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 Topic: From a R-Pod newbiePosted: 30 Sep 2009 at 9:10pm |
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I have seen reference to having a generator for the pod. What is it used for? What is the best brand?
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Posted: 30 Sep 2009 at 9:27pm |
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The generator is used to provide AC power to the RPOD when you don't have electrical hook up available - ie... your are in the middle of woods, the beach, or at a campsite without power hookup. The AC, microwave oven, TV, DVD, and electrical outlets in the POD all require external power (electricity hook up) to work. There's been a lot of discussions about which brand of generators. I personally have the Honda EU2000i and have been very happy with it.
Edit - I was just informed by another forum member that the new 176 and 177 have the 13,500 BTU AC so the EU2000i will not be strong enough to power the AC and all the devices in the POD. If you are looking at the EU2000i, you will need two of these running in tandem to power everything in the POD.
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Posted: 01 Oct 2009 at 9:53am |
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Glad to hear something about the 177 !!
We have had our eye on the Honda 2000i, and the option of linking 2 together is awesome. The thing about the 2000 is that they are, for the most part, easily carried by one person. Unless you have a larger generator loaded somewhere permanently, the 2000 can be toted on, or off, your vehicle and set at a perferred location. I believe the key word in Camping is "Options" ! The Honda 2000i can be easily handled, and it can be linked to another 2000 for doubling your power. Happy Camping !!! |
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Posted: 01 Oct 2009 at 10:50pm |
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I'm lucky that I got the "older" 172 and the AC can run off of a single EU2000i.
My Honda EU2000i weighs about 47 pounds filled with gas.
It's an effort to lift this thing onto the back of my 4x4 pick up truck.
I have considered getting a bigger generator like the Yamaha 2800i, but that thing weighs 64 pounds and the Honda EU3000i weighs a whopping 134 pounds.
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Posted: 02 Oct 2009 at 12:12am |
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If you're considering a generator, make sure to look into one with inverter technology (the Hondas and Yamahas mentioned so far in this thread have digital inverters). These generators provide cleaner power and are better suited for running electronic equipment (like computers, TVs and microwaves).
Pay close attention to the noise rating (shown in decibels or db). The better, quieter generators are in th 54-58 db range. Remember: the decibel is a logarithmic scale - a difference of 10 is a doubling of sound. A 68 db generator is twice as loud as a 58 db generator. |
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gmandual
Senior Member 
Joined: 19 Jul 2009 Online Status: Offline Posts: 246 |
Posted: 02 Oct 2009 at 12:37am |
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Another thing to point out, is that there is no industry standard for how to measure and give decibel rating for generators. So you have to read the specs closely. You will see stuff like 68db at 7 meters at half load. Which means that its sounds like 68db when you are 7 meters away from the unit, when you are only utilizing half of the generators capacity. The general rule is the more load you put on a generator the louder it will be, so if you pull 1800watts from a 2000watt generator its going to be louder then when you pull 1000watts.
So when comparing the noise of generators be careful to not get caught up with the marketing and look at the details. YOu need to know the sound level in db, at what distance, and at what load to make good comparisions. Its often very hard to accurately guage how loud a generator will be with out using it under the conditions you will use it. As the manufacturers don't make it easy to compare the units. Some companies like troy-bilt don't even publish db ratings for their generators because even they think most of the rating methods are bogus.
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techntrek
Admin Group - pHp 
Joined: 29 Jul 2009 Location: MD Online Status: Offline Posts: 9062 |
Posted: 02 Oct 2009 at 1:19pm |
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Outbound, not necessarily true. The high-frequency switching power supplies on most computers now filter out "dirty" power w/o a problem. Same should be true of the converter (powering the lights and furnace blower) and TV in our 'pods. Dirty power really is only a problem with incandescent lights and tube TVs.
That said, I would never buy an inverter or small genset unless it had true sinewave output.
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techntrek
Admin Group - pHp
Joined: 29 Jul 2009 Location: MD Online Status: Offline Posts: 9062 |
Posted: 02 Oct 2009 at 1:21pm |
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plantkiller - people on other forums have gotten 13,500 btu A/Cs to run from the smaller Hondas. Usually requires soft-start kits on the A/Cs, and still no guarantees with some failures. But possible.
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Posted: 03 Oct 2009 at 8:23am |
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Wow-all of you are so helpful. We haven't even taken delivery and it is so comforting to know that once we do, there are so many great folks out there willing to help the helpless!
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Posted: 03 Oct 2009 at 8:25am |
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Plantkiller-I see that you are in VA-did you buy your pod locally?
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From a R-Pod newbie