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Old 04-27-2017, 09:52 AM   #1
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Generator

I bought a new generator 4400 watts to run my air .My air runs great on land power but when I used generator it starts up good but after about 15 mins running the circuit breaker on generator shuts off
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Old 04-27-2017, 10:08 AM   #2
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welcome!


can you supply some more info?
what type of generator? what type of a/c? are there any error codes on the generator when it trips? can it be reset and if so does it stay on for another 15 minutes? are you running any other electrical loads such as residential refrigerator or water heater?
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Old 04-27-2017, 10:21 AM   #3
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Hmmm. Interesting Interesting thread. Following.
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Old 04-27-2017, 10:27 AM   #4
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How big is your AC?
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Old 04-27-2017, 11:39 AM   #5
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Welcome to the forum its a great place to get your questions answered. Are you plugging into the 20 circuit on the generator or the 15 amp via an extension cord. your 20 amp circuit may require a comm to residential pigtail. use your rigs shore power cord with adapter and see if that doesn't solve the problem. let the forum know how you fix the problem or what you find
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Old 04-27-2017, 12:14 PM   #6
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Sounds like you may have other circuits in the RV also using electricity, and causing an overload. Your converter/charger will pull quite a bit if your batteries are low. If you have an electric water heater, that pulls a lot of current.

Try turning of all of the 120 volt circuit breakers except the A/C and see if it works OK then.
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Old 04-27-2017, 01:35 PM   #7
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Might help if you posted brand and model of generator.
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Old 04-28-2017, 07:06 AM   #8
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generator

It is a powerland PD 4400e generator.I have a coleman 13,500 BTU air.I have everything shut off except the power converter if I shut that off the air will not run.I am using the power cord from the camper with a pig tail to fit the generator.I am plugging it into 120/240 volt outlet.Yes the breaker can be reset but it shuts off again after a while.
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Old 04-28-2017, 07:42 AM   #9
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I'm not sure so do not take this as gospel. I looked at the generator and tried to get the amperage specs for it but could find them. it looks as if there are three output circuits, two household 15 amp and i'm guessing a rv 30 amp. from what you say i'm also assuming you have a 50 amp rv with an adapter plugging into the 30 amp outlet. note that the stated 4400 amps for the generator is starting amps and the running amps is 3500. so basically you are trying to run things with a 30 amp power supply. another funny thing is that you say you cannot run the a/c with the power converter off. i'm guessing you probably need 12 volts for the thermostat. what is the status of your batteries? have you removed them or disconnected them? if they are not connected to the converter it should not have much of a load on it. it looks like there should be enough power to run the a/c. the only thing I can think of would be that it runs for a while, the a/c turns off, and then restarts and it is tripping when the a/c tries to restart. other than that perhaps the generator is not performing as advertised. just guesses, not facts
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Old 04-28-2017, 08:40 AM   #10
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generator

I have 30 amp trailer and I have the battery disconnect switch on.I have the power cord plugged in the 30 amp socket on the generator
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Old 04-28-2017, 08:47 AM   #11
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If you can check the amp draw on the AC it may be when it cycles back on its drawing more amps then the generator broker will tolerate. One fix for this condition is to put a hot start kit on the AC very easy to do and will make starting easier and may solve the generator problem. I would also test the generator by adding external loads and see if it will carry a full load. Let the forum know what you find
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Old 04-28-2017, 09:18 AM   #12
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why will the a/c not run if you turn the converter off? if it needs 12 volts to run shouldn't the batteries provide that. unless the batteries are very low. if this were the case then the converter could be taking significant power from the generator to try to recharge them. the combo of the converter and the a/c might be overloading the generator. can you ensure that the batteries are fully charged so they can provide 12 volts and turn the everything off except the a/c to see if the generator will run it?
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Old 04-28-2017, 04:47 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CHICKDOE View Post
why will the a/c not run if you turn the converter off? if it needs 12 volts to run shouldn't the batteries provide that. unless the batteries are very low. if this were the case then the converter could be taking significant power from the generator to try to recharge them. the combo of the converter and the a/c might be overloading the generator. can you ensure that the batteries are fully charged so they can provide 12 volts and turn the everything off except the a/c to see if the generator will run it?


The AC is 120VAC only.
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Old 04-28-2017, 05:21 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by timfromma View Post
The AC is 120VAC only.
In my A-frame, the thermostat is 12V DC powered. If the fuse for the thermostat is pulled, neither the AC nor the heat will run. I'm pretty sure the OP has a similar setup.

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Old 04-29-2017, 06:52 AM   #15
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generator

I didn't realize that I had the battery disconnect switch pulled.The battery has a full charge.I tried shutting everything off and the circuit breaker on the gen. still shuts off
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Old 04-29-2017, 07:04 AM   #16
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Just to clarify,
you are SURE your water heater is either OFF or on LP only?

Your refrigerator is not on Auto but is on LP only??
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Old 04-29-2017, 07:07 AM   #17
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I have everything off
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Old 04-29-2017, 07:31 AM   #18
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Need some more experienced Generator guys here.

Question to the group- Looking at a shaky youtube video of this generator
it appears to have a typical generator 240v outlet.
IF you plug a typical generator splitter cord in you get 2 or 4 regular
120v pigtails.
Do those pigtails have 30 amp capacity??
I'm asking because I don't know.

I wonder if it's kicking the generator breaker because after all the adapters
are stuck together he's actually running on 120v 15 amp or even 12 amp output.
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Old 04-29-2017, 07:36 AM   #19
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I still can't find the specs for the generator. I believe the receptacle you are using is the a selectable 120/240 volt receptacle. if the generator puts out 3500 watts that is about 15 amps at 240 volts. could it be that the circuit breaker for the 120/240 volt receptacle is rated for only 15 amps regardless of whether you select 120 or 240? this is just a guess. what does the generator tech support line say?
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Old 04-29-2017, 09:51 AM   #20
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Generator

So...

That is a 240/120 open-frame generator. It provides 3,500 running watts, however those watts are spread across two legs. Each leg can deliver 14.5 amps.

I assume it has a 4-prong twist-lock generator receptacle to plug into. If going to a 50 amp rig and assuming the correct adapter is used, you will get 14.5 amps on each side of your breaker box... for a total of 29 amps, however you can't go over 14.5 on either leg. Pulling more than 14.5 amps (other than brief surge) on a leg will trip the generator's breaker. (Actually, the breaker might be 15 or 20 amps... not sure how they wired it.)

If on a 30 amp camper, you can only utilize one leg, so you will be limited to 14.5 amps for the whole camper.
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