On Sun, 23 Dec 2012 11:24:53 -0500, Wayne.B wrote:

On Sun, 23 Dec 2012 10:26:49 -0500, GuzzisRule
wrote:

I just ordered this thing, on sale for $279.99. Anyone ever used or had one?

http://tinyurl.com/cz9eobb

This will be used primarily for camping trips and, if necessary, emergencies.

===

To be honest with you, I don't think you're going to like it very
much, although probably OK for emergency use at the house once in a
while if you and your neighbors can tolerate the (considerable) noise.
You'll need a professional electrician to get it connected properly.

For the house, I'd use extension cords run to the sump pump, refrigerator, small heater (if
necessary), and other appliances as needed. I wouldn't be trying to power the whole house, like
ESAD. I don't need anything like his 250 KW (or whatever).

For camping it is much too heavy and noisy. For camping I'd suggest
an inverter connected to a second battery which you can connect into
your truck's 12 volt system for recharging.

The trailer's already got an inverter, one battery, and two more on the truck. But, if we're in
Alaska, they wouldn't power an electric heater very long.

For the second battery the Sears 31M platinum Diehard would be a good
choice. There are lots of inverter options but something like this
would be big enough to run a small microwave for a few minutes:

I'm thinking of new batteries for the truck before much longer. Any reason you particularly like the
Diehard you referenced? They're expensive as hell, and made by the same company that makes WalMart,
Costco, and other batteries.


http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|328|936|1719194&id=1719099

You need short, very heavy cables (#2 wire or bigger) between the
battery and inverter.

Cables are no problem. The generator has a 30amp connection, and I've got 50amp cable with adaptors.
So I should be in good shape as far as the trailer goes.