[VAC] Re: Generator Questions

[Matt Worner <wornmatt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Jamie,

There is nothing in your Airstream that requires 240 volts.  A thousand watts at
120 volts is just at 8 amperes, which would be insufficient for your air
conditioner, even without a trailer attached.  The furnace runs on 12 volts DC,
which the converter will make from the  120 volt AC circuit.  The refrigerator
would probably have to be run on propane, but might just squeak in on a 1 kW
generator if you weren't using anything else on shore power outlets that have a
serious current draw.  Such things as hair dryers (10-12 amp) coffee makers (2-5
amp) and TV sets (3-5 amps plus brain damage) will quickly overwhelm that small
a generator.  If you are planning on any serious boondocking you should be
looking for 2 to 3 kW or possibly at a pair of the new Hondas that can be run
parallel to each other for times when one is not enough.

As a point of reference we ran our trailer with the reefer on electric, when the
gas wouldn't fire off, at a recent rally on a 4 trailers to a 20 amp circuit
setup, but I can't confirm how many other refrigerators were on electric.  The
hair dryer in another trailer tripped the breaker a couple of times, but not
until it had been running for a while so it wasn't radically overloading, just
leaning on the circuit a little too hard.  I'm told that International allows 3
amps per unit which will keep your rig alive but no AC, reefers must be on
propane, and no microwaves need apply.

Matt