Generator question

[Las_Vegas_Proud]

Will it hurt my travel trailer electronics if my generators run out of gas overnight? I never run the generators overnight with the ac on cause I’m afraid if they run out of gas and sputter off it will hurt my trailers converter or other electronics. Is this something to worry about or not? I am new to camping on generators. We have always had full hookups.

[Kpackpackkelley]

TravelinDog wrote:

Kpackpackkelley wrote:
It’s hard on the generator and electronics if your generator dies under load.

Pure nonsense.
I run my gen all night when we go hunting in the boonies and nobody else is within miles.
The night temps are below 0° and we run 2 1500 watt space heaters. Sometime the gen runs out of gas and it just sputters and dies. There has never been any damage to the gen or the heaters or inverter.
I've done the same thing while running the a/c.
If there was any danger of damage to your gen by letting it run out of gas it would warn you about it in your owner's manual.

You’re probably right I just like to turn the loads off and let it run awhile .
Generator’s cost to much for me to take chances.

[joebedford]

2oldman wrote:

TravelinDog wrote:
The night temps are below 0° and we run 2 1500 watt space heaters.

If this is in an RV I'm curious as to why you don't use the furnace..

I do too.

You edited your reply and now my response doesn't make sense. The first response said "In an RV?" and I replied "I do too".

[2oldman]

TravelinDog wrote:
The night temps are below 0° and we run 2 1500 watt space heaters.

If this is in an RV I'm curious as to why you don't use the furnace..

[joebedford]

From the Onan RV Generator Handbook:

"Turn off air conditioners and large electrical loads and allow the generator to run for 3-5 minutes before stopping, to allow the generator to cool down."

But they're just the manufacturer - what do they know?

[TravelinDog]

Kpackpackkelley wrote:
It’s hard on the generator and electronics if your generator dies under load.

Pure nonsense.
I run my gen all night when we go hunting in the boonies and nobody else is within miles.
The night temps are below 0° and we run 2 1500 watt space heaters. Sometime the gen runs out of gas and it just sputters and dies. There has never been any damage to the gen or the heaters or inverter.
I've done the same thing while running the a/c.
If there was any danger of damage to your gen by letting it run out of gas it would warn you about it in your owner's manual.

[beemerphile1]

When the power company blows a transformer and the power in your house goes out - does it cause damage to electronics? Not likely.

That said, I don't see the need to run a generator all night if not running the A/C unit. We had to do it one time when the wife had to use a rental oxygen concentrator and we didn't have time to make other arrangements. Now with a few modifications, we are able to operate everything from the batteries.

[2oldman]

maillemaker wrote:
He said:

"Nobody runs a generator overnight for electronics..

That's right. Thank you.

[maillemaker]

People do indeed run their generators all night long.

He said:

"Nobody runs a generator overnight for electronics.

The only reason I'd fire up my generator is to run the AC or, rarely, the microwave. Everything else runs on batteries fine.

[valhalla360]

2oldman wrote:
Nobody runs a generator overnight for electronics. Your camping neighbors will not be pleased. Get an inverter.

I take it you've never been at a campground when it's hot out and the power fails.

5-10min later you usually start to hear the generators being started up. We've done it plenty of times. If the campgroud owner complains, I point out that they failed to provide power as contracted.

[lane_hog]

2oldman wrote:
Nobody runs a generator overnight for electronics. Your camping neighbors will not be pleased. Get an inverter.

People do indeed run their generators all night long.

I've done it in Walmart, rest areas, casino parking lots... Park between a couple of trucks running their reefer full tilt, and you probably won't notice the Onan...

And yes, it helps block out road/train noise quite nicely.

[2oldman]

Las Vegas Proud wrote:
I unplug the trailer before turning off the generator(s). Not sure if that’s necessary or not.

It's a good idea.. especially if there's a load like charger or hot water that's not readily apparent.

Teeny loads like TV etc are not a big deal.

[Las_Vegas_Proud]

I unplug the trailer before turning off the generator(s). Not sure if that’s necessary or not.

[camperdave]

I ran my generator overnight last weekend in a Casino parking lot. Between the outdoor amphitheater rock concert, the train, the freeway and the 24/7 disposal yard next door, my generator was the least of anyone's noise concerns lol. In fact the white noise of our A/C was the only thing that let us sleep well.

I had a similar question to you a while ago as I sometimes shut down our generator under load. My conclusion is that it's not a great thing to do, but once in a while is no big deal.

[Las_Vegas_Proud]

Thanks for the replies, I will just try not to let them run out of gas. I might get the extended run tank kit for the long nights out at the dunes and I want to let them run all night.