Generator question

[Harrell]

I don't have much experience with generators but I'm looking for something to power our 50 amp 5th wheel when boondocking (rare occasions). I found this on Amazon and want to see if anyone has an opinion to share? TIA

https://www.amazon.com/Westinghouse-...p?ie=UTF8&th=1

[Toby Dog]

That rascal weighs 211 lbs and the quietest it will ever be is 74 decibels. That's before anything is plugged in. I don't see any mention of it being an inverter model but I may have missed it.
You mention boondocking but I'd spend the money on something quieter.
You've done the right thing by asking. Our former 2800I Yamaha ran our former single AC 30 foot TT with no problem as long as the micro and the ac weren't on at the same time.

[jaydee325]

Agree, loud and heavy.

[J Wiles]

Buy a Honda. They very good and quite. Costly but built to last.

[SteveJ.]

Originally Posted by Harrell

I don't have much experience with generators but I'm looking for something to power our 50 amp 5th wheel when boondocking (rare occasions). I found this on Amazon and want to see if anyone has an opinion to share? TIA

https://www.amazon.com/Westinghouse-...p?ie=UTF8&th=1

That unit will be very loud, please don't buy it for usage in the wild.

Most federal lands have a regulation that states the loudest genny you can use is 60db. Though extremely rarely enforced, it's a good starting point when genny shopping. These will almost all be enclosed inverter gennies. They will cost more than the loud gennies, the price to pay to not be an obnoxious neighbor.

Do you really need a genny that big? A 5,000 watt should be able to 2 A/C units with judicious use of other heavy hitter appliances, 3,000 for 1 A/C.

Please do not get a noisy generator.

[pasdad1]

Wow, 12,500 watts is a big generator. Yes, that gives you the full 50 amps (12,000 watts) you could possibly use, but it is rarely necessary. You even state boondocking is on rare occasions for yourself.

Decide if the boondocking is just for quick overnights while traveling, or you want to spend weeks in the desert, or something in-between. Most are happy with the ability to run 1 air conditioner, or 1 major appliance (microwave, hair dryer, etc) one at a time but not simultaneously. If you can live with that, 2200-3000 watts would be sufficient.

Sometimes in mild weather, you just need enough power to recharge batteries, 2000 watts is fine for that.

The benefit of the smaller “inverter” generators, is that they can combine their outputs if you have more than one. Gives you redundancy if one fails, and also makes each individual generator lighter, and easier to pickup and manage.

Honda generators are the gold standard. Yamaha probably next, followed by champion. The least expensive, but still popular generators are the “predator” line by harbor freight.

[Lowflyer1]

As others have indicated, that 12.5 kW is a loud & heavy monster. We only have a 5.5 kW 30 A backup generator to power our house for those rare power failures and it's plenty for a few days. Enough to power fridge, furnaces, well pump, sump pump, lights, computers & TV. And that thing is loud. But on those days everybody else is also running their generators, so does not bother anybody.
It all boils down to power consumption and what items do you really need at the moment so that it does not get overloaded. The rest, like ACs are luxuries that we can live without a few days.

You may want to reconsider this "boondocking" concept altogether. I assumed most folks want to go there to enjoy peace and quiet.

[xrated]

Along with all the negative points made in the above post, I'll add another...which would certainly be a deal breaker for supplying power to the trailer or even your sticks and bricks.

Something that is often overlooked by many folks is the THD, which stands for Total Harmonic Distortion. In other words, that generator is considered to be very noisy..electrically. It isn't listed in the Amazon info, but if you click on the owner's manual and download that, the THD is listed at equal to or less than 23...which is very high. For comparison sake, typical power coming in from your local utility companies are at 5 or less. Harmonic distortion can and will destroy sensitive electronic components.....control boards in refrigerators, A/C units, Thermostats, etc.

These types of generators are better served for use on construction sites, outdoor power tool usage....saws, lighting, etc. and would likely reek havoc on equipment with electronics on them.

An Inverter type generator is the best bet for your usage....or if you can find a generator that has a less than 5 THD.

[Rockwood27]

I know some are awed with the "12,500 watt" generator, but it's only a 9,500 watt, continuous running, generator. I think there is some "truth" in their advertising. Other than that, most gas engine, Class A motorhomes with 50A service are equipped with an Onan 5.5 KW generator. That's enough power to get you through most occasional boondocking scenarios.

I agree with others that an open frame, contractor generator does not belong in a boondocking environment. I would think that any inverter style generator in the 3,500 to 5,000 watt, continuous duty range will be good enough.

[xrated]

Originally Posted by Rockwood27

I know some are awed with the "12,500 watt" generator, but it's only a 9,500 watt, continuous running, generator. I think there is some "truth" in their advertising. Other than that, most gas engine, Class A motorhomes with 50A service are equipped with an Onan 5.5 KW generator. That's enough power to get you through most occasional boondocking scenarios.

I agree with others that an open frame, contractor generator does not belong in a boondocking environment. I would think that any inverter style generator in the 3,500 to 5,000 watt, continuous duty range will be good enough.

I've got a Westinghouse 20K Watt generator ordered for use at my house. It's big (540 lbs without fuel), somewhat noisy, but the THD is 5 or less...one of the very few non inverter generators that will claim that low of a THD number. I presently have a Yamaha 6300 iSDE Inverter type generator, but it is simply too small for taking care of the house in a power outage situation. We don't have a gas furnace, but instead have a 2 1/2 Ton heat pump and it has a 10Kw electric strip heater for backup/aux. heat. So there's no way that the Yamaha will work for that, thus the 20K Watt running (27K watt peak) generator will be used for my application

PS....the Yamaha 6300 iSDE is going up for sale, as I don't need both.

[Mudfrog]

I bought a Westinghouse 3600 watt generator for my Mom a couple of years ago to use at her house during an electrical outage. It was cheap for sure but it works great for powering things like the refrigerator, a light bulb or two, and a small window a/c unit when needed. The drawback is that it's pretty loud and would not be a good choice for camping.

I have no experience with them myself but I've read on here, posters suggesting the Harbor Freight Predator brand inverter type generators. About half the price of a Honda and just about as quiet. Not sure what sizes they come in but I'd bet there's one that'll do the job.

Edited to add: My Mom's genset has a TT-30R outlet so I plugged the motorhome in to see how it worked. The 15k watt rooftop a/c worked fine with it but again, it's a bit noisy to use it while camping.

[TXiceman]

As others have noted, that set is heavy and LOUD. I would not want to be within about 100 yards as a neighbor. Do yourself and the neighbors a big favor and get a Honda EU series quiet generator. What you are looking at is a "contractor grade" generator.

If you are boondocking, will you need to run all 50 amps, both A/C units, microwave, etc? Look at what you really need to run to be comfortable. We have two Honda EU2000i inverter generators. If all we want to run is a few lights, the TV and the microwave, we run one of them. If we need to run one A/C unit, we will parallel them and run the A/C for a short time.

Ken

[1stimerveer]

You might want to consider an Onan 4500i inverter generator. Thats what we use on our 30 amp system. It weighs in at about 100 lbs and is priced at around $1,000. We've had it run all night keeping the AC running and still had left over fuel, in the morning.

Two of the rvers we camp with us are have 5th wheel trailers set up for 50 amps but use a Harbor freight 3500 watt inverter when boondocking.

Both are relatively quiet and will run a single AC unit along with your 12 volt system charger and other minor loads such as TV, lights etc. Our Onan 4500i does all of that plus a drip coffee maker and toaster.

Just use a 50amp to 30 amp adapter to connect your rig to the generator.

The one you're looking at would be extremely loud. Just think of what it would be like standing next to a running lawnmower for a few hours.

[wopachop]

Two main questions.
1. Are you camping in hot weather and need the AC?
2. Are you camping in cold weather and using a propane furnace?

The quick and easy and somewhat cheapest option is a Honda 2200 or Predator2000. Those work great boondocking. Just cant run the AC.