champion 2000watt genny

[rbryan4]

The Dometic Penguin II air conditioners do not include a soft starter (as anyone who's heard the 'thud' when the compressor kicks on can attest). Dometic calls their soft starter the Smart Start. The smart start is designed for marine AC units, but it will also work on the RV AC units. They're pricey. The average price right now is around $459.

I would try to run the AC using a generator without any soft starter. If it works, you're probably fine. And, it should work, provided you're at a relatively low altitude.

If you find that the AC won't run with your average 2000W Inverter Generator, like a Honda eu2000i, there is another viable alternative, and that's the soft starter from Micro-Air, called an EasyStart. Those who have them seem to have great things to say about them. Another bonus is they are less expensive than the Dometic but just as or more effective.

They have a model in a watertight enclosure with the wiring leads already attached for $299, and they also offer just the control board for a bit more challenging install but at a substantial savings - $158.

https://www.microair.net

[wetzk]

Originally Posted by rbryan4

The Dometic Penguin II air conditioners do not include a soft starter (as anyone who's heard the 'thud' when the compressor kicks on can attest). Dometic calls their soft starter the Smart Start. The smart start is designed for marine AC units, but it will also work on the RV AC units. They're pricey. The average price right now is around $459.

I would try to run the AC using a generator without any soft starter. If it works, you're probably fine. And, it should work, provided you're at a relatively low altitude.

If you find that the AC won't run with your average 2000W Inverter Generator, like a Honda eu2000i, there is another viable alternative, and that's the soft starter from Micro-Air, called an EasyStart. Those who have them seem to have great things to say about them. Another bonus is they are less expensive than the Dometic but just as or more effective.

They have a model in a watertight enclosure with the wiring leads already attached for $299, and they also offer just the control board for a bit more challenging install but at a substantial savings - $158.

https://www.microair.net

Does adding this affect the warranty? I'm not sure how long the Dometic warranty is but I'd hate to void it since this requires reworking the electrical system.
But it is something I am considering for future.

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by wetzk

Does adding this affect the warranty? I'm not sure how long the Dometic warranty is but I'd hate to void it since this requires reworking the electrical system.
But it is something I am considering for future.

According to Micro-Air, it doesn't void the warranty, but of course they kind of have to say that to sell the units. I would say that installing the unit will likely extend the life of all components involved.

But, if your AC were to "go out" after installing an EasyStart, it would be a relatively simple matter to remove the EasyStart and get everything back to stock before filing a warranty repair claim. You'd probably want to do that anyway, so you could reinstall the EasyStart in any replacement unit.

[wetzk]

Originally Posted by rbryan4

According to Micro-Air, it doesn't void the warranty, but of course they kind of have to say that to sell the units. I would say that installing the unit will actually extend the life of all components involved.

But, if your AC were to "go out" after installing an EasyStart, it would be a relatively simple matter to remove the EasyStart and get everything back to stock before filing a warranty claim. You'd probably want to do that anyway, so you could reinstall the EasyStart in any replacement unit.

I'll have to check how easy it is to remove and hide the evidence. Dometic is becoming known for finding ways to weasel out of fixing claims. Friends have one on their houseboat and can run their air with a Honda EI2000i. I'm thinking their air conditioner is larger than the one Escape uses too.

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by wetzk

Friends have one on their houseboat and can run their air with a Honda EI2000i. I'm thinking their air conditioner is larger than the one Escape uses too.

You're probably right. Several Micro-Air customers have reportedly run 16K or 18K BTU AC units with a 2000W generator. The 11K BTU Penguin II would be a snap.

[davescape]

Another thing to consider is compatibility with the optional EMS system. The Electrical Management System by Progressive Industries protects electrical components, like your air conditioner, against both voltage surges and voltage drops. You can disable the voltage drop protection easily by flicking the switch on the cabinet mounted remote control, but you can not disable the surge protection. Some generators produce something that the EMS senses as a voltage spike and the EMS turns off the connection. Progressive Industries does not warrant that their product will work with generators, but they did hint in a telephone call that they've tested Honda 2000 and it worked fine. The Yamaha 2000, not so much. Whether or not you have an EMS, I'd suggest that you rent or borrow a Champion and try it before you buy it. I was fortunate that the Yamaha dealer let me swap for the Honda (plus some extra cash) after my 5 minutes of disappointment.

[wetzk]

Originally Posted by davescape

Another thing to consider is compatibility with the optional EMS system. The Electrical Management System by Progressive Industries protects electrical components, like your air conditioner, against both voltage surges and voltage drops. You can disable the voltage drop protection easily by flicking the switch on the cabinet mounted remote control, but you can not disable the surge protection. Some generators produce something that the EMS senses as a voltage spike and the EMS turns off the connection. Progressive Industries does not warrant that their product will work with generators, but they did hint in a telephone call that they've tested Honda 2000 and it worked fine. The Yamaha 2000, not so much. Whether or not you have an EMS, I'd suggest that you rent or borrow a Champion and try it before you buy it. I was fortunate that the Yamaha dealer let me swap for the Honda (plus some extra cash) after my 5 minutes of disappointment.

There are two versions of the Yamaha generator. The earlier model did not do well when loaded near max and had no overload power output for air conditioner starting. It would sag voltage below 90 volts and if more than a brief period would trip out. The newer version EF2000iSv2 is rated similar to the Honda generator. We had one of the earlier Yamaha's and ended up selling it to someone to power a refrigerator during power failures. It worked well for that.
We replaced it with a Yamaha EF2400iSHC which easily powers the Escape air conditioner. We are interested in the Easystart for use in higher altitudes. It could mean we would not need to re jet to compensate for power loss. So I am watching for a review that says they successfully used it for that.

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by Kent

Not sure when ETI started seller the AC units with soft start I'm sure others on the forum can answer that question.

Originally Posted by Mark James

I have not heard of the soft start on the AC. Is this feature on all the new units?

I think there may be some confusion on the A/C start assist options. My understanding is that ETI at some point started installing a “hard start kit”. This is simply a capacitor for $30.
http://www.amazon.com/Dometic-331188.../dp/B00BWX45F0

This should not be mistaken for the expensive soft starters that are aftermarket add-ons as Robert has highlighted in post #21 of this thread. This other thread may also help clarify this somewhat.
http://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f9...-ac-10581.html

That all said an 11,000 BTUH A/C may run fine on a 2000W generator (by itself) depending on your altitude. Simply try it and see.

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by rubicon327

That all said an 11,000 BTUH A/C may run fine on a 2000W generator (by itself) depending on your altitude. Simply try it and see.

Yep, that was my advice as well. Try it out. You may not need to modify anything.

[davescape]

Originally Posted by wetzk

There are two versions of the Yamaha generator. The earlier model did not do well when loaded near max and had no overload power output for air conditioner starting. It would sag voltage below 90 volts and if more than a brief period would trip out. .

This wasn't my experience. With the low voltage protection disengaged, the EMS would trip out from sensing over voltage. It wasn't the fault of the Yamaha, it was the incompatibility of the electronics. The EMS system is not supposed to work with any generators, seems to work ok with Honda 2000 (by luck not design) and has issues with Yamaha 2000 (not due to any quality issues). Larger generators are not pushing the boundaries so much so the compatibility is not so crucial.

[wetzk]

Originally Posted by davescape

This wasn't my experience. With the low voltage protection disengaged, the EMS would trip out from sensing over voltage. It wasn't the fault of the Yamaha, it was the incompatibility of the electronics. The EMS system is not supposed to work with any generators, seems to work ok with Honda 2000 (by luck not design) and has issues with Yamaha 2000 (not due to any quality issues). Larger generators are not pushing the boundaries so much so the compatibility is not so crucial.

The slightly bigger Yamaha that we use now works fine with the EMS. I did have to make the plug to fix the floating neutral was all.

The older smaller Yamaha would work when we first started the air but then would trip out when the air conditioner did the speed change. I was measuring voltage and saw it drop below 90V then it tripped. This was not using the EMS, it did not work at all with the older unit. I assume that was because the voltage was dropping even on first run to below 108 volts.

I gave a friend a good deal on it to run his refrigerator which it does fine with. That generator and the newer generator we bought to replace it are mainly to power our refrigerator during outages. Using it with the trailer is a plus.