Re: [a/s] Genset...

[Chris Bryant <bryantrv@xxxxxxxxxx>]

At 04:51 PM 1/7/00 -0600, jim clark wrote:
>As I am headed in this direction myself, I am wondering...
>1. Is the Onan still the right choice.. or should it be one of the Honda
> or other Japanese) gensets?

	Honda does make a good RV genset, but I still prefer the Onan- mine is 12
years old now, with several thousand hours on it, and other than tune-ups,
and a couple of cracked exhaust manifolds (which cracked because of the way
I have the exhaust hung under the truck), it has given me no problems.

>2. Would it be prudent to design it so that you can drop it on the ground
>(and chain it to the trailer)

	Mine is permanently mounted- it would take a couple of hours to remove it.

>3. 4 kw seems a good choice, but some are recommending either 2kw.. or 5
>kw... ( no air or air +)
	
	The reason that the 4 kw is so popular is that it supplies 30 amps- well
matched to the supply of the trailer (IOW- you can run anything that you
can in a campground).
	The smallest I would get would be a 2800- big enough for an A/C- or go
small and portable, with one of the new little Honda 1 kw models (I think
it is the EU 1000 ?).

>4.  The big units are not "luggable" for me... do I need some kind of post
>hoist???  If it stays with the truck.. the answer is probably no...
>everything else is "luggable"


	There is a big difference between the portable, "lawnmower engine"
gensets, and the RV gensets, including price. Mt setup would not work with
one of the portables, but the Onan (Emerald) was designed to be enclosed,
as it has forced air cooling, and was designed for an external muffler. It
also cost about $1800 when I bought it- they are up in the $23-2500 range
now, but the newer ones do have some advantages that mine doesn't have-
better voltage regulation, and electronic ignition.

>5.  Since the Chris Bryant design worked... could some of the "details" be
>made available?? Pic??
>
>Any and all advice would be appreciated...

	Mine wasn't all that hard to do- other than cringing when I cut the holes
in my nice new truck (but as I said- the holes are invisible from the
outside- no cuts through the side).

	IMHO- this option is not viable for a portable set- it must be a
permanent, RV type genset. Generac has an interesting design in the "Impact
3600", I've seen one, but never heard it run, and really do not have any
feedback on it. It only weighs 88 lbs, and is the kind that uses an
external inverter to supply the 120 vac current, so the engine will run at
a variable speed- faster for more load.

	If I ever get a chance to take a picture, and bribe my friend to scan it,
I'll post it somewhere..

________
	
	Chris Bryant
	Bryant RV Services
	DeLand, Florida
	mailto:bryantrv@totcon.com