Generator and air conditioner PLEASE HELP

[MtnDon]

The specs indicate the compressor draws 11.5 amps and the fan 2.5. That's 14 amps.

The EU2000i is rated at 13.3 amps continuous. I think that even at 1000 feet it would lose enough power to make it difficult to run the A/C.

[MtnDon]

The specs indicate the compressor draws 11.5 amps and the fan 2.5. That's 14 amps. (Or depending on the exact model number suffix, it could be 12.1 or 11 amps for the compressor. I picked the middle ground)

The EU2000i is rated at 13.3 amps continuous. I think that even at 1000 feet it would lose enough power to make it difficult to run the A/C.

Note the specs also indicate a maximum of 24 feet of 12 gauge wire.

[snowrider500]

At this point the Honda can be overlooked for the time being, it tripped the champion 3100 watt as well. There was no other loads running off of the generator at the time or the trailer.

[MtnDon]

Right. Assuming the Champion is operating correctly the fault is then elsewhere.

My thought process works slow at times.... Where is the breaker that trips? In the trailer?

Most RV's use common residential circuit breakers. Those breakers are made to trip from overcurrent and from over temperature. If the breaker is located in a compartment with little air circulation it could easily run hotter than its design rating. As heat builds up over time that could explain why the system runs for a while and then trips. Overcurrent causes a breaker to trip faster than a thermal over temperature.

[MtnDon]

Circuit breaker article from my saved files; attached.... hope this works,never done an attachment here before


cool, it worked

[snowrider500]

Has not tripped the 20 amp breaker in the trailer, even tried switching the breaker with another one to rule that out.it always has blown the one on the generator, the overload. The champion was brand new and powered my buddies camper with a 13500 btu unit from 1994, which my Honda would not even start the ac unit.

[mustangcats]

Honda generators are well made, high quality generators and are not cheap to buy. My guess is that because of this extra quality, it is better able to handle the momentary surge when the compressor kicks in. Champion generators are made to sell at a lower cost and maybe can't handle the sudden surges without tripping (or maybe something is wrong with your friend's generator). You haven't said if the campground is at a higher elevation than your house. If it is, then maybe the Champion generator is far less efficient at higher elevations than the Honda. If it were me, I would have an electrician friend hook a meter up to the air conditioner to see exactly how much it is drawing both at start up and when running at full load.

[MtnDon]

Has not tripped the 20 amp breaker in the trailer,

Well then, I'm back to believing the generator(s) are having to work too hard, get too hot and then their overload system cuts in to protect them.

I agree with the elevation question... check that out and then subtract 3% from the continuous watt rating for every 1000 feet. As noted in my previous post the Honda appears to be near it's max continuous power even barely above sea level.

No thoughts on the Champion other than it is not as good as a Honda EU.

G/L

[snowrider500]

What is the best way to figure out my two elevations?

[MtnDon]

Google Earth will give altitude for any position on earth. That would be my first choice.

A Google search for the location may bring up some info including altitude. Include the word altitude in the search parameters.

Forest Service campground listings usually have altitude info.

I have topo maps for much of the SW (computerized) I can look if your locations are in CA, NV, AZ, UT, CO, NM. I have slightly less detailed topos of most of the balance of the west as well.

[lrrowe]

Tapping the auto symbol on my old Garmin dash mounted GPS gives the elevation.

[snowrider500]

Home elevation is 1023 feet. Camp ground was at 1574 feet.

[MtnDon]

With a loss of 3% per thousand feet of elevation, 1574 feet is approximately a loss of 1.57 x 3% = 4.7%

If the generator has a continuous duty rating of 1600 watts then.... 1600 - 4.7% = 1525 watts.

1525 watts at 120 volts = 12.7 amps

12.7 amps is more than the compressor plus fan load as per the specs on that A/C.

Small surprise it won't run for long. Big surprise it will even start.

I don't know what to make of the fact that it runs at home but not 500 feet higher. Maybe the generator is just that hair breadth away from shutdown at home.

Maybe the barometric pressure was high at home and low at the campsite?

[snowrider500]

still the fact remains that it trips the 3100 watt generator the same as the 2000.

[mustangcats]

Based on all the information you have given, I would say the problem is:

1. The Honda is not big enough to handle the load for continuous operation.
2. The Champion is defective.