gypsies2 Report post Posted January 21, 2011 Hi. I would like some info on dry camping. I have an Allegro Red with an 8k generator. I know I can use it for dry camping, but it does use quite a bit of fuel when using it maybe four hours a day at different times. We don't use a lot of amps during the day, and only a little at night. I thought buying a 1,000-watt generator and with my four 6-volt house batteries, it would be more convenient with a small little engine charging than my big generator. Thanks for helping. John Allevi Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest BillAdams Report post Posted January 21, 2011 That sounds like a very logical solution if it will keep your batteries charged (do you have any solar) and keep up with your power demands (battery drain). What equipment do you plan to use and for how long? What size batteries and what capacity? What is your total draw and will the generator keep up? Can you get by with less? Do you not want to get by with less? We need more details and I suspect that you need to do a bit more research as well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shields Report post Posted January 21, 2011 Hi John, Welcome to the FMCA forum. Assuming that your coach is diesel powered, carrying a small generator also means gas cans which -- in your basement compartments -- may create safety issues. Assuming your existing genset burns about 0.5 gallons per hour, fuel costs at $300/gallon, and a quality gas-powered generator costs $250, then you will use the small generator about 150 hours (since the small unit uses some fuel) before you break even. If you dry camp often, it may be a good plan. But do think through the safety issues carefully. Good luck, Tim Shields Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wolfe10 Report post Posted January 21, 2011 John, Welcome to the FMCA Forum. We will need more details on exactly what electrical components you have as well as your electrical consumption to give you good advice. Is the generator gas or diesel? How many amp-hrs is your house battery(s)? Estimate your 24 hour amp-hr use. What converter, charger, or inverter/charger do you have? How much 120 VAC it draws at maximum charge rate will determine what size "small" generator you would need. If an inverter/charger, has it been programmed? This information will also give you a better idea of how many hours you would need to run the "big" generator to recharge the batteries. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest BillAdams Report post Posted January 21, 2011 Hi John,Welcome to the FMCA forum. Assuming that your coach is diesel powered, carrying a small generator also means gas cans which -- in your basement compartments -- may create safety issues. Assuming your existing genset burns about 0.5 gallons per hour, fuel costs at $300/gallon, and a quality gas-powered generator costs $250, then you will use the small generator about 150 hours (since the small unit uses some fuel) before you break even. If you dry camp often, it may be a good plan. But do think through the safety issues carefully. Good luck, Tim Shields Many of these little 1000 watt generators will run from 6-12 hours on about a 1/2 gallon of fuel, not 1/2 gallon per hour. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
garykd Report post Posted January 21, 2011 Hi Bill, You may have misread Shield's post. He said the "existing genset". I take this to mean the 8K generator that came with the coach. If I'm wrong, he can correct me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wolfe10 Report post Posted January 21, 2011 My concern is that without some of these details, he could buy a 1000 watt generator and THEN discover that his big inverter/charger overloads it (as many will when charging a discharged battery bank). Said another way, many larger inverter/chargers require more than 1000 watts in 120 VAC to power the charger with deeply discharged batteries. Better to get enough facts to make a wise purchase first time around. Brett Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shields Report post Posted January 22, 2011 John, The points Brett raises are all valid. It's critical to know your current usage, battery capacity, and charging requirements. With that data, you can determine the proper specs for a new, smaller, generator. In the meantime, we are assuming your coach came with a diesel genset; which should consume about 1/2 a gallon of fuel per hour. A new gas powered generator in the 1,000W range should run about 8 hours on a 1/2 gallon of gasoline. Good luck, Tim Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
elkhartjim Report post Posted January 22, 2011 I'm curious as to how he would connect the smaller generator to the charger/inverter, if that is what he is going to do. Would he by pass the coach genset some way? What happens if he is running on the 1000W genset, watching TV and his DW decides to use the hair dryer? I'm sure I'm just missing something here... John, its recommended you run the coach genset at least one hour a month under at least 50% load for exercise. At least that is what my operators manual recommends. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest BillAdams Report post Posted January 22, 2011 No need to by-pass anything. You just plug the coach into the generator the same way you would a campground power post. You will only be getting about 12 amps but that should be enough to keep the batteries charged and run a few lights and one appliance at a time. If you needed a bit more a move to a similar 2000W generator would keep put you in pretty good shape. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cmarq Report post Posted January 22, 2011 A word of caution, small gens like my Honda EU2000i are sold as a 1000 or 2000 watt unit this is the surge rating. You can only run for a short time at that load. My Honda 2000 has a rated load of 1600 watts. So if you calculate you need 1000 watts you will need a larger unit. I have a 38ft Pace Arrow with two 6 volt house batts. I use a 110 watt solar panel and the Honda 2000i and we dry camp all summer with no problem. I run the house gen for the convection oven. Good Luck Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
elkhartjim Report post Posted January 23, 2011 No need to by-pass anything. You just plug the coach into the generator the same way you would a campground power post. You will only be getting about 12 amps but that should be enough to keep the batteries charged and run a few lights and one appliance at a time. If you needed a bit more a move to a similar 2000W generator would keep put you in pretty good shape. DUH!!!! Just color me eat up with the dumb a.. I did admit I was sure I was missing something but I never dreamed it was common sense. Its still January and already I've made a mistake. Thanks Bill. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest BillAdams Report post Posted January 23, 2011 DUH!!!! Just color me eat up with the dumb a.. I did admit I was sure I was missing something but I never dreamed it was common sense. Its still January and already I've made a mistake. Thanks Bill. If this is your first mistake since the 1st of the year, you are way ahead of me. Congratulations. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jbell Report post Posted January 24, 2011 My concern is that without some of these details, he could buy a 1000 watt generator and THEN discover that his big inverter/charger overloads it (as many will when charging a discharged battery bank).Said another way, many larger inverter/chargers require more than 1000 watts in 120 VAC to power the charger with deeply discharged batteries. Better to get enough facts to make a wise purchase first time around. Brett Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jbell Report post Posted January 24, 2011 Brett's post is right on. A 1000w generator will not be enough to to maintain the inverter/charger. I have a Allegro Bus with a 7.5 gen and a 2500 inverter/charger and unless the batteries are completely charged the 1000 gen. set will stall, just too much load. I installed (2) 100 watt solar panels on the roof and problem is now solved. About all we do is tailgating and dry camping. For us solar was the answer. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Digitalsteve Report post Posted February 4, 2011 Brett's post is right on. A 1000w generator will not be enough to to maintain the inverter/charger. I have a Allegro Bus with a 7.5 gen and a 2500 inverter/charger and unless the batteries are completely charged the 1000 gen. set will stall, just too much load. I installed (2) 100 watt solar panels on the roof and problem is now solved. About all we do is tailgating and dry camping. For us solar was the answer. He could run the coach generator until the charging load was reduced, then use the 1000w generator to finish charging and provide some house power. The little generator has a circuit breaker that will trip if it is overloaded, it should not stall. Also he would need to leave the frig and hot water on propane, until the batteries were fully charged, otherwise the generator would trip every time the frig compressor started and or the electric heating element in the hot water heater turned on. (might even have to leave the water heater off in the 120 volts circuit breaker panel.) Jimmy, What was the cost to add the solar? I was thinking of adding some panels to my rig. 200 watts doesn't seem like much, but it would nice if they could keep the batteries (4 8D's) charged enough to run the inside lights (LEDs), water pump and keep the laptop charged. Not sure they would pay for themselves very quickly with fuel savings, but lack of generator noise and pollution would sure be nice. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jbell Report post Posted February 4, 2011 I bought and installed the system myself at a cost of aprox. $1,800.00. It would take a long time to get that back in fuel savings but with the way fuel is going up, who knows. I do love the fact that I can run the TVs and most everything in the coach and not have to run the generator. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
f313653 Report post Posted March 4, 2011 He could run the coach generator until the charging load was reduced, then use the 1000w generator to finish charging and provide some house power. The little generator has a circuit breaker that will trip if it is overloaded, it should not stall. Also he would need to leave the frig and hot water on propane, until the batteries were fully charged, otherwise the generator would trip every time the frig compressor started and or the electric heating element in the hot water heater turned on. (might even have to leave the water heater off in the 120 volts circuit breaker panel.) Jimmy, What was the cost to add the solar? I was thinking of adding some panels to my rig. 200 watts doesn't seem like much, but it would nice if they could keep the batteries (4 8D's) charged enough to run the inside lights (LEDs), water pump and keep the laptop charged. Not sure they would pay for themselves very quickly with fuel savings, but lack of generator noise and pollution would sure be nice. 4 8Ds! That is some serious Amp Hours! I'm not sure of the exact capacity of 8Ds but I know that my 4 group 24s total 320 AH. The rule of thumb for solar to battery AH is (as far as I recall) in the range of 50 to 150 watts of solar per 100 AH of battery. We have 420 watts of solar, nicely in that range for our batteries, but while full timing in Mexico over the winter, with unshaded sun for 5 hours per day, we still need to switch on the Xantrex inverter/charger on occasion to ensure a full charge. We are running our 2 Maxx Air fans about 12 hours per day as well as lights, water pump etc as well as the control boards for the fridge, AC, etc. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
