Do i need an inverter type generator ??

thanks Derek , thats helpful to this dumbass ! ( sounds American doesnt it ?! ) just had a look in caravan and mine looks very simillar to the one you have posted here . there is also the switch which has an orange coloured outer , with 4 settings , Off , On , 2 and Both ?

Thank you Rossco ,
i see in the handbook that the AC output is described as a ' modified sine wave " or " Quasi -sine-wave "

Bantam ,
thanks for your post in layman terms , im getting there slowly in understanding so as they say the only silly question is the one that hasnt been asked , so my next question is " does the power coming from the genny have to go into a battery or can it go directly to the electrical appliance you want to run ??!!

The generator you are talking about produces 240V AC power like you would find at home.

It can not go into a battery except via a battery charger.

cheers

Yeah thanks heaps bantam but what i am asking does the power generated have to go into a battery or can it go direct to electrical appliances ?!

Brian,

You can plug your appliances straight into your gennie, or just plug the lead from the gennie straight into your 240 volt supply plug on the side of your caravan and all your internal power points will work, as well as your battery charger and fridge if they are plugged in and turned on.
One more vote for the honda.

Just a few things to remember, there are some items that use a lot of electricity like Electric Jugs, Air Conditioners and such like. Depending on what you want to run you will need to ensure that it will handle the items you plan to use. For example, a small caravan Air Con will use all the resources of a Honda EU2.0. A standard electric Jug will use more then the EU2.0 can produce. An average toaster will use about 2/3rds of the generators output and a microwave unless it is a special low wattage unit will use about 3/4s of the output.

A battery charger of around 25 amp output will only use about 1/4 of the output.

So make sure you get one of the size you need.

The other thing to remember to.

When running off a generator, we can not rely on any of the protective devices, preventing electric shock to work reliably if at all.

SO
When running off a generator we must be pedantic about the condition and state of repair of the electrical items and the level of care in the use of them.

cheers

i appreciate everyones input , thank you all ! When i buy a gennie will make sure its output is more than adequate . rather " over engineer " than the other

Brian. Most people get away with a 2kv generator. It normally will run one of the mentioned items at a time. It is better to have a smaller wattage Kettle though. We have a 1500watt one sourced off ebay from Hong Kong. There is also a safety switch available that is a combination RCD/RVD and is fitted into the house(Van) power box to replace the original RCD. It then protects both external power supply or Inverter/Generator power supply. It is available from RV Powerstream who you may have to ring as it is not listed on their website. For some reason a photo of it will not load to the reply.
Cheers, Bob.

No matter what protective device may be used, without a permanent electrical installation with a permenent connection to the greater mass of earth.....the same level of protection and reliablity as at home can not be expected....do not assume that any protective device will protect you from electric shock when running off a generator.

The only reliable protection is being carefull.

cheers

Not than many years ago, a 2KVA generator was about all one healthy man could lift. a good silenced 5KVA like honda used to sell was the size of a good sized home freezer or a large washing machine and if two men where to lift it...they better have had their wheaties.

These days a good inverter 2KVA can be lifted in one hand....be it a healthy hand..but one hand all the same...remeber what I said about inverters being lighter....oh yeh baby.

There are some very nice 5KVA inverter gennies around that are a reasonable size & weight, pretty quiet and fairly efficient.

If ya trying to run a home away from home with air conditioning...it realy is reasonabl to consider something bigger than 2KVA.

Remember a 2KVA does not even get you as much power as you can pull out of a single power point at home.

cheers

Driving your own earth stake is not recommended, not legal and wont help you......Don't drive an earth stake.

Along with any permament electrical system comes layer upon layer of safety measures.

Start with the earth stake...there is no way the average user can drive an earth stake and know it is adequate.

They you would have to know where to connect that earth stake.....and its probably not where and how you would think.

And it probably wont achieve what you think either.

Then there is the whole specified structure of what is earthed an how.

About 1/4 of the SAA wiring rules is in some way involved in specifying earthing matters.

There is simply no way that the average person can replicate anywhere near, the level of safety we have in our homes and businesses running caravans and camp sites off a generator or inverter.

You MUST rely on a high level of care.

None of the protective measures can be guaranteed to protect you from electric shock.

cheers

So just plug it in and away you go (making sure all connection and cable are fine and ditto with the appliances)??? and forget any earthing device (even though the use manual suggest to have one)

I have a new van, so should be at leats right for a bit.....actually hoping I haven't got to use a generator very much anyway, just be handy to have if it gets bloody hot and also if we get a run of bad weather and I need to recharge.

Yes I understand NEVER run it when raining!!

The generator manual is not the law..the SAA wiring rules are.

There are quite a few things you may find in geberator manuals that are plainly Illegal in this country in our electrical system

The manual is written by some one who has no idea of our electrical system or regulations.....obvioulsy.

Many inverters and generators come with earthing lugs and recomendations about earthing them.....ignore these...this advice is contray to the Australian Standards and does not consider a number of other measures in various electrical systems.

There are very good reasons why we should not earth generators and inverters.....most of the reasoning revolves arround the average persons inability to produce a reliable earth connection AND earth everything else that is required to produce a proper earthed environment.

It is comnsidered that a floating electrical supply presents less risk that one that is not properly earthed involved with otems and structures that are not properly earthed.

There is absolutly no problem running a generator when its raining.......provided that it is properly sheltered....and all the rest of the electrical system is properly protected.


OH one thing....only run one metal cassed appliance off a generator or inverter...all the reast must be double insulated...if you have a caravan or camper...that means all your appliances must be double insulated because the one metal cassed appliance is the caravan.

cheers