Honda generator and small house freezer

Some years ago, tired of looking at overpriced boat freezers, we bought
a plain old GE chest type 5 cu ft household freezer for $240. It has
sat out in the weather, working steadily, for at least a decade.

When we take our long vacation, we prefer to anchor. The freezer just
gets unpowered during that time, and we avoid opening it. That works
pretty well. The next day we are up and going and the cruise generator
recharges the battery bank we've had on inverter and powers the freezer.

But if we stay more than a day, or have a few days of short trips
between anchorages, we begin to lose ground and the freezer warms up. (I
can run it off the inverter, but haven't that much spare power.)

SO: We are looking at the little Honda EU1000iA2, which has come highly
recommended. The seller expressed concern about the freezer's starting
amperage. A guy at the appliance store, not able to obtain exact
figures on this old freezer, said that generally household reefers and
freezers (belt driven) take 800 W to start and 400 W to run. I've heard
those same figures from others. The Honda literature says "2200 W to
start and 700 W to run".

Is there anyone on this net who has actually *used* a small generator,
this size, with a small freezer? I'd certainly welcome a word of
reassurance.

Chuck Bollinger wrote:
> Some years ago, tired of looking at overpriced boat freezers, we bought
> a plain old GE chest type 5 cu ft household freezer for $240. It has
> sat out in the weather, working steadily, for at least a decade.
>
> When we take our long vacation, we prefer to anchor. The freezer just
> gets unpowered during that time, and we avoid opening it. That works
> pretty well. The next day we are up and going and the cruise generator
> recharges the battery bank we've had on inverter and powers the freezer.
>
> But if we stay more than a day, or have a few days of short trips
> between anchorages, we begin to lose ground and the freezer warms up. (I
> can run it off the inverter, but haven't that much spare power.)
>
> SO: We are looking at the little Honda EU1000iA2, which has come highly
> recommended. The seller expressed concern about the freezer's starting
> amperage. A guy at the appliance store, not able to obtain exact
> figures on this old freezer, said that generally household reefers and
> freezers (belt driven) take 800 W to start and 400 W to run. I've heard
> those same figures from others. The Honda literature says "2200 W to
> start and 700 W to run".
>
> Is there anyone on this net who has actually *used* a small generator,
> this size, with a small freezer? I'd certainly welcome a word of
> reassurance.
>

One answer is to use the genny to sustain the freezer, but include a
battery and invertor for starting surges and normal operation. I
know, it's inefficient, but the alternative is a bigger honking
genny with a big flywheel and more idle inefficiency. Whaddaya
gonna do?

Ice is a buck a bag or so. How long do you have to go to recoup
your losses, what with capital outlay, loss of income, finance
charges and fuel cost? Could you recoup a bit by selling the excess
ice you might make?

There are coolers which use "soft start" technology, requiring less
surge to get going.

There are coolers made to operate from 12v.

Terry K