Air Conditioner Recommendations

[reddrum]

Air conditioner died on my Eagle Cap 1160 truck camper. It was a Coleman Mach 3 from 2008. So, time for a replacement. I ran the previous A/C off a Honda 2000 for years and then off the Honda 2200. I did add a capacitor for the initial load, but it worked great.

Any recommendations of a good A/C to run off of a Honda 2200?

[dougrainer]

reddrum wrote:
For those that may come along in the future.

Installed the mach 3 ps yesterday. It starts super fast even without an added cap. Installed a Supco SPP6E hard start kit and the Honda 2200 ran it great at about 700' and temps in the 50s. The generator can even be left in eco mode which is something that I could not do before. It kicks up while the A/C is starting and then goes BACK to eco mode while the A/C is on. Quick test shows 20a on initial startup and drops back to 7a while running.

Very disappointed, puzzled, confused, and everything else that the A/C did NOT come with the control board but everything else seems to be great.

RV AC units NEVER come with the tstats or the Tstat control board OR the inside mount kit/controls. Never have. This is why it is never a good idea to change Brand of the AC unit. It will cost more money. Doug

[jjrbus]

Have a Honda 2000, would not start the 11k roof air. Get one of those Supercos they said, guarantee it will work. Put the hard start on and AC started right up when the temp was in the 70's some place between 70's and 90's it stopped working. Generators lose power at elevation and AC take more power the hotter and more humid it is.

Now use an 8000 btu window unit and the mighty little Honda runs it from sea level up into the rockys, in the summer heat of Death Valley. Added a Hard start and the Honda runs it in ECO mode.

[reddrum]

For those that may come along in the future.

Installed the mach 3 ps yesterday. It starts super fast even without an added cap. Installed a Supco SPP6E hard start kit and the Honda 2200 ran it great at about 700' and temps in the 50s. The generator can even be left in eco mode which is something that I could not do before. It kicks up while the A/C is starting and then goes BACK to eco mode while the A/C is on. Quick test shows 20a on initial startup and drops back to 7a while running.

Very disappointed, puzzled, confused, and everything else that the A/C did NOT come with the control board but everything else seems to be great.

[steveh27]

I got the Dometic High Efficiency model and it runs off a Honda 2000. I am surprised that it is not advertised.

[1320Fastback]

We put a Atwood AirCommand on our trailer. I liked it so much I moved it to our next trailer. Super quiet, moves a lot of air and is electrically efficient.

[reddrum]

I picked up a Mach 3 PS. They claim it uses less power for more output. 10 amps for the running compressor but no data on startup which is the real problem. I will add a Supco SPP6E capacitor to it like the previous one. Will install it and find out this week. In theory it sounds perfect.

[philh]

add microair ez start kit to any AC unit. your 2200 will power it fine

[mr_andyj]

I had the Mach 3 on TC, mine was a 9200 BTU and cooled it off very quick as TCs are not big. AC would run off my 2200 Ryobi inv gen just fine.
Go small, the 9200 is all you likely need.
I kept the 9200 and put it on my next trailer, putting the 13500 on TC when sold.
I never, and would never, use the roof unit for heat. A small $12 electric heater will keep my camper warm, make no noise and put no wear n tear on my $800 roof unit (yea, I got a deal on it refurbished).

[bgum]

We run a 11000 btu AC with a 2000 watt genny. I am not sure what altitude will do to that.

[dougrainer]

RVP(Coleman) used to have 2 Models for each AC they offered. The standard Model number and the other model number that had a different letter that had the Coleman HARD START CAPACITOR kit already installed. Certain OEM's would option the Hard Capacitor model for smaller RV's that used smaller Gensets. But, Distributors DO NOT carry the Hard Start models. They must be ordered from RVP, which will take extra time. If you do not have the time, then just order the RVP Hard Start kit for about $25 and install on your new RVP AC. With Covid, RVP is way behind on orders and will not have this specific model soon. STAY with RVP. Your system is designed for RVP. If you go Dometic or any other AC, you will have to have adapter kits. Doug

[wa8yxm]

I would stick with a Coleman with a soft start kit. WHY? Well in a good way Colemams suck.. most if not all the others blow. By that I mean the Coleman/Air-Excel sucks air in through the condenser coil so if you are parked under the tree in cottonwood season you get a nice blanket of wood-cotton all over the condeser making it not work so well. And there's other types of "Crud" that build up as well.

now Remove 4 screw/bolts lift the cover off. peal the condenser clean replace over and 4 bolts job done.. (Take about as long to do as it would you to type it out)

Most others. closer to a dozen screws
Then after you remove the cover still more screws or other fasteners
Remove the inner cover over the condenser. not always and easy job
In my case I had to remove the fan (Big hands)
Then I could clean the beast.
And reassemble. and reseal

That took a lot longer to type.. but the job takes longer still.

[afidel]

Personally I'd go for a heat pump unit, being able to use a bit of electricity to keep from running the propane heater would be great. I can't justify it with a new rig, but if I had to replace mine I'd definitely drop the extra coin.

[2oldman]

I can run a Briskair 13.5 with a 2200 but it's working pretty hard. I like using two. It's quieter.

[wanderingaimles]

Verify the BTUH rating of the old unit.
If you were happy with that, stay with the same size,,,,, or,
Since you were able to run it off the 2000 watt genny , explore IF you could go one size larger.
If the old unit was an 8k btuh, would an 11k btuh be better? And would the 2200 watt genny carry it.