Two things I just learned in my quest for a quiet generator to run my lights and charge my camper batteries:

Honda EU1000i is rated at "57dB @ 7 Meters for noise" at 1/4 load. Power is "120V
1000W. (1.0 kVA) max. (8.3A), 900W (0.9kVA) rated (7.5A)" The cheapest I found a Honda of this model was $649 plus $15 shipping and the battery charger cord was extra. However it is only 28 pounds and has low oil shut down. http://www.mayberrys.com/honda/gener...ls/eu1000i.htm

The Coleman Pulse 1850 is 73.1 Average dB rating at 4 meters at 3/4 Load and its power is listed as "Provides 1500 watts, surge of 1875 watts power" (better other numbers but in addition charges a bit better at 15W max with trickle down and charge shut off features). It comes with the battery charger cord. But the down side is it weighs 68 pounds. Can be bought at Sams right now for $399.
http://nbmc.com/cpgen/pm0401850.html

Now... I try to compair apples to apples and the thing that got me was Honda using a farther distance away and a lower throttle number to get its lower decibel numbers. Of
course they would be lower!

Conclusion: I could buy almost two Coleman 1850's for the price of one Honda EU1000i.
They realy have the same noise level (when taking into account the distance and throttle position numbers). I got almost twice the power, the battery charger cables as well. I gave up the lower weight and the low oil shut down thingy. I'll just have to check my own oil and get the "old lady" to load the thing in the truck!

So I went to Sams and got one yesterday. It runs great and seems pretty quiet to me.

Another thing I learned in my research. Coleman-Mach (RVP Products)recommends at least 3600W generator to run a single Air Conditioner unit like the Mach III. Not in the cards for any of these little generators. If you want to run the AC you need to look at
the 5000W units but they are much noisier. I could run my Microwave with the Coleman but not with the Honda.


------------------
2000 F-250 Super Duty, SuperCab XLT, Oxford white with medium grey cloth captains chairs, 5.4L Triton V8 (260 HP version!), 4R100 4 Speed Automatic Transmission, 4 wheel ABS, Deluxe Aluminum Wheels, Trailer Towing Package, Class IV Hitch, Reece load distribution system, Escort Sensor II Electronic Brake controller, K&N filter, Sure Stop towing skirt, "Westin" black powder coated step bars, "White-White" head lamps, Herculiner bed liner, ISSPRO Tranny Temp Guage, Excursion center console.

 

Thanks for the info....haven't been in the market for the small generator yet, but may be in the near future. So far, all the campgrounds we have been to have full hookups with 30-50 amp service.

Thanks again...

 

Well... I am learning more about the Honda's since this post and I will move some of that info over tommorrow (as soon as I remove all the stuff that makes me look bad! ). They are superior but very pricey.

For my needs and budget I still made the right decision but look at the Honda's for sure.

 

No question, the Honda generators are more expensive than other brands. Much of the reason is the name, BUT Honda also uses bigger engines per watt than the others do. This has a lot to do with the quieter operation and longer life of their generators.

 

When we went to build our home in 97 our choices for power were either a temp pole or a generator. 99.9% of people use a temp pole but not me!!! I got a 5k W Honda because I KNOW we get hurricanes and the power will be going out!!! That generator has earned it's place in our garage and when we do get our camper and if we need it, it'll go along with us.

 

I own a 5KW Generac and the Coleman that cphilip described. The 5kw runs my house during outages and scheduled 'tests'. The Coleman is my portable 'toy' for radios & stuff.

The significant difference with the Honda is that it is a dc-to-ac Inverter -- not like the other 'generators'.

The Honda uses an electronic inverter to make 115 VAC from a variable voltage source generated by the engine which varies its speed to provide enough voltage to run the inverter.

It is a very clever use -- which allows for extremely quiet running since the engine does not run at a constant 3600 RPM as do more 'normal' portable generators.

The Coleman is quite capable -- but is surprisingly heavy.

Be careful with that unit, since the end with the power outlet is a precision-cast plastic unit which is doweled to the case for accurate placement. The need for this accuracy is because the bearing for the rotor is actually supported by that plastic end -- so if you accidentally drop/bang/malform the end of the unit substantially, you risk having your rotor make friends with the stator -- to the demise of both.

I bought the Coleman for $325 the day BEFORE new-years (!) -- I want the Honda -- but couldn't pass up that price.

Happy Genning.

------------------
Y2K™

XLT SC SB 5.4L E4x4 AW-Disc, 3.73LS, Skid, 7700# HD Towing, Chrome LT-245, Steps, Captain's, 6CD, Tonneau, keyless, Toreador Red, called "Nick"

 

Well I do some Music festivals that have nothing in the way of power or water and need four days of power. My two deep cell marine batteries only go about two days before they hit 1/3 power left. So I really needed a portable battery charger more than anything. The little ones do that perfectly. It either have one or hook up the truck power cord and run the truck for three hours. And they will run a TV, satellite dish system, coffee pot and a couple of lights in a power outage as well.

Yes Y2K 7700 4x4, that was exactly the info on the way the Honda works I was going to post. That's what allows them to run at a lower RPM and make less noise. Something I didn't know when I was making my comparisons. I can't afford one though! They make a 3K unit in that same EUXXXi line. Verey Very pricey this one. But, thats the one I want when the Coleman wears out.

Man $325 just before Y2K! I could see *after*. Hard to believe! How is yours running and holding up? Thanks for the warning. I'll be real careful now.

 

I have a buddy that owns a lawn-mower repair business -- from whom I bought a couple really neat combination tachometer/hour-meter assemblies.

They measure about 1.2" x 2.5" x .75" and are self-powered. One wire connects to the frame of an engine, and the other wire is mostly shielded cable (about the thickness of #2 pencil lead) except for some insulated solid copper wire at the end.

You merely wind a few turns of wire around the spark plug wire (trim off the excess), and the hour meter runs (liquid crystal display) forever -- but when you start the engine, it reads RPM.

I use one on each of my generators so that I can tell when to change the oil.

Really neat -- but fairly expensive (around $45??).

I don't have enough time on the Coleman to give any problem reports -- but it seems like a fine unit to me.

One neat 'feature' of those spiffy Honda generators is that you can hook them in parallel (???) -- But I don't know if that means you end up with 240V or 125 at twice the amperage -- leave it to Honda to do something really neat! (I love my Goldwing, and my son loves his 99 CBR-900-RR).

------------------
Y2K™

XLT SC SB 5.4L E4x4 AW-Disc, 3.73LS, Skid, 7700# HD Towing, Chrome LT-245, Steps, Captain's, 6CD, Tonneau, keyless, Toreador Red, called "Nick"

 

My understanding is that they double the wattage output when you connect them together at the same voltage. i.e. 900W + 900 W = 1800W @ 115V output.

 

That's a cute trick -- they must keep the Inverters in phase, etc..

 

Exactly.

 

Thanks for the info. I've been searching and posting on RV pages asking some of these questions with very little help. Looks like there will be no dry camping this summer, at least with the wife, she can't take the heat and NEEDS the air conditioner. Should've know better to ask the question here.

------------------
99 F250XLT Supercab LD
5.4L 3.73 LS
White/Silver
Graphite interior
6 CD changer/Captain's Chairs

 

JD, I got that 3600 watt for a Coleman Air Conditioner figure straight from RVP (Coleman-Mach)tech support guy, Keith Ince.

His first email to me was "The ac unit runs at 1650 watts. The start up surge is 1.5 to 3 times that number. We recommend no less than a 3600 watt generator."

He later said "Yes you can run it as a circulation fan. The fan motor does not use many watts at all and only 2.5 amps."

Maybe a big block of ice? Or you could take your girlfriend!



[This message has been edited by cphilip (edited 05-19-2000).]

 

I got a 2400kw gen on my houseboat. I want to quiet it down. anyone ever run exhaust from a 4 stroke into the water?? does it work? ive been told it will. What do you guys think?

 

Andrew. On a boat, you really don't want to screw around with gensets that are not designed to be installed on boats. Not only can it be a fire hazard, carbon monoxide can easily find places to accumulate inside the boat. Carbon monoxide has killed a lot of boat owners.

I know people who refuse to run their gas gensets when they go to sleep. Diesels are okay since the stinky exhaust fumes will wake you up long before the CO will kill you.

I suppose you could run the exhaust down into the water, but the exhaust is very hot and I'm assuming you're talking about a portable air cooled genset. How would you cool off the exhaust so that the pipe is not too hot to cause safety problems?

If you have the space below decks in the engine compartment or an unused lazarette that can be ventilated, you'll be a lot better off installing a genset designed for marine use. It will be a lot safer and quieter.

An alternative that I've seen is to run an A/C generator off of the main engine. It adds hours to the main and uses more fuel than a dedicated genset, but for occassional use, it's quite a nice setup.

Depending on your power requirements, have you thought about getting an inverter? They have inverters that are comparable in power to the generator you have now. It would be more expensive, but will be a lot safer and practically silent.