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Ratdog View Drop Down
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    Posted: 27 Aug 2012 at 9:04am
As I sit here in my Florida house looking out the window at the Hurricane Isaac rain bands, my thoughts turn to owning a generator. We've been w/o power for a week or more during the aftermath of hurricanes in the past. It's not pleasant and I'd like to plan for future storms.
 
My thought would be for the 2 of us and our dog to move into the rpod should we lose power. What generator would be a good choice to run the rpod including the A/C? I'd also like to be able to run the refrigerator in the house and also the microwave in the rpod. I'm OK with shutting down the A/C if necessary in order to run the microwave or other high power appliances when needed. I can run the rpod refrigerator on propane.
 
We would not be using the generator for camping, just for home emergency use.
 
I'm a little partial to Honda equipment but would consider other brands.
 
Thanks,
-- Steve

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Kenn View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Kenn Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Aug 2012 at 10:10am
I would suggest an EU2000i and the EU2000i companion. These are the reasons I would go with these:

1. The price for both is cheaper than buying a 3000W generator. and you get an extra 1K more power.
2. If you only need 2K of power, then only use one.
3. They're very light and easily fit just about anywhere.
4. If you have to conduct split power operations, then you have two generators.
5. you could shut one down to refuel and not interrupt the A/C power to your pod (providing you use under 2K of power).

Good Luck!

2010 RPOD 176 (Silly-POD), 2011 Forest River Stealth 2612, and 2014 Forest River XLR 380AMP
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Peggy L. Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Aug 2012 at 7:32pm
I can't answer your question but am curious about your plan. We live on the Connecticut shoreline and have experienced hurricanes and two week power outages as well.
 
Where are you planning to keep your pod while you're using it as a temporary shelter? We also do not have any use for the generator while we're camping. But long before we got the pod, we purchased a large generator for the house. As long as you're planning to use the pod, wouldn't it make sense to just drive far enough to get out of the storm's path (and resultant power outages)?
 
Last year when Irene came in we considered moving the pod about fifty miles inland. As it turned out it was a good thing we didn't do that because they got it worse than we did.
Traveling with Herb and the Boon-doggie

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pod people Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Aug 2012 at 9:35pm
We live in North Carolina and have suffered through many ice storms and several hurricanes.  About 8 years ago I finally decide to get an alternate power source. I did a lot of research into home generators both as a homeowner and for our General contracting business.  I have installed  4 different generator systems for homes.

I have put in $25000 units that automatically turn themselves on once a month for testing  and I have also helped friends install simple roll-out generators on wheels that are temporarily wired into the home electrical system.  These are the extremes as to what you can do.

For my personal house, I installed a Honda powered 5000 watt dual fuel unit.  It will run on propane fuel(we live in the country and have a 300 gallon tank for stove, water heater and furnace) or gasoline.  I wanted propane because after a disaster, we might not be able to get out and with no power there is no way to pump gas even if the store was open.

We had it professionally wired into our home electrical system so that it will operate the most crucial  circuits-freezer, well pump, blower for woodstove, bath lights, kitchen lights, refrigerator and microwave.  It is not big enough to power the whole house, but it does the essentials.  Plus, we have a gas stove, gas water heater, gas furnace and a big woodstove.  We have gone 10 days in a row without power in the winter and did fine.

I built a small house-(looks like a dog house) about 20' away from our house to keep the generator under cover.  All 4 sides are hinged at the top so it can be totally open when running.  In order to get generator power we have to plug in a massive electrical cord into the generator(the cord is  already attached to the electrical house panel), open the 4 walls of the generator house, turn on the gas, crank the generator and then throw 1 switch in the electrical panel.  It is totally code compliant, safe and it works great.  It is a great system for us.

I do go out and start it up about every 2 months and make sure it runs properly. I change the oil and make sure the battery (electric start) stays charged with a trickle charger. 

 I would suggest that you talk with someone that help you determine the power /wattage necessary to run whatever electrical circuits you need. that will start you on the right track to determining what size unit you might need.  From there, you will have lots of other choices and decisions.  Do your research and make sure that the installation is safe and easy to operate.  I would certainly suggest dual fuel as an option if available.

Vann Evans
Chapel Hill, NC
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Larry View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Larry Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Aug 2012 at 2:51am

In Northern California, where we had a lot of blackouts, I used to use my Honda EU2000i to power my house, and also for dry camping with my R-Pod 171; but now that I’m living in a 5th Wheel I have purchased the companion EU2000i so that I can hook two generators together; for all of the reasons which Kenn stated.

 

Camping World right now, until September 9th, is having a sale on Honda generators; you can get a EU2000i for about $1,050.00. In my opinion Honda makes the best generators; they are relatively quiet and easy to operate.  I think having a generator on hand is a good investment.

 

I was at a campground last November when a storm hit and knocked out the electricity at the campground. It was pretty late at night and I did not want to drive in the rain; farther it was fairly cold outside and my R-Pod furnace would not work without electricity from the battery or somewhere; luckily I had my generator in my truck, plugged it in and it gave me all of the power I needed to operate anything I wanted.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ratdog Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Aug 2012 at 8:02am
Thanks for all the input.
 
If it appeared that a storm was going to threaten life and limb, yes, our plan is to evacuate the area in the rpod. However, we live in the middle of the state so we don't have as much to fear as those on the coast who have to deal with storm surges and higher winds. Our home is also at a high elevation so we're not concerned about flooding. So, in most cases, we'd prefer to stay at our home with the rpod in the driveway to live in while we do whatever cleanup is necessary.
 
The whole house generators that connect with the house wiring sound great but way too much overkill for something we may not even use once every year or so.
 
Using the Honda EU2000i and the EU200i Companion sounds like a pretty good solution. Those are also small enough that we could take them with us if we were in a situation where we were forced to evacuate.
 
BTW, believe it or not, we experienced an ice storm in Florida about 15 or 20 years ago. We lost all power for 4 days. Our neighbors had to move into a hotel because the temperatures dropped to mid-30's inside their house. We were fortunate because we had a wood stove for heat and for cooking. We also had a swimming pool so we were able to dip a bucket of water out and pour it in the toilet each time we needed to flush. So we fared pretty well.
 
-- Steve

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote bhamster Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Aug 2012 at 12:12pm
Originally posted by Larry Larry wrote:

It was pretty late at night and I did not want to drive in the rain; farther it was fairly cold outside and my R-Pod furnace would not work without electricity from the battery or somewhere



Sorry to derail the topic, but this is one of my biggest pet peeves while camping. If it's late at night please don't run your generator. Your batteries will run your furnace just fine. 

Generators are great for many things, but please only use them when necessary and consider the impact it has on other campers.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Seanl Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Aug 2012 at 1:22pm
Originally posted by bhamster bhamster wrote:

Originally posted by Larry Larry wrote:

It was pretty late at night and I did not want to drive in the rain; farther it was fairly cold outside and my R-Pod furnace would not work without electricity from the battery or somewhere



Sorry to derail the topic, but this is one of my biggest pet peeves while camping. If it's late at night please don't run your generator. Your batteries will run your furnace just fine. 

Generators are great for many things, but please only use them when necessary and consider the impact it has on other campers.

You would not hear an EU2000 10 feet away in a rain storm. Most people talk louder. Just saying. 
Sean, 2011 Rpod RP-173,2009 Jeep Liberty Rocky Mountain Edition

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Lark Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Aug 2012 at 1:34pm
I have a Honda 2000 and from 20 feet away you can barely hear it.  The Honda's are 500 hr plus generators, meaning that they have a long life span.  They are inverter type which means they produce a pure AC good for any electronics.  The thing about having the Companion is that the 2 of them are about 45 pounds each, much easier to move around than the 3000.  I have a permanent whole house generator that runs on natural gas.  It's 15 KW with a auto bus transfer switch.  I am a ham and am set up for emergency communications Both at home and out of the Pod.
Lark f150 R 171 MN 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote bhamster Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Aug 2012 at 2:38pm
Originally posted by Seanl Seanl wrote:

You would not hear an EU2000 10 feet away in a rain storm. Most people talk louder.

Originally posted by Lark Lark wrote:

I have a Honda 2000 and from 20 feet away you can barely hear it. 

I'm sure it's a very quiet generator (~50db), but it's definitely not silent (0db). I may or may not hear it, but the point is that you don't need to run your generator to turn on the furnace, especially late at night.
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