Installed a Micro-Air Soft Start today
So there's a backstory first --- When I bought my 1160, I got it 6mos old used. Original owner bought it stripped - no AC, no gen, not even any TVs. I got a helluva deal on it, and first thing I d...
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Boatycall wrote:Northern Lite advertises how the 10k Dometic Penguin II a/c units in their campers can be easily started by a Honda EU2000i/EU2200i. We were disappointed to find out our Honda EU2200i had a heck of a time starting the a/c unit in our new 2019 8-11. Come to find out NL had mistakenly installed a 13.5k a/c unit. Considered keeping the 13.5k and installing a Micro Air Easy Start. However, noticed the 13.5k unit cooled down the camper too fast---too fast in the sense the compressor didn't run long enough to dehumidify. Nothing like being cool and "sticky" at the same time. NL sent us a 10k unit to replace the 13.5k. The 10k has more than enough capacity to cool (and dehumidify) the 8-11 nicely and only draws 10 amps. The 13.5k drew 14 amps. That's a big difference in load (i.e., wear and tear) for a small Honda 2000/2200 watt generator---not to mention the generator is much quieter running with a 10a load vs. 14a.
. . . put in not the normal 11k btu roof air, but a 13.5 . . . Put in a MicroAir Soft Start in my roof air today - worked as advertised. One single 2000 fired it right off, from eco mode, it rev'd up, but not even to full throttle, no problem . . .
FWIW, even though the Honda EU2200i started the 10k unit "ok" (the EU2200i still strained a bit), we went ahead and installed the Micro Air Easy Start on the 10k. Now there's only a minor blip in RPM when the compressor turns on--barely noticeable. For the long haul it's going to reduce the wear and tear on the Honda significantly.
