how big of a generator do I need?

Question

...to power my travel trailer?

this is a list of the appliances I will use, and aproximately for how long each day:

4 cu ft mini fridge nonstop
1000 watt microwave 15 mins
20 inch tv/satellite equip 5hours
laptop 5 hours
2 "standard" square fans nonstop
3 15 watt lights 8 hrs
stereo equipment 8 hrs
300 watts for whatever 2 hrs

considering that the place will be used year round, I personally figure that I should get two generators in case of a break down in one.

also, for the generator sixe that you recommend, any idea how much gas this will use in a day?

thanks a lot!

I was a bit worried about using ac because of the amount of power it would consume. In the area, the temp gets no hotter than 90 on the hottest day of the year, yet can get to -20 in the winter....guess i forgot to add that in...oops. I would stick with a model that would both heat and cool, that could easily do so in a 6 by 10 by 4.5 foot space

thanks for all of the responses!

also, I would have loved to use solar power, however thats too expensive at the present, although I am aware that i am just screwing myself by using a generator. my budget is no more than $1,000 inital cost for the generator itself...and I would hope that it wouldnt be more than $150 a week to gas up.

and at max load, everything may be running for 3 hrs a day however, either the tv or laptop would be off

Answer 1

General rule of thumb is buy a generator with twice the needed power.

Your math works out to a minimum 3000 watt generator. If you can afford it, I recommend a 5000 watt gen set. The reasoning is for future use besides the camper. Power tools require usually (depending on the tool) use approx 1500 watts, with a peak of 2500 when initially turned on.

I recently purchased a 7000 watt generator so that I can use 230 volt equipment, and it works great.

Answer 2

it does not matter what you use and ohw long, but what are you going to be using AT THE SAME TIME.
the microwave is going to be the most hungry device.
No Air conditoinning ?
to be safe get at least a 2kW generator, in case your wife decides to dry her air while waming a cup of coffee!

What may be also an important factor is the noise. if you plan to have it on all time, especially at night, you will need a quite unit.

Amazon currently has a promo on generators (10 % on most popular brands). I was checking one out which runs up to 9.5 hours at 1/2 load on a full tank. That still means you need to refill it twice a day...
And they were probably not designed to run 24/7.

As someone else said, install some solar panels and an inverter.
You can get a small generator to recharge the batteries when there is no sun, and if you get enough panels, you may never need to generator, so you'll be saving gas and no noise!
Don't expect to run a air conditionning unit on solar panels though.

Answer 3

For technical answer, go to manufacturers' sites. Typical RV has 4000 watt min which will power a microwave, an A/C, and other misc appliances. I'd recommend you get a min of 3,000. I'd further recommend a Kawasaki or Honda if you want portable. Otherwise, get a Generac. btw, you should really be looking into solar panels, deep-cycle batteries, and a very large inverter. In the long run (maybe 3 years), you'll come out ahead with the solar-battery setup. Maybe sooner with rising fuel prices.

Answer 4

I have a 5kw gas generator. It would run all that you mentioned plus a whole lot more. If you plan on running it 24/7, you want a very small diesel generator. The smaller the generator, the less fuel you Will consume.

Answer 5

to run a 220 volt power eagle hot water presserwasher with a 5 hp motor

Answer 6

i think the safest bet is to buy 5 or 6 kva, well atleast if you want to add more stuff you are ok...