Portable Generator for Camper

On Jan 10, 9:15*pm, personaobscura
wrote:
On Mon, 10 Jan 2011 18:55:01 -0800 (PST), Giles wrote:
On Jan 10, 3:33*pm, personaobscura
wrote:
On Sun, 9 Jan 2011 12:35:10 -0800 (PST), DaveS wrote:
Suggestions and experience welcome. I need a smaller generator for use
with my camper. The Camper is a lance 825, no AC. I presently cart in
a couple of marine 12 volt batteries. With use confined to lights I am
good for 4 nites on one fully charged battery. I want to be able to
run the occasional power drill, recharge 12 volt bats, and some small
appliances, like radio, dvd , maybe a small power saw, maybe a small
ceramic heater.

Brand and model Suggestions? How to Plug in to Camper panal? Noise?

Did I read once that your property is on a river?

If that's true, could you find a site - or pipe from your high point down to
one - and develop enough head to run a generator?

If I'm mis-remembering, my apologies.

Hm.....

Forgive the seeming impertenance but.....um.....does damming a trout
stream for the convenience of using an electric latte frother REALLY
seem like a good idea? * * *

g.
i mean, sucking the sun dry OUGHT TO be just about enough, ainna?

Cripes, he wasn't planning on siting a smelter on the back 40, was he?

He? Um.....just who is it you thought was asking about the
possibility of installing a hydroelectric generator?

It wouldn't take much to manage a tiny trailer. If he does have a stream that
has a decent drop somewhere on his property he might be able to site a
generator that can quietly run his latte frother, a couple of lights, and keep
a set of batteries charged up, without altering the run of the river at all.

Well, you couldn't possibly be more wrong. ANY diversion from ANY
stream (yes, even the great rivers of the world, like the Amazon or
the west fork of the Kickapoo) necessarily alters "the run of the
river" even if ALL of the water is returned, which is almost never the
case. To put it more simply, alterations change things. Sorta self-
evident, ainna? Should be. But then, stupid happens.

Leaving aside the obvious latter observation (for the nonce, anyway)
what do you suppose happens when 100.....1,000.....1,000,000 people
living along a stream decide to divert just a bit to charge up a
couple of lights and keep a set of batteries charged up, without
altering the run of the river at all? Your math says absolutely
nothing happens. How about a hundred million?.....a billion?
Hm.....let's see.....naught times naught is naught.....carry the
naught.....um.....yep, tha'ts right jethro.....NOTHING happens.

See what I mean?

Stupid happens.

g.

On Jan 10, 1:33*pm, personaobscura
wrote:
On Sun, 9 Jan 2011 12:35:10 -0800 (PST), DaveS wrote:
Suggestions and experience welcome. I need a smaller generator for use
with my camper. The Camper is a lance 825, no AC. I presently cart in
a couple of marine 12 volt batteries. With use confined to lights I am
good for 4 nites on one fully charged battery. I want to be able to
run the occasional power drill, recharge 12 volt bats, and some small
appliances, like radio, dvd , maybe a small power saw, maybe a small
ceramic heater.

Brand and model Suggestions? How to Plug in to Camper panal? Noise?

Did I read once that your property is on a river?

If that's true, could you find a site - or pipe from your high point down to
one - and develop enough head to run a generator?

If I'm mis-remembering, my apologies.

Fair question, In my natal NJ a great pleasure was crawling about old
mills and water powered industrial-a-fluvial. Mill ponds and spillways
are rare in the West compared to the rest of the USA. So I am not a
black or white partisan on the riverine environmental affronted
debate. So, yes my place is on a smaller trib river and the gradient
is sufficient to do a small generator,

HOWEVER, this is in a Western ag region where all the water is "spoken
for" in water rights dating back to pioneer days. Consequently, any
pipe even near the water had better have a metered right to be there.
And then there is all that enviro stuff. ;+))

.. . . like, the river has a small run of Steelhead, ditto for a few
of the salmons, cutts and a listed population of Dolly Varden Trout.
(or is it Bull Trout?). To protect fry, each takeout pipe must have
very expensive screens. The Native American Tribes, inland, on the
Columbia, and on the coast all want the fish to get their share of the
water. As do the legions of govt, the contractors, the loggers, the
BPA, most of the farmers, etc etc ME, and the commercial fishers out
on the Coast. Bottom-line . . . it's a non-starter no matter how
trivial. Death from a thousand cuts theory?

Major Wind is a big deal near my place. And there is a little solar
including one setup w/ three big panel banks, in a tilled field, up
about 10' on 3 pylons, and the damn things follow the sun. It looks
like i could get a decent 160 watt panel and electronics for about
$1000.

DaveS wrote:
On Jan 10, 1:33 pm, personaobscura
wrote:
On Sun, 9 Jan 2011 12:35:10 -0800 (PST), DaveS wrote:
Suggestions and experience welcome. I need a smaller generator for use
with my camper. The Camper is a lance 825, no AC. I presently cart in
a couple of marine 12 volt batteries. With use confined to lights I am
good for 4 nites on one fully charged battery. I want to be able to
run the occasional power drill, recharge 12 volt bats, and some small
appliances, like radio, dvd , maybe a small power saw, maybe a small
ceramic heater.
Brand and model Suggestions? How to Plug in to Camper panal? Noise?
Did I read once that your property is on a river?

If that's true, could you find a site - or pipe from your high point down to
one - and develop enough head to run a generator?

If I'm mis-remembering, my apologies.

Fair question, In my natal NJ a great pleasure was crawling about old
mills and water powered industrial-a-fluvial. Mill ponds and spillways
are rare in the West compared to the rest of the USA. So I am not a
black or white partisan on the riverine environmental affronted
debate. So, yes my place is on a smaller trib river and the gradient
is sufficient to do a small generator,

HOWEVER, this is in a Western ag region where all the water is "spoken
for" in water rights dating back to pioneer days. Consequently, any
pipe even near the water had better have a metered right to be there.
And then there is all that enviro stuff. ;+))

. . . like, the river has a small run of Steelhead, ditto for a few
of the salmons, cutts and a listed population of Dolly Varden Trout.
(or is it Bull Trout?). To protect fry, each takeout pipe must have
very expensive screens. The Native American Tribes, inland, on the
Columbia, and on the coast all want the fish to get their share of the
water. As do the legions of govt, the contractors, the loggers, the
BPA, most of the farmers, etc etc ME, and the commercial fishers out
on the Coast. Bottom-line . . . it's a non-starter no matter how
trivial. Death from a thousand cuts theory?

Major Wind is a big deal near my place. And there is a little solar
including one setup w/ three big panel banks, in a tilled field, up
about 10' on 3 pylons, and the damn things follow the sun. It looks
like i could get a decent 160 watt panel and electronics for about
$1000.


How about an undershot wheel hung in the river on a cantilever arm? Not
real efficient but if you have enough flow they do work.


--
Steve W.
(\___/)
(='.'=)
(")_(")

On Jan 9, 9:08*pm, "Steve W." wrote:

For quiet you want either a Yamaha or Honda unit. They are about 20Db
quieter than most of the rest. But you will pay a lot more.


You can say that again. like 300% more.
Ive read somewhere a rare critique of the Hondas' aluminum cylinder
sleeves and various plastic parts, and how cast iron is better and
metal is better than plastic for the alternator frame and casing. Any
opinion?

I am inordinately wary of Chi-Com stuff and find i have to look at
every last thing to cut down on the returns and built in problems, and
even stuff like whether threaded parts actually mesh with reasonable
tolerances and w/out leaks. Ive paid lots for stuff that i have had to
retrofit to make work, and wasted hours and days with crap that won't
work or is broken before it is sealed in shipping plastic. The
corruption of American big-box buyers and inspectors in China must be
rampant. In any case it looks like for example the Chinese set the
automatic screw machine once, and if it goes out of tolerance as the
part run progresses, well, to hell with it, some old imperialist dog
in Washington State will make it work somehow. ;+)) So I lean to stuff
made here when i can find it, or from Taiwan, Italy, Germany or
Japan.

Dave
Weird huh? But then I also will only eat shrimp from the US, Canada,
Japan or Mexico. ;+))

On Jan 11, 4:04*am, "Steve W." wrote:
DaveS wrote:
On Jan 10, 1:33 pm, personaobscura
wrote:
On Sun, 9 Jan 2011 12:35:10 -0800 (PST), DaveS wrote:
Suggestions and experience welcome. I need a smaller generator for use
with my camper. The Camper is a lance 825, no AC. I presently cart in
a couple of marine 12 volt batteries. With use confined to lights I am
good for 4 nites on one fully charged battery. I want to be able to
run the occasional power drill, recharge 12 volt bats, and some small
appliances, like radio, dvd , maybe a small power saw, maybe a small
ceramic heater.
Brand and model Suggestions? How to Plug in to Camper panal? Noise?
Did I read once that your property is on a river?

If that's true, could you find a site - or pipe from your high point down to
one - and develop enough head to run a generator?

If I'm mis-remembering, my apologies.

Fair question, In my natal NJ a great pleasure was crawling about old
mills and water powered industrial-a-fluvial. Mill ponds and spillways
are rare in the West compared to the rest of the USA. *So I am not a
black or white partisan on the riverine environmental affronted
debate. So, yes my place is on a smaller trib river and the gradient
is sufficient to do a small generator,

HOWEVER, this is in a Western ag region where all the water is "spoken
for" in water rights dating back to pioneer days. *Consequently, any
pipe even near the water had better have a metered right to be there.
And then there is all that enviro stuff. ;+))

. . . like, * the river has a small run of Steelhead, ditto for a few
of the salmons, cutts and a listed population of Dolly Varden Trout.
(or is it Bull Trout?). To protect fry, each takeout pipe must have
very expensive screens. The Native American Tribes, inland, on the
Columbia, and on the coast all want the fish to get their share of the
water. As do the legions of govt, the contractors, the loggers, the
BPA, most of the farmers, etc etc ME, and the commercial fishers out
on the Coast. Bottom-line . . . it's a non-starter no matter how
trivial. Death from a thousand cuts theory?

Major Wind is a big deal near my place. And there is a little solar
including one setup w/ three big panel banks, in a tilled field, up
about 10' on 3 pylons, and the damn things follow the sun. It looks
like i could get a decent 160 watt panel and electronics for about
$1000.

How about an undershot wheel hung in the river on a cantilever arm? Not
real efficient but if you have enough flow they do work.

--
Steve W.
(\___/)
(='.'=)
(")_(")- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

On the negative side that cantilever arm would take about 6 years to
get the necessary permits. On the positive side the process of getting
the permits etc would provide 6 yrs of well paid employment for at
least a half dozen ArmChair Experts, govt and contractor variety. I am
exaggerating, and I know you are joking, but the truth is I have a
limited taste for "process" these days.

I much prefer to work with enviro NGOs and neighbor farmers, although
FSA is pretty easy to work with on the ag side of things. Virtually
all the environmentally sound things ive done and the income to do
them comes from advise and support of neighbor farmers, a local enviro
group, a state water trust, and the FSA of the DO Ag. The mistakes
have been mine.

Dave

"jeff" wrote in message
. ..

On 1/9/2011 5:10 PM, DaveS wrote:
On Jan 9, 1:29 pm, wrote:
On Sun, 9 Jan 2011 13:22:24 -0800 (PST),
wrote:





On Jan 9, 12:35 pm, wrote:
Suggestions and experience welcome. I need a smaller generator for use
with my camper. The Camper is a lance 825, no AC. I presently cart in
a couple of marine 12 volt batteries. With use confined to lights I am
good for 4 nites on one fully charged battery. I want to be able to
run the occasional power drill, recharge 12 volt bats, and some small
appliances, like radio, dvd , maybe a small power saw, maybe a small
ceramic heater.

Brand and model Suggestions? How to Plug in to Camper panal? Noise?

Dave,
There are lots of good small motor driven portable generators out
there (Honda generators are well regarded), but they are all loud. If
this is for your set up on the wheat farm, you may want to look at
wind and/or solar solutions. You couldn't find a much better location
for these power sources. There are getting to be lots of setups
developed for smaller applications such as you are envisioning.

Bob Weinberger

Actually, the Honda gensets I've been around (only 3 so far) have been
pretty quiet, when compared to other brands. I could actually stand
within 5 or 6 feet and hold a conversation w/o having to raise my
voice.

There's another, a 4KW unit sold by Tractor Supply, that's quieter
than the run-of-the-mill genset, but it's a bunch louder than the
Honda.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Anybody have experience with the 2000 or 3000 portable Honda
generators?

Dave

i have experience with a honda generator...just can't remember if it was
danl's or asadi/john baker's. in each case, i went to sleep before
either was cut off. quiet, relatively light weight.

jeff



I had the 3000.... and it got to big to lift - for my years ....I could
create a civilization with the Honda 1000 and have plenty of cold
beer....and so quiet you wonder if it is running...


john

On Jan 9, 4:38*pm, jeff wrote:
On 1/9/2011 5:10 PM, DaveS wrote:





On Jan 9, 1:29 pm, wrote:
On Sun, 9 Jan 2011 13:22:24 -0800 (PST),
wrote:

On Jan 9, 12:35 pm, *wrote:
Suggestions and experience welcome. I need a smaller generator for use
with my camper. The Camper is a lance 825, no AC. I presently cart in
a couple of marine 12 volt batteries. With use confined to lights I am
good for 4 nites on one fully charged battery. I want to be able to
run the occasional power drill, recharge 12 volt bats, and some small
appliances, like radio, dvd , maybe a small power saw, maybe a small
ceramic heater.

Brand and model Suggestions? How to Plug in to Camper panal? Noise?

Dave,
There are lots of good small motor driven portable generators out
there (Honda generators are well regarded), but they are all loud. If
this is for your set up on the wheat farm, you may want to look at
wind and/or solar solutions. *You couldn't find a much better location
for these power sources. There are getting to be lots of setups
developed for smaller applications such as you are envisioning.

Bob Weinberger

Actually, the Honda gensets I've been around (only 3 so far) have been
pretty quiet, when compared to other brands. *I could actually stand
within 5 or 6 feet and hold a conversation w/o having to raise my
voice.

There's another, a 4KW unit sold by Tractor Supply, that's quieter
than the run-of-the-mill genset, but it's a bunch louder than the
Honda.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Anybody have experience with the 2000 or 3000 portable Honda
generators?

Dave

i have experience with a honda generator...just can't remember if it was
danl's or asadi/john baker's. *in each case, i went to sleep before
either was cut off. *quiet, relatively light weight.

jeff- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Thanx. It was Danl. He Emailed me with some useful advise on the Honda
EU2000si

Dave

There are many good small motor-driven generators Honda portable generator has a correct view, but they are safe. If this is your game of the wheat farm, you can see the wind and / or solar energy solutions. You can not find a better place for these energy sources.