Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 15:44:12 -0800
Reply-To: Don Hanson <dhanson928@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Don Hanson <dhanson928@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: generators/inverters for camping
In-Reply-To: <c56d3711002081409v20a1d558rf858ea145e3b008e@mail.gmail.com>
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So..it seems my Powermate pm0401853 sends out a crappy sine wave...whatever
that may mean..which both my trailer invertor panel and the battery charger
I just bought do not like? This seems odd.
The generator and the trailer are of a similar vintage and the battery
charger (simple one..about $40 at Harbor Freight) can't be some High Tech
Smart tool...at least I wouldn't think so at that cost. I'd have thought
back in the 90s generators were pretty simple and so were the 'Power
Centers' in RVs...I've never encountered this before on other RVs and
boats...
Further research turns up "inverter generators" as what are being offered
for use with sensitive electric stuff like computers and microwaves..and
other simpler gen-sets being used for tools..
A call to the customer service number on my Coleman Powermate got me a
pretty knowledgable person...I gave a run-down of the symptoms and she
surmised I might have a faulty capacitor. She said they sometimes have
reduced capacity...whatever a capacitor does...So I have one of them coming
in the mail..
Further questioning of my wife, who's spent more time with this genset in
use has me thinking it has never worked properly, though it has worked
"better" in the past. It has never powered the AC, for instance, nor made
the microwave work, but it used to lite up all the LEDs on the power
condition test panel (very similar to the Westie ones, with 4 different
lights to tell you the state of your battery)
I've found Honda 2000 generators, invertor style with a "clean sine wave
power delivery" freight paid for around $900...40lbs and 57db of
noise..Pricey to use as a rainy day backup to the solar panels...but trying
to figure out the Coleman's weirdness is pretty frustrating...I may have to
go that route eventually..
Don Hanson
On Mon, Feb 8, 2010 at 2:09 PM, Mike South <msouth@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Mon, Feb 8, 2010 at 3:51 PM, B Feddish <bfeddish@netreach.net> wrote:
>
> > I could be guessing but maybe the cheaper Coleman does not put out a pure
> > sine wave AC and the Honda does and maybe the charger doesn't like that.
> > Power tools will run on almost any AC signal.
> >
>
> Check if one of the other campers has an oscilloscope, send us pics...
>
> MIght help if we knew what model exactly you have, but here is an Amazon
> review that sounds like a similar story to yours:
>
>
> http://www.amazon.com/review/R2RFGRX4L9FKK4/ref=cm_cr_pr_viewpnt#R2RFGRX4L9FKK4
>
> (This is just to tide you over until someone who knows something posts--I
> just googled around for powermate and sine wave based on what Bryan
> suggested)
>
> Good luck!
>
> mike
>
>
> > Bryan
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf
> Of
> > Don Hanson
> > Sent: Monday, February 08, 2010 4:38 PM
> > To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> > Subject: generators/inverters for camping
> >
> > I usually use solar for powering my camping stuff but during prolonged
> > rainey and cloudy weather I sometimes find insuficient solar coach
> battery
> > power, so I have a back-up generator. Now in my Vanagon, I usually don't
> > get a really dead coach battery because I use little electric power, but
> > right now, we are operating out of a camping trailer...the vanagon is
> > taking
> > a month off.
> > Anyway, we have the seldom-used generator with the trailer. Usually our
> > solar panels keep it (2 new NAPA deep cycle batteries) adequately
> charged.
> > But we had a storm period here in the desert southwest and I fired up the
> > generator to charge up the batteries...they ran down to 11.4volts during
> > the
> > rainy spell...Well, this Coleman Powermate generator will not put a
> charge
> > on the batteries for some reason. It runs a power tool and also puts
> out
> > proper DC voltage but it will not operate the trailer's invertor/charger.
> > It will not operate a normal accessory (brand new) battery charger that
> is
> > plugged directly into the generator, independent of the trailer's wiring,
> > either. But...and here's the wierdness, I borrowed a Honda generator
> from
> > a
> > neighbor. Everything works properly with that generator. Trailer
> > invertor/battery charger shows our trailer batteries getting a good
> charge
> > through the built-in invertor charger when it (the trailer) is plugged
> into
> > the Honda...but not with the Coleman. Also, the Honda will run the
> > accessory battery charger right up to it's maximum...giving a good charge
> > to
> > the batteries when they are hooked directly from the Gen>Charger>Batt.
> But
> > nothing from the Coleman...
> > So why would the Coleman Powermate run power tools and show the correct
> > current output but not run the battery charger or the built in invertor
> > from
> > the coach while the Honda Gen-set runs it all correctly?
> >
> > Is there a way to make do with this Coleman or doI need a different
> > generator or something? Why would one work everything and one work just
> > some of the stuff when both test to the same output and seem to have all
> > the
> > same specifications?
> > If I just go plunk down nearly a thou$and for another generator, is
> there
> > a chance that it, too, might not work with that particular trailer? and
> > Battery charger? The trailer is a '97 model so it's not ancient. The
> > battery charger is a brand new Chicago equipment one (works perfectly on
> > wall current or the Honda, puts out just a trace of power with the
> > Coleman...
> > What the heck am I missing here? Sorry this may be a bit off pure
> vanagon
> > but many of us are using invertors and generators and solar power as part
> > of
> > our Vanagon/Westie experience and I know there are some knowledgable
> > electrical wizards here on the list who may have an answer..(reply off
> the
> > list if you think that's better?)
> > Thanks Don Hanson
> >
>
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