Generator vs Inverter

[Archie thedog]

I’m sure this is a question many, many times and I apologise in advance. I have had a motorhome for a number of years but it didn’t have anything particularly “homely”. I recently took the plunge and bought a new one, a Chausson 660.

My wife and I prefer the off grid lifestyle and I am thinking of power but can’t decide between a generator or inverter.

My wife works online and needs access to her laptop daily, and I would like to run an air fryer (occasionally) and be able to recharge an electric golf trolley and electric bikes. Which is best option, and why?

I confess I am a non techy so simple language preferred. Many thanks in anticipation

 

[Googlebot]

Inverter for us without question.

Generators are noisy and you have a different fuel to carry. They are also expensive for one that won’t fry sensitive electronics.

Decent lithium, solar and inverter fitted will come in about 2k for a 1000watt capacity with decent quality.

The inverter and solar is also fit and forget, you just let it do its thing. Can also be done much cheaper if you keep your lead acids and don’t use a huge inverter.

 

[suavecarve]

I would work out how much expected electricity you would need.
We half charge 2 bikes each day, lappy on for an hour or 3 every day. 2 phones and a vaprouriser charged daily and have 370 watts and 200 ah of lithium with inverter. Highly unlikely to need more and if i were to need more I would just buy electric for a day.
Everything is hidden and forgotten.
Location of socket for air fryer would be a thinking point
You will get far more answers to lithium and solar over generator. Bit noisy, potential of spills but available to use elsewhere

Good luck

 

[Archie thedog]

Inverter for us without question.

Generators are noisy and you have a different fuel to carry. They are also expensive for one that won’t fry sensitive electronics.

Decent lithium, solar and inverter fitted will come in about 2k for a 1000watt capacity with decent quality.

The inverter and solar is also fit and forget, you just let it do its thing. Can also be done much cheaper if you keep your lead acids and don’t use a huge inverter.

Thank you for your reply. I am leaning towards an inverter, but wanted to hear views of others. It’s helped.

 

[autorouter]

It's not a simple choice, the generator is a power source, but an inverter is a power user. You'd have to think how to refill the batteries as the inverter drained them.

When adding an inverter you may need to add or upgrade other items like solar and batteries. You might consider a B2B charger, also called a booster or DC-DC converter, that boosts the charging from the alternator to leisure battery when the engine is running.

Inverters are good for short high power bursts, like a coffee machine, hair dryer. microwave etc. An air fryer would be OK of used in a similar pattern.

Small loads of 100W or less, like a laptop, are best run from 12V sockets via a laptop car adapter, especially if they are drawing low power for many hours. An inverter has a constant background drain even when nothing is plugged into it, so is best switched off when not actually being used.

A generator tends to annoy anyone within earshot, so is best used for as short a time as possible. If you decide on a generator, you could get a higher powered charger to charge the batteries faster. A typical 20A charger only takes 240W from a generator, which could easily power a charger twice or three times as big.