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sign_man's avatar
sign_man
Explorer
Mar 16, 2015

air conditioner / honda 2000

Outside temperature is currently 80 degrees. here is my dilemma:
i have a travel trailer with an ac on top. i dont know what size or how many amps it draws. i went outside right now to see if one honda 2000 generator will run it. the travel trailer happens to be covered with a permapro rv cover at the moment. i plugged in my genny and it wouldnt power it. but when i got up on the trailer and took the cover off of the ac, it fired right up. anyone know why this is? Is it because it is just too hot under the cover? & if it starts in 80 degree weather will it start up at 100 degrees?

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  • mich800's avatar
    mich800
    Explorer
    Mar 16, 2015
    sign man wrote:
    BubbaChris wrote:
    There's a chance that running the A/C in the best conditions is borderline with only a 2K genny. Most 13.5 A/C units need more power than that to start/run.

    When you first fired up for a test, your converter could have been drawing a bunch of power to charge your batteries. So having that draw AND trying to start the A/C was a no-go.

    For reliable A/C operation, the best advice is to pair 2 Honda EU2000i's together.
    i agree about 2 is better than one. but times are hard at the moment. and it seems to be operating fine outside in 80 degrees. i'm just wondering if it makes a diffence what the temperature is outside


    Short answer is yes the outside temp matters. I can run my air with my Honda 2000 but it is not reliable. I need to turn everything off for it to work, converter, electric on water heater if you have that option, and run fridge on gas. The 2000 is rated at I believe 1,600 watts continuous. So if it is hot and the air is running constantly it will eventually overload and trip the circuit breaker on the generator. And after this point the air seems to require a higher start up and the generator may not be able to start it at this point.
  • sign_man's avatar
    sign_man
    Explorer
    Mar 16, 2015
    BubbaChris wrote:
    There's a chance that running the A/C in the best conditions is borderline with only a 2K genny. Most 13.5 A/C units need more power than that to start/run.

    When you first fired up for a test, your converter could have been drawing a bunch of power to charge your batteries. So having that draw AND trying to start the A/C was a no-go.

    For reliable A/C operation, the best advice is to pair 2 Honda EU2000i's together.
    i agree about 2 is better than one. but times are hard at the moment. and it seems to be operating fine outside in 80 degrees. i'm just wondering if it makes a diffence what the temperature is outside
  • sign_man's avatar
    sign_man
    Explorer
    Mar 16, 2015
    now get this, with the ac covered shore power will run it but the genny wont. and when uncovered both shore and genny will.
  • sign_man's avatar
    sign_man
    Explorer
    Mar 16, 2015
    i'm thinking that being covered up in 80 degree weather is simulating what july might be like when uncovered.
  • Lynnmor's avatar
    Lynnmor
    Explorer
    Mar 16, 2015
    The Honda isn't rated high enough for most any RV AC. Some people get away with it on some units.
    The cover wasn't the problem on starting, but it would quickly become a problem if left in place. You may have had another load when it failed to start, most likely the battery charger was on bulk charge.
  • Dakota98's avatar
    Dakota98
    Explorer
    Mar 16, 2015
    It needed unobstructed air circulation to function properly ???
  • BubbaChris's avatar
    BubbaChris
    Explorer
    Mar 16, 2015
    There's a chance that running the A/C in the best conditions is borderline with only a 2K genny. Most 13.5 A/C units need more power than that to start/run.

    When you first fired up for a test, your converter could have been drawing a bunch of power to charge your batteries. So having that draw AND trying to start the A/C was a no-go.

    For reliable A/C operation, the best advice is to pair 2 Honda EU2000i's together.

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