Looking for a Gas Generator !

And its for generating from gas not to gas !  So forget the baked bean jokes I'm looking for a small generator that will charge us up now and again that runs from the LPG barbee port.  I have seen these at the odd show but where can I find a supplier and has anyone got one ?

 Looking for something like this..............
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Hi,
Loads if you use google,
Chris

Conversion kits are available for standard petrol generators to run on LPG.  

Is there any particular reason why you want to run on LPG rather than petrol?

When we bought our Honda EU20i some years ago we ordered it fitted with this and we did run it on gas at times, however I found it was cheaper and simpler to run it on petrol and I removed the kit as it made the unit too bulky to fit in our backbox. It's probably still on a shelf out in the garage somewhere.


cheers
Roger

rogerblack wrote:Is there any particular reason why you want to run on LPG rather than petrol?
cheers
Roger

Only the fact that it is available, plus I don't want to carry a petrol can in the van with me. I will look on ebay but I need to see and feel it first. 

Only you can decide but I would just pass on my thoughts, having actually gone through the process. If I were deciding today in the light of my experience, I wouldn't bother with the LPG conversion and in fact probably wouldn't buy a generator at all.

I bought ours back when I used the motorhome for business and did find it useful on a few occasions, mainly if I stopped in a lay-by for a quick lunch and wanted to use the microwave rather than the gas hob and the associated washing of saucepans etc.

The Honda EU20i is very efficient in use but fairly heavy to lug around and you need somewhere to store it. When I fitted a back box to the cycle rack, it was carried in there but I had to remove the LPG conversion kit otherwise it wouldn't fit in.  By that time, I had established that running on gas was more costly than petrol anyway (it only becomes more economical if you are buying LPG in the much larger sizes which won't fit in a motorhome!). Carrying a small 5 litre petrol container in the backbox was no problem for me. 

Some people claim the generator will run quieter on lpg but this is definitely not the case (and this is not a subjective judgement, I measured this using electronic sound measuring instruments which I used to sell!).  Also, before using LPG it was necessary to use up all the petrol in the tank, as the only fuel shut off is combined with the OFF control knob; I did think of fitting an in-line stop cock but couldn't find anywhere suitable.

I never used the generator on sites, apart from one time when I was on a CL/CS which had no hookup; no-one else was onsite and it was a field some distance from any houses. No matter what claims are made for them being "quiet" there will be few times when it will be possible to use one, if you have any consideration for others. (Remember that 'noisy neighbour' in the lay-by in a refrigerated lorry? A genny is even louder!)

These days, few CLs/CSs don't have hookup and we mainly use those and club sites in the UK, plus ACSI sites in France which also include hookup in the discounted fee anyway.

So I don't bother carrying the genny in the motorhome any more, it languishes in the garage gathering dust apart from a couple of occasions when it came in useful during prolonged power cuts at home. It used to come in handy for using electric power tools and garden mower, strimmer etc in the very long garden at our holiday home in Scotland but I've now got a petrol mower and strimmer and a rechargeable drill.

If you do a lot of wild camping in truly remote locations then I guess a generator might be useful, although it somewhat defeats the point of finding a quiet spot to enjoy nature!

As I said, it's obviously your own decision based on your likely intended use, but to me it was one of those must-have gadgets that I later wished I hadn't spent the money on.

 
cheers
Roger

With the price of a decent generator i.e. Honda, would a decent solar panel be just as cost effective?  No need to carry petrol and it would be working silently all the time during daylight.  I have a 100W panel fitted and have not used a generator for 3 years.

Dave 'R' wrote:With the price of a decent generator i.e. Honda, would a decent solar panel be just as cost effective?  No need to carry petrol and it would be working silently all the time during daylight.  I have a 100W panel fitted and have not used a generator for 3 years.

The problem is that I also need access to 240 occasionally on our travels and Solar just won't cut it, I know a generator won't be a cheap option [it will probably cost the same as 200 nights on a site with hook-up] but we don't do sites so there it is. I know all about the noise and the downsides but at the moment it is looking like the best/only option for us.  I won't be committing though until after the Kingham is delivered.

Is your 240V requirement larger capacity than an inverter would cope with?

Your profile doesn't say what part of the country you're in; if you're anywhere near Berkshire you'd be welcome to come and have a look at and listen to the Honda and also the gas conversion kit if it helps.  Note that I'm not looking to part with the generator, as it does come in handy now and again, although I might accept an offer on the LPG kit.

Drop me a PM if that's of interest.

cheers
Roger

I'm watching this thread with interest as I like the idea of running a generator off the external gas point.

A return to the Le Mans 24 hour race is on our list of to do things in the next couple of years and from past experience if you get a good spot you don't move. I am not sure how long we would last off hook up (my previous van had about 30AHr of leisure battery so no comparison) so I will be thinking about a generator. Noise is not really a concern there.

dbroada wrote:I am not sure how long we would last off hook up. 

With a 100Ah battery and no solar panel or other means of charging, four or five days of careful use in summer is not far off. Don't forget that until quite recently the lights took a fair bit of power, whereas LED lights use only a fraction of what tubes or halogens did.

Dave

Gromit wrote:With a 100Ah battery and no solar panel or other means of charging, four or five days of careful use in summer is not far off. Don't forget that until quite recently the lights took a fair bit of power, whereas LED lights use only a fraction of what tubes or halogens did.

Dave

Thanks Gromit,

That was roughly where I thought I'd be.

When I had the tiny battery we were very frugal and managed to make it last 4-5 days but as batteries have grown so have our demands.