Generator/Power Inverter Question

[MossyMO]

I have a 6000 watt noisy generator that is overkill for operating a pellet grill remotely. Wondering what size of a small generator would sufficiently operate the hot rod, auger, fan and display of pellet grill?

Also curious what other opinions are on using a 12 volt deep cycle battery and a power inverter. What size inverter would I need and do you think a fully charge battery would provide 6 to 10 hours of pellet grill operation?

[crusty ol salt]

honda has some that just whisper when you run them. however quite does have a price $$$$

that said i have a couple of pawn shops around here that specialize in tools and construction equipment

[PitRow]

Depends entirely on the watt rating of your grill...

from what I was able to find, a Traeger lil' tex uses 300 watts when the heat rod is on, then drops to about 50. So I'd say given that, even a 1000 watt generator would be plenty to run it. Not sure about the bigger models though. Like C.O.S. says, some of the honda gens are super quite. My parents have a pair of 2000s that they hook in sync to run their 4th wheel and they barely make any noise at all.

For the inverter question, it's going to depend largely on the size battery you get and the efficiency of the inverter. Figure a good deep cycle is about 100 amp hours, and at 300 watts (assuming a perfect inverter with no losses) you're pulling 25 amps, so you'd only get about 4 hours from the battery.

[TheJackal]

Directly from Don Cary:

"Once lit the YS640 consumes less than 1 amp"

[rbranstner]

I would have to agree that the new Honda generators are quite as hell. One of the guys who splices fiber optic for us from time to time has one and he puts it in the back of his truck and you barely even notice it running when you walk by. I haven't ever priced them out though.

[rbranstner]

Also if you find an inverter that will work for you and one battery can't run it long enough you can just hook several other batteries up in parallel if you need to run it longer.

[Richtee]

Originally Posted by PitRow

from what I was able to find, a Traeger lil' tex uses 300 watts when the heat rod is on, then drops to about 50. So I'd say given that, even a 1000 watt generator would be plenty to run it. Not sure about the bigger models though. Like C.O.S. says, some of the honda gens are super quite. My parents have a pair of 2000s that they hook in sync to run their 4th wheel and they barely make any noise at all.

For the inverter question, it's going to depend largely on the size battery you get and the efficiency of the inverter. Figure a good deep cycle is about 100 amp hours, and at 300 watts (assuming a perfect inverter with no losses) you're pulling 25 amps, so you'd only get about 4 hours from the battery.

The Honda, or Coleman has a quiet series... is the way to go Marty. Then you have some power for a light or whatever...

[MossyMO]

Here is Don Cary's reply to my question - It peaks at about 8 amps between the 2:30 and 3:00 minute mark, this is when the hot rod has reached its maximum draw. After the power is removed from the hot rod the requirement is about 1 amp.

[Richtee]

Originally Posted by MossyMO

Here is Don Cary's reply to my question - It peaks at about 8 amps between the 2:30 and 3:00 minute mark, this is when the hot rod has reached its maximum draw. After the power is removed from the hot rod the requirement is about 1 amp.

8 amps is pretty solid... So it's pulling that for 3 mins...an inverter would need to be 8x120 about 1KW. Helluva load on the bat...

[Herb's herbs]

I use a Honda 2000.

[Hippy]

Ok Mossy, here is my best guess solution i have for my insulated cabinet that uses a traeger auger system.

I can unhook the igniter rod with a snap connector in the controller panel. Then get the fan running and use my hand torch to light the pellets.

This lowers the amp draw considerably during startup.

With the fan and auger it pulls ~1 amp @ 120v = 5 amp @ 24v

So i can hook 2 deep cycle 12v 100 amphour batteries in series.

This creates a 24v 100 amp hour battery.

I have a 24v input 1,000w inverter.

So in a perfect world it would mean i could pull 5 amps for 20 hours off the 24v side and it would give me 1 amp on the 120v side.

But with loss through the inverter and only wanting to discharge the battery to ~60% to avoid damaging it.

I am confident 10 hours is attainable!

[Bearcarver]

I just got the Honda 3000is, and it purrs like a kitten. It's Awesome!!!
Electric start too, but it cost me just under $2000. Not cheap, but we lost electric here last year for 3 days & for 6 days, not to mention some short ones too.

I can't take that chance with all those Prime Ribs and such in my Meat Freezer!!!!


Bear

[crusty ol salt]

here is a link to the honda page that lists the MSRP
http://powerequipment.honda.com/gene...nal-generators

[Herb's herbs]

Originally Posted by Bearcarver

I just got the Honda 3000is, and it purrs like a kitten. It's Awesome!!!
Electric start too, but it cost me just under $2000. Not cheap, but we lost electric here last year for 3 days & for 6 days, not to mention some short ones too.

I can't take that chance with all those Prime Ribs and such in my Meat Freezer!!!!


Bear

I had one of the 3000is generators too, but it was just too heavy to cart around. The Honda Inverter generators are the best in my book.

[Bearcarver]

Originally Posted by Herb's herbs

I had one of the 3000is generators too, but it was just too heavy to cart around. The Honda Inverter generators are the best in my book.

Yup---Not light---weighs about 130 pounds empty.
You can get wheel kits, but I opted not to.

I only gotta get it from my garage to my front porch when needed.
And that's why I talked Mrs Bear into to have a Son instead of a daughter!!!!

I had been borrowing one of my Son's 5000 watt generators he uses for his business, but I can't take the chance of all of them being on the jobs when I need one, and those aren't inverter gens anyway.
I paid $1983, including shipping---much better price than any other new ones I could find on the Net.


Bear

[Savannahsmoker]

Originally Posted by MossyMO

I have a 6000 watt noisy generator that is overkill for operating a pellet grill remotely. Wondering what size of a small generator would sufficiently operate the hot rod, auger, fan and display of pellet grill?

Also curious what other opinions are on using a 12 volt deep cycle battery and a power inverter. What size inverter would I need and do you think a fully charge battery would provide 6 to 10 hours of pellet grill operation?

First of all what pellet grill are you planning to operating using a generator or battery? Each has different power requirements.

Traeger, for instances, uses max 300 watts when the hot rod is running and less when not.

Use this formula
watt / volt = amps
300 / 120 = 2.5 amps

Use this for battery size
Example
Amps x hours usage = battery amp size
2.5 x 20 = 45

I would recommend you go at least 1/3 larger then needed.

Check you owners manual for power requirements.

As far as generator well the smallest I have seen is 800 watts which is sufficient. I would think about lights, TV and an maybe air conditioning so larger is better.

[Herb's herbs]

http://www.jimsbarbecue.com/gallery/...on/index.htm?1

...and there are lots of comments on another forum from people that have built one and use it 24+ hours at a time...obviously this depends on which grill/smoker is being used.