Generator swap?

[mattyj858]

Hi everyone, the stock Generator on my 73 Brave is on its last leg and the fuel lines to the rear gas tank are pretty bad. I don't even use my rear gas tank at all. With the newer generators like Honda, I could shave a bunch of weight and utilize more space in the generator compartment.
If I were to switch to a newer smaller generator, is the wiring fairly easy?  To too concerned about the remote switch on the dash.
With the smaller generator in place I was thinking about maybe mounting a small two or three gallon gas tank on the opposite side of the compartment. Any concerns here?
Last, my generator is really only used for lights, and appliances and maybe for AC, what would be the minimum power needed?


Sorry I am pretty clueless when it comes to generators


Thanks
Matt

[M & J]

Most small portable gennies are not designed to work in an enclosed area. Cooling and air flow is an issue. They are also  gravity fed for fuel with the tank above the carb - it would need a fuel pump to draw from an external tank. Also it would need to be electric start and provisioned for remote start. A Honda EU2000i for example costs around $900 plus and has none of the things required above. A used Onan 4k rv gennie can be had for half that and is designed for what we need.

[tmsnyder]

I'm not convinced a 2000w honda will run a rooftop A/C.  I think it's just a little bit too small for the startup current.


I have seen external fuel tanks for those EU2000i honda's that pull from a 5 gal tank for extended run times.

[mattyj858]

Gotcha, I was concerned about the airflow. I have seen some campers with newer rigs that have a generator slide out to increase airflow.

What about the wiring, is it a easy swap?

We live in So California, camping mostly at the beach or Mountains, so haven't even used the AC. The generator would be more for dry camping.

After looking at a few, the gravity feed gas tank runs for 6-8 hours which is more than I need. The old generator is just so big and bulky and I could use some extra space

[M & J]

Tmsnyder: I used that genny as an example for cost comparison only. And yes, these do have a way to draw from an external fuel tank through the on board tank. Scanning Google many suggest having the external tank slightly elevated above the gennie to aid in flow.
We camp with several who have gotten rid of the on board gennie and use the compartmemt to store a portable unit. But every one sets it outside of the compartment to use.

[tmsnyder]

The small quiet ones are all in that watt range though, around 2000w.  To get one that could run a rooftop a/c it would have to be the next size up, 3500w.  It would be even more money.


That's interesting that they will pull fuel from the main tank if you set them down on the ground, brilliant!  I hate running the onan generator except when on the road to run the roof A/C.  Can't stand the noise of it at a campground!  Those quiet ones sure are nice.

[M & J]

Even more interesting, most I saw were simply a different gas cap using a marine style portable gas tank.