Briggs & Stratton Inverter Generator

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

Anyone have personal experience?  I've read some good reviews...but would like to hear if a fiend has a comment.

[rtguy007 74]

I have not heard anything negative about them. What model are you looking at? I looked at the P2200 and ended up going with the champion 2000 inverter instead. I got a pair of the champions with the parallel cable for close to $300 cheaper than a pair of the B&S. If you are wanting to boondock and run your AC you are going to need at least 3200 watts in most cases unless you put a hard start capacitor in your AC.

I looked at the generac, honda, yamaha, and even a few chinese knockoffs. Of all I looked at and even purchased those knockoffs were horrid and they couldn't pay me to take one.

 

Ryan

[rtguy007 74]

Also if you go with a parallel setup make sure you have the wattage you need to run what you want to run. The champions are 4000w total between both but when you run them in parallel the total wattage output is reduced.

 

if you go with a larger output like a yamaha 4500 look at the weight. It may make it difficult to transport if you are lifting in and out of the truck.

 

Ryan

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

10 hours ago, rtguy007 said:

Also if you go with a parallel setup make sure you have the wattage you need to run what you want to run. The champions are 4000w total between both but when you run them in parallel the total wattage output is reduced.

 

if you go with a larger output like a yamaha 4500 look at the weight. It may make it difficult to transport if you are lifting in and out of the truck.

 

Ryan

That's interesting.  Wonder why the wattage is reduced...?

My only thought on two small units and the parallel set-up, is that you'd have two units running... which means more noise.  My goal is a quiet as possible.  The power went out at The Fort this past trip and several neighbors had generators; a couple were NOT quiet.

Of course... thinking all of this through, if a 3000w unit will not run our 15k a/c, then maybe we are better off getting a smaller unit so that we can at least run fans and Tom's cpap.  I need to look at the watts on all of this.

Oh.... question:  does anyone know, if you plug your a/c into a generator, but put your fridge on gas....does the fan in fridge use the battery or will it pull from the generator??

[caveat lector 181]

I have a champion 3500. even comes pre wired with 30 amp plug. it's not the quietest, but does a great job. During a blackout last year, we even let two neighbors tap in. it never skipped a beat.  I have had great customer experience. The generator was a couple of years old and started acting up. Sent the company an email for some diagnosing help. Three days later, a new carb shows up.  I'm betting it was my fault for letting gas sit in it and infrequent use, but Champion took care of me.

[bdm 47]

We purchased a B&S p2200 for our tailgate. It gets used 8 times a year for about 4 hours each time.  So far no issues, this being the generators first season its a short sample so far. 

 

We had a Yamaha inverter / generator before the B&S and it ran flawless for 5 seasons. Its the 3000 watt and it was primary purchased for camping.  We purchased the B&S because its lighter and easier to use for tailgating. 

[Helmsey......Todd 134]

4 hours ago, twiceblessed....nacole said:

Oh.... question:  does anyone know, if you plug your a/c into a generator, but put your fridge on gas....does the fan in fridge use the battery or will it pull from the generator??

The fridge will use the battery on the camper. However, if your camper is plugged into a generator then the campers converter will keep the battery charged just like if you were plugged into the campground.
And just FYI - even though you have your fridge running on propane, it still needs 12v to run the control board and keep the propane going. If your battery runs down your fridge will turn off.

[keith_h 420]

4 hours ago, twiceblessed....nacole said:

Oh.... question:  does anyone know, if you plug your a/c into a generator, but put your fridge on gas....does the fan in fridge use the battery or will it pull from the generator??

When you are plugged into any AC electrical source your 12V system will be driven off the AC via the converter. Your battery will also be charged if it is in need of it.

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

4 hours ago, bdm said:

We purchased a B&S p2200 for our tailgate. It gets used 8 times a year for about 4 hours each time.  So far no issues, this being the generators first season its a short sample so far. 

 

We had a Yamaha inverter / generator before the B&S and it ran flawless for 5 seasons. Its the 3000 watt and it was primary purchased for camping.  We purchased the B&S because its lighter and easier to use for tailgating. 

Which was quieter? 

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

33 minutes ago, Helmsey......Todd said:

The fridge will use the battery on the camper. However, if your camper is plugged into a generator then the campers converter will keep the battery charged just like if you were plugged into the campground.
And just FYI - even though you have your fridge running on propane, it still needs 12v to run the control board and keep the propane going. If your battery runs down your fridge will turn off.

Any idea if we completely drain the battery... once we plug back into shore power, will the battery full charge back up?

[bdm 47]

3 minutes ago, twiceblessed....nacole said:

Which was quieter? 

Not really a fair comparison the yamaha was 3300 watts and the B&S is a 2200 watts..   Both when under full load are not loud enough to cause you to speak loudly at 25 feet from them.  When camping with our 5th the Yamaha gen is pretty quite, we only run it for a few hours to charge batteries in the morning, and evening so as to not annoy everyone.

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

3 minutes ago, bdm said:

Not really a fair comparison the yamaha was 3300 watts and the B&S is a 2200 watts..   Both when under full load are not loud enough to cause you to speak loudly at 25 feet from them.  When camping with our 5th the Yamaha gen is pretty quite, we only run it for a few hours to charge batteries in the morning, and evening so as to not annoy everyone.

Thank you.  Funny enough.. I saw a youtube on a Honda 2000 and 3000...the 3000 actually sounded quieter (from what I could tell on the video).

[bdm 47]

2 minutes ago, twiceblessed....nacole said:

Thank you.  Funny enough.. I saw a youtube on a Honda 2000 and 3000...the 3000 actually sounded quieter (from what I could tell on the video).

I've done side by side tests with the yamaha and honda and there is no difference in the sound.  It would be my guess that any 2200watt inverter / generator will be just as loud / quite as the others in real world situations. 

[keith_h 420]

2 hours ago, twiceblessed....nacole said:

Any idea if we completely drain the battery... once we plug back into shore power, will the battery full charge back up?

As far as the trailer is concerned there is no difference between a generator and shore power.  It won't drain the battery when you are hooked up to the generator. When the converter sees the AC it will power the 12 VDC directly just like it does on shore power. As I said in my post if your battery also needs charging the converter will charge the battery.

It just dawned on me you might be asking about the generator charging your battery. If it has the feature then yes you could use the generator to charge you battery independent of the trailer's converter.

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

7 minutes ago, keith_h said:

As far as the trailer is concerned there is no difference between a generator and shore power.  It won't drain the battery when you are hooked up to the generator. When the converter sees the AC it will power the 12 VDC directly just like it does on shore power. As I said in my post if your battery also needs charging the converter will charge the battery.

It just dawned on me you might be asking about the generator charging your battery. If it has the feature then yes you could use the generator to charge you battery independent of the trailer's converter.

No, sorry... I was not clear.

My question was on the battery alone and if we drained it (we are boondocking one night next week and may need the furnace all night)... I'm curious if we'll "break" the battery by waking up to a dead battery or will it charge back up and be okay, once we hook-up to shore power at the CG?

We do not own a generator, yet.

[keith_h 420]

40 minutes ago, twiceblessed....nacole said:

No, sorry... I was not clear.

My question was on the battery alone and if we drained it (we are boondocking one night next week and may need the furnace all night)... I'm curious if we'll "break" the battery by waking up to a dead battery or will it charge back up and be okay, once we hook-up to shore power at the CG?

We do not own a generator, yet.

It depends upon the battery in your trailer.

For a wet cell battery a rare full discharge (10 VDC or below) will not cause any damage that will greatly affect the battery life. You might blow some fuses on the charging device until it has enough charge to not pull excessive current. Regular full discharges will decrease the battery's life considerably. You also need to be concerned about discharging a wet cell battery in freezing weather as the charge is part of what keep the electrolyte from freezing.

For an AGM battery a full discharge will for all practical purposes damages it. There are ways to recover them but it takes a long and slow charge process and depending upon the technique another good, fully charged battery. I don't know if they can freeze or not.

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

4 minutes ago, keith_h said:

It depends upon the battery in your trailer.

For a wet cell battery a rare full discharge (10 VDC or below) will not cause any damage that will greatly affect the battery life. You might blow some fuses on the charging device until it has enough charge to not pull excessive current. Regular full discharges will decrease the battery's life considerably. You also need to be concerned about discharging a wet cell battery in freezing weather as the charge is part of what keep the electrolyte from freezing.

For an AGM battery a full discharge will for all practical purposes damages it. There are ways to recover them but it takes a long and slow charge process and depending upon the technique another good, fully charged battery. I don't know if they can freeze or not.

Thank you.

We have an Interstate Deep Cycle battery; I called Interstate and was told that if we used the battery until it died that (because it's a deep cycle) it should charge back up fine without hurting the battery.

Really though, I don't think our battery will last long enough to run the furnace 6 or 7 hours (plus my husband's cpap and the other small draws in the camper), so it it's super cold, we may just pull out the Mr. Heater propane heater...crack the windows and use that.  Or ...we'll just pile on the blankets.  Haha, all this thought for only a few hours.  I have a tenancy to overthink things  

[rtguy007 74]

Nacole,

Probably should have worded the wattage thing a little differently. Most generators have a wattage rating which is what they sell you. For the champions I have they are 2000w per the sales material. That is the peak load. You should look at the running wattage load which will be lower. For my champions I believe it is 1700watts. If you parallel them you get a running wattage of 3400w and not 4000w. It is a little tricky but always look at your running watts and not the peak number on the unit. Only company I knew that advertised by running watts was generac but that could have changed since I last looked about 5 years ago.

For battery depletion, you can get any generator and just plug the camper into it if you are within load of the generators running watts with what you have turned on in the camper. The converter in the camper will charge the battery. We found that it is not as efficient as other chargers when boondocking so I also carry a noco gs15000 which charges the batteries quicker and in a way that keeps the batteries more conditioned than the converters charger.

We have done a lot of boondocking with our current and previous TT. Both the Coleman and Dometic AC units required at least 3200w at peak to start the AC without stalling ot tripping the breaker on the inverter generator. When running they only use about 1800w a piece. We have been able to run the AC and all 12v stuff with no issues on the dual champion 2000w gen sets in parallel. However if we want to use the microwave we normally have to turn off the AC.

On a side note, elevation and temp messes with how much your generator really pushes out. It will produce less at higher elevations and temps. This is also impacted by your AC needing more power at higher temps as well. Get the most amount of generator you can afford while being able to move it. My sister has the 3200w champion inverter and it powers pretty much the same as ours. Problem is it weighs a lot more. You must have 2 people to lift it safely. With a parallel setup one person can move them easily. If you stick with the inverter generators don't worry about noise either dual or parallel. At full load they are almost unnoticable inside the camper and at 50ft away you hear others talking more than the generators.

The last thing to look at, a lot of state parks and national parks require a generator with a spark arrestor. While most inverter generators have this the cheaper non inverter units don't have them in many cases. To tell look at the muffler output on the generator. If there is a screen or some kind of protective plate so that you can't shove something into the muffler, it has a spark arrestor. If it doesn't, check the sales material to see if they state it is federal park/epa certified/includes spark arrestor. If you don't have it the rangers will make you stop using it. I have seen this happen a lot with the loud non inverters in some parks. The rangers do pay attention to it.

Hope my novel helps you out.

[rtguy007 74]

Forgot to add with the noise piece, if you run parallel inverters adding the second one doesn't double on noise. It just doubles on fuel usage. They are no louder. The sound of two running vs one just gives you a small stereo effect to how it sounds. The level of sound doesn't change.

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

1 hour ago, rtguy007 said:

Forgot to add with the noise piece, if you run parallel inverters adding the second one doesn't double on noise. It just doubles on fuel usage. They are no louder. The sound of two running vs one just gives you a small stereo effect to how it sounds. The level of sound doesn't change.

Thank you for the last two posts... great information!  Good tip on at least a 3200w generator to run a 15k a/c.  I did know about the start-up vs running watts.  If i understand it correctly, the 3200w start-up will carry the short bust of power needed with the a/c kicks on...but it would not sustain a continuous draw of 3200w.  If I'm wrong on that, please let me know.  Also, thanks for the feedback on the parallel units not really doubling the sound.  I get what you mean about weight... that is a consideration, even though we're both (typically) available to move a unit.  We would only get an inverter generator...even though the price of those large construction style generators is appealing :) 

You mentioned 50 feet away... that's a long power cord.  Do you use an extension and, if so, which type?

[rtguy007 74]

Your right on the 3200w peak will not sustain 3200w. To find out what your sustained is you would use the running wattage rating.

For the 50ft away, I meant if you stand 50ft away from them while running.

also keep an eye out for this one. They will have a rating for sound output. That is the lowest amount of noise they put out. Doesn't matter the brand as they all rate at lowest running output which you will almost never be at. Realistically you will always be around 70-72db on full load which your AC will make your generators run close to. Again at full load at 70db and standing 50ft away you can have a normal conversation and not have to yell at each other.

I am due to start mine up and let them run a little. If I can do that this weekend I will post a vid for you on YouTube comparing my 2 champions against my general 7500 I use for power outages. I can also do an inside vs outside TT so you can hear how loud they are at full load inside the camper. That will give you an idea of what the difference is.

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

16 minutes ago, rtguy007 said:

 

I am due to start mine up and let them run a little. If I can do that this weekend I will post a vid for you on YouTube comparing my 2 champions against my general 7500 I use for power outages. I can also do an inside vs outside TT so you can hear how loud they are at full load inside the camper. That will give you an idea of what the difference is.

That would be awesome...thank you!

[rtguy007 74]

On 11/18/2016 at 9:41 AM, twiceblessed....nacole said:

That would be awesome...thank you!

I am going to apologize in advance. It got really windy today so you are going to hear that in the video. I also found out how crappy the microphone on my phone really is. When I am in the camper you can hear the generators but for some reason they are almost non existent in the video. Before I go into the camper I have both of the champion 2000w's running on max (non economy mode). This will force the generators to run at full load. When I come back out I turned off the economy mode and let them adjust themselves based off of the load. You can hear the difference between idle and full load there. That is how most inverter generators work that have the eco/econ switch on them.

Here is the link to the video. I have it unlisted so you have to use this link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PS61q--HEAg

In the real world you would want to move the generators a little further away from the TT than what I have them. You don't want any of the exhaust getting into the camper in any form. I just put them by the front so you would see how loud they would be inside. That is hard to tell in the video. I can tell you from experience that the AC when running will drown out the generators completely on the inside.

Our method when using the generators, we put the fridge and hot water on propane (they almost always are anyway because it works better that way). We DISABLE the progressive industries surge protector (it can trip off if the ground protection hiccups). Depending on the temp outside and our battery charge we may shut off the main feed to the batteries so the converter isn't charging them while we are using the AC (it puts a lot of extra load on the generators). We can run the stereo, AC on high, all 3 TV's, satellite (when we had it), water pump, and all lights inside and out, and the outside mini fridge (120v) while running on the generator when in parallel. If we need either microwave (we have an outside kitchen and one inside the camper) we will shut the AC and possibly the outside fridge off (just depends on elevation and temp with the generators).

If you do end up purchasing a generator the best piece of advice I can give you is to never shut it off using the switch. Turn the gas off and let it die on its own. If you use the generator on occasion vs all the time this is the best method to shut off the generator. If you use the switch and let the gas sit in it the carb will clog up and it will be harder to start or wont start at all. Also make sure the gas you have in the generator is fresh otherwise it will run poorly at full load. Don't fall victim to the "dead generator" syndrome on a seldom used generator. These 2 basic things will keep them running as if they were new.

On a side note, as soon as I packed up the generators it started snowing (Yay and Boo at the same time). We now have a light dusting of snow on the ground. That explains the drop from 78* yesterday to 37* today.

Hope all of this wasn't overwhelming and you got value out of it.

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

Wow... that was awesome!  The information you've provided (tips on how to use a generator) is really, really helpful.

Two questions:

-"Before I go into the camper I have both of the champion 2000w's running on max (non economy mode). This will force the generators to run at full load", does t that mean, that's a loud as it gets or will it get louder?   

-On economy mode, any idea what type of load you can put on it?

Thanks again for the input!  Enjoy your snow and please... keep it up there  

[rtguy007 74]

Economy mode will allow the generator to adjust itself as needed to save fuel and keep the generators quiet. If you don't run the AC most of the camper can run off of economy mode. You will hear the generator ramp up when you turn on something and ramp down when it stops. Some inverters can run on economy with the AC and others cant. Mine can go either way but it is hard on the AC of the generators are not running at full. It is the initial startup of the AC that it struggles with. Once the AC is running they ramp down some if economy mode is on.

You can make it a little easier on the generator by putting a hard start capacitor in your AC unit. I caution though that this could reduce the life of your AC. Hard start capacitors are for compressors that are older in age and need a little more juice to get going. Many people put them in the AC if they are boondocking a lot on small generators. All you do is move the risk of burning up the generator to doing damage to the AC. With that said, I put one in my old TT's AC (dometic 13.5) and it really helped with the generators. The new TT's AC (coleman 13.5) seemed to be fine with the generators so I have not put one in.

If you start getting into boondocking I can give you a lot of info about proper battery maintenance and getting water/waste water to/from the TT quickly and efficiently. We did a lot of research because we like Elkmont at the Smokies but there is nothing there but restrooms and fire pits.