Re: [A/S] Portable Generators

[Jim Dunmyer <jdunmyer@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Terry & Joy,
  Even the EU1000i will run everything except the microwave, electric 
water heater, and A/C; the EU2000i will run the M/W OR the water heater, 
but not the A/C.

Lights, TV, and water pump don't amount to very much load at all. The 
most 12VDC load that I've observed on my eMeter was a bit over 20 amps, 
and that's only 2 amps from the 120 volt AC line. The great part about 
the small Honda gensets is that they have a 12VDC output for battery 
charging. I'd imagine that, given decent batteries, you could run the 
genset 2 or 3 hours a day to make all the power you need for the rest of 
the time.

RE: inverters: you need to be aware that an inverter draws 10 times the 
current from your batteries that it is providing to a load. Even our 
little 300 watt outfit can put a 30-amp load on the batteries, something 
that isn't going to work for very long periods. Use your 1500-watt 
inverter to make coffee and you'll go a long way towards killing the 
batteries. A 1000 watt coffeepot will cause an 80+ amp load on the 
batteries. Running it for 20 minutes will use nearly 30 amp-hours of 
'juice'. As a point of reference, we use about 20-25 AH on a normal 24 
hour day, including TV. The latter is a 5" color unit that draws only 1 
amp of current.

You're on the right track with the small Honda gensets, they're very 
quiet and don't annoy the neighbors. You've also made an important step 
in going to flourescent lights. Terry Tyler pointed you to 
http://www.rvsolarelectric.com for some research. His advice is excellent.

You should be aware that you can install a useable solar system for 
about the cost of the Honda. One 75-watt panel and a controller will run 
about $500.00. We've found that our pair of 75-watt panels have given us 
total power independance. One stay last Summer was 3 weeks w/o moving, 
and we never wanted for electricity. A nice thing about solar power is 
that it's modular; install a controller and one panel now, and if you 
find it inadaquet you can easily add another panel or 2.

                                  <<Jim>>