How many hours will a 7000 watt generator run....

[zackyboy3rs]

2 250 watt heat lamp bulbs? 5.5-6 gallon gas tank. I am thinking 12 hours.

[mlts22]

As for the OP's question with a 500 watt load, from what I have seen and read, the most efficient a generator runs it is at half power.

As mentioned previously, the answer would be a Honda eu1000i and an extended run tank. If worried about CO, there are generator enclosures one can buy that can be placed a ways away.

As for CO detectors, I always recommend at least two.

[pianotuna]

Hi,

For resistance heating voltage drop doesn't matter much. I think the PD converter will work down to 95 volts.

I mainly rely on solar. I do have a Yamaha 3000 sIEB equipped with remote start (and stop). I do not run it while sleeping, but rather rely on the battery bank for electrical needs at night. I'm good to -5 C for one night heating electrically on the battery bank.

Because I often have access to only 15 amp outlets, I have modified the RV to have the OEM 30 amp, 20 amp, and 15 amp shore power cords.

At colder than -5 C I want some shore power. I can manage down to -27 C on twin 15 amp circuits. Below that I go to a campground with 50 amp service and use a breakout box. Or I can do three 15 amp circuits.

My next purchase may be an autoformer.

Because of the nature of how I RV I carry about 400 feet of shore power cords. 200 feet of that mix are #10 with 30 amp connectors.

BurbMan wrote:

pianotuna wrote:
500 feet should do it.

LOL I would need #2 service entrance cable and a few utility poles to offset the voltage drop. Guessing you don't camp with a portable generator?

[N8GS]

RJsfishin wrote:
Just a minute, after all that, I gotta check if I'm alive 🙂

A 650 ? Is that about like having no generator at all ? What will it run, except 4 100 watt lite bulbs ?
I picked one up (lifted it) in the Pawn shop a while back,....couldn't believe how heavy it was,....some what heavier than my 1000

30 years ago it was quite impressive and quiet. I used it to run test equipment at environmental cleanup sites.

[RJsfishin]

Just a minute, after all that, I gotta check if I'm alive 🙂

A 650 ? Is that about like having no generator at all ? What will it run, except 4 100 watt lite bulbs ?
I picked one up (lifted it) in the Pawn shop a while back,....couldn't believe how heavy it was,....some what heavier than my 1000

[N8GS]

pnichols wrote:
Just as an off-topic factoid, my little 650 watt Honda will run a couple of 250 watt bulbs for around 5 hours using about one-half gallon of gas. You have to look for this genny used, however.

I had one of those EX650's I gave it to a friend a few hears ago and he is still using it. It must have at least 5000 hours on it. I think I bought it in about 1988.

[zackyboy3rs]

SaltiDawg wrote:
I'll stand on my, "Be interested if the OP noted how much fuel he actually used overnight???"

6 gallons ran 15 hours or so.

[BurbMan]

pianotuna wrote:
500 feet should do it.

LOL I would need #2 service entrance cable and a few utility poles to offset the voltage drop. Guessing you don't camp with a portable generator?

[pianotuna]

500 feet should do it. Seriously, in my home with the double wide garage doors shut and the generator outside, I did have the CO alarm in the basement go off. It was three house doors and at least 200 feet away.

Lots depends on the direction of the wind. CO is tricky and it only takes a few parts per million for serious problems.

BurbMan wrote:
As an aside, how far away from the camper does the generator have to be to be considered safe? That pic was taken boondocking in a church parking lot for 10 days with temps in the 20's. Ran the generator 6-8 hours/day to keep the batteries charged. Most of the time it was running we weren't even in the camper.

[pnichols]

I wouldn't recommend relying solely on an RV's CO detector, either. That's why we also keep air pressure in the interior of the coach as much as possible whenever the built-in or portable generator is running.

[BurbMan]

Thank you for that valuable information. Hopefully the CO detector in the camper does its job as well. Again, there is *zero* chance of CO killing us in our sleep because we don't run the generator while sleeping. We do leave the furnace on, however, and a faulty heat exchanger could cause CO to come into the camper there. Again, the CO detector is supposed to beep if that happens.

As an aside, how far away from the camper does the generator have to be to be considered safe? That pic was taken boondocking in a church parking lot for 10 days with temps in the 20's. Ran the generator 6-8 hours/day to keep the batteries charged. Most of the time it was running we weren't even in the camper.

[greenrvgreen]

A portable gasoline generator (such as pictured) produces on the order of fifty times (50X) the CO that your car does, assuming you have a gasoline engine (a diesel generator--and of course LP--puts out much much less CO). Not only does a small gennie lack a catalytic converter, but the tune on these small carb engines is rudimentary by comparision.

Is there anybody here who would run their truck for hours still hitched to the TT? Perhaps to stay warm from the exhaust? Of course not. We know better with our cars, and yet our cars are much safer than our gennies.

CO poisoning just from generators kills 50 to 60 people each year in America--this from the CPSC. More disturbingly still, the trend for these accidents is not among first-timers, but among "experienced" operators who had been accustomed to the same hazardous practices without ill effect--until the wind changed, or the temperature inverted, or snow fell around their RV, etc. All of these real possibilites fall under the category of *zero*.

If you suffer CO poisoning while awake your primary symptom is a crushing headache--as if you had a hat on way too tight. Remember, you can't smell it. If you suffer CO poisoning while sleeping, you simply descend into a deeper and deeper and deeper sleep. Do you think Darwin's going to come tap you on the shoulder before it's too late?

[pnichols]

pianotuna wrote:
X2. I won't even run mine when sleeping.

If you ever have to run a generator built into, or near, your RV into the night there's a simple way to do it very safely.

Close up the motorhome tight - everything ... except for one thing. Leave one roof vent open (with a Maxxair over it in case it rains) that has a reversible 12 volt fan built into it. Run the fan on just a low speed, set to the AIR IN direction, the full time that the generator is running.

This creates and maintains a small but absolutely effective small air pressure inside the RV. This small bit of air pressure will push outward through any small crack or opening anywhere in the RV's floors and walls down low and up high. No generator fumes can enter anywhere while this positive air pressure is being maintained in the interior by the roof vent fan.

Of course you have to get over any concerns that generator fumes are going to be strong enough to be sucked in way up high where the roof vent fan is. This fan will be drawing only a very, very small amount of clean up-high air into the RV's interior to compensate for any air pushed out the RV's small cracks and out through the cooktop's hood vent. Any air pushed out any small openings down low in the RV will absolutely prevent any generator fumes from entering down low where generators are.

We use this technique all the time when running the built-in Onan - even into the night if necessary for air conditioning in hot/humid conditions. Our little portable generator has so far not required use of this air pressure technique.

By the way, we also use this technique to keep dust out of the RV when traveling offroad in the desert.

[BurbMan]

pianotuna wrote:
X2. I won't even run mine when sleeping.

greenrvgreen wrote:
If you run any gas generator underneath or near your trailer (as pictured), the fuel supply is unlikely to expire before the occupants do.

Nice comment. The gen is under the tool box, not the trailer. And no, it was not run past 10 pm as a courtesy to our neighbors. Unless your trailer floor is made of swiss cheese, there is *zero* chance of CO getting up into the TT...especially with the 20 mph winds we had when this pic was taken.

Class A's and C's and toy haulers have gen sets installed in their units...they are not supposed to run them when the RV is occupied? Put brain in gear before engaging keyboard....

[SaltiDawg]

I'll stand on my, "Be interested if the OP noted how much fuel he actually used overnight???"