Safe Speed Forums

Powering the 12V stuff in a campervan when you're parked is annoying, to say the least. I use a cheap noisy petrol generator to generate 240V and an expensive 3 stage battery charger to recharge the aux battery and supply 12V power. The noise is a hassle. The petrol is a hassle (main engine is diesel). Getting it out, plugging it in, starting it and refuling it are all hassles.

There HAS to be a better way... And I've seen this:

ebay link

I can't say I know what's in the box - but surely it must be gold plated at least for £1,695!

I only need 10A or 12A at ~14V. < 200W or 1/4HP. The vehicle already has a perfectly good alternator, a ready supply of bottled gas and a ready supply of diesel. There HAS to be a better way to skin this cat. And at a lot less than £1,695! And without the noise associated with small internal combustion engines.

Solar power and large enough batteries is one way to go. Costs about £600 (panel, larger batteries, charge controller). Will let you down after a couple of dim rainy days.

Any waste heat from an APU is likely to be useful in three seasons.

Are there any REALLY quiet small internal combustion engines?

Is a minature steam turbine a good idea? http://www.prismz.com/minipower

Can you get enough power out of a stirling engine?

What's the best answer? There must be a large and growing market...

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

First thing I notice is that it is listed as being quiet at 7M away!

I found this honda one at 49db http://www.justgenerators.co.uk/pages/HondaEU26i.htm

This http://www.justgenerators.co.uk/pages/p ... rators.htm is worth a skim - there is even a yamaha suitcase generator!

If you can work out how to build it into the camper and isolate it more then it should be a lot quieter.

Pretty standard for generators, and reasonable in typical applications where the strategy is often to move the thing away to get the noise level down.

Very nice. But WAY more power than I need, and quite expensive, although much better value for money than the link in the first post. The Honda EU10i is a better bet, but I alwady have the Kipor equivalent. But it's broken down, with apparently two independent faults with the electronics.

I'm quite familiar with the market in small generators. But NOTHING on the market is anywhere near ideal - unless you count £1,695+fitting as ideal.
Hmm. Well, it might be quieter outside, but noisier inside. And I'm usually inside...

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

One of these might be ok: http://www.silentpower.net/4709/4790.html Price says POA so it must be huge...

Quiet seems to be very costly. Having a long lead with the generator nailed down 20M away might be the cheapest option.

A large array of batteries with an inverter would be silent. If you can find a way of adapting the charging system on the camper to charge them then you would probably hardly need the generator. A battery pack which you could take out and plug into the mains/the generator and charge or which you could plug into the camper and charge while the engine was running would be really versatile. Have you tried the marine and canal boat sites for ideas?

Just found a kipor for £199!
http://www.thegreenreaper.co.uk/ShowDetails.asp?id=951

Oh that's WONDERFUL. Exactly what I had in mind - except the price. I've found it for 11,000 Euros / $13,000.



Yeah. I hardly need the inverter - most everything is 12V anyway. You're right that with better batteries, and especially with a bit of solar the generator issues could often / mostly be sidestepped.



With a bit of smart ebaying you can get a perfectly serviceable brand new generator for £33.50. I did recently. One of these

It's the engineer in me that's unhappy about the practicalities - hence a brainstorming thread - it's not really a 'campaign need'. I'll be fine with a cheapo generator.

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

Continuing to think about this, the vehicle alternator is attractive as a generator, but one problem is that it's on the fan belt linked to the crankshaft pulley. It isn't going to want to turn unless you could 'do something' to the fan belt.

But I've just found a potential solution to that. A 'sprague clutch' (one way clutch) on the crankshaft pulley would enable the fanbelt to turn in the normal direction with the crank stationary.

_________________
Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety