pianotuna wrote:
Gdetrailer wrote:
A generator is still far less expensive over the long run when you factor in the cost of 2,500W worth of solar, battery capacity to handle the load and the cost of that 48V A/C unit..
I suspect you would be in it for north of $10K US just to get 24 hr operation and that would just be for the A/C only.. Add in other normal items you want to power in your RV and I suspect you might be over $15K US.
Makes a $1K US for a generator look better and better even if you factor in cost of oil changes and fuel for the gen.
Gdetrailer,
I track my expense careful Since 2009, I've spent 12,000.00 on generators and related expenses. One generator was a piece of junk that did not have rust proof screws. It did not last 3 months. One Yamaha equipped with remote electric start was stolen. The rack for that was about $200.00. I had a cage purpose built for a replacement Yamaha again with remote electric start. The cage is wonderful, but PRICEY.
So I wish I had invested in solar. One thing that stopped me was I had not discovered my favorite battery type yet.
On the other side of the equation, the Harbor Freight 3500 generator is more capable than the Yamaha, and costs 1/3 the price.
Can't help with the bad choices in gens, comes with the "territory", sometimes the expensive brand names don't pan out as well as some folks think they should..
Myself, still have the first gen I ever bought back around 2001 or 2002, 4Kw Buffalo Tools open frame Chinese Honda clone. Cost me $250 on sale at a local Mom and Pop hardware chain. Only major issues with it was the tank valve broke off while gen was in the truck bed.. Dumped about 1 gallon of gas.. Have had to clean the carb just a couple of times over the yrs and recently had to replace the starter cord..
Spent less than $20 on the gen for repairs not including fuel and oil changes.
Uses about .5 gallon of fuel per hr and full tank can get me 10-11 hrs of run time..
More recently bought a 8500W HF Predator gen specifically for the house on sale for $500. Needed a gen with 240/120V to run my water well and I wanted a gen with electric start for winter time as pull starting in the winter can be a buzz kill.. So far, the HF gen has been flawless and runs everything I have thrown at it.
Picked up a used 2KW Buffalo Tools brand open frame gen that is at least 30+ yrs old (painted red version) from a neighbor for $10.. It sat with water in the fuel tank for yrs. Removed the tank, dumped the rusty water and rust scale, pressure washed the tank, removed the carb to clean it well.. Reassembled, added some fuel and started the second pull.. Didn't need the 2KW gen but for $10 figured I have wasted a lot more on other things over the yrs.
Folks on this forum tend to over think, over complicate and over spend.
For the money you will spend messing with large solar arrays then buying enough exotic Lith technology batteries and all the misc stuff needed, you could buy 40 cheap open frame 4KW gens. Yes, those gens are not as quiet as a $1,500 Honda or $10,000 worth of solar but they are cheap to get into, cheap and easy to repair and cheap to replace if some one steals it.
