A/C and generator question

[psmoore]

Does the roof ac run less while on generator the when plugged into electric? While driving in tn, ga, amd fl the last few days the front ac appears to be blowing out warm air, but the back one is ice cold. Not sure if it could be a freon problem, or if they just go bad and possibly need a new one. Right now I am plugged into electric and the front is blowing out okay air, and the back one is noticably cooler to me anyway. Thanks for any ideas. I am camping in Nashville tomorrow night and thought about hitting camping world and asking there.

[dougrainer]

1. Run the rear AC ONLY and note the amp draw on your EMS after 15 minutes. record that
2. Turn OFF the rear AC and run the front AC for 15 minutes. Record the amp draw. I will bet the front amp draw is at least 7 amps less which means either the compressor is not running and if it is, the Freon has leaked out.
With the front running ONLY, you can feel cool/cold air at the vent closest to the front AC unit. Doug

[MrWizard]

sounds like a loss of FREON in the front A/C unit

not an electric problem

[JackMS]

Temp in and out of the unit you suspect is not working. Basically, the room temp is the inlet temp. Then the closest vent to ac is the outlet. When it is 75 in my living room, my front unit will blow about 52. You can check the rear also the same way just to compare.

[psmoore]

Then just any outlet i am gussing? Or one in front and one in back?

[BobR]

psmoore wrote:
How would i check the temp that both units are putting out?

Meat thermometer.

[psmoore]

dougrainer wrote:

psmoore wrote:
No it will not run both on generator very well. We only run one. We have 30 amp service. Now that i think of it, when we run both the amps show 26 on my power supply channel. Will try today and see what happens.

IF your Winne came from the factory with 2 AC units and the Gen(APU) is at least a 5.0kw or higher, you CAN run 2 AC units with no problem. Explain what you mean by "it will not run Both very well"? That statement does not make sense. You have a 30 amp RV with a EMS system.

EMS---ENERGY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.
That means you have 2 AC units and Winne installed an EMS system. The EMS automatically manages your 120 appliance loads when connected to 30 amp shore power and will turn off(shed) power to non essential appliances if you approach the 30 amp total threshold. The rear AC is usually the first appliance shed. But, On APU you CAN run 2 AC units, if your BOTH AC units were installed by Winne. IF the EMS shows a rear AC it was installed by Winne. The APU has 2 -120 breakers and the 2nd breaker (20 amp) on the APU is dedicated to the rear AC only. IF the 2 AC units do not run on APU you have a operational problem with the APU. Doug

What i meant was that when i put my hand on a vent coming from the front and one coming from the back, there appears to be a temp difference. Driving down the road with just the front one on, and the rig would be warm. Now it is hot outside, but it doesnt feel like cold air at all. It could be me.

How would i check the temp that both units are putting out? I went p tonight and saw the four screws and will be doing that when I get home tomorrow.

Appreciate all the help.

[JackMS]

Time to go to the roof. 4 screws, remove cover and make sure condenser is clean. Then I would run it with the cover off and see if lines going to condenser get hot and lines to evap get cold.

There are some very good ac experts on here that can help you beyond this point. Another thing to check is to take the cover off inside and make sure all the tape is good- no air passing from hot side to cold side. Did you take the air temps at inlet and outlet?

[psmoore]

It draws 3 with nothing on, and 27 with both units on. It is still not very cold. Pulling 15 amps with the one that I think isnt working very well.

[JackMS]

EMS is a system that can load shed- turn off items when you are close to using too many amps. It displays how many amps are being used. Not sure what a power supply channel is but apparently it displays amps being used? Read the amps on it and then turn on the ac and read it again. Subtract and that is what the ac is drawing.

26 seems about right if nothing else is running including the converter. My converter seems to draw about 3 amps.

[dougrainer]

psmoore wrote:
No it will not run both on generator very well. We only run one. We have 30 amp service. Now that i think of it, when we run both the amps show 26 on my power supply channel. Will try today and see what happens.

IF your Winne came from the factory with 2 AC units and the Gen(APU) is at least a 5.0kw or higher, you CAN run 2 AC units with no problem. Explain what you mean by "it will not run Both very well"? That statement does not make sense. You have a 30 amp RV with a EMS system.

EMS---ENERGY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.
That means you have 2 AC units and Winne installed an EMS system. The EMS automatically manages your 120 appliance loads when connected to 30 amp shore power and will turn off(shed) power to non essential appliances if you approach the 30 amp total threshold. The rear AC is usually the first appliance shed. But, On APU you CAN run 2 AC units, if your BOTH AC units were installed by Winne. IF the EMS shows a rear AC it was installed by Winne. The APU has 2 -120 breakers and the 2nd breaker (20 amp) on the APU is dedicated to the rear AC only. IF the 2 AC units do not run on APU you have a operational problem with the APU. Doug

[psmoore]

No it will not run both on generator very well. We only run one. We have 30 amp service. Now that i think of it, when we run both the amps show 26 on my power supply channel. Will try today and see what happens.

[Swamp_Man]

Is the generator big enough to run the normal load plus both A/C units? You might have a voltage drop problem. Since you have two A/C, I assume that you have a 50 amp service. That translates to about 5500 watts or 5.5 kw. I would have a tech check the amperage when starting and when running on both units.

[psmoore]

Ok. Thanks. I have checked the filter and it's clean. Will have to get on top and try and figure out how to get the top off. What is an EMS? Thanks alot!

[JackMS]

Makes no difference whether on gen or plugged in. I would actually suspect that going down the road would provide better air flow to the condenser, but don't know that for a fact. Start with basics- clean filter, go on roof to remove cover and clean condenser. A quick way to check freon level is if you have an EMS, see how many amps that a/c draws. Mine leaked freon out and a tech used a clamp on meter on a wire inside. It was drawing 9 amps. When full of freon they will draw around 13. Had a leak recently on another unit and by EMS it was about the same.

Also, the air coming out of the ac should be about 20-25 degrees cooler than the air being sucked in, which is basically the temperature inside. This should get you started.