Generator and Fuel Management...

[The Gritz Carlton]

And, to add to the mix, they also have these "Extend-A-Stay" valves you can add to your built in propane tank that allow you to use an external 20# or 30# bottle for areas where filling the built in LP tank is scarce. I think preservation and alternative methods for needed resources are great practice as you never know when you're gonna get stuck somewhere for an extended time or for those times something breaks...these are RV's and things do break when you least expect it and need it the most. I also carry a 3 month supply of Mountain House (30 year shelf life) freeze dried foods (less than 100 pounds) in #10 cans and single meal pouches for those"just in case" moments, as well as a Kaytadyn Pocket Water Filter that will filter 13K gallons of water from a stream or pond. If things go bad, I'm the kind of guy you hope to be camping near. Preparedness is peace of mind.

[wredman]

have you tried to run a coffee maker off of the inverter?

[Chance]

Originally Posted by The Gritz Carlton

tigwelder..read the entire thread...it isn't about "the cost of a little gas", but you are exactly right...that's what I used..."a little bit of gas". I t was a great weekend and a fun experiment. Overall, I used 5 gallons of gas and approximately 2-3 gallons of diesel...over a 3 day period. During the cool mornings I used the Champion for coffee and small stuff. During the peak heat hours mid-day I ran the Onan when I needed both A/C's and it ran flawlessly. you could hang meat in the MH. At night when only one A/C was needed...back to the Champion. Had I ran the Onan the entire time we used generators, I would have used 20-25 gallons of diesel, minimum. There were a few others doing the same thing as me. .....cut......

I can’t follow how you get to that estimate. If the Champion only used 5 gallons of gasoline total, how can it take the Onan almost 20 gallons of diesel to do exactly the same job.

Data suggest both generators would use about the same amount of fuel to run one A/C, or make coffee, etc. in that power range. Even if the Onan used a little more, it would be a minimal difference. It would never need 3 ~ 4 times more fuel.

Actually, under most cases your Onan should use less fuel than the Champion. Maybe you can elaborate on how you came up with these numbers because the entire premise of the thread is to manage fuel useage.

[The Gritz Carlton]

wredman: Yes, it works perfectly for coffee. Runs one 13.5 A/C, or the hair dryer, or the microwave.

Chance: Onan is a 3 cylinder 719cc Kubota engine. Champion is a 171cc single cylinder engine. What's not to understand about this??? Show me how to get fuel consumption the same for both and we'll go to Shark Tank. Go to the manufacturer's websites for both and look at estimated fuel consumption. I think they know more about their own products than you.

[wredman]

Originally Posted by The Gritz Carlton

wredman: Yes, it works perfectly for coffee. Runs one 13.5 A/C, or the hair dryer, or the microwave.

Chance: Onan is a 3 cylinder 719cc Kubota engine. Champion is a 171cc single cylinder engine. What's not to understand about this??? Show me how to get fuel consumption the same for both and we'll go to Shark Tank. Go to the manufacturer's websites for both and look at estimated fuel consumption. I think they know more about their own products than you.

the bigger engine will have more inherent waste, the trick is to run them at higher load demands, then the waste will be "smaller in proportion" to the usable demand. Thats why I ask about the coffee maker, if you can get by with a medium-high appliance on the inverter/batteries, then you can use the larger generator to run the AC - AND - charge the batteries at the same time. A larger battery bank will better mesh with your larger generator perhaps.

[The Gritz Carlton]

I mistakenly assumed your question was in reference to the inverter generator. No, the house inverter is not wired to the kitchen outlet for coffee, etc. I use the Champion or Honda, plugged into RV for light use as in coffee maker. Although, coffee maker is 1200W and inverter is 1800W...so it probably would work if wiring was convenient.

[Bob Denman]

I don't know if this is an important consideration or not:
Do you think that the 719cc Onan triple will outlast the 171cc Champion?
If so: by how long?

[The Gritz Carlton]

Millions of years?

[Chance]

Originally Posted by The Gritz Carlton

Chance: Onan is a 3 cylinder 719cc Kubota engine. Champion is a 171cc single cylinder engine. What's not to understand about this??? Show me how to get fuel consumption the same for both and we'll go to Shark Tank. Go to the manufacturer's websites for both and look at estimated fuel consumption. I think they know more about their own products than you.

Ok, so now it’s turn personal. Not surprised.

I’m, and have been, using the manufacturers data, but obviously you’re not. And no, engine displacement doesn’t tell us much since one is a 6 kW generator and the other 2.8 kW, and one is diesel and the other gasoline. To produce same electrical power they could be operating at completely different speeds.

It’s pointless to debate this with you. You have a preconceived theory that is based on pure bull____, and won’t consider any opinion or data that challenges that. And when you can’t defend your theory with objective data, you either make up numbers or turn to personal attacks. I asked a simple question regarding how you concluded your Onan Inverter Diesel would use 3 ~ 4 times more fuel when manufacturers data actually states that the Onan at 25% load (1500 watts) uses less than the Champion at 50% (1400 watts), both around what it takes to power an A/C.

Sorry, but you are flat out wrong on this if doing it to save fuel. The MANUFACTURERS data states it clearly. If you want to save your precious Onan generator from wear and tear, that’s a different matter.

And by the way, just because a lot of “others” at race track are doing it doesn’t make them right. Lots of people thought the Earth was flat. Some still do.

[Bob Denman]

Originally Posted by The Gritz Carlton

Millions of years?

I hope that you live long enough to test out your estimate!

[lazinskm]

Love it. On another side of this topic, why are the onan inboard generators so much more stinking expensive? What is the cost to rebuild them? I have been told to expect 2000 hours or so on it? I rent mine out when I don't use it so generator conservation is not an option for me...

[The Gritz Carlton]

Nothing personal here, man. I witnessed this and it's not the first time I've done this. Who gives a crap at what speed they run...you can't control speed. Generators are mostly two parts...an alternator and an engine. Let's hook up the same alternators to the 171cc gas engine and the same alternator to a Detroit 6v92...run them at the same RPM. The alternators will put out equal power. If you can make the Detroit run on the same amount of fuel over the same time span...go to Shark Tank...you're worth millions. But, my warning...watch out for "Mr. Wonderful"...he'll take you behind the woodshed. Now...take your attitude and....well...you can figure out the rest of that statement.

[Bob Denman]

We're all friends here: workin' on finding the answers to the same problems...

[The Gritz Carlton]

Couldn't agree more Bob...RULE #1, don't walk in the room and start throwing chairs!! Bad things will happen. There's been some great dialog here. As far as hours, I've herd stories of these Onans running for up to 10K hours with good maintenance.

[lazinskm]

Sweet, that would be awesome! Maintenance on the 4000 is crazy simple- the fact that RV places want to charge 50 bucks for it is CRIMINAL

[Bob Denman]

While we were in the midst of our "Death-Match" with our Camping World on May 5th: I noticed that they charge $89.95 for generator service (for the Onan 4000).
If I'm going to get screwed: at least buy me dinner first!