davegtt

Guys, I go camping a few times a year and I think a Generator might be worth investing in but Im unsure what I actually need, at the most Id like it too be able to run a 14" tele and a Sony PS2... what sort of power useage do you think that would use? Im watching a couple of items on ebay at the mo... In particular these 2, any guidance would be appriciated, thanks

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d..._BIN_Stores_IT

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Wolf-WP1200LR-...QQcmdZViewItem

Cheers

OllyK

If you look in the manuals it should tell you the power consuption. Looks like the first is 800W output and the other 1200W, you'd probably struggle to run a kettle off either, but a TV may be OK.

watto52

i went camping once, took me ages to get the leathers off

davegtt

har har.

Olly, I'll have to wait til I get home then, would have thought 1200W would be OK but unsure myself. did think the 800W looked a bit lightwieght though

JackClark

The other week we were running a Fridge, 40" Rear Projection TV, Sky box and PS2 off of the cheapest and weakest generator money could buy. It revved a bit but coped.

David Lock

Remember they are heavy buggers so that might be a factor. Also tank size/running time. With a 1200 you should be able to get some lighting power out of it as well. dl

davegtt

cheapest and weakest money could buy Jack, where do I find one of them and how much coins do they want for it?

David, I understand they weigh a little more than 35kg, that shouldnt be a problem really, aslong as the floor pan in the car can cope with it then thats fine

Miss Kinky

if they're anything like the genny's we have at work you'll get fed up with the noise they make....

davegtt

Better than sitting in silence

Chip

Try www.machinemart.co.uk

We use Honda and they get a right hammering but just seem to go on forever.

Chip

image doctor

I'd be more than a little ****ed off to have to camp next to a loud generator!

OllyK

It just needs to have a "slight" accident when you reverse the car. TBH if you're on a site, pay for the electric hook up, if you're in the middle of nowhere then it isn't going to matter

GC8

The 800w generator will be fine; you can buy them for £39:99 + VAT though..... Youll need a 7.5Kva generator to boil a kettle!

EvoBarry

What the hell is the point of going camping if you take a tv and a PS2 along?

Might aswell stay at home, and just leave the windows open

Hoppy

You will only need a few hundred watts to run a TV and PlayStation (say 400w) and a small power station to boil a kettle (3,000w). Check the back of the TV or instruction book for power consumption.

We had a Honda 650 (probably nearer 500w output) that ran TV, video, PlayStation, lappy, two big flourescent strips and all the lights in the motorhome. Never missed a beat and it got a good hammering over several years.

Noise is a big issue and some make a heck of a din that will drive you, and eveybody else, mad. So buy a Honda. Weight is also a big problem, so buy a Honda. Basically, you want summat like this:

http://www.honda.co.uk/energy/ProductView.jsp

Cheers,

Richard.

PS Edited to add link doesn't work properly, but click on Energy on the top bar, and then Generators - Honda EU10i

dpb

isnt this precisely what you should be aiming to avoid on a camping trip...
get away from it all etc

fast bloke

Hoppy - we have an EU20i for the motorhome, brilliant piece of kit and very very quiet, but the price difference between a basic genny and an EU10i is fairly hefty

davegtt - you know you can buy a 12volt telly and 12volt adaptor for ps2 - you can run them for hours of the car battery in nearly complete silence

Proby521

iTrader: (1)

Bloody hell 7.5Kva, how bigs your kettle?????


Proby

GC8

Normal size.... you need double the wattage to start something off; so an 80watt portable television will need 160watts and a 3500watt kettle will need 7000watts.

Simon

Moray

*** u also

bobsabuilder

Firstly the maximum ratings are not sustainable, the 800w max for instance is actually a 650w sustainable generator, it can handle very short bursts up to 800w (ie. when first turning something on) but only 650w for continued use.

Your 1st item (the 800w!) you will find under various brand names at various prices, but generally you can pick one of these up for £50 no problem. Even the likes of Netto / Aldi / Lidl have been selling them @ 49.99 I know 'cos I bought one as its small and compact and powers my tools when away from mains electric and saves me using my larger, much heavier (or should that be hernier!) genny.

Be warned though, they are 2 stroke units and as such the sound like some yobbo revving the nuts of his scooter when they're under any load.

For annoying your fellow campers - they are ideal!

Bob

Chelspeed

If you accidentally pack the kettle next time you're checking out of a tacky hotel, travel lodge style, then you'll get away with a smaller genny.

Reason is hotel kettles are only 1kW or similar whereas all normal kettles are 3kW (the max you can run off a normal 13A socket). (That's also why hotel keetles take a week to make a cup of tea).

GC8

Tried that; unlike the towells the kettle was hard-wired to the wall!

Oldfella

iTrader: (3)

http://www.camping-online.co.uk/MAIN...-750-WATT.html

hades

A novel, quiet way of boiling kettles whilst camping is called a "gas burner". Doesn't involve carrying huge generators, annoying anyone etc and is actually quite effective at boiling water. There are various other types of camping stoves available too. They are also extremely handy for cooking on, unless you want to take a much bigger generator and an electric oven with you.

Unlike boiling kettles, I have yet to find a gas powered TV or playstation. Therefore, either run things off the car 12V system as suggested before, or get a relatively small generator.

davegtt

Well were only going camping for one night at a car show so its something to do in the evening whilst getting peed up. Not talking about a week away sort of thing. Thanks for the comments then guys, an 800w genny will do the trick then.

Fastbloke, knew you could get convertors etc but didnt think a car battery would last that long running a TV and PS2 unless the car was ticking over?

fast bloke

Dunno how long it will last, but we have a spare leisure battery in the motorhome that will power TV, freeview box, DVD player, PS2, signal booster, 3 or 4 lights and water pump for 3-4 days before you need to recharge. Obviously not constant use, but you can get at least 6 hours of TV, PS2 and lights without a problem. (The leisure battery is a gel battery, but as far as I know the only difference is that you can deep cycle it more than you can with a normal car battery. No doubt there will be some technical bod on here than can work out how long a normal battery can power a TV and PS2)

davegtt

ok cool, thats good to know, thanks.

Leslie

Some of the papers have been advertising a Wolf 4 stroke which produces about a kilowatt an will run for 6 hours on 6 litres on petrol. Looks good value to me. WWW.toolstogo.co.uk or 'phone 08700 427426 quoting Det.DM

Price £139.99 plus £9.99 postage.

Les

logiclee

You will also have to check that the site where you are staying allows generators or has time limits for running them.

Some sites ban them completely and others only allow them at certain times of the day to allow charging of batteries etc.

12V and gas is a better bet or use electric hook up if its available.

Cheers
Lee