Cheap and Cheerful Aldi Genny - Best use?

zen navigator

Guest
Hi,



Off to the continent for 2 - 3 weeks, and I may have to used my Aldi 850W Genny in anger(not literally ).



If we put aside the issue of noise pollution, as I would not use on a crowd area or early morning \ late evening.



I am concerned that such is the cheap and cheerfulness of the genny, the ac genny will spike and knacker my ehu and connected appliances.



So the options are:



AC

1. Ensure the genny is warmed up and just connect as usual and the ehu should be ok?

2. Connect to the ehu and place an in line surge protector?

3. Connect and bypass the ehu and place an in line surge protector.

4. Dont use for AC as it will damage your appliances even if you put an in line surge protector

I guess I should buy a quality surge protector. Any recommendations?





DC

1. Use to charge the leisure battery. I have not looked at the spec for what current it provides at DC.

But will this cut the mustard or I guess anything is better than nothing.


I be interested to hear if other people have this type of genny, and how it performs. I recall the noise is around 65 dBA which is the low end of a noisy radio(65 - 75 dBA). Also how do you use it for AC \ DC or both?





Dave
 
Well not that posh, infact, bargain basement! It only cost me approx £65.

Like anything else theyve come down in price. Although, the parts could be quite poor....hence the post :confused:


basildog said:
My genny was a 50 quid job and now 6 years old but only use rarely but never had any problems . Yours must be a posh one if you have 12 v dc as well !! lmao
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lol zen! too l8 to worry bout performance ya bought it:):)

i gotta 2.6 honda genny thats up for ya job!!;)
 
Not necessarily, as I bought it to power drills etc and used it for outdoor\garden stuff. Never had a prob with it then, but it is designed for power tools etc.

So just moved it from the shed to the Van. Clearly it is not designed for sensitive electronic equipment....the $64k question how sensitive are the electronics in the Van EHU. I think, it is not a good idea to connect this type of genny to your EHU. But some people do!?!?

I am of the opinion it is fine to drive the co-pilot hair dryer and the tv\dvd directly but would use a surge protector. Again some people dont bothered and connect direct to the genny.

Question being...do you really need to speed 500 quid upwards on a invertor genny when a 50 quid special form Aldi will do? Clearly for some people the answer is going to be Yes and for other No!




n8rbos said:
lol zen! too l8 to worry bout performance ya bought it:):)

i gotta 2.6 honda genny thats up for ya job!!;)
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lol m8 i don't use my genny for my van!! it was used for a narrow boat i helped build but we had no lecky!

when i go away its to get back to nature!!! i have a tv thats all that does run off the battery but that is very rarely used only when daughter comes with us!
 
ok mate, well you got it sussed.

Unfortunately, my missus is a bit more high maintenance :D and likes to preen herself even when she is in the great outdoors. So hairstraighters and hair dryers top of list with beer and wine:D

Until now we have had sites with lecky or she has been happy to go a weekend on battery power. But this trip to France could just push her over the edge :rolleyes: So the genny might be used in anger for that very purpose.


n8rbos said:
lol m8 i don't use my genny for my van!! it was used for a narrow boat i helped build but we had no lecky!

when i go away its to get back to nature!!! i have a tv thats all that does run off the battery but that is very rarely used only when daughter comes with us!
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zen navigator said:
ok mate, well you got it sussed.

Unfortunately, my missus is a bit more high maintenance :D and likes to preen herself even when she is in the great outdoors. So hairstraighters and hair dryers top of list with beer and wine:D

Until now we have had sites with lecky or she has been happy to go a weekend on battery power. But this trip to France could just push her over the edge :rolleyes: So the genny might be used in anger for that very purpose.
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My sister! We have just change a weekends plans so my sister can dry her hair and her hubby can watch the telly! We did offer they could swing by ours to watch the 12v telly-but hair drying won the day??

I am no so high maintenance-maybe when I get to her age LOL! Pass me a saucer of milk.
 
do what i've done with my missus ...give er a grade one!!!!! don't take two mins to dry now and no straightners needed:D
 
you might find the cheap geny wont power up hair dryer or straightners..Also very wise to carry a spare spark plug with them 2 stroke genys as the original chinease one is pretty rubbish..also dont forget 2 stroke oil.
 
I burnt out my CU with my cheap genny which I thought was the bees knees. When in France I dismantled it to get it in an external locker to eliminate petrol fumes. When I reassembled I must have altered the speed control, although I see no damage. Result was a near fire and £100 to fix CU.

Keep an eye on the revs and check voltage.

Now have a 2000w Kippor which I have found meets my needs as the cheapo was just underpowered
 
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