a/c delay when hooking up

[Chaz59]

I noticed my a/c has a delay of several minutes when I first plug into electric, is this normal? Also should I leave the a/c switch off for a period of time or just turn the unit on and wait for it to come on.

[Strabo]

Ours has little delay, Genny or shore power. I would think there is not enough amps to kick the compressor off when you shore power your rig, just a guess.

[sdianel_-acct_c]

We have 2 different delays. It takes about 2-3 minutes for the power management system to turn the power on to the RV. We know it's on because the refrigerator switches from gas to electric. Once that happens we turn on the AC switch. Our older AC turns on pretty fast but the newer one takes longer. We leave our inverter on so our microwave clock stays on all the time.

[Chaz59]

Thanks guys, that's some good advice.

[GoPackGo]

What PAWPAW said. I have a surge guard and after plugging in to shore power it delays for about 2 minutes while it checks the current.

I full time so I move my rig all the time.

I also shut down both AC units as well as the water heater before breaking camp to go to another CG. After moving, hooking up power (first), water, sewer and sending out the slides I then go inside and turn on the AC unit(s) about a minute apart, after checking to make sure the microwave is blinking '00:00'. The water heater gets turned on later.

I'm no electrician but it just seems like a bad idea to have everything already 'on' when plugging in to shore power. Would be a pretty good jolt to the system.

[time2roll]

Unless you suspect a power issue the A/C can be left on to start automatic.

[PawPaw_n_Gram]

Over my lifetime, I've had two air conditioners and one refrigerator destroyed by fluctuating power. All happened during storms that were turning the power on / off several times. The power would try to come back on two or three times in juat a few seconds. That's what killed the ACs and fridge.

Fast forward a few years and we got a TT. One of my first purchases was a TRC Surge Guard. It will not put power to the trailer until there are 128 seconds of stable power coming through the pedestal.

We've had the power on/ off issue several times at RV parks since - and I'm always happy to know that the Surge Guard is protecting the electronics, including the AC, in my trailer.

Was told long ago by some AC techs, that if the power goes off - make sure to turn off the ACs and other high draw appliances. When the power comes back on, those appliances are very susceptible to damage.

Leaving your AC switched on in your RV, and expecting it to start when you plug into the pedestal is asking for the AC to be ruined.

[tvman44]

Normal.

[SoundGuy]

Chaz59 wrote:
I noticed my a/c has a delay of several minutes when I first plug into electric, is this normal?

Count yourself lucky 😉 ... many A/C units don't have any delay at all, ergo yet another reason EMS devices such as those sold by Progressive Industries are so valuable, as they do offer delay just for the purpose of protecting A/Cs that don't have built in delay. :B

[Bobbo]

JAC1982 wrote:
We leave ours off until the shore or generator power kicks in (the sign for us is when the microwave beeps that it's on), then flip the switch for the AC.

Agreed. When the microwave display shows power, I turn on the A/C.

[JAC1982]

We leave ours off until the shore or generator power kicks in (the sign for us is when the microwave beeps that it's on), then flip the switch for the AC.

[Ductape]

Normal in most cases. There is a time delay to prevent an immediate restart if there's a power interruption. If the unit were running and stopped, it needs several minutes for the high pressure to bleed down before the compressor can start.