Generator

Electrical System - Generators

The Sportster has a 30 Amp electrical connection which currently is being fed off-grid by two Honda EU2000i generators in parallel.

I had initially bought one and found out, that while it could run the AC alone, it would not do so reliably. On a hot day, whenever the AC came back on after a few minutes ( the thermostat calling for cooling again) the hot-starting current of my AC (RVP 8333A Mach 3 Plus) popped the circuit breaker.

The good thing about the Honda is that it is an Inverter Generator. That means that the gas engine drives a DC generator ( not like a conventional AC generator, where the gas engine drives an A/C generator and needs to run at a fixed speed to create the 60 Hz) and that feeds into an electronic inverter that generates a very clean 110V @ 60Hz.  It also has what Honda calls an "ECO throttle". The inverter senses the A/C load that is placed on it and in turn the electronics control the throttle of the gas engine and have it turn just fast enough to satisfy the load. The little red Honda is already quiet at full throttle, at part loads it is as quiet as a church mouse and very frugal with the fuel.

Another advantage of the Inverter design is that two or more generators can be easily combined, the inverter electronics talk to each other and keep themselves synchronized.

Voila, 30 Amps of clean 115 V 60Hz from two little 48 # packages. And they both fit into my Sportsters generator compartment. And they are less expensive than a built in generator.

Negatives of this solution, but irrelevant to my use, is that I have to take the generators out of the compartment, connect the combiner box and the Sportster's umbilical cord and hand start the generators.

They always start at the first or second pull. I do not miss the convenience of a remote start, I am grateful for any exercise I can get.