Honda EU3000 for A/C?

[MojaveJoe]

Help!



Iam about to buy a Honda EU3000 to run the 15,000 btu A/C unit on my fiver. Some of the posts Ive been reading indicate I may be buying too small a generator. Anyone care to offer their experiences with this generator and their A/C units?



Thanks for any and all input.



Joe

 

[slo-ryde]

You'll need to find out what the maximum draw of the a/c unit is, they draw more current when first getting started. When you know the maximum load in amps use the formula WATTS = AMPS X VOLTS to convert it to watts.



We'll assume (just as an example) the maximum peak draw of the a/c unit is 20 amps and it's using 115 volts. This converts to 2300 watts peak which would be within the limits. Most generators can carry a greater load for short periods of time. A check of the Honda website indicates the EU3000I is rated at 2800 watts continuous load, 3000 watts maximum peak load.



The Duo-Therm Brisk Air 15,000 btu unit draws 15. 4 amps based on the spec sheet on their website. They also state the generator size for a single unit should be 3500 watts. I'm guessing there are lots of people getting by with less than that.

 

[Loren]

Joe,



I think you'll be just fine.



We run our 15,000 BTU air conditioning from our Yamaha YG2800i generator. It's 2800 watts and uses an inverter.



Happy towing.



Loren

 

[rnabors]

generator

I think you are better off with 2 EU2000's in parallel. You have more power with 4000watts, about the same price, plus loading them in the truck one at a time is much easier than the heavy EU3000. I also made an aluminum box that they both fit in that I carry and lock in the bed of my 03 3500. The box has 6"x12" louvers on the sides and 12"x24" drop down doors, with mesh behind them, in the front and back plus a mesh floor. This gives me plenty of ventilation for breathing and cooling. I can run one or both generators, depending on my powewr needs, and they are extremely economical. I can run the generators while locked in the box preventing someone from messing with the generators or getting hurt. The box weighs a little less than one EU2000 so I can manage the whole set up by myself. The generators in the box and in the bed of my truck are extremely quite, I can also take the box out, chain it to my Airstream, lock the generators inside the box, and run or store them locked in the box. Hope this idea helps.

Ron

 

[Whitmore]

I have a Honda EU3000 and it runs my 15000 a/c fine, I can watch tv at the same time too but when you throw in the microwave it trips the gen set, man this campin stuff is really ruffin it aint it.



Cheers, Kevin

 

[RankRam]

Well after much research I have purchased two Eu2000i generators. I plan to run them with a parallel plug that I will make myself.



I'm going to use these generators to run the air on our 2004 Trail-bay 26BHSS. When I don't need air I can just use one, the weight was the deciding factor in our purchase, it definitely wasn't the price. LOL



I want to thank every one who has posted about all the generators they have used.



The search function is a great tool on the TDR. I don't think we use it as much as we should allot of the things we talk about have been covered in the past.

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

"The search function is a great tool on the TDR. I don't think we use it as much as we should allot of the things we talk about have been covered in the past. "



Ain't THAT the truth!

 

[MojaveJoe]

Update

Took the plunge and bought an EU3000is, which will be semi permanently mounted in the bed in front of my fiver hitch. I have test run my A/C, 2 TVS and the microwave all at once without problems. I did learn however, that starting my A/C unit for a minute or so, then turning it off and trying to start it again is a no no. Something about needing to allow pressure bleed down in the pump. 10 minutes or so and it will start right up again. A truel hot weather test still pending, but so far very happy with my choice, and only half the maintenance too



Happy Camping and thanx for all your help,

Joe

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

It's also a good idea with marginal power, to first let the AC fan come up to operating speed, THEN start the compressor to help minimize the starting load...