msgoehring
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Post by msgoehring on Oct 13, 2016 19:48:07 GMT -8
Harbor freight sent an email out today advertising this big sale over the weekend. They list a generator for $88, it's 900 peak/700 running watts.
Now comes the part where we need some advice because the last time we trailer camped our kids weren't even school age yet. We never camped where there were electricity and water because those places cost too much for a young family. So we never used electric except when someone visited and stayed in it at the house. We still like to camp in those out of the way places where there aren't any hookups, but now I'm on a cpap machine and we need to power it, plus maybe a light or two and a radio. We aren't installing a t.v. or anything like that, it just isn't camping to us with stuff like that. So, will a generator like this one work for our needs, or do we need something bigger? Also is one from harbor freight going to be quiet enough that it won't ruin the peace of nature? Or will it even be good enough to bother with?
I know it seems we are putting the cart before the horse, but right now I have some play money and can get things like this whereas later we might not be able to get what we need. I figured you all have more experience with camping in trailers and can lead me in the right direction. What I don't want is to have a generator that is so loud that I can't hear the night sounds, or if we're by water, that I can't hear it. The reason I go camping is to get away from noises like motors running so am I even going to be able to get something like that?
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Post by danrhodes on Oct 13, 2016 20:11:39 GMT -8
Harbor freight sent an email out today advertising this big sale over the weekend. They list a generator for $88, it's 900 peak/700 running watts. Now comes the part where we need some advice because the last time we trailer camped our kids weren't even school age yet. We never camped where there were electricity and water because those places cost too much for a young family. So we never used electric except when someone visited and stayed in it at the house. We still like to camp in those out of the way places where there aren't any hookups, but now I'm on a cpap machine and we need to power it, plus maybe a light or two and a radio. We aren't installing a t.v. or anything like that, it just isn't camping to us with stuff like that. So, will a generator like this one work for our needs, or do we need something bigger? Also is one from harbor freight going to be quiet enough that it won't ruin the peace of nature? Or will it even be good enough to bother with? I know it seems we are putting the cart before the horse, but right now I have some play money and can get things like this whereas later we might not be able to get what we need. I figured you all have more experience with camping in trailers and can lead me in the right direction. What I don't want is to have a generator that is so loud that I can't hear the night sounds, or if we're by water, that I can't hear it. The reason I go camping is to get away from noises like motors running so am I even going to be able to get something like that? In CA, it seems to be $120 if I'm seeing the same model (same specs). Personally, I think it's a cool little unit for the price. For your needs, I think it might not make sense. At 91db, it's as loud as a cheap compressor running. At 50℅ of 700w running for 5 hours, it's a couple light bulbs. A small quiet generator ain't going to be cheap. |
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msgoehring
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Post by msgoehring on Oct 13, 2016 20:34:03 GMT -8
Yeah I know, I saw the price of a Honda whisper quiet generator and wanted to faint. Cheapest is $800 at northern tool and equipment, it's 1000 Surge Watts, 900 Rated Watts.
If it's gonna be like that I'll leave the machine at home. Shoot, I've lived this long without it, a couple days camping won't hurt.
Are Cali prices really that much higher than Idaho? Dang, I guess I better understand the influx of Californians then.
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Post by danrhodes on Oct 13, 2016 21:00:40 GMT -8
Yeah I know, I saw the price of a Honda whisper quiet generator and wanted to faint. Cheapest is $800 at northern tool and equipment, it's 1000 Surge Watts, 900 Rated Watts. If it's gonna be like that I'll leave the machine at home. Shoot, I've lived this long without it, a couple days camping won't hurt. Are Cali prices really that much higher than Idaho? Dang, I guess I better understand the influx of Californians then. The Cali ad has CARB certification. Not sure if it's the same model. Everything here is tainted by busybodies...we talk about Idaho a lot. Guessing you could run a CPAP for a few nights on a deep cycle battery or two... |
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msgoehring
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Post by msgoehring on Oct 14, 2016 1:17:21 GMT -8
The item number given on our ad is 69381/60338 and it doesn't mention anything about CARB compliance, so probably different.
In the past 30 years Idaho has had large influx of Californians unhappy with cost of living down there, my uncles used to talk about the Californians they were building homes for and how surprised they were with what they could get here for much less than there. Now of course Idaho is becoming full of subdivisions of big houses with no land, and built so close to the neighbor you can hear them sneeze. And it's getting harder and harder to find decent rental property with a honest rent cost because so many investors come up from Cali, snap up the properties and raise rent. Used to be able to get a decent 2 bed 1 bath apartment for under $500, now the lowest my son could find was $695 plus power, water, cable. The property company pays sewer and trash because they are billed together and can't be broken up between the apartments. At least they haven't found a way to do it yet.
Sorry, it's late and I'm rambling.
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Post by danrhodes on Oct 14, 2016 5:59:44 GMT -8
The item number given on our ad is 69381/60338 and it doesn't mention anything about CARB compliance, so probably different. In the past 30 years Idaho has had large influx of Californians unhappy with cost of living down there, my uncles used to talk about the Californians they were building homes for and how surprised they were with what they could get here for much less than there. Now of course Idaho is becoming full of subdivisions of big houses with no land, and built so close to the neighbor you can hear them sneeze. And it's getting harder and harder to find decent rental property with a honest rent cost because so many investors come up from Cali, snap up the properties and raise rent. Used to be able to get a decent 2 bed 1 bath apartment for under $500, now the lowest my son could find was $695 plus power, water, cable. The property company pays sewer and trash because they are billed together and can't be broken up between the apartments. At least they haven't found a way to do it yet. Sorry, it's late and I'm rambling. I went to back to the ad, same model, $120. BTW, a 2/1 around here goes for easily $2000. My neighbors are all trying to sell their 1000s.f. 2/1 bungalows for $1M $1,050,000 | 2 Bed • 1 Bath www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/M16956-57173 |
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cowcharge
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Post by cowcharge on Oct 24, 2016 7:45:21 GMT -8
What's the amp/watts draw on the CPAP? I don't think they use that much juice. Check out the electrical data sticker on it. It should be pretty easy to either get a large enough battery to last you a "couple of days", or a small solar panel.
Even a "whisper quiet" Honda or Yamaha destroys the night. Or the day, for that matter.
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HOTRODPRIMER
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Post by HOTRODPRIMER on Nov 6, 2016 9:15:45 GMT -8
I'm late to the party but HF is not nown fof their quality,I bought one of their generators for our daughter and it lasted less than 2 months. Danny
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nccamper
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Post by nccamper on Nov 6, 2016 9:35:19 GMT -8
Campgrounds usually don't let you run it at night. Many campgrounds won't let you run it unless you're in the generator section with the big rigs.
Even the Honda can be heard from several sites away.
With that said, I still want one.
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Ten
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Post by Ten on Nov 6, 2016 17:42:48 GMT -8
We have a 12-V system in the 16SC that will run off a battery for dry camping and boondocking. However, I have not built a system for recharging said battery when boondocking. I love the idea of a solar setup, but haven't been able to afford what I would consider a reasonable solution to the recharge. However, we do have a converter in the trailer that maintains the battery when plugged into shore power. it will also when plugged into a generator. I think that with a large enough battery, it would only take a few hours at most of running time to completely recharge the battery, so my generator would only have to run for a while during the day, then switch to battery power until it goes out again... I suppose that isn't a very technical approach but I just seem to listen to my gut and go with it until it doesn't work.
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cowcharge
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Post by cowcharge on Nov 8, 2016 19:24:39 GMT -8
After a quick google search, the highest amp draw I found for a CPAP was about 5 amps, with humidity set at its highest setting. Over 8 hours of sleep that's 40 amp-hours. That would half-discharge a standard 85 ah Group 27 battery, which is as low as you ever want to go in order to keep your battery healthy. Without the humidifier, it was less than 2 amps, which would give you 20 or so hours of use before you needed to recharge. That's not including lights or anything else, just the CPAP.
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msgoehring
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Post by msgoehring on Nov 8, 2016 20:17:53 GMT -8
So basically in order to safely use my cpap while dry camping, I'd have to leave the humidifier off and recharge the battery somehow on the third day. I think Sam would know this, but he's not home and we don't get a lot of time to talk so I often don't get to everything, but can you charge the battery by running the vehicle for a time. And if so how long estimate does it take to recharge one?
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hairba11
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Post by hairba11 on Nov 27, 2016 18:17:11 GMT -8
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hairba11
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Post by hairba11 on Nov 27, 2016 18:19:42 GMT -8
I have a couple of Renology 30w panels. They work great, but are not intelligent chargers, use them while camping but disconnect them when it's not in use so it doesn't cook the battery
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turbodaddy
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Post by turbodaddy on Nov 27, 2016 19:02:42 GMT -8
I agree that you could make it work without a noisy generator since the current draw is so small. I applaud you for your concern about the noise. Night sounds and water nearby...what could be more soothing to the soul?
Here is another idea, possibly not one you can embrace. There is something called "inclined bed therapy" that is supposed to help people with sleep apnea and other problems. I have been doing it for a couple months for different reasons, but I can tell you that I do not snore nearly as much, and feel better in the AM. You just block up the head of the bed 5 or 6 inches, not just your head, but the entire frame so that your whole body is inclined. If you are sleeping in the camper, then you just park it on the incline and sleep like a baby!
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