new generator question

dougrainer wrote:
Yes, lets find out what other people do. FOLLOWING THE OWNERS MANUAL IS NOT THE BEST OPTION.:h Doug

Don't need your sarcasm Doug! If you have no knowledge of the subject, it is best to read/learn, not post worthless remarks. I am getting some great replies, from people that are knowledgeable on this subject, and I appreciate THEIR RESPONSE!!

Jerry

Yes, lets find out what other people do. FOLLOWING THE OWNERS MANUAL IS NOT THE BEST OPTION.:h Doug

I start and stop my "main" Honda EU2000i with the cord plugged in, but everything is on propane.
It probably won't last doing that, but it only has 902 hours on it since I added the hour meter.

They are worth the money.

I have a PI EMS-HW30C installed. It has a time delay before it allows power into the trailer. Anytime I plug my TT in to my generator, the EMS takes care of that. I have to have a bonding plug for my EMS to work with my generator. Before unplugging the TT, I remove the bonding plug and the EMS disconnects power for me. I then turn off the generator, and put the bonding plug back in.

When off-grid the batteries will likely be down some when the gen is turned on. A 55 amp converter will pull 11 amps at 120v, which is a big part of the gen's 13 amp spec (although it will do 16 on start-up.)

So the converter is not a trivial load in this case. I don't know what the "cold start technology" really does for loading before the gen is warmed up in cold weather.

2oldman wrote:

MFL wrote:
My owners manual, for new Champion 2K 100565 says to never plug-in to gen when it is not running, but to warm up for a for minutes, then plug-in while running.

If the existing load is tiny, no problem.

I don't know what exact load is when plugging in, but It would be small draw from TV, microwave clock, whatever board draw from any AC operating devises and converter. Any other loads operating will be DC, and already powered from battery.

I think just shutting off main AC breaker, will likely be best option for me. I will seldom be using the generator for camping, but will enjoy some limited boondocking, due to getting the gen.

Jerry

It would ruin the reason for buying a generator with a remote start. We just pay attention and avoid heavily loading for the first minute or so. Looks like that's the norm here.

MFL wrote:
I'm interested what others do, and does it really matter?

If I'm running my Hondas, I'm therefore dry camping, and HW breaker is off, so, it's extremely unlikely any other significant loads would be on. I do have a couple chargers as opposed to the normal converter, and there has been a time or three I mistakenly left one on, but with big solar that's unlikely too.

So yeah, I try to never power up or down with a big load.

"We all know it is best, to turn breaker off at power pole before plugging shore power cord in/out"

We do? Power on first then add load is the usual rule. Note that after a power outage at the stick house area, the power company wants you to turn off your big appliances before their scheduled power back on time, so it won't be overloaded at start up.

With portable Honda EU3000, and near freezing out, before plugging in my 100 amp charger, I had to let the Honda warm up a little and also have it on full revs. If the Honda was still cold, its engine would conk out. That is not quite the same as popping its breaker from the electrical load. In that case, the engine keeps running as long as the Honda is warmed up a bit.

Once running a couple minutes, no problem with the 2800VA gen and the 1900 VA 100 amp charger.

I have my EMS set to delay 136 seconds for the AC, but it also serves as a delay between generator start and power to trailer. EMS also cuts power to trailer when voltage drops below 104V.