Soft start for ac

[lucy6194]

Will be dry camping next Feb in key west Florida so obviously will need AC. I have on board generator plus two Honda 2000s that can be hooked together, however they take up slot of space and my 3500 generator weighs to much for me to lift alone. The on board is propane and to refill would require breaking down camp to get refilled. Am considering a soft start for the AC. I am a single woman camper with little electrical knowledge. Who or were would I get to install this and is it worth the money?

[ktmrfs]

Darklock wrote:
Best way to install Easy Start when you have a non walkable roof? Can not really reach AC unit from ladder.
I'm thinking plywood to spread out my weight. Any other ideas?

partial sheet of 1/2" or thicker plywood, laid over some towels or rags to make sure edges don't do any damage would be my approach.

[Darklock]

Best way to install Easy Start when you have a non walkable roof? Can not really reach AC unit from ladder.
I'm thinking plywood to spread out my weight. Any other ideas?

[otrfun]

lucy6194 wrote:
Will be dry camping next Feb in key west Florida so obviously will need AC. I have on board generator plus two Honda 2000s that can be hooked together, however they take up slot of space and my 3500 generator weighs to much for me to lift alone. The on board is propane and to refill would require breaking down camp to get refilled. Am considering a soft start for the AC. I am a single woman camper with little electrical knowledge. Who or were would I get to install this and is it worth the money?

Hhmm . . . dry camping in Key West? Any chance it's Sigsbee or Trumbo?

Feb temps in Key West are typically in the mid-70's during the day, mid/low 60's at night. Granted, having a/c when it's in the mid 70's is nice, but not IMO not essential. A couple of fans might suffice.

I've owned/installed a number of Micro Air Easy Starts. They absolutely, 100% work as advertised and worth every penny. You can run 95% of the 13.5 - 15k RV a/c units out there with a single Honda EU2000/2200 generator with a Micro Air installed. Without, you may run 10-15% of them.

As for the installation, you may find the install a bit intimidating if you have little electrical/mechanical experience. I'd suggest a having someone with some good electrical/mechanical skills on standby just in case. No need to pay big $$ for an HVAC guy. The install only requires splicing/rerouting 4 or 5 wires and mounting the Micro Air box.

Enjoy Key West! We hope to make it there in Jan!

[nickthehunter]

Just have a propane company deliver an extra large propane tank (with a gauge) and use on board gen. Why spend $300 on something you don’t really need? Your on board will handle that ac just fine.

[pianotuna]

vermilye,

I had solved that with the autoformer. Things seemed to get worse after the micro air unit was installed. I've tweeked the autoformer to cut in a 113 instead of 110.

[vermilye]

Another advantage of the Micro Air Easy Start is it eliminates the "thump" when the compressor starts. Even if you are plugged into a pedestal, that makes sleeping a bit more comfortable.

[Itinerant1]

ktmrfs wrote:

pianotuna wrote:
The soft start may not allow you to run from a single Honda 2000.

at sea level our honda 2000 consistently starts our coleman Mach III while in eco mode. The AC has the micro air easy start installed.

Above about 4,000ft the 2000 is marginal, but the 2200 is fine all the way up to at least 7,000ft.

But make sure any other high loads are off, like make sure batteries are near full charge, etc.

With the 2,000 you won't be able to run much else other then the AC

X2 on being able to run a 15k A/C unit with the micro-air easy start with no problems as stated above with either the eu2000i or eu2200i generator.

Also, adding a micro-air easy start is not rocket science even for a beginner, between their instruction and all of the you tube videos it can be accomplished. 😉

[mr_andyj]

How long will you be camping? It might be easier to just convert the propane system to be able to connect auxiliary tanks to supplement your propane. How many 20 pound bbq propane tanks would you need to have to make this trip work? The bbq tanks can be exchanged at almost any gas station or store in FL, or they can be refilled, and are easy to carry.
I figure if you take out two generators and their gas cans that you could fit 3 bbq tanks in their place.

The soft start things work. They are meant to lessen the power surge needed for starting only, nothing will reduce how much power the AC needs to continue running, so the little one 2000 will not run a 13.5 btu AC even if you can get it started. Generally you want extra capacity on the generator so it is not running at near 100% just to power your AC. A 50% load is more ideal.

Do not take it to an RV mechanic necessarily, this is not an RV thing, it is HVAC or electrical, foreign to most RV mechanics.
Any common every-day electrician will be able to install this as it is simple simple for them.
Any HVAC guy can also install this. Call around and take RV to them, they might be willing to do this, but you picked a bad time of year as HVAC guys are in peak demand right now.
If your brother-in-law is handy then he should be able to do the install. It is not rocket science.

[ktmrfs]

pianotuna wrote:
The soft start may not allow you to run from a single Honda 2000.

at sea level our honda 2000 consistently starts our coleman Mach III while in eco mode. The AC has the micro air easy start installed.

Above about 4,000ft the 2000 is marginal, but the 2200 is fine all the way up to at least 7,000ft.

But make sure any other high loads are off, like make sure batteries are near full charge, etc.

With the 2,000 you won't be able to run much else other then the AC

[philh]

microair EZ start is worth every penny and not particularly difficult to install.

I have a westinghouse 2500 and it would start and run a 15k AC unit after I modified. You might get lucking with a honda 2200 without modifying the air, or might not.

[theoldwizard1]

BUYER BEWARE !

There are two types of "soft starters". Only the Micro-Air EasyStart is proven to work.

Also, you might consider selling your two Honda 2000 generators and replacing them with a Westinghouse iGen2500. Watch this video Westinghouse iGen2500 Vs Predator 3500 (Which To Buy)

There are some useful links in the description below this video.

[pianotuna]

The soft start may not allow you to run from a single Honda 2000.

[Lwiddis]

They work well. Any RV repair outfit should be able to install. Shop for a good price. Try mobile techs too.