# generator buying advice wanted plz



## tea time (May 4, 2021)

Hi everyone

Looking for a generator to charge up a standard size leisure battery once or twice a day. 
Any advice on what sort of thing to be looking at 
Thanks


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## Dutchy491 (Sep 18, 2019)

Maybe you could explain what a standard size leisure battery is first. How or where or in what application too... Dutchy


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## LaSwamp (Mar 16, 2021)

Dutchy491 said:


> Maybe you could explain what a standard size leisure battery is first. How or where or in what application too... Dutchy


Also, what is your price range? Wattage requirements? Will the job require an inverter? 

Tell us a bit more about how you intend to use it. There are lots of great choices out there, although Iowa will have only one suggestion


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## tabora (Sep 6, 2018)

tea time said:


> standard size leisure battery


You have to understand that most of us here are in the colonies, so speak to us as you would to a small child... I'm assuming you mean a caravan deep cycle battery. What group size?

For simple battery charging and small 230V loads in the UK, it's tough to beat a small Honda like the EU22i.





EU22i


Our portable generators are suitable for every use - wherever it's simply charging your phone while camping you have high quality power on the go.



www.honda.co.uk


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## tea time (May 4, 2021)

Dutchy491 said:


> Maybe you could explain what a standard size leisure battery is first. How or where or in what application too... Dutchy


I was looking at these ones





12V solar panels charging kits for caravans, motorhomes, boats, yachts, marine


12V solar panel solar charging kits for motorhome caravan boat campervan yacht marine off-grid



www.photonicuniverse.com













Platinum Leisure Batteries | Platinum Leisure Battery | ABS Batteries


We supply Platinum Leisure Battery types from 75ah to 110ah. Platinum Leisure Batteries come with all the NCC Class certificates.




advancedbatterysupplies.co.uk






LaSwamp said:


> Also, what is your price range? Wattage requirements? Will the job require an inverter?


It will be used to power a drinks cooler (running at 627W max @ 240V AC) yes will go though an inverter. But the drinks chiller will run off of the battery and the generator is there to power the battery not to power the device



tabora said:


> You have to understand that most of us here are in the colonies, so speak to us as you would to a small child... I'm assuming you mean a caravan deep cycle battery. What group size?
> 
> For simple battery charging and small 230V loads in the UK, it's tough to beat a small Honda like the EU22i.
> 
> ...


Yes they are indeed deep cycle! and Not CCA (cold cranking amps)
But I have read on the net that generator DC out puts are not desined to charge batteries up! because the DC out put has limited power out put meaning it would take houes to charge a battery and has no voltage regulator so can damage the battery. instead they advice that you buy a smart battery charger and run it off of the AC out put to charge your battery (utter utter total ****ing stupidness and defets the object of buying a generator!)


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## tea time (May 4, 2021)

tabora said:


> For simple battery charging and small 230V loads in the UK, it's tough to beat a small Honda like the EU22i.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I just spoke to my local generator shop about that modal 





Honda EU 22i 2.2kW Inverter Generator - Machine Mart - Machine Mart







www.machinemart.co.uk




They said it had 8.3Amp max output on the DC (8.3amp X 12V) 99.6W
And the generator is rated at max out put of 2200W.
Again complete and utter stupid and defets the object of buying a generator to charge batteries up!


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## drmerdp (Apr 10, 2018)

tea time said:


> I just spoke to my local generator shop about that modal
> 
> 
> 
> ...


It’s not a DC generator... just a bonus DC port.


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## Matt88-8 (Dec 27, 2018)

Generators produce AC voltage. The DC your using is just designed to control the output of the generator. Some designs allow for borrowing that DC current to charge batteries. 

FYI even the alternator on your car produces AC voltage. It's just rectified to DC.



Sent from my SM-G973W using Tapatalk


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## tea time (May 4, 2021)

drmerdp said:


> It’s not a DC generator... just a bonus DC port.


Do you know where I can get a proper DC generator from?


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## tea time (May 4, 2021)

Matt88-8 said:


> FYI even the alternator on your car produces AC voltage. It's just rectified to DC.


Yer I know! But they use a series and parallel of diodes to force the current in one direction (commonly know as DC) and then onto a regulator to regulate voltage.

So they do it with cars all these years no problem; why not on generators?


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## iowagold (Jan 22, 2020)

well you can just buy a car or truck alternator and a engine that is 13+ hp
and do the 130 to 250 amps of dc charge...
think ambulance alt or BIG machinery alt.
use a honda gx390 late version with fuel injection..


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## Matt88-8 (Dec 27, 2018)

tea time said:


> Yer I know! But they use a series and parallel of diodes to force the current in one direction (commonly know as DC) and then onto a regulator to regulate voltage.
> 
> So they do it with cars all these years no problem; why not on generators?


Because its use would be extremely limited. Its 100% possible, but its vastly more useful to have Ac. Also, 12v DC takes massive amperage to move the same power as 220v. It's cheaper and more efficient to just convert and regulate it. (IE a batt charger that costs $11)

Sent from my SM-G973W using Tapatalk


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## exmar (Jun 29, 2015)

Maybe look into generators (generators generate DC, alternators generate AC, gotta love the English language sometimes.) designed for off grid living. e.g. charging large batteries, perhaps they have a built in battery charging feature. Little I know about them those "generators" provide AC to ultimately charge batteries which in turn powers an inverter for AC. I know nothing about off grid systems other than the heart is a large battery bank charged by solar, wind, hydro or moto driven "generator." Alternately, if it's just occasional use, e.g. camping, provide a connection to your vehicle and let the alternator charge the battery. Not efficient and maybe not great for the vehicle long term as some don't like sitting and idling.


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## Ground Fault (Jun 9, 2020)

> Looking for a generator to charge up a standard size leisure battery once or twice a day.
> Any advice on what sort of thing to be looking at


Batteries are charged by a battery charger. Said battery chargers are powered by A/C current. That A/C current can be supplied by an A/C generator. I believe our work here is done...


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## Dutchy491 (Sep 18, 2019)

👍


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## tea time (May 4, 2021)

Matt88-8 said:


> . It's cheaper and more efficient to just convert and regulate it. (IE a batt charger that costs $11)


Are there any you can recomend please?


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## tea time (May 4, 2021)

iowagold said:


> well you can just buy a car or truck alternator and a engine that is 13+ hp
> and do the 130 to 250 amps of dc charge...
> think ambulance alt or BIG machinery alt.
> use a honda gx390 late version with fuel injection..


That might have to be the last option since they dont custom make them like they should do
But its getting the engine to connect the the alternator will be the problem


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## tea time (May 4, 2021)

exmar said:


> Alternately, if it's just occasional use, e.g. camping, provide a connection to your vehicle and let the alternator charge the battery. Not efficient and maybe not great for the vehicle long term as some don't like sitting and idling.


Using the engine of the van to charge the battery is ok if allways on the move but if static then its a lot of wasted fuel


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## iowagold (Jan 22, 2020)

just belt drive on the gx and automotive dc alt.

the cool thing is you can run some at lower engine speed to get the spin up you need.
look in to the japan alts...
nipondenso and some of the others make a low power requirement alt.
we use them on skidloaders etc.
self contained regulation.
30 amp to 150 amp range on the power.
most are at 13.8-14.2 volts dc

there is also wilson brand industrial alts.
kinda pricy... but they are overbuilt!
and they take a larger engine to drive them.

take a look at this site here in the states
i am sure there are places like the over there in the uk as well.
pm me if you do not find one.

weld up an aluminum frame to keep it light weight.
a couple of v belt pulley's and a good belt and bob's your uncle.


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## Matt88-8 (Dec 27, 2018)

tea time said:


> Are there any you can recomend please?


I like the Noco units, but really battery chargers are all pretty basic. Just get one thats "smart" or microprocessor controlled. That way it cuts off at the correct voltages.
Also, if you wish to pursue the gasoline driven alternator route, any machine shop worth their sign can make up a threaded-taper adapter to drive an alternator directly (saving the hassle of belt driven)

Sent from my SM-G973W using Tapatalk


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## drmerdp (Apr 10, 2018)

So is this for a camper? Or are you lugging a battery, inverter, generator and charger in a car and truck for tailgating...? How are you going to be utilizing the battery? A more complete picture of your usage will help dictate what’s the most practical setup.


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## tea time (May 4, 2021)

iowagold said:


> weld up an aluminum frame to keep it light weight.
> a couple of v belt pulley's and a good belt and bob's your uncle.


Problem is I cant weld! and dont have welder or grinder. But keeping an eye on ebay, surly one will come up for 99p end of auction. worth the risk!


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## tea time (May 4, 2021)

drmerdp said:


> So is this for a camper? Or are you lugging a battery, inverter, generator and charger in a car and truck for tailgating...? How are you going to be utilizing the battery? A more complete picture of your usage will help dictate what’s the most practical setup.


Actully its a mobile catering van that will be parked in one place all the time


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## iowagold (Jan 22, 2020)

make friends with the local weld shop guys!
lol
show up at lunch or tea time with snacks!
or try the local industrial arts trade school...
most of the time they are looking for a good project for the kids!

the now make low temp welding rod these days so you can weld with mapp gas!


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## tabora (Sep 6, 2018)

tea time said:


> Actully its a mobile catering van that will be parked in one place all the time


Over here across the pond, the EU7000is is the food truck generator of choice. If you just need to keep batteries happy on yours, I still think the EU22i and an Optimate 6 or 7 charger would do the job quietly and efficiently.


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## drmerdp (Apr 10, 2018)

tea time said:


> Actully its a mobile catering van that will be parked in one place all the time


And you would only be powering a fridge? Solar.


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## tea time (May 4, 2021)

tabora said:


> Over here across the pond, the EU7000is is the food truck generator of choice. If you just need to keep batteries happy on yours, I still think the EU22i and an Optimate 6 or 7 charger would do the job quietly and efficiently.


But they just dont produce enough DC output amprage to charge a battery up in half an hour if you only needed to power say just one fridge


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## tea time (May 4, 2021)

drmerdp said:


> And you would only be powering a fridge? Solar.


Errrr that would be OK if you lived in Sunny Spain or Sunny California. But Seattle or Shap then I think not!


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## iowagold (Jan 22, 2020)

yea uk is pretty rainy and over cast...
just make a high output dc unit.
that might be the best solution.

you could use the muffler off an eu7000is to get a standard gx390 as quiet!


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## tea time (May 4, 2021)

iowagold said:


> yea uk is pretty rainy and over cast...
> just make a high output dc unit.
> that might be the best solution.
> 
> you could use the muffler off an eu7000is to get a standard gx390 as quiet!


Yer at present I am looking at building the generator with a used lawnmover engine and a car used altenator (should do it for under 50 quid).

But problem is I need a quiet engine and this is why Im looking at the Honda, But yes will need to add a muffler on somehow?


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## iowagold (Jan 22, 2020)

tea time said:


> Yer at present I am looking at building the generator with a used lawnmover engine and a car used altenator (should do it for under 50 quid).
> 
> But problem is I need a quiet engine and this is why Im looking at the Honda, But yes will need to add a muffler on somehow?


the eu7000is has the gx 360 engine and is super quiet.
the muffler off one of those units would be nice!
not sure who is selling honda parts in the uk...
the bare muffler only runs $300..00 usd as new oem part


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## tea time (May 4, 2021)

To be honest I was looking at getting something like one of these on ebay









honda gvc160 Engine | eBay


<p>honda gvc160 Engine. Condition is "Used". </p><br><p>Running Honda engine ready to put on another machine, will require engine service before use. </p><p>Sold as seen.</p>



www.ebay.co.uk














Honda Gvc 135 Engine | eBay


<p>Honda Gvc 135 Engine. Condition is "Used". </p><p>Will need a service before use but is in working condition.</p>



www.ebay.co.uk













Honda Mini Tiller FG110 Petrol 4 Stroke Honda GX25T 25cc Engine weight 13kg | eBay


<p>Honda Mini Tiller FG110 Petrol 4 Stroke Honda GX25T 25cc Engine weight 13kg. Condition is "Used". In excellent condition as hardly used</p>



www.ebay.co.uk













Honda Engine Off A Hr216 Lawnmower Lawnmower | eBay


<p dir="ltr" style="margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0;">Honda Engine Off A Hr216 Lawnmower Lawnmower. Condition is "For parts or not working". </p> <p dir="ltr" style="margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0;">I haven't tested this it came from a shed clearance</p> <p dir="ltr" style="margin-top:0...



www.ebay.co.uk





Dont know if they have mufflers on or I need to add one


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## drmerdp (Apr 10, 2018)

tea time said:


> Errrr that would be OK if you lived in Sunny Spain or Sunny California. But Seattle or Shap then I think not!


lol, Don’t know about shap, but Seattle isnt as cloudy as people think. A basic good solar kit is $140 usd without inverter and battery. It’ll likely work very well with only powering a fridge and will support the long term health of the battery. A small cheap inverter generator 1000watts or so plus a battery charger would be there to supplement power and consume much less fuel then a needlessly large small engine paired with an alternator. It would ultimately be a more practical and useful setup in my opinion. 

If you really want to build a generator using a car alternator... Use a small cc engine 50-100cc with a variable throttle. Otherwise you’ll be wasting lots of “petrol”.😉


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## iowagold (Jan 22, 2020)

watch the horse power requirements for the car alt!
most are at 2-10 hp!
and if you are looking at 100 amps of 12 volt dc charge you are at 13 hp or gx390 engines.

get the engineering sheets for the gens


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## drmerdp (Apr 10, 2018)

iowagold said:


> watch the horse power requirements for the car alt!
> most are at 2-10 hp!
> and if you are looking at 100 amps of 12 volt dc charge you are at 13 hp or gx390 engines.
> 
> get the engineering sheets for the gens


On second thought 50cc might be a tad small. But a gx390 sounds like too much engine for a 100amp alternator.

To keep a battery that’s only intermittently powering a refrigerator charged, I doubt any more then 15-20 amps would be needed To keep it topped off. We don’t have actual power requirement data so it’s a guessing game.


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## tea time (May 4, 2021)

drmerdp said:


> lol, Don’t know about shap, but Seattle isnt as cloudy as people think. A basic good solar kit is $140 usd without inverter and battery.


I though solar panels cost thosonds!





drmerdp said:


> If you really want to build a generator using a car alternator... Use a small cc engine 50-100cc with a variable throttle. Otherwise you’ll be wasting lots of “petrol”.😉


At present I can not think of a cheaper way of doing this then making one up from a used lawnmover engine and car altenator. Bough in purchase and running cost because as stupid as it dose sound they are not making generators built solo for charging 12V batteries up. A typical 1000/2000W generator will only give a max of 8 amps (X12V) 96W, which would mean it would takes hours to charge

Now I have been watching some youtube videos of late; on how to build an altenator generator and the engine sizes run from 2.5-6.5HP. I kind of noticed on the video where he was doing it with a 2.5HP engine that it struggled to pull when he put an electrical load on the altenator connecting his jump leads to his flat battery. Then he tried to start the car and the generator stalled! Where this problem did not seam to happen with the bigger engines. I guess with a smaller engine you know when you battery is nearly charged as you can hear the engine not working so hard


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## tea time (May 4, 2021)

iowagold said:


> watch the horse power requirements for the car alt!
> most are at 2-10 hp!


that seams to much of a varient for car altenators. Surly there will not be much difference in them as they all seam to run simulmar loads


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## tea time (May 4, 2021)

drmerdp said:


> To keep a battery that’s only intermittently powering a refrigerator charged, I doubt any more then 15-20 amps would be needed To keep it topped off. We don’t have actual power requirement data so it’s a guessing game.


I will most likely be running a bear chiller and one fridge
The beer chiller runs at a max of 627W and will only run when beer is being drawn though it or when the tap is open
So if we said I was to sell 100 pints a day at 30 seconds a pour would mean 50 minutes of use per day.
Which is (50mins/ 60 mins) 0.83 of an hour. X 627W = *522.5W total power consumption for this machine for one day.*

The fridge; I would say a maximum of 0.5kWh/ 500Wh a day

_Beer chiller speck sheet attached_


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## iowagold (Jan 22, 2020)

tea time said:


> that seams to much of a varient for car altenators. Surly there will not be much difference in them as they all seam to run simulmar loads


the japan alternators use less power!
so maybe a toyota alternator?
and match it with a 5-6 hp engine! gx 200 honda would be a good engine!


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## drmerdp (Apr 10, 2018)

To be honest I think youd be best off with a eu2200 for operating hours to run the fridge, chiller, and battery charger. The charged deep cycle battery and inverter get night duty to keep the fridge cold. The batteriy needs to be sized to NEVER drop below 50%, 75% is best.


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## tabora (Sep 6, 2018)

drmerdp said:


> To be honest I think youd be best off with a eu2200





tabora said:


> For simple battery charging and small 230V loads in the UK, it's tough to beat a small Honda like the EU22i.


Ayuh... Or maybe even an EU10i .


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## tea time (May 4, 2021)

drmerdp said:


> To be honest I think youd be best off with a eu2200


I did an internet search on that model and the title says its a

Honda EU2200i Super Quiet Inverter Generator




__





Honda EU2200i Super Quiet Inverter Generator | Honda Generators


The Honda EU2200i super quiet inverter generator offers 2200 watts of power. Extremely quiet and fuel efficient, this portable generator is ideal for camping & RV use.




powerequipment.honda.com





So it says it has an invertor; Am I right in thinking that they mean battery charger to go from AC to DC?


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## tea time (May 4, 2021)

tabora said:


> Ayuh... Or maybe even an EU10i .


But what the DC out put in amprage like?


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## iowagold (Jan 22, 2020)

the eu10 and the eu22 are ac inverters, so you would plug in an battery charger for larger dc.
they both have a dc port that is good for 5 amp at 12 volt dc but it is not regulated.

we do a mod with a good buck boost regulator for these gens to have a solid 13.8 vdc at the jack.
pm me for the details on that mod.


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## tea time (May 4, 2021)

iowagold said:


> the eu10 and the eu22 are ac inverters, so you would plug in an battery charger for larger dc.
> they both have a dc port that is good for 5 amp at 12 volt dc but it is not regulated.


5amp X 12V= 60W, not a lot of use though and as you say unregulated!



iowagold said:


> we do a mod with a good buck boost regulator for these gens to have a solid 13.8 vdc at the jack.
> pm me for the details on that mod.


Sure if it can use full efficency of the generator then I'll have a look
I dont know how to PM you! if you can PM me and I will reply
Thanks


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## tabora (Sep 6, 2018)

tea time said:


> But what the DC out put in amprage like?


Again, we're suggesting that you pair the Honda with a battery charger of the capacity you desire. The generator's internal D/C charging capacity is not of interest here.


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## tea time (May 4, 2021)

tabora said:


> Again, we're suggesting that you pair the Honda with a battery charger of the capacity you desire.


I did not know you could get a battery charger big enough to take the full load of the generator. Unless I am wrong that is then it must be work shop use type and a lot of money at that


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## tabora (Sep 6, 2018)

tea time said:


> nless I am wrong that is then it must be work shop use type


Actually, they're built for RV use; pretty much the same target demographic you're in. Here's a 120V to 12V 80Amp example: https://www.etrailer.com/RV-Converters/Progressive-Dynamics/PD9280A.html


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## Matt88-8 (Dec 27, 2018)

tea time said:


> I did not know you could get a battery charger big enough to take the full load of the generator. Unless I am wrong that is then it must be work shop use type and a lot of money at that


Again, pretty much any cheap batt charger will provide 25a at 12vdc. A small inverter generator that us quiet and fuel efficient will power a cheap batt charger. It's super easy to do, super cheap. And best of all, doesn't limit you to just DC power. 

Sent from my SM-G973W using Tapatalk


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## Robh (Aug 19, 2019)

tea time said:


> I did an internet search on that model and the title says its a
> 
> Honda EU2200i Super Quiet Inverter Generator
> 
> ...


I think we might be getting hung up on terminology. When we are talking about portable Honda generators, or any portable inverter generator for that matter, just forget the word "inverter". That's just an internal mechanism to regulate the power, but the output is still A/C. If you need something under 1000 watts, buy a generator that handles 1000 watts. If you need 2000W, then same thing.

The inverter is simply a mechanism to clean up the power output, and so the motor doesn't have to run at a constant speed. Here is one of several articles on the subject.


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## tea time (May 4, 2021)

tabora said:


> Actually, they're built for RV use; pretty much the same target demographic you're in. Here's a 120V to 12V 80Amp example: https://www.etrailer.com/RV-Converters/Progressive-Dynamics/PD9280A.html


So if that 80AmpX12V = 960W

So that would be ideal then for 1000W generator!


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## tea time (May 4, 2021)

Robh said:


> I think we might be getting hung up on terminology. When we are talking about portable Honda generators, or any portable inverter generator for that matter, just forget the word "inverter". That's just an internal mechanism to regulate the power, but the output is still A/C. If you need something under 1000 watts, buy a generator that handles 1000 watts. If you need 2000W, then same thing.
> 
> The inverter is simply a mechanism to clean up the power output, and so the motor doesn't have to run at a constant speed. Here is one of several articles on the subject.


Over hear we normally class an inverter as something that tranforms DC to AC. like from 12V DC battery to 240AC mains electric


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## drmerdp (Apr 10, 2018)

You are 240v 50hz, but with this size charger Input comes in at 1300 watts @ 120vac... A 1000watt wouldnt be large enough. In the case of Honda’s, for only a few hundred more you have a massively more capable 2200watt unit.

Right from the website.
*Specifications*

Input: 105-130 VAC, 1,300 Watts
Note: Requires 20 amp rated outlet
Output: 13.6 VDC, 80 Amps
Dimensions: 8” x 9.00” x 3.6”
Weight: 6 lbs.


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