New Generators!

By: Kevin

After our trusty Kipor generator of unknown age decided to quit producing power, we were faced with the decision of with what to replace the generator. Since we have a deep freezer in the RV, and we spend the majority of our time in campgrounds, we decided that another generator was the best option dollar-for-dollar for us instead of a solar panel array.

The next questions that had to be answered were what brand and what size generator. With a 30 amp RV we could opt for a single 3,000 watt generator or two smaller 2,000 watt generators with a parallel kit. After researching both options we found that a single unit would be larger and heavier (150 lbs) but would have a larger fuel tank. If we opted for two smaller generators we could achieve 4,000 watts of power, be lighter (44 lbs each), and we could split them up to power the RV and Annex if we so desired, as long as we didn’t need over 16 amps in the RV with them separated. In the interest of redundancy, if one fails, we have a backup right there to keep the freezer frozen. This would have prevented us from needing to move from the campground to the RV lot in Big Bend. This, of course, came at the cost of smaller fuel tanks on each unit, but we were happy with this trade-off. The Yamahas also come with a 3-year warranty, which should keep Murphy at bay for a while. Heather is also happy that she can carry the new generators around without help instead of fighting with the previous 150 lb. monster.

Upon arrival of our new EF-2000iSv2 Yamaha generators we unboxed, oiled, and fueled the units, then tested them under load with the air conditioning running. The generators performed beautifully and provided more than enough power to cycle the air conditioner compressor. The engines are pretty quiet as well which will keep any neighbors happy should we need to use them in close proximity to other campers.

The generators work well as shipped, but I did make one improvement to the units by changing the standard hex nut on the ground post to a wing nut for tool-free addition and removal of the parallel power cable. I also labeled the units just to tell them apart for any future reference.