13.5 air conditioner with a 2800w inverter or even a pair of 2000w. My 3500/4000 open frame will do it at 10,000 but not while charging too.

Lots of places are cool enough to not need air, we use to head up to the U.P. There, like the mountains, it would be hot enough to swim in the St Marys one year and sweatshirt weather in August the next.

The mean elevation of the US is 2,500 ft. There are a few states that have a mean elevation greater than 5000 ft.. California, home of the OP has a mean elevation of 2900 ft.. To say that running a generator at the higher elevations is "fringe" stuff and not helpful to the OP may not be true. If someone that camps at those elevations posts in this thread and wants to share information, he shouldn't be labeled as on the "fringe". The OP can filter the results and see who is sharing meaningful information for his camping cause.

Someone else mentioned it but it's accurate, the OP can take someone else's style, develop his own, or do it anyway he wants. For me, I don't want to use a generator and am sizing my solar system so that I usually don't have to use it. Avion69 brings up the most salient point, a generator first and then add solar. That way, all bases, conditions, and usages are covered.

Colorado is only ONE state of the lower 48 or 1/48. Yes, there are such places over 5,000 altitude and also CG's but they are the very very small minority of the total CG picture in the USA. The OP never stated he was going to primarily boondock or be on top of mountains. He needs useful info not the fringe options.

Does a generator not run at 7,000 feet or even 9,000 feet? Of course it does! A/C is rarely needed at 7,000 or 9,000 feet because it's colder drier air up high so why do some posters emphacize such camping as it's the end all do all? We.ve been to Manitou Springs, CO several times mid to upper 80's, then up to the top of Pikes Peak mid 30's cold and windy and hails very often. You need heat not A/C! Of course, there are only very few CG's with hookups high up in mountains but that such a tiny % of the CG's the majority use or for most, will never camp at one.

How dooes that far out fringe stuff help the OP?

The last time I camped below a mile high was back home. It was hot and muggy but we didn't have air in the house, the cars and certainly not the RV. The lowest I expect us to be this year is 9400 ft.

While you may not do it with a 130w solar system and a pair of 6v batteries, having toys like a hair dryer or microwave is certainly possible with a solar system. My bank is split. A 95 ah grp 27 runs the trailer and a Duracell 8-D starting battery runs a 3000w inverter. That starting battery has a neat trick, it can run a 1875w hair dryer or a 900w ( 1375w running) microwave no sweat.

Last year we only took 230w with us and couldn't use the power, but we didn't have the big loads. This year with the toys we will take between 490 and 720w up with us. I was considering getting a Frigidaire 5000 btu window AC that uses less than 500w but like the generator, we didn't need the air last year.

The year before solar we used the generator a few hours a day, the year before that we used the truck and a set of jumper cables. Each is different in it's simplicity and expense but I have to admit that the solar offers the most freedom. Then again I live in one of the best states for solar vs Michigan which is one of the worse. I remember lots of sunny summer days growing up there but I know the winters are cloudy and grey too.

travelnutz wrote:
crcr,

Plugging your RV/TC shore cord into your Honda powers your converter and battery charger at min as it's where the shore cord wires go directly to first. The convertor is a parasite and will draw between 250 and 500 watts normally and then you will not have enough watts left to start or run your 13,500 A/C. That's why you must bypass the convertor with the 2000 watt Honda or a Yamaha etc so ONLY the A/C is being powered by the genny. It's not rocket science!

Yes, the power output from the generator lessens with altitude by approx 3% per 1000 feet up as it's a normally aspirated carburetor fuel system. Not much of the land in the USA or many (%) of CG's in the USA are at 5,000 feet + altitude. We know that our EU2000 Honda will start and run at 5,000 feet when bypassing the convertor. Will NOT start it at 5,000 feet powering the convertor.

Please don't make foolish comments or contradictions until you actually try it as stated in my posts.

I'm very much aware of the option and know how to turn off the converter when attempting to run the AC, but if I'm running the genset during hours allowed for same when I camp without electric hookups, I prefer to charge the batteries as well as run the AC. So I'll either camp where I have electric, or acquire more generator power if I want to run the AC. To each his own.

So you run your electrics your way and I'll run mine my way. The purpose of this thread is to try to be of some assistance to the OP. OP can do it your way, my way, someone else's way, or come up with his/her own method to do things based on his/her personal reasons. Your way, sir, isn't the only way. Notice that I maintained a polite decorum and did not accuse you of foolishness or contradictory behavior.

As to elevation -- as said, I camp often at 7700', but a mere hour to hour and a half drive from that campground, I can camp at 9000+' (White Mountains, AZ). Not everyone camps at 5000' or less.

travelnutz wrote:
Not much of the land in the USA or many (%) of CG's in the USA are at 5,000 feet + altitude.

Wrong answer. 90+% of all campgrounds in Colorado are above 5000 ft. We regularly camp at 8,000 to 10,000 ft.

travelnutz wrote:
Everyone I know is still hunting for you claimers who can create this invisible perpetual gigantic energy that's being claimed. If it was even half true and proven, the inventor would become the richest person on the planet overnight!

I easily harvest over 100 Ah per day, no fuss, no muss, no noise and the perpetual gigantic energy source is the SUN. I haven't plugged into external power in over two years.