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samsontdog's avatar
samsontdog
Explorer
Jun 13, 2014

how to get more power EU3000 Honda

We were camping at Lake T this last week. Elevation 6,300 and the gen would run for awhile then shut down or low power and A/C would shut down. I turned the ref to propane, water heater off. Battery charger off. What else can I do as we have another week there and it gets hot in the afternoon. I hate to sell the Honda as it is like new. I would like to run the A/C separate from all the rest. The TT is a 2012 30 ft & 13,500 A/C . I was running at full throttle even tho at first it ran at low t for a hour or so. What else can I do?

10 Replies

  • samsontdog's avatar
    samsontdog
    Explorer
    Jun 14, 2014
    BlindGuynAR wrote:
    A little extra help might be to make sure AC fan is in "on" mode rather than "auto" that way the fan is on run load rather than start load when compressor tries to kick on. Might save a few watts.

    BTW hard start capacitor all the way. Your AC will thank you. It might ever send you a christmas card.


    It starts up fine and A/C runs for 10 min or so than looses power
    {A/C not the generator
  • BlindGuynAR's avatar
    BlindGuynAR
    Explorer
    Jun 14, 2014
    A little extra help might be to make sure AC fan is in "on" mode rather than "auto" that way the fan is on run load rather than start load when compressor tries to kick on. Might save a few watts.

    BTW hard start capacitor all the way. Your AC will thank you. It might ever send you a christmas card.
  • samsontdog's avatar
    samsontdog
    Explorer
    Jun 13, 2014
    More To See wrote:
    It seems like everything is working against you. Both high altitude and hot temperatures.

    Using the rule of thumb of 3.5 percent loss of hp for every 1000 feet of altitude (6300 feet) you lose about 22 percent of your hp.

    So if that also equates to a 22 percent loss of power then your 3 kW Honda becomes a 2.3 kW generator.

    Now add in some more power loss due to the high temperature of air going through the carb and you are probably getting very marginal.

    And perhaps even more loss due to the engine running rich if there is no high altitude adjustment.

    Thank you ! This is what I thought. My power cord from my TT is only
    30 ft long and I run my heavy Honda 3000 from my tailgate with another
    30 ft 30 amp cord. I sure don't want another 3000 Honda. Guess I will go back to two EU2000
    Again, THANKS EVERYONE

    The only other thing I could think of is to use only a heavy gauge very short power cord (and upgrade those start capacitors as previously mentioned).
  • sjturbo's avatar
    sjturbo
    Explorer
    Jun 13, 2014
    We have a eu3000. Higher altitude requires a different orifice size!
  • More_To_See's avatar
    More_To_See
    Explorer
    Jun 13, 2014
    It seems like everything is working against you. Both high altitude and hot temperatures.

    Using the rule of thumb of 3.5 percent loss of hp for every 1000 feet of altitude (6300 feet) you lose about 22 percent of your hp.

    So if that also equates to a 22 percent loss of power then your 3 kW Honda becomes a 2.3 kW generator.

    Now add in some more power loss due to the high temperature of air going through the carb and you are probably getting very marginal.

    And perhaps even more loss due to the engine running rich if there is no high altitude adjustment.

    The only other thing I could think of is to use only a heavy gauge very short power cord (and upgrade those start capacitors as previously mentioned).
  • samsontdog's avatar
    samsontdog
    Explorer
    Jun 13, 2014
    KD4UPL wrote:
    How's the Honda's air filter and spark plug? You might see a very slight improvement with new parts here.
    Is the gen. shutting down when the compressor cycles on? A hard start capacitor might help your AC unit.
    Is the gen. sitting in the sun or the shade? The cooler the air it gets the more power it will have.


    The Honda only has maybe 4 hours on it.

    The gen does not shut down just A/C just barely making a low noise nearly like fan running then maybe three or four min it will kick on again and run for a few min. At the end it was running then hardly any power and I turned off the A/C but it would not shut off, tried it later it ran ok but I was afraid it would screw up the A/C so never ran it again. I might have to go back to two EU2000 which I had and they ran the A/C in my other TT fine

    Sitting out of the sun
  • the_bear_II's avatar
    the_bear_II
    Explorer
    Jun 13, 2014
    All of the above plus-

    Make sure the Oil level is full

    If you have the generator in the economy mode turn it off. The A/C will need full power quickly as it cycles on and off.
  • KD4UPL's avatar
    KD4UPL
    Explorer II
    Jun 13, 2014
    How's the Honda's air filter and spark plug? You might see a very slight improvement with new parts here.
    Is the gen. shutting down when the compressor cycles on? A hard start capacitor might help your AC unit.
    Is the gen. sitting in the sun or the shade? The cooler the air it gets the more power it will have.
  • 2oldman's avatar
    2oldman
    Explorer II
    Jun 13, 2014
    Your owner's manual should address altitude issues and the carb setting.

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