Community Forums

jondrew55 · 04-11-2015, 05:23 PM

Looking at some of the higher end class As is see the term "All Electric" thrown around. What exactly does that mean? I'm assuming maybe it refers to having enough generator/house batteries that you can run everything (AC, fridge, water heater) on the house batteries/inverter alone without running the generator?

Skip426 · 04-11-2015, 05:29 PM

Most times it means , no propane system in the coach , electric stove top, residential fridge, heat strips instead of a furnace and up to 16 or 20 , golf cart batteries to power the inverters. Still would only have limited operation time without shore power or generator

palehorse89 · 04-11-2015, 05:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jondrew

Looking at some of the higher end class As is see the term "All Electric" thrown around. What exactly does that mean? I'm assuming maybe it refers to having enough generator/house batteries that you can run everything (AC, fridge, water heater) on the house batteries/inverter alone without running the generator?

You are close........Simply....there is no propane..........Inverters and batteries along with the generator set up on "Auto-Gen start" keeps them maintained. So , yes, the genset has to run, if not plugged into shore power or the engine is not running.

Peralko · 04-11-2015, 06:09 PM

As mentioned, all-electric simply means no propane on board. Most will have a diesel-fired heat system, like AquaHot or Webasto. How long the coach will run without generator use depend on the amount of electricity used and the size of the house batteries. Solar panels will extend time without generator use as well.

nothermark · 04-11-2015, 06:19 PM

Also not really boondocking friendly. IT takes a lot of battery to equal the convenience of a tank of propane.

Papa_Jim · 04-11-2015, 06:35 PM

I think it could be boondocking friendly.

Just have to figure out how many batteries and solar panels it will take to replace the propane bottle.

Jim

TMan59 · 04-11-2015, 06:41 PM

I have wondered does that auto Gen start up all hours of the night? That could drive me crazy. All electric sounds nice though.

Papa_Jim · 04-11-2015, 06:52 PM

The need to charge batteries is totally determined by how much current is being drawn from the batteries. I would think that as long as the batteries are charged up before bedtime, there shouldn't be any need to charge them through the night.

Jim

Hikerdogs · 04-11-2015, 06:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TMan59

I have wondered does that auto Gen start up all hours of the night? That could drive me crazy. All electric sounds nice though.

The generator auto start can be programed for "quiet hours". Essentially you can tell it not to start during certain periods of the day or night. We've never had to use ours in the night time hours, so I don't know if it gives some type of signal when it recognizes the batteries need charging during the time periods it's programed not to run.

PDR John · 04-11-2015, 07:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skip426

Most times it means , no propane system in the coach , electric stove top, residential fridge,(YES to this) heat strips instead of a furnace (no, we have heat pumps like other RVs) and up to 16 or 20 Not quite the norm, ours only has 8. Like most all electric. King Aire has 16, but 8 are for the center AC unit while driving , golf cart batteries to power the inverters. Still would only have limited operation time without shore power or generator

Generally 24 hours before needing a recharge.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TMan59

I have wondered does that auto Gen start up all hours of the night? That could drive me crazy. All electric sounds nice though.

Auto gen start has a quiet time setting. Ours can also be programmed to start at time of day, discard percent, volts and temperature. Lots of options.

It also means having a full size regular frig and unlimited hot water.

Smosher · 04-11-2015, 07:08 PM

You can program the quiet time as per some campgrounds rules. My new London Aire will look ahead before quiet time and will top off the batteries before the quiet time even if I have set it not to start untill it gets to 12 volts. It's smart it must have someone with a volt meter and the ability to have fortune telling skills. I have looked and he is hiding somewhere in the coach at least he doesn't eat much, just electricity.
Steve

89sandman · 04-11-2015, 10:49 PM

Boondocking friendly? I know I don't want to listen to someones generator run for hours a day. Where we camp there are no hookups and the generator is fired up only to use the microwave for a few minutes at a time. Think it is more for RV resort type use.

nothermark · 04-12-2015, 04:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Papa_Jim

I think it could be boondocking friendly.

Just have to figure out how many batteries and solar panels it will take to replace the propane bottle.

Jim

A LOT. That is the problem. A 40 ft DP has the capacity to handle it as long as one wants to give up the space and weight for other things. Smaller than that gets interesting fast.

We do not seem to lack hot water or cold ice cream and beverages with propane. All that generator time is not cheap. Probably costs as much or more as running propane. I find the whole thing somewhat puzzling.

HoneyBadger · 04-12-2015, 06:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nothermark

I find the whole thing somewhat puzzling.

While folks have their own reasons to go all-electric, no doubt, I have found a surprising number of people who are just flat out secretly (and not so secretly) afraid of propane.

Perhaps they were raised and lived in an all-electric environment and just never got comfortable with the concept of gas.

Its common, though.