Technical Generator or inverter ??

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Technical Generator or inverter ??

Timncfc

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Hi,
am planning a trip to europe and a lot of the stop offs will be with no electrical hook up, what am i best buying for a 5 berth motorhome a generator or inverter, im new to all this so please if i have asked a silly question bear with me.

Thanks in advance
 
Hi There ,
I have added refillable gas containers and a 120 watt solar panel to my camper and don't need a hookup unless I want to use an electric kettle ,smoothing iron or microwave
Cost about the same as a generator and unless you buy a diesel generator you will have to carry a container of petrol as well
Check it out
Marano
 
Noisy generators seem to cause more fights on campsites than everything else.
The current Ducato comes with a massive 160amp alternator as standard, mine charges the leisure battery very quickly even on tickover, and the low hum of its engine ticking over is far less obtrusive than a cheap generator which is as annoying as a buzzing fly. (PS: admittedly the more expensive generators like Honda are 'soundproofed' so not as bad)
But the Ice Cream Men run their van engines on tickover all day every rather than carry a generator - are you sure you need one?
I always camp without hook up and never carry a generator.
 
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We go to Europe in our four birth ducato an just use an inverter with no problems
 
Yes but on a generator cant u use plugs to charge phones etc, watch tv or is there summat im missing
 
We manage to charge phones watch tv with out any problems I have a 1000 wat out put inverter
 
But the Ice Cream Men run their van engines on tickover all day every rather than carry a generator - are you sure you need one?

they run all day because the soft machine runs off a drive-shaft from the engine, the fridges used to be charged at night and used unpowered all day, not sure if that bits changes with new tech but was looking at some for sale the other day and one said it had new belts to drive-shaft for soft machine fitted so i reckon that bits still the same.
 
In July I camped in a field (so no EHU available) for three weeks watching TV for approx 4 hours daily & charging phones & netbook as required from my inverter. The battery voltage didn't drop unduly so I guess I could have gone without mains for much longer. I didn't use the van in this time nor run the engine, however July was the sunniest (in Essex) for many years, and a generator might be necessary in winter months or when there is less sunshine.

I wouldn't want a generator for the reasons stated but have fitted LED interior lighting, an 80W solar panel, and 2 85AH good quality leisure batteries (I could also recount some horror stories of miserably dark and quiet evenings from previously fitting cheap ones:))
 
they run all day because the soft machine runs off a drive-shaft from the engine, the fridges used to be charged at night and used unpowered all day, not sure if that bits changes with new tech but was looking at some for sale the other day and one said it had new belts to drive-shaft for soft machine fitted so i reckon that bits still the same.

Fair point yes, what I was trying to say is it obviously doesn't do any significant harm to the engine to run it on tickover, and its presumably more efficient than carrying a separate little generator to power an electrically driven ice cream stirrer. I don't know exactly how much fuel I have used by running my engine on tickover to charge the battery, but I have got 34.3mpg (genuine not computer fibs) over the 30,000 miles I have had my X2/50 (Citroen Relay L4 H2 Heavy 120bhp) so I am well satisfied with that.
In any case I wouldn't want to make myself unpopular by firing up one of those smelly horrible buzzing cheap generators within earshot of other motorhomers.
 
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Thanks guys for all your responses, my motorhome is a 96 Ducato, it has no solar panel, the guy who sold it me had no idea what anything did in the van as he was selling it on behalf of his parents who were away.

The fridge is probably my biggest concern for cold drinks and keeping food chilled, it does seem to have controls for gas but there are no instructions and as im not techie minded the stuff ive worked out has been trial and error.

So a generator sounds a bad option, an inverter maybe, the van appears to have some sort of heating ( carver i think) but alas no instructions.

Its my first motorhome and its great, im amazed how much we have used it and have covered nearly 3,000 miles already, would love a newer one but would seek advice on here first
 
Thanks guys for all your responses, my motorhome is a 96 Ducato, it has no solar panel, the guy who sold it me had no idea what anything did in the van as he was selling it on behalf of his parents who were away.

The fridge is probably my biggest concern for cold drinks and keeping food chilled, it does seem to have controls for gas but there are no instructions and as im not techie minded the stuff ive worked out has been trial and error.

So a generator sounds a bad option, an inverter maybe, the van appears to have some sort of heating ( carver i think) but alas no instructions.

Its my first motorhome and its great, im amazed how much we have used it and have covered nearly 3,000 miles already, would love a newer one but would seek advice on here first

Run the fridge off gas, and the heating, and water.

Switch the bulbs for LEDs for the lighting, and 12v adaptors for chargers etc.

We have the same age van, the wiring and alternator aren't really good enough to re charge the battery unless it moves, new ones are a lot better.

We managed to last a fortnight not moving though.
 
It depends on what you want to power. I always go for an inverter. Then i'm bias because I am an agent for Samlex inverters. With a generator you can plug into your mains socket and charge your on board battery. If you go for an inverter increase your battery capacity and make sure your split charger is rated powerfull enough to charge the batterys.
Bob
 
I have just bought a 96 elddis. The wiring was in a right mess. To run the fridge on the move the split charger should automatically power up the fridge. Make sure the leasure battery is not connected to the element in the fridge like mine was or you will quickly have a flat battery. It should only be connected to the ignition device for the gas. If you need any advice on wiring please email me. A generator has the advantage of being able to charge the batterys. You could buy a small 750 watt for about £50 for emergency's and still use an inverter which is more usefull for powering small items. If you go for an inverter increase your leasure battery capacity and make sure the split charger is rated high enough to charge them and that it is wired correctly.
Bob
 
If you go for the generator option make sure you get a super quiet one (like a Honda suitcase type but not cheap and very nickable) otherwise you'll get a whole lot of earache from your neighbours and campers!
I've seen people hide them in hedges and cover them with ventilated silencer boxes to minimise the noise and not cause a disturbance.
If you use a generator you are better using the '12v' output into a power integrator (like a battery to battery charger) to ensure you get enough amps into the leisure battery at the correct voltage (a 12v dc generator output won't charge your battery to anywhere near 100% charge). You can use the 230v ac output into a multi stage 'intelligent' charger but you will need one capable of at least 20A output the achieve anything.
Remember that even though your leisure battery may be rated at say 110 amphours by the time the voltage has fallen to 12.1 volts the battery is almost 'dead' and 50% discharged. Run of the mill leisure batteries don't like being regularly discharged to 50% and will shorten their useful life.
So even if you manage to get your battery 100% charged (very doubtful) by the time it's 50% discharged you will have only have got 55Ahrs out of it (ie half its rated capacity!)
Don't be tempted to use a cheapo unregulated generator they are a waste of time and really upset your neighbours with noise and emissions.
 
i have a 3000 watt inverter and a 1000 amp;lithium storage battery charging off an 80 amp dc to dc charger can boil a kettle and run an inverter air conditioner for 13 hours before even looking at recharging expensive option but worthwhile saves carrying a generator and different fuel cheers adam
 
i have a 3000 watt inverter and a 1000 amp;lithium storage battery charging off an 80 amp dc to dc charger can boil a kettle and run an inverter air conditioner for 13 hours before even looking at recharging expensive option but worthwhile saves carrying a generator and different fuel cheers adam

Where did you get the battery!
 
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