Help with generators
Hello all, I would like to buy a generator to power my rv, or my house in case of emergency, just to power fridge and heater and some lights. What size would be recommended? Thanks!
Forum Discussion
WoodGlue wrote:
If your RV's A/C is 9,000BTU, you can get by with a Honda or Yamaha 2000.
To power the house is another matter.
I don't think you're going to find anything that is suitable for RV'ing that will power your house stuff, in my opinion.
WoodGlue
Not many gens within reasonable cost or size will power an entire house.
This is pretty much a given and I think the OP already understands that.
Basically , most portable gens will run a lot of things in a house, but not all at once. You have to pick and choose what can be run at a given time. The same thing holds true for RVs especially if you choose a gen smaller than 3KW.
There are pros and cons to each gen size so really it comes down to buying one that is portable, easy enough to carry/store, can power your RV and in a "pinch" can provide limited power backup for your home.
Don't over buy in size especially if the gen is mainly for your RV. This is where bigger is not better, resist the temptation to buy larger than 4KW for a 30A RV shore connection.
Buying say a 6000W contractor gen for your RV might work for your home stuff but not so well for camping since these often split the wattage between TWO SEPARATE 120V windings on the gen which are not often easy to reconfigure. Not to mention larger than 4KW gens are considerably heavier (150lbs-200lbs).
