Hello all, just would like imput from all you fine folks, looking to buy a gas generator for my 5th wheel, thought about propane, but I do about 40 percent of dry camping a year and run approx 8 hours a day on the genset 8-10 days at a time. I think propane usage would be high, so anyway what would be a good genset for 50 amp service ? Is there generaly a receptical on the genset for just the 50 amp plug from the 5th wheel to plug into? or do I need to get adaptors ect? what works for you ? some that I see have 50 amp 240 volt outlet??? appreciate any and all suggestions. thank you.
Well, depending on what you are running would determine if you truely need 240. In reality, you just need to have 2 seperate legs of 110 that don't necessarily have to be out of phase.
I have been looking myself and am looking at the several different models. Yamaha EF6300, Honda EU6500, and then a Generac Quietpact 65G.
The Yamaha and Honda have 110 or 220 volt and are self contained. The Generac can do 110 or 220 but would require some wiring changes to be made for 220. It would also need a fuel tank and would also need you to wire in a box for your camper to plug into, but would also be less portable overall...maybe harder to steal too, I don't know.
I am wanting something that I can also use as a back-up for our home as well. I am curious to hear the other responses to your post. Maybe it will help me decide too. I think any of the 3 that I mentioned would be adiquate for 2 A/C units and leave you power left over to not have to worry as much about power management.
Also, if you plan to use it 8 hours a day, I don't think I would reccomend going LP...it would really deplete your tanks quick and may not be as easy to get them refilled. However that is just my opinion.
Best wishes, ans let us know what you get and how you like it.
In reality, you have a 50A 240VAC service, which is two parallel 50A circuits at 110VAC. A lot different than the 30A 110VAC, in that you have the capacity of 100A at 110VAC. To generate the whole capacity would be 12,000 watt using a 20% over-rate. You would need to haul a gas tanker with you to run it very long.
You would be better off adding up your demand while boondocking, adding a little extra capacity, and sizing the generator to that rather than the service capacity. We get reasonable service from our 5,500 watt. A trade off for us would be improved capacity from a 6,500 or 7,000 watt, but at a higher fuel consumption. Some boondockers get by with 2,000 and 3,000 watt just great. It just depends on what you want to run - AC + any 1,500 watt appliance would put you into a 4,000 watt pretty fast.
I believe that 50-amp RV service consists of two, 115 volt circuits each capable of 50 amps. (115v x 50a x 2circuits = 11,500 watts) Cummins Onan makes a diesel generator rated at 12,500 watts. It weighs almost 800 pounds. I'm guessing you could pick one up (not literally) for something in the range of $10,000.
Maybe you want to consider 30-amp service. You can get there with a couple of Honda EU2000s for about $1,000 each. They weigh less than 50 pounds each.
Robert
'09 International DuraStar 4400 (Snowflake)
'07 HH CE 35 CKQG Plan 2 (Carpe Diem)
"Being retired means waking up with nothing to do,
. . . and going to bed with half of it done!"
You do not need to duplicate the full capacity of your 50 amp service with a generator. There are a lot of factory-built RVs like mine with 50 amp service and an Onan 5.5 kw gas generator. That is enough power to run two air conditioners and a microwave oven. I doubt that you would need more than that.
I bought the Yamaha 6300 and can run 120v or 240. I can run both my ac's and microwave at the same time. You don't get two 50a legs on 240v however. I believe it is 23-24 amps each. It is quiet and also has an eco throttle. I installed the remote start also. I also have a Freedom 2500w inverter which sometimes gives the generator a boost to start the ac's when on 240v. The 120v starts both ac's easier. I haven't used it much but so far I am impressed. BTW it weighs 200lbs.
Dave
I think a good question to also ask everyone would be their thoughts and experience on the noise level inside their 5er's with a gen inside their basements. I've often considered adding an onboard gen but without that piece of info from a few people I'm not going forward with the project.
Bob Wetherbee` wrote: I think a good question to also ask everyone would be their thoughts and experience on the noise level inside their 5er's with a gen inside their basements. I've often considered adding an onboard gen but without that piece of info from a few people I'm not going forward with the project.
If they are installed as RV type installations using RV generators, they are super quiet. On ours, if the fantastic fan is on, I actually have to step outside to verify the generator started, because I can't hear it.
Our 5er came generator prepped which included a heat shield and knock out floor panel. The Onan is completely enclosed in a sound proofed case that draws air up from the bottom knockout. The exhaust has a 12-in muffler inside the case and exits out the side. When the outside cabinet door closed, it is impressively quiet, but you really would have to hear one to be convinced.
It depends on what you are going to run at one time. I had a Onan 5500 on my Allegro Open Road that provided 50 amp service. I have a 7500 (I think) on my Alfa that provides 50 amp service. If you have added equipment, you can put too much demand on the unit and kick out breakers
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