? On quiet generators and size needed for TT ac

[luberhill]

I see a few TT’s where we are camping.. two of them have 2000 watt Honda’s and they are pretty quiet,,the other guy has a Champion... that seems to be even quieter. ,,,
Now is 2000 watts enough to power the ac ?? And also what is the quietest ??
Also do you need and invertor generator ?? If so why ?
Thx

[luberhill]

go watch the videos of that Predator and the Honda

[OLYLEN]

Honda and several others now make a 2200-2400 Gen. Saw one on craigs for $750 with very low hours.

LEN

[Bobbo]

valhalla360 wrote:

Bobbo wrote:

The MicroAir EasyStart is not a "soft start" capacitor. It is something entirely different, and works MUCH better than any "soft start" capacitor. Do a search in RV.NET on "MicroAir EasyStart" and you will find thread after thread from people who have actually installed them on their rigs.

Yes, there are ways around the startup issue but you are still running a tiny 2000w generator flat out to run the aircon.

Get up in altitude or anything else that isn't taken care of and it's marginal.

Agreed.

[luberhill]

Just watched a couple videos on the 3500 Predator... quieter than a 2000 watt Honda

[luberhill]

Online reviews show Preditor as the quietest invertor small generator ??

[ktmrfs]

luberhill wrote:
Ok I saw the easy start video, so it sounds like a 2.k watt invertor Honda will in fact run the ac,,, is there any downside to using the easy start ?why don’t the manufacturers just put them in to start with ?

why not? cost
yes it will reliably start my AC at almost any altitude. Problem you will run into is that around 4000ft the honda will overload eventually. Mine will usually overload after about 10-20 minutes run time.

But don't give up. the honda 2000 is now a honda 2200 with also a 25% larger engine. I'll be giving one of those a workout next week above 4000ft and we will see what it does.

[HuckleberryHunt]

SoundGuy wrote:

HuckleberryHunter wrote:
I knew a 2000 watt unit was going to be a bit small for our single AC unit, so wanted something a bit bigger and a lot quieter.

Not necessarily true. I've owned two different Honda EU2000i gensets and either would successfully and repeatedly start the 13,500 BTU Coleman Mach 3+ and Dometic Brisk II A/Cs I've owned BUT at around sea level and in temps up to the mid 80s. Increase the elevation and/or ambient temp and the genset would overload. However, that was before I knew about the Micro-Air Easy Start Soft Starter Kit but had it been available at that time I would have definitely invested in one. Also, the Honda EU2000i which features by far the best surge capability of any 2K genset has been replaced by the even more capable EU2200i which has a much larger 121 cc engine. Chances are that a combination of an Easy Start and an EU2200i could quite well start a 13,500 BTU A/C at higher elevations & much higher ambient temperatures and keep it running. :B

I'll restate...I knew a 2000 watt unit would be on the edge for running our single AC unit and too small for anything more than just running the AC, so wanted to not worry about overloading.

[2edgesword]

I have a Yamaha 2400ISHC. It's very quiet and will start/run my 13.5K A/C. The problem is when I need the A/C the most (hot summer night) is the time during which most campgrounds won't you to run a generator.

[Terryallan]

Terryallan wrote:

luberhill wrote:
I see a few TT’s where we are camping.. two of them have 2000 watt Honda’s and they are pretty quiet,,the other guy has a Champion... that seems to be even quieter. ,,,
Now is 2000 watts enough to power the ac ?? And also what is the quietest ??
Also do you need and invertor generator ?? If so why ?
Thx

From what i have read. No 2000 won't run a genny. And in truth. Most CGS won't let you run them after quiet hours any way

Yep did that wrong. Meant of course AC, I'll fix it

[valhalla360]

Bobbo wrote:

The MicroAir EasyStart is not a "soft start" capacitor. It is something entirely different, and works MUCH better than any "soft start" capacitor. Do a search in RV.NET on "MicroAir EasyStart" and you will find thread after thread from people who have actually installed them on their rigs.

Yes, there are ways around the startup issue but you are still running a tiny 2000w generator flat out to run the aircon.

Get up in altitude or anything else that isn't taken care of and it's marginal.

[SoundGuy]

HuckleberryHunter wrote:
I knew a 2000 watt unit was going to be a bit small for our single AC unit, so wanted something a bit bigger and a lot quieter.

Not necessarily true. I've owned two different Honda EU2000i gensets and either would successfully and repeatedly start the 13,500 BTU Coleman Mach 3+ and Dometic Brisk II A/Cs I've owned BUT at around sea level and in temps up to the mid 80s. Increase the elevation and/or ambient temp and the genset would overload. However, that was before I knew about the Micro-Air Easy Start Soft Starter Kit but had it been available at that time I would have definitely invested in one. Also, the Honda EU2000i which features by far the best surge capability of any 2K genset has been replaced by the even more capable EU2200i which has a much larger 121 cc engine. Chances are that a combination of an Easy Start and an EU2200i could quite well start a 13,500 BTU A/C at higher elevations & much higher ambient temperatures and keep it running. :B

[HuckleberryHunt]

After 1 year on a contractor style (open frame) hand-me-down generator we bit the bullet and sprung for a Honda eu3000is. That contractor generator was just too loud!
I knew a 2000 watt unit was going to be a bit small for our single AC unit, so wanted something a bit bigger and a lot quieter. We've not had any regrets since. Granted, it's bigger and heavier than the suitcase style generators, but ease of use and peace of mind have been worth it to us. I put it on a dolly when at home to move around and my wife and I can lift it together and move it if necessary at the campsite, but usually it stays int he back of the truck and I run it there. It's also come in handy as an emergency home generator during years when we have the occasional power outage.
Recently I've considered the idea of getting two of the Honda 2000 and use one for times when the AC isn't needed and pigtail the two for 4000 watts when the AC is needed, but am in no hurry to do that as the eu3000is is still going strong. It would be nice to be able to store them in the TT hold though, which I think I could do with the 2000.

PS - Honda and Yamaha used to rule the market, but in recent years there have been a lot more of the quieter inverter style generators being produced by other manufactures. A friend of mine just got a 4k unit from Costco that reportedly produces something like 62 decibels and was considerably cheaper. It's not as quiet as our Honda, but still better than than the previous alternative. And, you can still hear the Honda if you're in the next campsite over, not loud, but audible. I have yet to hear his generator run, but at some point this summer I plan to hear how it compares.

[Bobbo]

luberhill wrote:
Ok I saw the easy start video, so it sounds like a 2.k watt invertor Honda will in fact run the ac,,, is there any downside to using the easy start ?why don’t the manufacturers just put them in to start with ?

$$$$$$$$$$$$$

valhalla360 wrote:
There is a partial solution. They can add a "soft start" unit to the air/con. This is basically a small capacitor that stores up some power and when the compressor kicks on, the capacitor dumps it's power into the system and makes up much of the difference...2000w is still marginal.

The MicroAir EasyStart is not a "soft start" capacitor. It is something entirely different, and works MUCH better than any "soft start" capacitor. Do a search in RV.NET on "MicroAir EasyStart" and you will find thread after thread from people who have actually installed them on their rigs.

[valhalla360]

A single 2000w generator is marginal.
- First that's a peak output rating not continuous. Continuous is typically around 1600w.

To run an air/con you need to consider both the startup power and continuous power demand. Continous for a typical air/con unit is going to be around 9-12 amps (or 1200-1400w). Sounds good that is below 1600w rating but to get the compressor turning, you need a surge of extra power...typically 2-3 times as high...that's way beyond what a 2000w generator can do.

There is a partial solution. They can add a "soft start" unit to the air/con. This is basically a small capacitor that stores up some power and when the compressor kicks on, the capacitor dumps it's power into the system and makes up much of the difference...2000w is still marginal.

As mentioned by others, traditional generators have to run at constant speed so that the hertz stays correct. High speed operation tends to be noisy. Inverters take DC power and electronically invert it to create AC power. This allows the motor to be throttled to match the demand. This allows the generator to be more efficient and to be quieter.

There is a catch with the quieter. If you are running the air/con, the generator is going to throttle up for the higher load. Under light loads, the generator may just be a soft hum but when putting out full power, it's not nearly as quiet.

2000w generators are popular because they are easy to carry around. To mitigate the limitation, some manufacturers have designed them so you can link 2 together (Don't try to DIY connect two generators, its more complicated than it sounds and you can cause a lot of damage). Of course, this is an expensive solution.

We have a 2400w Yamaha that does fine for a single air/con (plus a few minor loads). It's probably at the low end of what I would consider. If I was buying a new one, I would probably bump up to 3000w.