Honda generator to truck camper

deltabravo wrote:
Once upon a time I had a Progressive Dynamics hard wired EMS system in my AF 811.

It rejected generator power until I flipped a switch on its remote panel to disable one mode of its monitoring - open ground I think.
I always had to remember to flip that switch to use my EU2000.

One aspect of the hard wired unit that I despised, and a portable unit would surely do the same thing when plugged in to a smaller portable gen is this:

Any time my roof A/C compressor kicked on, the generator voltage would drop just enough to trigger the EMS unit to cut off incoming power (low voltage protect). When that happened, the compressor would of course be in a semi-locked rotor condition and would NOT start when the EMS re-enabled incoming power, so the voltage would sag again and the EMS would cut off power.

The ONLY way to get the generator to reliably run the A/C due to the issues with the hard wired EMS I had was to turn on my inverter, which would allow the inverter to carry the load of the A/C when the generator voltage sagged and caused the EMS to kill incoming generator power. Once the EMS re-enable incoming generator power, the inverter transfer switch would enable and switch off inverter mode and then the generator would power the A/C.

For the above reasons, I never recommend using a surge protector (portable or hard wired) when using a smaller sized portable generator.

I had my AF 811 for close to 11 years. About 3 years before I sold it, I removed the hard wired EMS and ebay'd it.

We've been using a hardwired Progressive Industries 30a EMS in our truck camper for the last 3 years. It's active, in-circuit, all the time, regardless whether we're on commmercial, generator (Honda 2200), or inverter (2000 watt) power.

A bonding plug is necessary for both the generator and inverter to prevent the E2 open ground error. The bonding plug consists of a male 120vac plug with the neutral bonded to ground which is plugged into the spare outlet on the generator and inverter.

We power our 11k BTU a/c via inverter/battery and generator (not at the same time) regularly and encounter very little, if any, voltage sag--certainly nothing that would trigger the EMS low-voltage cut-off. No doubt the Micro Air Easy Start installed in our a/c, which drops the LRA from 55a to <20a, is certainly a big reason for the lack of voltage sag.

The PI EMS works perfectly for us.

P.S. deltabravo, is it possible you were experiencing more of an issue with your generator lacking enough inrush current to start your a/c compressor, rather than an issue with the PI EMS?? Sounds to me like your EMS was simply doing its job. The voltage dropped too low when your generator was unable to provide enough inrush current to start the a/c compressor, so the EMS simply cut-off power??