Tardis

Hi Alan and Liz. It's been quite journey but we could not be happier with our 2.8. Hope you are as happy with it as we are. See you around the traps, Steve and Lyn

Good choice Mick. As an add to my last posting there is some excellent advice about how to chose a generator to run a van aircon on the Air Command website Generator knowledge base, or if the link doesn't work go the Air Command website, which is simple to find through Google, and click on the Support button on the top of the page then select Knowledge base from the drop-down menu. Simply enter the word generator in the bottom search box and hit Search. One particularly interesting part of the document is a section towards the end which explains how small generators become less efficient when the temperature rises. That was what was happening when we tried to run the Cormorant in hot weather with the 2KVA Honda. The generator would start and run the aircon at first but as the generator heated up, the outside temperature hit the mid-30s, and the aircon compressor started cycling in and out the resisitive load became too much and the overload protection on the generator would turn the power off. The article also talks about how the smaller generators run "on the edge". The very helpful bloke I spoke to at Air Command told me the Cormorant runs at about 1500 watts once the compressor has started. But when the compressor cycles it briefly demads four to five times that load to get the compressor started again. Cheers, Lyn and Steve

Hi Alan and Liz and everyone, After a bit of a Mexican stand-off, our Honda dealer agreed to come and see how the EU2000i kept shutting down when trying to run the Cormorant. The second generator overload shut down convinced him there was a problem and that the EU2000i could not cope. After speaking with Honda he reluctantly agreed to give us a full refund. Meanwhile I had spoken to Air Command in Adelaide and had been advised that both the Honda EU2000i and Yamaha EF2400iS were borderline when trying to run the Cormorant. The bloke I spoke to said a 2.8 KVA Yamaha or a 3KVA Honda would do the trick. The 3KVA Honda is too big and heavy to fit in our Topender generator locker so after considerable research online and in talking to others, as well looking at all the postings on the forum, we subsequently bought a Yamaha EF2800i from a dealer who offered to give us our money back no questions asked if it did not do the job. Since then we have put the EF2800i through every test we can think of. It is brilliant. It did not cost much more than the Honda EU2000i (and much less than the 3KVA Honda). It not only runs the Cormorant on hot days (35 degrees plus) for hours, it will also run the battery charger at the same time and do it all with the Eco setting turned on. The EF2800i is bigger than the Honda EU2000i, and a little heavier, but not much noisier. It will not fit on the slide in the generator locker in the van but with the slide removed it slips in there beautifully. Petrol fumes from the Yamaha are less than they were from the Honda. With the tray removed from the locker, and allowing for the fact that the Yamaha holds more fuel than the Honda, the overall net addition to weight in the van is negligible. Hope this info is useful. Cheers, Steve and Lyn

Pity we didn't read this thread last week. We have just paid $2000 for a new Honda EU20i because all the Honda blurb, and everyone we spoke to, said it was the best generator for a caravan. Thought we should run it in and get the first service before setting off on the road in September. Today the outside temperature has been 33C and the generator will not run our Cormorant air-con. The generator keeps cutting out and shutting down. We have a heavy-duty 15 amp lead. Hope the dealer agrees to a refund. Will find out this week. Looks like Yamaha is the way to go. Will keep everyone posted. Steve & Lyn

Does anyone have any good ideas or advice about where to store/carry petrol for a generator? A warning notice on the jerry-can holders on the A-frame at the front of our van says they are for water or diesel only. And it seems it might illegal to carry a jerry-can of petrol on the back of van. Thoughts and suggestions? Cheers, Steve and Lyn