Honda 3000 Inverter/RV air conditioner

[Slow but Steady]

Hello folks, I have just taken delivery of our new 2017 Catalina 283 RKS, and still trying to figure everything out, before we begin using it. I do have a question, and need some help.

Will a Honda 3000 Inverter be able to start and run the 15 K air conditioner? I have a chance to buy one quite reasonable. I have no pervious experience with any of this, and have much to learn.

Thanks to one and all for any help or suggestions.

Tom and Kathy
North Georgia

[youroo]

Yes on the Honda! Youroo!!

[NMWildcat]

The eu3000i will start some 15k ACs, but not others. But either way a hard start kit for your AC would be beneficial and then the 3000 would handle all your needs.

[bhoth]

You also need to consider the altitude that you will be at when running. A generator looses on average 7% efficiency per 1000 ft increase in elevation. So while this Honda 3000 may run the 15K at sea level, it probably wont at 6000 ft or higher.

[Skyliner]

With proper carburetor jetting the loss of generator efficiency is 3% per $1,000 feet.

[11842seankeny]

My stock Honda eu3000i will start and run my 15k AC just above 6000 FT.

[jtesta1]

I have a Rockwood 8288ws with a coleman mach 15k ac. My champion 3100 inverter gen runs it just fine.

[cub22908]

Originally Posted by jtesta1

I have a Rockwood 8288ws with a coleman mach 15k ac. My champion 3100 inverter gen runs it just fine.

Me too on the Champion 3100 (inverter model), runs my 15k ac just fine. Local COSTCO here has them on shelf for $699. I'm a big Honda fan but...........

[RadRik]

I've run both the Honda eu3000i and the Champion 3100 inverter generators separately on my 15k AC unit. Both handled it well. The Honda was SLIGHTLY quieter, but both did well enough to run overnight.

[TGR]

A 3000-watt generator may work but air conditioning manufacturers say you need a 3500-watt generator for a 15K air conditioning unit. You might consider the Yamaha EF3000iSEB. This version of the Yamaha generator has the “Boost” mode that allows the generator’s internal starting battery to supply the extra 500 watts of power to bring the air conditioner up to speed before returning a lower continuous run capacity.

Another option is to buy two 2000-watt generators and hook them in parallel when you need the added power to run your air conditioner. You can use just one generator to run most other appliances. Each 2000-watt generator weighs only 50 pounds so they are much easier to move. As for drawbacks, the 2000-watt units have a much shorter run-time than the 3000-watt units do (although there are extended run kits) and they don’t have electric start.

Weight was a major consideration for me. Two 50-pound units are much easier to maneuver than a single unit weighing nearly 145 pounds. The shorter runtime hasn’t been an issue for me.

Good luck.

[SailorSam20500]

Just to confuse your further...

There are two issues.
First, what else can you run while running the AC on a genny. That is mostly a job of adding up the running amps of the stuff. You need to decide what needs to run along with the AC. Hot water on electric, hair dryer, microwave, charging a depleted battery, are all questionable. LED lights, refrigerator on propane, etc, no problem.

Second, the major problem with ACs is the current draw needed to start the unit. Actually you can "run" a 15k AC on a 2k genny, but you probably can't get it to start because of the extremely high initial draw. In some cases a hard start kit can help, but note that many newer AC units already have a hard start capacitor, and using the hard start actually increases the current draw, but spreads it out enough that the genny may not drop out due to overload.
Another option is an add on from MicroAir. They sell what they call an Easy Start. There are now quite a few users of these. Adding one of these to your AC will allow you to start and run your 15k AC on a 2k genny. For verification, there is a pretty robust thread on the Airstream forum called " Should I Keep My 2 X Honda 2000i Generators". It has one of the engineers from MicroAir answering questions. Note that any modifications to your AC unit may void the warranty. Upside to the EasyStart - once installed, it is there and works, there are also claims that it makes the AC run better - whatever that means. Downside - it costs about $350 and may void the AC warranty. FWIW, a hard start capacitor is probably less than $20.

[rat4spd]

Originally Posted by SailorSam20500

Second, the major problem with ACs is the current draw needed to start the unit. Actually you can "run" a 15k AC on a 2k genny, but you probably can't get it to start because of the extremely high initial draw.

I've run a 15K on the EU2000. Fan has to be on low speed. The generator is wide open. I didn't run it for long. I just wanted to see if it'd do it. I used to run my 13.5K quite a bit on the EU2000 tailgating for the first couple games when it was boiling hot outside.

[mdstudey]

Our Champion 3400 with remoter and electric start came yesterday. It weighs about 100 lbs. From reading the specs it will start a 15K AC unit. Can't have Can't have the microwave on while turning on AC. It is still in the box, but I will post a video of it running in its beak in stage.

Have a good day.

[SailorSam20500]

Originally Posted by mdstudey

Our Champion 3400 with remoter and electric start came yesterday. It weighs about 100 lbs. From reading the specs it will start a 15K AC unit. Can't have Can't have the microwave on while turning on AC. It is still in the box, but I will post a video of it running in its beak in stage.

Have a good day.

Well if you have problems running both, look into the EasyStart. [emoji57]

[WolfWhistle]

No experience on 15K and Honda 3000, other than what I've read. But I can tell you the start assist capacitor (called hard start) will help immensely. It helps even on shore power when we have voltage in campgrounds, as well. I would get one and install it.

It will not void warranty, since these AC units could come with one from the factory, of course it would be one bearing their brand name.

IMO they should install one on all units and simply charge $10 more. It will make them last longer and they certainly don't want to do that... failure one day past the warranty period seems to be their engineering goal.
WW

https://www.amazon.com/Supco-Relay-S...tart+capacitor

[Herk7769]

I needed the hard start capacitor and a fan delay to reliably start my 15K Coleman Mach III with our Yamaha 3000iSeB (Boosted version) if it is really hot out. Will reliably start it when you don't need it

[nodrawers]

Add the easy start. Very simple.[/IMG] This was two seasons ago. still works great. Must turn on only AC in breaker box

[SailorSam20500]

Originally Posted by nodrawers

Add the easy start. Very simple.[/IMG] This was two seasons ago. still works great. Must turn on only AC in breaker box

There are a number of people claiming that a 2k gen will reliably start an run a 15k AC over on the Airstream forum. One of the MicroAir engineers has been posting a lot in one of the threads.

[NMWildcat]

Originally Posted by SailorSam20500

There are a number of people claiming that a 2k gen will reliably start an run a 15k AC over on the Airstream forum. One of the MicroAir engineers has been posting a lot in one of the threads.

Don't know why you would want to do this, just buy two of 'em!!!

[mac.dblues]

Originally Posted by SailorSam20500

There are a number of people claiming that a 2k gen will reliably start an run a 15k AC over on the Airstream forum. One of the MicroAir engineers has been posting a lot in one of the threads.

My Honda EU2000I companion will run my 15K Dometic A/C with the fan on auto and my converter at the same time. My A/C is brand new (replaced under warranty last week) and does not have any additions.

The EU3000 should do fine for your a/c. As others have said, you probably won't be able to run electric hot water (Our trailer will trip a 20A breaker when the electric water heater kicks in while the A/C is running) or a microwave with it. But I'm betting the 3000 will run a/c, converter and a TV with no problems. Just force everything to use propane that can, such as your fridge, by flipping the breakers off.

To get the EU2000I to start my A/C, I turned all breakers off, started the generator, plugged in the camper, turned on the Main 30A breaker, then the 20A A/C breaker, then I adjusted the thermostat down to kick it on. Once it was running, I turned on the converter breaker and still didn't overload the generator.