Generator big enough?

[fivebucks]

Need a little help from some people with electrical knowledge. I built a shower house up at the cabin. We have no electricity or running water. I have a rain barrel system to collect the water and will use a self priming in-line pump of some sort to pump the water to the shower. I plan to use a tankless hot water heater and I would prefer to use electric so I don't have to vent a gas one. The heater that would work for me requires the following:

Voltage: 240

Wattage: 9.6

Amperage: 40

min. circuit breaker: 50

My Honda EM3500SX generator has these specs:

Rated voltage: 120/240 v

Rated frequence: 60 Hz

Rated ampere: 25/12.5 A

Rated output: 3.0kVA

Max output: 3.5 kVA

I don't understand what all this is saying but I am looking to find out if my generator is big enough or if I'll have to go LP. I would also be running 1 or 2 lights along with a small water pump. I see 40 amps on the heater and 25 on the generator so I think it might be under powered.

Any ideas?

Thanks!!!!!

[Tom7227]

Guy I know built a system with a 15 gallon steel barrel, an outdoor thermometer with the wire pickup, a burner from a turkey roaster, a 12vDC on demant pump and a battery and some garden hose. Total cost was probably less than $175. You have to buy a fitting that will let you drill a hole in the bottom side of the barrel, hook up a short piece of hose, then the pump and then the 15 feet or so of garden hose with a rain style nozzle. Short time to heat the water to 110 degrees or so and away you go. We used it at a deer shack and had 12 volt lights, a car radio for tunes, and a fan for the wood burner. Two batteries would get us through a 3 day weekend if we were judicious. Best part was no noise like with a generator or propane lights.

[riverrat56]

You'll be way underpowered, the Wattage on the heater is 9600VA, the Generator is only rated at 3500VA max.

Since on demand water heaters pretty much run at full amperage all the time, it won't work.

[fivebucks]

Thanks Riverrat. I had that feeling. I will get a LP one instead and vent it out. Tom, we do the turkey fryer deal at deer camp and it works great. I wanted to have something a bit nicer for the cabin.

[river-rat4]

I plan to use a tankless hot water heater and I would prefer to use electric so I don't have to vent a gas one. The heater that would work for me requires the following:

Voltage: 240

Wattage: 9.6

Amperage: 40

min. circuit breaker: 50

My Honda EM3500SX generator has these specs:

Rated voltage: 120/240 v

Rated frequence: 60 Hz

Rated ampere: 25/12.5 A

Rated output: 3.0kVA

Max output: 3.5 kVA

Your Generator-

At 120 volt it has only 25 amps (Peak).

At 240 volt it has only 12.5 amps (Peak).

This water heater is 240 volt. You can not run a 40 amp (Draw) unit on a 12.5 amp (peak) generator. Look for other options.

Please post you resolve.

river-rat4

[DrKen]

Your water heater would require a 10,000 watt generator as it pulls 9600 watts(9.6 kilowatts) plus add what he pump would pull. Basically it would take a 12,000 watt generator. These would be the full time load not the surge load on the generator. Much better off running a LP water heater.

[fivebucks]

Thanks for all the replies. LP it is. Good to find out now before I blow my generator or something.