Generator, what will it run?

[Mrjkq]

Getting serious about purchasing a Yamaha 2000 portable generator, also like the Honda 2000. I'm aware it will not run my Air, the question is will it run everything else WITHOUT picking & choosing what to use. We usually do not boondock although we may do more next year on a cross country trip. Maybe a companion in the future if needed.

[BoldAdventure]

Mine will run everything in our Airstream, furnace, 28 inch Samsung TV, charge two iphones, 3 ipads and two MacBooks Pro's. And when it's running I usually plug in everything to charge, including a Bose Mini Bluetooth Soundlink, My camera batteries, and some other rechargeable stuff. Figure I might as well right?

[Mrjkq]

What about, coffee maker, microwave, blow dryer & electric end of water heater, maybe not all together but how much of this mix can it handle?

[scamp]

A 2000 watt generator will run aprox 1600 watts continuous depends on model and make see the manufacture specs, so if you look at the rating label on each item you want to power you will get a good idea, watts =volts x amps but you must also be aware that any electric motor( inductive) on start up can use up to four times the amperage such as you air conditioning compressor.

Don

[Bill M.]

No, it will not run all that stuff at once. You are gonna pick and choose. The converter in the Airstream draws some amps. The water heater is a big draw when it is on. I use the propane. We have a fairly large microwave and I have had it kick off on the generator. Most times it runs fine but at high altitude it is just enough. If you really want to run a whole bunch of stuff without thinking about it you need to get a big gen (like a 3500) for the truck bed and you can then run your air conditioner too. I would say you would probably get away with any 2 of the items you have listed at one time except for the microwave.

[BoldAdventure]

Originally Posted by Mrjkq

What about, coffee maker, microwave, blow dryer & electric end of water heater, maybe not all together but how much of this mix can it handle?

I don't have any of that stuff. Mine handles all stated above.

[larryglarson]

One will run everything but air if you turn your water heater to propane. I have two Honda's and they will run everything with ease.

[AnnArborBob]

Originally Posted by scamp

A 2000 watt generator will run aprox 1600 watts continuous depends on model and make see the manufacture specs, so if you look at the rating label on each item you want to power you will get a good idea, watts =volts x amps but you must also be aware that any electric motor( inductive) on start up can use up to four times the amperage such as you air conditioning compressor.

Don

Above is the correct information. It's just math. Determine how much continuous output the generator you are considering can produce, then add up your loads. If you try to exceed the generator's capacity, it will shut down and/or trip the breaker.

[ron7852]

We have the Yamaha, and it won't run the convection/microwave.

[B00merang]

My single 2,000 W Honda companion will handle everything that came with the camper including a coffee maker except the AC. That and the microwave requires hooking up the second 2,000 W generator. And here is finally something useful from me: If you do go the twin-Honda-2,000 W-set route, buy two "companion" generators instead of one of each. That way you have a 30W plug on either, along with the standard outlets. I should have though of that before I bought mine 4 years ago. jon

[Amsterdamer]

Step up to the Yamaha 2400 iSHC and you can run the AC. While there is always a larger option, this small step keeps the unit very portable and much more capable.

[Mrjkq]

Thanks for all the feedback on this. Most of what I thought was true. Ron7852 said his Yamaha will not run the convection/microwave although he never what Yamaha he has. Yes I've though about the Yamaha 2400 but the 72 lb weight is a deterrent as lifting it in & out would be a problem.

[GammaDog]

Scamp had the key above. Amps x Volts = Watts and a 2000 watt Honda is rated at 1600 watts of continuous output. There are a lot of threads that touch on this topic. In response to one of those, I ran a bunch of tests and wrote a (too) long post. Here's a segment from that post. The full thread is at: http://www.airforums.com/forums/f42/...-140028-4.html

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Now, on to the question of "what can I run with one, or two Honda EU2000s?". I mentioned yesterday that I cannot run my factory installed AC (a Dometic Penguin II 15,000 BTU AC/heat pump which Dometic says draws 13.4 amps for the compressor plus 2.6 for the fan or 16.0 amps total) and microwave (Sharp carousel micro/convection at 12.5 amps as a microwave, more in convection mode) at the same time with the two EU2000s in parallel. I did not mention that there are other loads on the system. The other biggie is my aftermarket Progressive Dynamics 4655v converter/charger. The 55amp (DC) model draws up to 950 watts or 7.9 amps of AC.

When I fire up the generators and connect them to the trailer and want AC I assume that the converter usually wants all the power it can draw to charge batteries and handle the 12v load. Let's do the math...

16.0 amps of AC plus 7.9 amps of converter (23.9 amps total) at 120 volts is 2,868 watts. The Hondas are rated at 1,600 each continuous.... 3,200 for the pair. 2,868 is under their capacity. All is good. Now, GammaDog wants a frozen burrito to become a mouth burner and kicks in 12.5 amps of microwave and the total is 36.4 amps or at 120 volts 4,368 watts. That exceeds both the sustained 3,200 watt and max 4,000 watt output of the pair of Hondas and nasty things happen since the resulting voltage drop is bad for the burrito and any device on the system. (Has your "30 Amp" Airstream ever tripped a 30 amp breaker on a campsite pedestal? Mine has. Now you see how that happens. The breaker was likely working as designed. Thank you Square-D!). If the converter happened to be asleep at the time I hit the microwave "go" button the AC and micro would have worked. I know that it's a "smart charger". It might be smart enough to take a break now and again. If you had a similar experience and said "gee... that wasn't a problem last time I ran the micro and AC at the same time" it could be that "last time" your converter was not drawing full power to charge low batteries when you asked the microwave to cook your dinner.

The solution is to turn off any one of those loads so the other two don't overload the generator pair.
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So, for a your trailer you can do the same exercise. Tally up the wattage of each draw you plan to place on the system. If you have a microwave, power converter, tv, coffee pot, hair dryer, etc., a single Honda EU 2000 rated at 1600 watts continuous will be overtaxed. If you have upgraded the converter to a 55 Amp three stage model like ours and have the Sharp carousel microwave that we have just those two loads at the same time are too much for a single Honda 2000.