Installed "Genturi" to mitigate generator exhaust gas, smell & CO monitor alarm

Herbie · Jan 8, 2013

We have had our 2012/Cylone 3950 out many times, my wife since day #1 says she smells exhaust. It never set off the co monitor until last trip. After checking all of the seals I came to the conclusion that their is no way to totally seal up any rv that has slide outs.

Well, I just installed a Genturi system with an 18" extension (to clear the roof line).
I had to make a new exhaust pipe (longer) so that I could open the cargo door when the Genturi is installed.
I had to make supports for the Genturi stack, They do not offer any extra supports. I camp where it could get windy and didn't want it blow away. So I manufactured supports using suction cups and plumbing supports. I did not want to drill into the siding.

We have not been camping since I have installed it, but I am confident it will be the fix for the exhaust smell.

This is a major health risk (death) that needs to be taken seriously. If you think you smell exhaust - you do.

brianharrison · Jan 8, 2013

Re: Exhaust smell, Co monitor alarm

Very cool use of the suction cup - thanks for the idea.

Brian

BarneyFife · Jan 8, 2013

Re: Exhaust smell, Co monitor alarm

Our 370C did this our very first trip. It also did it again at a later race. We finally came to the conclusion that if the land sloped so the front was closer to the ground than normal, it would eventually cause exhaust to set off the CO alarm during the night. So now we never setup somewhere if the front end has to be lowered any to be level. If anything, we like to have to raise the front end up.

Westwind · Jan 8, 2013

Re: Exhaust smell, Co monitor alarm

Herbie has the right idea - a little work but for safety sake worth it!!

oscar · Jan 11, 2013

Re: Exhaust smell, Co monitor alarm

I LIKE it. Should help (a little) with noise too.

porthole · Jan 11, 2013

Herbie said:
This is a major health risk (death) that needs to be taken seriously. If you think you smell exhaust - you do.

Odorless, colorless, tasteless. CO is nothing to fool around with.
You should always make sure you have an operating smoke & CO detector.

But especially if you OR YOUR NEIGHBOR are running a genny.

hoefler · Jan 12, 2013

When I installed a generator in our Landmark, I made a exhaust pipe to go all the way to the rear of the coach. It exits out under where the ladder used to be. I also have the GenTuri to get the exhaust up high to dissipate. I didn't like the idea of the exhaust anywhere near the bedroom or any other access doors.

recumbent615 · Jan 12, 2013

Thanks for the reminder - this is now on my list of things to do this spring!!

porthole · Jan 12, 2013

hoefler said:
When I installed a generator in our Landmark, I made a exhaust pipe to go all the way to the rear of the coach. It exits out under where the ladder used to be. I also have the GenTuri to get the exhaust up high to dissipate. I didn't like the idea of the exhaust anywhere near the bedroom or any other access doors.

Did you use any calculators to figure out the back pressure issues to get the right size pipe?

I have considered doing this to the Cyclone, just haven't figured out what size pipe to use to run an additional 25'

hoefler · Jan 12, 2013

The pipe coming out of the generator is 1". I ran 1 1/2" all the way from the generator sweep the rear. Have had it running with the A/C, water heater, convertor and some small things on ( TV, Sat tuner, etc..) for over an hour with out issue. It is a 4K unit, so it was a pretty heavy load on it for a while.

2psnapod2 · Jan 12, 2013

There is a guy thats parked across from me that has a setup with 2 suction cups.

rgwilliams69 · Jan 12, 2013

We've had our alarm go off more than once due to placement of portable generators, winds shifting, neighbors, and ourselves. I'd recommend for a cheap fail-safe, get an extra CO alarm - and make sure one of yours has a digital readout so you can see it building before it becomes a problem. Well worth the $40. We never go to sleep without making sure both of ours are working. We have a new Cyclone 4100 and I'm planning on adding the Genturi to it as well (with the suction cups). Dangerous stuff if you are not careful.

porthole · Jan 13, 2013

hoefler said:
The pipe coming out of the generator is 1". I ran 1 1/2" all the way from the generator sweep the rear. Have had it running with the A/C, water heater, convertor and some small things on ( TV, Sat tuner, etc..) for over an hour with out issue. It is a 4K unit, so it was a pretty heavy load on it for a while.

1.5" is about what I came up with for my genny. Somewhere online I had found a calculator to come up with that number.

I probably wouldn't bother except cutting and extending the current pipe is on my to do list anyway, since the pipe comes out under the middle of the basement door. A door which just happens to have a less then ideal seal - and is under the bedroom.

dbhutchins · Jan 13, 2013

Roger the CO problem, and how important it is to avoid it. But just a question from maybe a simple-minded RV'er:

Why are you running your Generator for so long a period? Particularly when you're sleeping? We dry-camp regularly when snowbirding, sometimes for weeks at a time, and have never run the Genny more than an hour in the morning, and an hour again in the evening, to keep the batteries up to speed.

Don

porthole · Jan 13, 2013

Temperature?
Many times our gen set has run over night to keep comfortable in the heat.

jnbhobe · Jan 13, 2013

porthole said:
Temperature?
Many times our gen set has run over night to keep comfortable in the heat.

We have run ours many many times over night for either heat or AC. My Honda is so quiet its hard to tell its running.

rgwilliams69 · Jan 13, 2013

We camp almost exclusively at race tracks in the midwest where we must take all of our own water and power. We carry both the onboard ONAN and a backup Honda 3000. Typically once we arrive one or the other generator goes on and stays on all weekend until we leave. Frequently i'll switch to the Honda when I don't need a full 5500 watts to give the ONAN a rest, but one of our generators is always on, including overnight (fans, AC, charging various devices, etc.). Dirt track racing means you cannot keep your windows open much, so we need the AC on to stay comfortable even in moderate heat.

With the bedroom AC on and the ONAN running I'm lulled into a fantastic sleep by the background noise, can sleep for hours!

porthole · Jan 13, 2013

rgwilliams69 said:
We carry both the onboard ONAN and a backup Honda 3000.

That was my conclusion after attending our first NASCAR last year (Wednesday to Monday).
If we make it again this year it will be a Honda/Onan combo.

And to add to it I will be getting one of the portable fuel caddies for tank refilling. It is a bit of a pain to fill the Cyclone tanks with 5 gallon jugs.

oscar · Jan 13, 2013

rgwilliams69 said:
Frequently i'll switch to the Honda when I don't need a full 5500 watts to give the ONAN a rest.

Saves a lot of fuel too. I have two 2000eu's with a parallel kit. Plan on keeping them around for when I'm just running the fridge or charging the batteries.

rgwilliams69 · Jan 13, 2013

10-4 on the fuel. When we are not using our AC we can sometimes get around 15 hours out of a fuel tank on the Honda 3000. It think the tank is about 2.5 gallons. So you are talking about .16 GPH versus .4 GPH on the ONAN - at low load, anyway. They (the two generators) just compliment each other very well and give you good options for differing requirements. Added also a wheel set on the Honda 3000 and just roll it in/out of the garage instead of carrying it (it is quite heavy).

Installed "Genturi" to mitigate generator exhaust gas, smell & CO monitor alarm

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