What size generator do I need??

[Benny]

I just bought a fish house up on Mille Lacs, now I need a generator to power it up.

I plan on putting in a window AC unit, and it had all the comforts of home already there.

Is a 1000W big enough, or should I go up to a 3000W???

Benny

[Mayfly]

Where did you buy the shack? Is it on a summer lot and usable right now?

[Randy Kaar]

a 1000w probaly wouldnt work with the a/c. on a rv roof air which
would draw similar amps, a 3000w minimum.

randy aka bh

[mncowboy]

i use generators all the time for my bussiness. and even a 3000 will work very hard with a ac off it.  its the watts things use to get them started that hurts the genny and the motor that runs the deivice.  if you use a coffee pot or run lights and tv when the ac kicks on it wont do so well,
get a good 5000 watt genny with a good amount of surge watts for back up.  i have one thats 5000 watts and surges to 6250 watts just to get saws and other power tools going on my job site.  mine also has the low idiel funcion, that when there is no draw on power it really idiels down, its a gas saver.  most of your cheapy gennys just run at a set speed with power drawning for it or not.

monty

[Benny]

The house is at Agate Bay resort, we have been going there since the late 90's so we are comfortable there.

It is a 10 x 18 totaly remodeled 3 years ago , the origanal owner is a home builder so it has all the nice wood and trim work done to make it feel like a house not a ice shack.
It is set up for summer and winter use and it's right by the marina as well.

Thanks for the in put on the Generators guys, I best get the 3500 or the 5000W model as we will be using the amenities a lot when it's raining.
My 12 year old gets bored very easy, so the PS2 and DVD's will be playing a lot.

Any suggestions on what brand is quiet???

I know the Honda's are one of the quiet ones, how are the Coleman or Generac's??

Benny

[Randy Kaar]

i know colemans are fairly loud, i would stay with honda for
quiet.

randy aka bh

[mncowboy]

i have a generaic, but would like to get a yamaha

monty

[Randy Kaar]

havent heard good or bad about the yamahas, i would think
they would be fairly quiet. the gensets i work on are onans
or generacs but they are mounted on motorhomes.

randy aka bh

[thunderpout]

One of the yamahas, I believe the 1000w, is the quietest of em all, but the hondas and the yamahas are both the quietest you can buy, and they have that econo mode where they'll idle down to run as low as the draw permits. 

[Benny]

I am pretty sure about going with a Honda EU2000 or the 2500W if it's available.
If I use some common sence when running the amenities I should be able to get by with a 2500W Honda.

I will look for the Yamaha's as well though.

Benny

[thunderpout]

The Hondas are cheaper....  The best deal on the Hondas that I could find was at Beiswengers Hardware in New Brighton on 96 just off 35W....

[GRIZ]

I have a honda 2000 and it will power a ac roof mount on a camper if set at full throttle for when it kicks in. I have heard 2 yamaha 3000's and they are more quite than my honda. I am looking at one of them as I have decided that a 2000 isn't big enough for me. I havn't checked into price but it will be a factor.

[Benny]

Well we made it through this weekend with only one power outage.
That happened at night so it was fairly cool out by then, but if the power goes out in the middle of the day it would be real toasty with in a few hours.

I am thinking more alog the lines of a 3000w now, with the cealing fan, fridg, tv, ps2 ,lights, and a few micro wave moments we dimmed the lights on the full power hook up twice.

The owner said he didn't have enough power on the line to support all the houses if they all had AC or coffee makers going.

He isn't willing to up grade either so I will have to buy a generator if I want to run the AC with out fear of loosing my power at night.


Any one have a generator set up with a "dog house " around it??

The guy I bought the fish out from said that I might burn up a large gen if I didn't put in a cooling system for the dog house as well.

I was thinking of a three wall unit with the open wall facing away from the fish house and the rest of the neighbors.

Your thoughts??

Winter time wouldn't be so bad because the houses are spread apart more and it's colder out side.

Benny

[thunderpout]

Ive thought of doin that very thing... maybe some egg crate foam lining the walls also.... even though they are pretty quiet, I hate any noise when camping /fishing, so anything that helps keep the level down is all good!

[Randy Kaar]

when we did a perm mount on trailer or motor home, we used a
fiberglass material that had reflective foil. you might have to modify
the exhaust pipe if you enclose it fully and have some vents on the
box. the generator should have a section in the instruction manual
on what clearances you will need.

randy

[pikechaser]

Hi Benny,,,,I know its a little off topic.. but if you dont mind my asking what does it cost you to keep the house there & be able to use it in the summertime?  Have been seriously thinking of doing the same thing.