Help!!! It's hot and have electrical issues :)

Here's what I do and have:
At home I'm using a relatively short appliance extension cord to get from the outlet in my garage to just outside the garage door. This cord is a flat style and is most likely 10 or 12 gauge if I recall correctly. Then I have a 15amp to 30amp dogbone that connects it to my RV's shore cord.

This allows me to do virtually everything I'd like inside the RV except run the air conditioning (based on this thread I'm now tempted to test the air when nothing else is running). This keeps my batteries charged, I can run my fridge to chill it before trips, and I can even use the TT as my man cave to watch TV. I also plug our regular vacuum cleaner into one of the RV's outlets for post-trip clean up.

I have longer 12 gauge and 14 gauge extension cords for when I visit non-traditional camping locations like friend's driveways or behind a barn at a ranch. At those locations I'll also run the water heater, microwave, etc but watch out for doing more at once than the circuit can handle.

So at night or other times you don't need air conditioning, running off a regular outlet at a friend's house should be fine. Just try to pick a circuit that isn't shared with high-draw uses (like a space heater).

Also never try to connect to an outlet meant for an electric clothes dryer. Those are high-amp circuits, but they're also 240V.

30a is the draw for the trailer not just the a/c. You can run the a/c just fine off a 20a plain ol household plug, but not much else.

No harm will come from shutting down one generator. Air should keep running until you run out of fuel or the compressor cycles and the one generator can not restart. Then it is just off until morning. And if it works it works and will be fine. The Honda will shut down before you have a low voltage issue.

Likewise try the outlet. Turn all breakers off in the RV except the main 30a and the air 20a. See if it starts. Then check voltage in the RV is 105+ and you are good to go. Unlike the generator, the outlet may not turn off if the voltage sags. You may also have varied random results if there are other items in the home sharing that circuit.

There are ways to run about everything from that 15 amp outlet but will involve more battery and a power sharing inverter such as Victron Multiplus.

Off topic, my fan is LOUD and I notice no diff with high vs low. Normal? Sounds like high to me all the time.

mich800 wrote:
Ok, there is a huge information disconnect with the OP. No one is suggesting that one Honda 2000 WILL run your AC all the time. For reliable operation yes you should parallel them. This is entirely different than the issue of using a 15/20 amp shore power plug to run the air.

If you purchased the generators to run you AC at home and not install a 30 amp 120 volt rv plug you spent too much. If you purchased them to run the AC while camping just figure out what other items are on in the RV and turn them off while running the AC.

Thank you :) Guess you summed it all up. I feel as though I keep hearing from people saying it worked for them and not from anyone saying WHY i am being told NOT TO DO what worked for them?Only the positives and none of the negatives assocaited with it. I have been hiding out researching this entire issue AGAIN and am STILL being told two 2000 or 3000 for ac usage.

Lets be clear. I bought the two generators for when I am on the road of course. I would never have bought them to hang at the house OR to hang at friends and relatives. We are recent full timers. Now, with that said, lets be clear again, not all, fact probably NONE of these friends or relatives are going to have an extra 30 amp service lying around on the off chance an RV friend were to visit.

So YES, hanging at the house OR hanging at friends houses for weeks at a time, equals the exact same thing, running the generators, as I am now, when outlets abound, to use the AC, not wanting to trip their breakers, having them run out and scream I interrupted their late night movie...

I do think the subject matter swung off base. That always happenes anyway on any forum :))). So I have learned that maybe I can shut these bad babies off NOW and go back to an outlet when weather didn't require the AC as it has in the last couple days?

OR/ AND

At night, when its all off inside the trailer and I am sleeping, can I REALLY cut off one of them off and use only one to JUST run the AC?

Up until this thread, I have been told NO I CANNOT. That true? Regardless, I won't regret buying two of them ever. Obviously I can power the whole trailer with the AC running, so it's STILL the way to go.

Ok, there is a huge information disconnect with the OP. No one is suggesting that one Honda 2000 WILL run your AC all the time. For reliable operation yes you should parallel them. This is entirely different than the issue of using a 15/20 amp shore power plug to run the air.

If you purchased the generators to run you AC at home and not install a 30 amp 120 volt rv plug you spent too much. If you purchased them to run the AC while camping just figure out what other items are on in the RV and turn them off while running the AC.

Plumber101010 wrote:
I no longer am concerned about the restarting. Now that I know that's what has to be done, then so be it. I am MUCH more concerned why everyone and their brother said I could NOT run my AC off ONE honda 2000? No way. Nada. Not going to happen. Forgetaboutit... Now? Oh sure, you can run your AC off one outlet all day long and twice on Sundays.

Yes, yes, yes, we all know about combining things. Can't run this when running this. I am not talking about that. I am talking about the fact that the AC could not physically run off one 2000 generator PERIOD. By itself. Nothing else running with it.

Even the mechanic where I bought it said no way is one 2000 gonna run the AC. Something is amiss here..

This isn't speculation or some weird, off the grid article I cam upon, it is generally noted and accepted that 2 2000 are needed (or one 3000) to run the AC. That's just a fact.

Nothing weird about it. Air conditioners are getting more efficient and use less power and some have lower start up surge requirements. Also generators and air conditioners are run in many different circumstances especially different elevation and temperatures. All these factors will have varied results from different people. Even the power available from different 15a outlets can be different depending on wire size and length.

So give it a go once and see what works for you with your equipment and conditions.

Hi Plumber,

Ask yourself "why".

The start up surge for the compressor may over load a 2k generator. But that is because the genny makers quote VA rather than "real" watts. I believe the Honda 2k unit is capable of 13.3 amps (1600 watts). There are solutions to this. One way is to use a hybrid inverter that will draw the start up load from the battery bank. Then, the air conditioner will run pretty much as it would from a 15 amp shore power source. As the ambient temperature increases, so does the demand from the air conditioner. So just when you REALLY need the air a single 2k unit may not be up to the task.

Don't forget that generators are derated as altitude increases. My Yamaha 3000 Sieb (500 watts of boost for 10 seconds, 2800 VA or 23.3 amps) struggled to run the roof air in Cranbrook, BC which is only at 3021 feet. It is true that it had less than 20 hours of run time, so the generator was not "broken in". Of course, assuming a power factor of .8, means that 2800 is really only 2240 watts. The 500 watts for ten seconds do help. But then again, I have seen 1900 watts of demand during continuous running of the unit. That is 84% of the total capacity of the Yamaha--and all generators recommend only 80% of that total for continuous use.

Derating is about 3% per 1000 feet.

Now I have a hybrid inverter and I can run the Yamaha in eco mode with no problems starting the air conditioner at all.

Plumber101010 wrote:
I am talking about the fact that the AC could not physically run off one 2000 generator PERIOD. By itself. Nothing else running with it.

Plumber101010 wrote:
I no longer am concerned about the restarting. Now that I know that's what has to be done, then so be it. I am MUCH more concerned why everyone and their brother said I could NOT run my AC off ONE honda 2000? No way. Nada. Not going to happen. Forgetaboutit... Now? Oh sure, you can run your AC off one outlet all day long and twice on Sundays.

Yes, yes, yes, we all know about combining things. Can't run this when running this. I am not talking about that. I am talking about the fact that the AC could not physically run off one 2000 generator PERIOD. By itself. Nothing else running with it.

Even the mechanic where I bought it said no way is one 2000 gonna run the AC. Something is amiss here..

This isn't speculation or some weird, off the grid article I cam upon, it is generally noted and accepted that 2 2000 are needed (or one 3000) to run the AC. That's just a fact.

You are a plumber right? You know that a certain amount of liquid runs thru a 1 inch pipe. Same with electricity. A 30 amp circuit has a certain amount of electricity running thru it. and until you try to get more than 30 amps out of it you are fine. After that is shuts down. A 13500 btu AC doesn't draw 30 amps of electricity. so it can run on less than 30 amps.

As for the small generators. one doesn't pump enough electricity. So it won't run the AC. 2 in unison do pump enough. A 1 GPM pump can't pump as much as a 2 GPM pump. But together 2, 1 GPM pumps can.

Don't believe everything you read on here......I ran my 15,000 BTU air off my house 15 amp outlet long before I put in my dedicated 50 amp receptable. And while I'm at it(dismissing myth's) you can and I do regularly run two 15,000 BTU airs on a 30 amp CG pedestal. Funny how these things work!!!!