I've been researching these things for months.  Champion, Hyundai, Kipor etc, etc.  You'll find people who love 'em.  Then you keep looking and you find problems that show up.  You just don't see that with Honda or Yamaha.  Honda is probably the real Cadillac of the bunch, but you pay for it.  The good news is that people who have them get *years* of use out of them.  As I say, YMMV.

Hope this helps.  Good luck with whatever you go with.

Good luck

It's very quiet, lightweight, easy to operate and dependable. And best of all, it runs my air conditioner and fridge at the same time (have to turn off the battery charger though, which is not a big deal).

Other than noise, there are big differences in fuel consumption.  With a typical load, an inverter-generator will last roughly 8-10 times longer on a given quantity of gas.  My Honda EU3000is burns 0.13 gallons/hour on average running most of my house (all 120 volt loads), and about the same running the pod.  I used to have the Yamaha EF2400is and it burned 0.2 gallons/hr running my pod (fan on low, A/C compressor cycling).

Also keep an eye on the fuel tank size and fuel pump.  The reason I switched to the Honda, even though I loved my Yamaha, is the Yamaha only lasted me 8 hours of run time, and since it doesn't have a fuel pump it is difficult to add an external fuel tank.  My Honda lasts about 24 hours and I believe up to the 3000 watt model (and below) they all have fuel pumps so it is easy to add more run time.

Finally keep in mind that a generator loses 3.5% of its rating per 1000 feet above sea level, PLUS it loses 1% for each 10 F degrees above 60 F.  So if it is 90 F and you are at 4000 feet, you must derate your genset by 17%!

It will,  BUT you MIGHT (not sure about 2400 watts) have to disconnect your battery from the charger before trying.

The first thing your converter-charger will do when plugged into 120 VAC is to try and charge the battery, even if it is alreadyy fully charged. This will use some of your genny wattage. If you try and start and run your A/C at the time it is doing this, it will likely be too much for the genny to handle.

I can start and run my A/C (13,500 btu) reliably with my Honda EU2000i , but ONLY if I shut off my battery disconnects FIRST. I can alos run my microwave (twice since I have had it, so not often) but only if the battery disconnect is off.

Will installing a high altitude jet minimize the power loss?

At first I felt this was a negative, and it is when I'm loading/unloading it (with my daughter who helps me).  But I realized once it is in place on my cargo tray that also means nobody else is going to walk away with it by themselves.  Especially since I've removed the handles.  Another way to look at the weight problem.

No, the loss of power is a function of the lowered oxygen content.  The high altitude jets lean out the fuel so the amount of fuel injected matches the amount of fuel that can actually be burned.  If you run with a lower altitude jet you end up running too rich so you waste some fuel, and long-term risk carbon buildup.  Not a big deal short-term, like if you normally run below 3000 feet but take a 2 week trip bouncing around the Rockies, 3000 to 5000 to 7000 feet from night to night.  Not worth changing out the jet in that case.

Note that you should never run a high altitude jet at a low altitude.  Fuel has a secondary function as a cooling agent and you'll burn you engine up running it too lean.

http://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00OI0VNCM/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1FE17WEJHZESI&coliid=IIGDS9JSQREIW - http://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00OI0VNCM/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1FE17WEJHZESI&coliid=IIGDS9JSQREIW

 

It is one of those things where I'd want to see it in action or get a creditable report from someone before I bought it.

Ditto.  Since there are no reviews on Amazon, I was hoping someone here had tried it out.  I suppose the worst-case scenario is that it works only as a gravity-fed system.

I am going to dry camp this weekend and wanted to use the fridge on propane and the AC to sleep at night. I have a 2017 RPOD179. I am not an electrical specialist by any means so bare with me.

If I have the fridge running on Propane for three days will that kill the battery?

ALso, if I use a honda 2200 generator for the AC, do I just connect that power cord that I got with my RPOD(with the adapter of course) right to the generator to run the AC? Also, when this is connected, will it recharge my battery automatically? Thank you all for your help.

-John Torrey

Many portable generators do not bond the ground to neutral since it is expected that the bonding will take place elsewhere. Thus when such a generator is connected to a camper the electrical management system will detect the open between ground and neutral and disconnect the generator from the camper. One way around this problem is to make a bonding connection by means of a 3-prong male extension cord plug. Just connect the ground to neutral with a short 14 gauge jumper with no other connections. Then this plug can be inserted into one of the duplex outlets on the generator, effectively bonding the ground to neutral at the generator set. The second outlet of the duplex pair is then used to connect to the camper. 

If you don't feel comfortable doing this, ask for help from a electrician or other knowledgable person. Mike Sokol has a http://noshockzone.org/generator-ground-neutral-bonding/ - discussion of this issue on his website. He also sells a plug like the one I described.

According to the specifications for that model, it can charge at 55 amps, which is way more than I expected. Doing a little napkin-calculation, that comes to around 800 watts of power if/when doing a bulk charge. The specifications say it pulls up to 940 watts, so there is some fudge in there.

However... This all tells me that if your AC unit is pulling 1500 watts or so, and your converter is pulling 940 watts, then you will be at a nominal 2440 watts. About 240 watts more than a 2.2KW can do. 

So I would say that a 3KW generator would probably be a wise choice.

During that time, the controller will be limited only by the maximum current it can put out (55 amps in the case of a WF-8955). Once the batteries increase resistance to a pre-determined point, the controller should drop to the absorb stage, which is no longer current limited, but is a pre-defined voltage. Once the controller has determined that the batteries have absorbed all they can (usually by monitoring the current flow at the absorb voltage), then the controller should drop to the float voltage. Float is more-or-less the "maintain" voltage that keeps the batteries happy.

Another thing to be aware of is that the converter is not 100% efficient. While it may be putting say 800 watts into a discharged battery, it may be drawing 900+ watts from the AC source. The difference is heat and other inefficiencies in the electronics.

However, the low point for a given battery should be provided by the manufacturer. Some of the systems I work with have a thing called "LVD", or Low Voltage Disconnect that will automatically disconnect the batteries when you reach that magic discharge point. I've seen some LVD add-on modules that you can add to a system to prevent damaging your batteries.