# What size Generator?



## Bam Bam (Apr 28, 2013)

What size generator would it take to run a small a/c unit and maybe a tv?


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## T.P. (Apr 29, 2013)

3500. Might could get by with less but you'll never be "unhappy" that your generator is too big.


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## greg_n_clayton (Apr 29, 2013)

T.P. said:


> 3500. Might could get by with less but you'll never be "unhappy" that your generator is too big.



and the gas mileage would come into play when it don't have to pull (work) so hard.


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## Georgia Hard Hunter (Apr 29, 2013)

research the amps needed for the AC unit, my father bought one for his camper and it wasn't strong enough for the AC. Also Ac units use a great deal more watts when starting up so make sure you cover that also


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## Snackdaddy66 (Apr 29, 2013)

Bought a 3500/4000(surge) - ran ac and a laptop without any issues (plus lights)


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## Luckybuck (Apr 29, 2013)

Georgia hard hunter gave you good advice, check requirement of what you want to run paying attention to start up draw required.  You will leave the guess work out if you do this.


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## Jeff Phillips (Apr 29, 2013)

Buy the Honda 3000!


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## Gadestroyer74 (Apr 29, 2013)

We had a 2000 coachmen camper my Honda eu 2000 would run everything in the camper on at the same time.. Microwave drew the most. It wouldn't even idle up with just the Ac unit on.. Best generator made. Quiet too. It would run all night long on 1 gallon of gas


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## Bam Bam (Apr 29, 2013)

Thanks to all for the info!!!!!


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## msjjd (Apr 29, 2013)

I used a Generac 4000 for years would run 13 hours on 4gallons of gas was awesome not to have to wake up in middle of the night to refuel ,sold it now have a 8000 watt Honda for my 5th wheel but have not used it for camping yet .


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## jmh5397 (Apr 30, 2013)

Gadestroyer74 said:


> We had a 2000 coachmen camper my Honda eu 2000 would run everything in the camper on at the same time.. Microwave drew the most. It wouldn't even idle up with just the Ac unit on.. Best generator made. Quiet too. It would run all night long on 1 gallon of gas



Are you serious??????


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## one hogman (Apr 30, 2013)

I have a Honda 2000i it runs a 5000 btu window unit, Lights and a Fan for another camper with no problem, on econ mode it will run up to 8 hrs on a gallon of gas. It is quiet and not too heavy, The price isn't cheap but it is worth it IMO


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## jmh5397 (Apr 30, 2013)

one hogman said:


> I have a Honda 2000i it runs a 5000 btu window unit, Lights and a Fan for another camper with no problem, on econ mode it will run up to 8 hrs on a gallon of gas. It is quiet and not too heavy, The price isn't cheap but it is worth it IMO



WOW!  I'll have too look into them then.  My a/c is a 15k BTU, so I would have to go bigger, but I will definetly look into them because of their fuel consumption.  I'm burning a little less than a gal/hr with a/c running during the summer.


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## lbzdually (Apr 30, 2013)

Some people swear by Champion and their invertor series.  You can get 2 2000 watt models and parallel them when needed or just run one for smaller stuff.  You can also parallel the Honda EU2000 companion.


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## GA DAWG (Apr 30, 2013)

I have a 3000. It will run my air fine.


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## Jeff Phillips (Apr 30, 2013)

jmh5397 said:


> WOW!  I'll have too look into them then.  My a/c is a 15k BTU, so I would have to go bigger, but I will definetly look into them because of their fuel consumption.  I'm burning a little less than a gal/hr with a/c running during the summer.



My Honda 3000 runs an 8K BTU AC, lights, and 2 fans for 27 hours on 3 gallons of gas.


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## Cricket Chunker (May 5, 2013)

When I had my trailer, I ran the 13,500btu A/C on a pair of Honda EU2000's hooked together with a parallel kit (gives 3,600 watts continuous and 4,000 watts surge).  Worked fine in 100* weather and never bogged the generators down.

Basically if you do the math I had 33.3 amps available and the mail was fused at 30 amps so I had plenty of power to turn over the A/C unit no matter what the temp was.

Don't have the trailer anymore, but I kept the EU2000's for power outages and other times I need a quiet reliable generator.


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## imkevdog (May 6, 2013)

honda 3000 and you will never regret it,have had mine 3 yrs just change oil,,i did put remote start on it ,now i start it from inside on freezing mornings and start the coffee


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## lbzdually (May 9, 2013)

I'm not understanding the math on you guys that are buying 3000 watt Honda's.  The EU 3000 is $2000, but you can get 2 Eu2000's for a total of 4000 watts in parallel for $2000.  I would rather have the 2 smaller easier to handle generators myself and get more power to boot.


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## Davec9 (Aug 11, 2013)

Think about the AMP draw of the AC unit, is it a window unit or camper style?  The Champion 4000 is a nice inexpensive package, and remember, when you have some AC power eventually other stuff will come in to play.. So if you're going to invest think about that as well.  But, don't forget that fuel is expensive so something reasonable, efficient and quiet is very important. Champion 4000 seems to fit that bill. I don't have one but my friends swear by them...


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## Lukikus2 (Aug 11, 2013)

msjjd said:


> I used a Generac 4000 for years would run 13 hours on 4gallons of gas was awesome not to have to wake up in middle of the night to refuel ,sold it now have a 8000 watt Honda for my 5th wheel but have not used it for camping yet .



X 2 the more the better.


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## zigzag3337 (Aug 12, 2013)

I have a 5500 Cummins in my rig and can run the front two ACs (15k & 13.5K) at the same time along with various lights. I usually load test mine when I travel. I'll crank it up at the house and run the middle and front AC. When we get to our destination, the generator got a good workout and the coach is cold. It's 16 months old and only has 40 hours on it. Fuel is not an issue as it has a 30 gallon tank.

Ohms law is watts/voltage=amps
Using 120 volts...
2000W = 16.7A
3000W = 25A
3500W = 29.2A

Most roof top ACs run between 12-15 amps. The start up amperage is usually about 1.5 times that. (12A is 18A on start up and 15A is 22A on start up). 

The Honda EU generators are the cream of the crop as far as fuel consumption and noise, but they also come with a heavy price tag.


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## mebster (Aug 21, 2013)

Most campers with an AC unit will have a 13.5K BTU.  Larger campers may run a 15K BTU and some pop ups may run smaller units.  Newer AC units will typically include a hard start capacitor to minimize the load of the compressor for several seconds during start up.  If not, you can add one very easily for less than $20 or $30 dollars.  If you plan on using the AC, I would chose the Honda EU3000i or Yamaha EF3000iS 3000 watt models.  Yamaha also makes an EF2400iSHC which has a hard start capacitor built into the generator itself.  All of these models are in the $1,800 to $2,200 price range, but are very quiet and can be used in any campground.  Get something from pep boys and plan to be asked/told to shut it off.  The optimal configuration is running (2) 2000 watts units in parallel.  Both the Honda EU2000i and Yamaha EF2000iS support this.  This way when you camp in the summer, you have 4000 watts to easily run AC and when you camp in spring, fall, or winter you can use a single generator to run everything but the AC and don't need to lug around a 130lb+ generator.  The cost of (2) 2000 watt units with the parallel kits are in line with the 3000 watt models.  Only downfall is the 2000 watt unit do not hold as much fuel and would need to be filled up more often (may not run overnight).  There is however an option to use a larger external tank, but you're back to lugging more items around.  Give and take....


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