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Generators

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DirtySouthButts

Guest
Is it necessary to bring a generator to the competitions. We have a space with electricity. What are the chances of needing a generator?
 
Not sure what competitions you are doing or what your power needs are or what months. Typically most furnished power that I have experience with is unreliable. And if in the heat of the summer where more people would use power for A/Cs the contest requests to not run A/C if hooked to their power because it is to much of a draw with numerous people using it.

On the other hand I have also been to contests in campgrounds where power is not an issue at all, so it all depends on many things.
 
Chances are you wont need it.

Ours generator stays in the trailer, but before we had the room, we would consider the contest, previous experiences there, and the weather.
 
There are a couple of competitions around here that don't provide power, and many competitions where the power in unreliable, so our generator is in the back of the truck at all times. But, I only have to use it once or twice season.
 
We've only ever been to one contest where there wasn't electricity provided (and we don't have a generator...had to plug into our neighbors). We've been to plenty where electricity is unreliable, however.
 
the type of person i am, i depend on myself. i dont like having expectations let down.

the last comp i went to served meals, i still cooked my own.
 
If you have the space for a generator, might not be a bad Idea to bring it just to be safe. The couple of contest I have done did provide power. At 1 of them there was a issue the first night where the main breaker tripped.
 
We've been to comps with "power" only to find out for whatever reason our site didn't have power, or the power supplied trips every 20 minutes. If you have the space I'd bring the generator. We're going to start doing that this year.
 
A lot of comps have 15 to 20 amp power only. If you're running a house refrigerator on an inverter or running the AC you probably will need more than 15 to 20 amps. If all you're running is a couple of lights you should be okay. If you're running a a pellet cooker, Guru or Stoker most people power them from a battery/inverter/charger system and the 15 to 20 amps will cover that.
 
Most comps only have power for a certain amount of hrs...If you arrive early and stay late at comps you might need your generator before they power up and after they power down
 
I use a pellet cooker, so I need power. Most of the time I just plug it into my RV, which has an inverter. If the power goes out, or the voltage drops, the inverter kicks in and runs the cooker. If I don't have the RV at a contest, I always have a generator.

At most contests I go to, you don't have an outlet to yourself. You share a 15 or 20 amp outlet with another team. These outlets are GFI protected. If it's raining, a wet outlet or a power strip on the ground will trip the GFI, cutting off the power to both teams. This is far more common that a breaker popping. If it happens more than once during on turn in day, the generator comes out.
 
A generator (Honda Eu 3000) will be our next big purchase. Two competitions and one vending event lost power and at one comp the generators that were provided ran out of gas. Took them over 1.5 hrs to get them running again. From now on I will always have a back up.
 
I always have my Yamaha 2000 with me. Never no when you will need it.


Have fun and happy smoking
BBQ UP
 
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