Generator year.
Hi guys, I originally was going to get a class A mid 30 foot motor home and was basically talked out of it. I am glad I was, as a shorty (low to mid 20's) is more of what I need. Anyway, my pric...
Forum Discussion
Guysakar wrote:tatest wrote:
Don't expect to find a more "modern" gasoline RV generator with "Eco" mode and reduced idle speeds. Even Honda's RV generators (as opposed to portable) are constant speed.
There is a reason for this, RV onboard generators are primarily used to power air conditioning, and a "constant" speed generator uses rotational energy to handle the surge of A/C compressor startup, slowing slightly to give the engine time to power up for the load. An inverter genset running reduced idle simply has no energy source to supply that surge of power (which might be 3X to 6X the rated output), which is why Honda tells you not to use Eco for air conditioning.
Some high-end RV/Marine gensets, all diesel that I know of, have inverters, but the inverters are rated for the A/C starting loads, and some are part of a hybrid system that stores electrical energy in a battery bank to provide the surge of power that the engine cannot supply until it spins up.
So you have essentially given yourself a set of rules that say you will not use the on-board genset in a low-cost motorhome.
I disagree. If a Honda EU2000i can start most 8K BTU AC units on Eco mode (and even some 10K units) I highly doubt that a 4K W genset will have trouble starting a 1350 BTU on an eco mode type setting.
What's more, all an RV company has to do is put a hard start capacitor on the AC and it is a near guarantee that it will run the AC in eco mode.
Plus, you can take one of these portable generators and place them on the dining room table during dinner and (other than the carbon dioxide poisoning) not really be bothered by it.
Why can't they put this tech in an RV gen?
I just cannot make since of it. The tech has been there for a quiet, fuel efficient generator for sometime, yet you have to buy the most expensive of rigs to get it?
I'm going to go down to the dealership and listen to gens tomorrow, but I have been listening to them on videos just now and, coming from the Honda EU series, I don't think I am going to be very happy.
Anyone have a response to this?
