Min generator size - Event Date: 21 Aug 2015

Originally posted by Pilotwh Lot of great info from all. Thanks. Hey toolman where did you put the marine switch. I have boats with them but they came that way. Probably gonna take a serious look at the Champion. Right now Costco has it for $799.

I mounted the switch inside a NEMA 4X fiberglass outdoor rated box (sealed lid), cable glands with outdoor rating UV rating, but I did drill 4 small hole sin the bottom, just in case water somehow got into the enclosure it can drain easily. The switch is IP67 marine rated, although this is the second one since 2012, the first imploded (broken internally and ceased to function).
 I made the custom battery cables. Basically, the switch has three connections. Each battery positive terminal  goes to a switch terminal (Battery 1 and Battery 2), the last switch terminal goes to the original camper positive.  The batteries (both) negative terminals are wired together to the original camper ground (white). I can use battery 1, or battery 2, or both in parallel, or both off.

I recommend 3000 watts if you will camp at a higher altitude (Yellowstone is over 8000 feet).  You'll lose 3.5% of your power for every 1000 feet above sea level, and 1% for every 10 F above 60 F.  So you'll lose 30% of its rating at Yellowstone on an 80 degree day.  This was why I moved from the Yamaha 2400 mentioned earlier to the Honda 3000.  Plus it has a larger fuel capacity.

Originally posted by techntrek I recommend 3000 watts if you will camp at a higher altitude (Yellowstone is over 8000 feet).  You'll lose 3.5% of your power for every 1000 feet above sea level, and 1% for every 10 F above 60 F.  So you'll lose 30% of its rating at Yellowstone on an 80 degree day.  This was why I moved from the Yamaha 2400 mentioned earlier to the Honda 3000.  Plus it has a larger fuel capacity.

Out of curiosity, why did you not go with two Honda or Yamaha 2000 watt units and parallel them? The cost difference is not very much. Not only would you get more power, but if you didn't need to run the AC or microwave, you would only need to connect one.

I've actually seen people modify the parallel kits to enable them to run more than two units together as well as units of different wattage ratings.

Originally posted by techntrek Fuel capacity and sound rating.  My Yamaha always ran exactly 8 hours, which wasn't long enough.  Otherwise I was happy with it.  Since Yamahas don't have a fuel pump my choice was to switch to dual Hondas (with an external tank) or a larger Honda or Yamaha.  The Honda 3000 has the lowest sound rating, partly because its engine is oversized, so that swayed me.  I'm happy with the fuel tank size.  So far it has run my house over 22 hours w/o running out, and my Salem over 20 hours w/o running out.  An unintended benefit of the single unit is it is impossible for one person to steal, and nearly impossible for two.

Originally posted by bobditch Where do you store your Honda 3000 when traveling? Where do you keep it while running it?

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