I've seen some really bad looking rear door A/C set ups. But I think this one looks really nice.
Portable Generator deals/for sale? Best a/c unit?
- Thread starter Tim Xpedites
- Start date
tknight
Veteran Expediter
I'm not sure. Here is the link I got it from.
DIY A/C window unit in rear van door - Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums
My current truckstop fan has been well used and on it's last leg. Just ordered the Fan-Tastic Endless Breeze fan. Hoping it preforms better then the truckstop counter part, especially for the price
Got my fan today. Setting 1 is way stronger then my current fan on high. Setting 3 with probably blow me out the back of the van
Since I don't know the amp usage of my old fan, power consumption difference TBD.I guess they didn't make it idiot proof enough for me. The movable legs. One side has a picture of a foot, the other something like a horse shoe shape. What the hell is that suppose to mean lol. I think I figured out with way they should point (maybe) but geez.
It may work great, and I'll be glad I got it, but $70 is way over priced. I was not impressed with the quality for that price. I did like the long good quality cord, but the rest feels and looks like cheap plastic to me.
What you're paying for isn't the cage facade, but rather the efficient, low amp draw motor. Turn the fan on and get it up to speed, which happens very quickly, then turn the fan off and see how long the friction of the motor bearings (bushings, actually) take to slow and finally stop spinning blades. It'll take a while.
Very low friction means very high efficiency, and very low noise, which you get with very high quality (and more expensive) parts.
Very low friction means very high efficiency, and very low noise, which you get with very high quality (and more expensive) parts.
After reading your post I had to check how long it took to stop. I've been running it on my PowerStation to compare amp usage with my old fan for about the last 18 hrs. on setting #1. Indeed it did spin much longer then expected, so that's cool.
Glad I ran my test at home. My PowerStation was all but drained even with the low 1.18 AMP draw. So my old 12volt fan must run at much lower Amps. I've ran my old one almost every night, sometimes during the day for over a week, kept my phone charged, and charged other batteries and only used 44%. So it looks like I will have to tie this into my battery bank if I want to use it. I guess here is a trade off for all that breeze
Go to Walmart or Sears and buy a 9 cu ft fridge/freezer, 1200 watt hours per day, for $400-$500. Get a high efficient 12 volt version, which uses 450 watt hours, for $1600.
Get a 13.5k btu rooftop air conditioner that pulls 1600 watts per hour for $800. Get a 12 volt version, same btu but for only 450 watts, for $3000.
Get a 13.5k btu rooftop air conditioner that pulls 1600 watts per hour for $800. Get a 12 volt version, same btu but for only 450 watts, for $3000.
New sheriff in town?
Just saw a commercial for the Generac iQ2000 generator. Lots of good reviews, and I must say it has the features I wish Honda would add. And oh yeah, they say it's quieter then the Honda.
Priced around $799 with free shipping from their site, $719 on Amazon.
Just saw a commercial for the Generac iQ2000 generator. Lots of good reviews, and I must say it has the features I wish Honda would add. And oh yeah, they say it's quieter then the Honda.
Priced around $799 with free shipping from their site, $719 on Amazon.
You can get that at Home Depot and Cabella's for the same $719.
It certainly should be quieter, since it's an 80cc engine versus Honda's 98.5cc engine. It bothers me (well, more like it's hilarious) that they won't list the decibels for the unit, flatly stating that they're is no standard for measuring generator dB levels, yet they say theirs is quieter than the Honda based on third-party ISO-9614 lab tests, which are the standards for measuring generator dB levels. And if you look at the test results you can see the Generac is indeed quieter (70.7 versus 69.7 @ 50% load). But hyping up "Hey! We're 1 dB quieter than the Honda, which is the smallest difference the human ear can detect!" is pretty lame advertising. It's literally the difference in the sound of a window air conditioner at 9 feet versus 10 feet. So, the generic Generac "quieter" it is!
Both the Generac and the Honda have a 3 year warranty, so that's good. And both use the same oil and maintenance schedules.
The Generac is rated at 7.7 hours @ 1/4 load while the Honda is 8.1 hours (24 minute difference). That's $0.005144 per minute for the Honda versus $0.0054112 for the Generac. At $2.50 per gallon (do not use ethanol gas in either), at 2000 hours, the Honda will cost $617.28 in fuel and the Generac will cost $649.34, a difference of $32.86 over the typical realistic minimal lifespan of the generators.
The Honda at $999 and the Generac at $720 is a $279 difference, making the Generac {279-32.86} $246.14 cheaper over its life time.
Generac's initial foray into the portable inverter generator market was a disaster, mainly because of was just another rebranded POS China generator. Their current line of these generators are designed, manufactured and assembled in Wisconsin, same as their commercial and industrial generators (all of their generators have a few imported parts). This particular generator had only been in the wild since last fall, but the engine and inverter has been in models long enough to know they hold up and are high quality. The only thing really new with this one is the electronic controls.
The bottom line important difference between the Honda and the Generac (other than the price) is the Honda can directly charge 12 volt batteries with 8 amp DC output while a separate battery charger must be used with the Generac. That will be a deal breaker for some, but not really much of an issue for most.
It certainly should be quieter, since it's an 80cc engine versus Honda's 98.5cc engine. It bothers me (well, more like it's hilarious) that they won't list the decibels for the unit, flatly stating that they're is no standard for measuring generator dB levels, yet they say theirs is quieter than the Honda based on third-party ISO-9614 lab tests, which are the standards for measuring generator dB levels. And if you look at the test results you can see the Generac is indeed quieter (70.7 versus 69.7 @ 50% load). But hyping up "Hey! We're 1 dB quieter than the Honda, which is the smallest difference the human ear can detect!" is pretty lame advertising. It's literally the difference in the sound of a window air conditioner at 9 feet versus 10 feet. So, the generic Generac "quieter" it is!
Both the Generac and the Honda have a 3 year warranty, so that's good. And both use the same oil and maintenance schedules.
The Generac is rated at 7.7 hours @ 1/4 load while the Honda is 8.1 hours (24 minute difference). That's $0.005144 per minute for the Honda versus $0.0054112 for the Generac. At $2.50 per gallon (do not use ethanol gas in either), at 2000 hours, the Honda will cost $617.28 in fuel and the Generac will cost $649.34, a difference of $32.86 over the typical realistic minimal lifespan of the generators.
The Honda at $999 and the Generac at $720 is a $279 difference, making the Generac {279-32.86} $246.14 cheaper over its life time.
Generac's initial foray into the portable inverter generator market was a disaster, mainly because of was just another rebranded POS China generator. Their current line of these generators are designed, manufactured and assembled in Wisconsin, same as their commercial and industrial generators (all of their generators have a few imported parts). This particular generator had only been in the wild since last fall, but the engine and inverter has been in models long enough to know they hold up and are high quality. The only thing really new with this one is the electronic controls.
The bottom line important difference between the Honda and the Generac (other than the price) is the Honda can directly charge 12 volt batteries with 8 amp DC output while a separate battery charger must be used with the Generac. That will be a deal breaker for some, but not really much of an issue for most.
Windsor
Veteran Expediter
All those specs and math are interesting and useful but to me what's even more important is that the generac doesn't have (not yet anyways) the reputation for reliability that Honda has. Warranties are important of course, but when there's an issue out here it's a huge inconvenience for us. Personally I'd still spend the extra money on the Honda.
For that particular model of inverter generator, and of inverter generators in general, that's true.
Until very recently (2008) Generac has never been much into the consumer recreational and sporting generator market. Prior to 1998 Generac's portable products division (portable generators, power washers and water pumps) were marketed solely to the industrial and construction sector, and they didn't have inverter generators at all.
In 1998 they sold the portable products division to The Beacon Group specifically for later transfer to Briggs & Stratton, which took place in 2000. Briggs then sold those same Generac generators, power washers and water pumps with the Briggs & Stratton branding. Briggs & Stratton (Wauwatosa, WI) portable generators, washers and pumps are all still engineered and (mostly) manufactured by Generac (Waukesha, WI). (The exception to that are the Briggs inverter generators, which are the same exact rebranded POS China generators that Generac first started selling themselves when they got back into the market.)
The 10 year non-compete agreement on generators expired in 2008, and the power washers and pumps expired in 2011. During those 10 years while engineering and manufacturing the portable equipment for Briggs, Generac continued to solidify itself as the #1 manufacturer of home, commercial and industrial emergency and backup generators. You'll find Generac generators at more hospitals than Kohler, Cat, Cummins and all others combined.
But they spent 3 1/2 years designing from scratch their new IQ series inverter generators. So while the IQ series generators doesn't have the same reputation (or even name recognition) with the consumer portable generator crowd as does Honda, you can rest assured that the reputation of Generac as a generator manufacturer is a stellar one.
As you are out driving around this fine land of ours, making pickups and deliveries, notice the brand names on the big generators. You'll see Generac a really, really lot.
jaxonviking
Expert Expediter
Just got a refurb Ryobi 2200 at Home Depot for $411. Plenty enough to run the little 5500 BTU AC unit in the back window. We'll see how quiet it is. Size is right and only weighs 55 pounds. Supposed to have 8 hours fuel capacity too. Old generator was some "Ramsond" brand POS (Chinese?) I got at a pawn shop -- noisy and only had a 2-hour's internal fuel. Better than nothing, but a pain to work with. Only saving grace was small size/weight. Could literally be carried with one hand like a heavy suitcase.
We have the Ryobi it does well with the window unit, of course more/ better insulation would improve our comfort. But we are able to sleep in a little more comfort than before with just the fans and spray bottles. The generator is fairly quiet.when you walk up to the van is not much louder than a car idling.
Generac is not new they are the units in bigger form of course that all the hospitals use to back up in case of power outage....they are the industry standard....which is why in major company with power outage needs use them....they are great and reliable....so if you get one you will be very happy