Generator ?

[sportfish]

What size generator should I get for my new Ice Castle ? I don't need much for the winter time but If I use the air conditioner in the summer how big will I need ? Will a honda 2000 run the air and a tv-dvd and afew lights at the same time ? I'am looking at a few different models like honda, Powerhouse 2000wi ...

[wally diver 2]

I have used my Honda 2000 on my camper ac it ran it OK as long as you started the ac when it was still cooler. If you tried to start it when it was already 90+ it would trip the breaker on generator. I would buy the Honda 3000.

[Ryan_V]

for ice fishing, the 2000 is plenty. Not enough for a/c though. you want the 3000 for that

[ctisdell]

I have had the same question since buying my IC. What it really comes down to is what is all running at the same time. Tv, radio, fridge, satellite box, coffee maker. The real question is what generator do you have and what is running and what are you starting while running other things. If you run your TV, sat box, laptop, and fridge your looking at around 670 watts, now run you microwave (1000 watts) and the 2000 honda is come close to blowing a circuit.

[Redlineracer12]

What air conditioner are you running? How many BTUs? I have a small house and can cool it with just a 5000 btu window AC unit. I can easily run that with a 2000W generator. A lot of the rooftop ones are more like 13500 btu, and require more generator to run. Yamaha makes a 2400W if you think that will work for you, otherwise step up to 3000W. I would go with Honda or Yamaha either way myself for low noise and reliability.

[Rip-A-Lip]

I have a 16 foot Ice Castle Lake of The Woods Edition. I was contemplating the same question last year. I went with the cheap route and bought an EXT3000 and would not do anything different if I had to do it again. It has plenty of power to run my AC unit that came with the house while camping this summer and in the winter it works great running in economy mode to run all my lights, TV, dish receiver and radio at the same time and still pushes enough juice to charge my three deep cells at the same time. I don't think it is as quite as a honda 2000 but it is very close in my opinion. Great unit for the price! I would recommend the EXT 3000 to anyone and with the extra money you save, buy LED lights for your house. Hope this helps!

[ClownColor]

FYI...consumer reports just came out with a report on generators. Only one with good noise rankings was the Honda EU6500is. Top pick was Troy-bilt XP7000 30477 for less than 1/4 price...if your curious.

[highlife4me]

I have a Honda 2000 for ice fishing and running the camper. Works great for everything but the A/C. I am considering buying a Honda Companion that you can run in parralel with the 2000 but I have yet to really need it. Every time I have camped when I need the A/C I have a campsite with 30 amp service. When I "rough it" with out electric service it is usually in the spring and fall when no A/C is needed.

[Fishnblood]

I have the 8x17 RV Edition and a 3500-4000 Watt Champion generator that pushed the AC just fine when I tried it. I did not run it for any extended period of time (about an hour straight). In the winter I run it for 2 days straight (aside from turning it off at prime times) and it pushes my heater, fridge, microwave and TV just fine. The question I would ask myself though is "how much am I really going to need to run the AC in the summer in which a campground does not have electrical hookups?" Is the Champion loud? Sure but outside of your house and in the back of a pickup you can barely tell its there. Is it heavy? Heavier than a SOB 100+ pounds lol. But for 400 bucks compared to 1000 for a Honda or Yamaha I'd take it any day of the week.

[boXCar JiggY]

Im in the same boat so to speak. we just bought a 8.5x 20 an have the champion 3500-4000 peak. we are getting the Honda 2000 shortly, an have been advised to get the the 3000 for an extra 100 bucks. but thinking of how much we are actually gona use it in the summer where we would need the air con we decided to stick with the 2000 Honda for now. it seems as you look around the ice at the big houses you will see the Honda 2000 far more often than the 3000.

[bassNspear]

i bought the honda 2000. i spent 2-3 weeks reserching and looking at new ones, and bought the honda! Have used it 3-4 times and i am super excited.

[nwhunter]

I've been using Honda generators for a while now, and they are rock solid. As long as you account for everything you're going to run off of it, you'll be happy.

[Hawg]

This topic has been hammered over and over. I know there are instances where a Honda/Yamaha 1000 or 2000 is too small, like for air conditioners. But its my opinion, and everyone gets one, that if you buy a noisy one to save a couple hundred dollars for ice fishing around other people, you just don't have a conscience and the rest of us will never convince you otherwise. Go ahead and bash me because no amount of posts is going to change either of us. Sorry, I'm not a spoiled rich kid and money is important to me also but that's just not where to save it. I saw a homemade sign at Fleet the other day that basically said -If you have a problem with your Generac Generator call Generac at ...... When I asked a long term employee he said about 3/4 of the people that buy then come back with a phoney reason they want to return them for the Honda. They just got tired of all the excuses.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

I know of a few people who have gone the route of the cheap one, and then after a year they sell it for 25% of what they paid, and then buy the Honda. Knowing that, I went with another good option, the Yamaha.

Friday night I heard one of those Champion's running a concession trailer. Those things are just plain inconsiderate. You couldn't even hold a conversation 50' away.

[Hawg]

How in the world do they get away with those decibel comparisons that claim they are the same as a Honda or Yamaha? The Fleet guy says that's what most people shove at them because they have the literature out there and they blame it on Fleet.