2.0kw pro power working on RV airconditioner

[JimboJames]

Some of you with a trailer or RV know that the 13,500 btu standard air conditioners they use can be hard to start on smaller generators. This was the case with both my f150 and 2200 honda generator. adding a "soft start capacitor" to the AC prevented an initial wattage spike and allowed this to work with the honda. I even used a wattage tester and measured no more than a measly 1200 watts max. similar to a microwave. Still, the ford cannot run the AC but instead of giving up it almost pulses and tries and stops and tries and stops, I can see iluminated digital clocks and such actually fading in and out in the camper while the ford struggles to start the ac in a pulse like manner. What do you guys think gives? Is the truck not putting out a clean power wave such as pure sine wave invertors? The 2,000 watts the truck makes should easily handle this power.

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[12Lariat21]

I did a bunch of tests (resistive only) with my 2021 when I got it, hoping it would be able to run my RV AC unit. There is too much voltage drop under load on the Ford system, so even the soft starter isn't enough.

Sign wave is ok, a lot of harmonics on it, but otherwise it is a sign wave, not square at all.

https://www.f150gen14.com/forum/threads/2kw-pro-power-with-ecoboost.5440/

 

[JimboJames]

I did a bunch of tests (resistive only) with my 2021 when I got it, hoping it would be able to run my RV AC unit. There is too much voltage drop under load on the Ford system, so even the soft starter isn't enough.

Sign wave is ok, a lot of harmonics on it, but otherwise it is a sign wave, not square at all.

https://www.f150gen14.com/forum/threads/2kw-pro-power-with-ecoboost.5440/

btw i meant to say 13,500btu. but thanks for this i am coming to the same conclusion myself. it was interesting though that it did run the compressor for a short amount of time without the soft start before tripping the ford off. with the soft start it cant ramp up the compressor but it does not trip the ford it simply keeps trying to ramp it up but cant. bummer as i am not recording anything near 2000 watts with the soft start on.

 

[JEB]

Some of you with a trailer or RV know that the 15,500 btu standard air conditioners they use can be hard to start on smaller generators. This was the case with both my f150 and 2200 honda generator. adding a "soft start capacitor" to the AC prevented an initial wattage spike and allowed this to work with the honda. I even used a wattage tester and measured no more than a measly 1200 watts max. similar to a microwave. Still, the ford cannot run the AC but instead of giving up it almost pulses and tries and stops and tries and stops, I can see iluminated digital clocks and such actually fading in and out in the camper while the ford struggles to start the ac in a pulse like manner. What do you guys think gives? Is the truck not putting out a clean power wave such as pure sine wave invertors? The 2,000 watts the truck makes should easily handle this power.

Have you tried shutting off the converter at the load center before trying to start the AC? On my trailer, if the house batteries are at all depleted, the converter will immediately try to recharge the batteries at the same another circuit tries to start the AC. On start up, the converter adds approximately 900 watts to the overall AC load. If your trailer is doing the same thing, that 900 watts added to the 1200 watts you're measuring from the AC would be enough to trip your truck's generator (even with a soft starter) but maybe not enough to trip your Honda.

 

[JimboJames]

Have you tried shutting off the converter at the load center before trying to start the AC? On my trailer, if the house batteries are at all depleted, the converter will immediately try to recharge the batteries at the same another circuit tries to start the AC. On start up, the converter adds approximately 900 watts to the overall AC load. If your trailer is doing the same thing, that 900 watts added to the 1200 watts you're measuring from the AC would be enough to trip your truck's generator (even with a soft starter) but maybe not enough to trip your Honda.

thats a good point but my trailer does not have a converter. i have so much solar and battery power that i rely on that, very rarely will i have to charge if ever. i thought about any other draw on the system but the only thing i can think of is literally just the microwave clock and a power light on the tv. refridgerator is also off. 12lariat21's point of voltage drop is what is key. you can tell that as it tries to ramp the compressor it is actually dropping the voltage from the propower so much that it shuts down for a split second before trying again. odd that it does that but the truck never tells me it is under too much load like it did before the soft start. i cant think of anything to help with that momentary voltage drop.

 

[JEB]

thats a good point but my trailer does not have a converter. i have so much solar and battery power that i rely on that, very rarely will i have to charge if ever. i thought about any other draw on the system but the only thing i can think of is literally just the microwave clock and a power light on the tv. refridgerator is also off. 12lariat21's point of voltage drop is what is key. you can tell that as it tries to ramp the compressor it is actually dropping the voltage from the propower so much that it shuts down for a split second before trying again. odd that it does that but the truck never tells me it is under too much load like it did before the soft start. i cant think of anything to help with that momentary voltage drop.

Might want to double check that. I haven’t ever seen a load center on a travel trailer that didn’t have a converter. You’d never be able to charge your batteries from shore power without one. You might not need it very often or for very long given your set up, but it would only take a moment of the converter kicking in at full blast (perhaps in the morning before the solar panels came on line) to overload your generator If you were also trying to start your AC at the same time. It’s an easy thing to test and verify, in any event. The converter is usually behind a panel and sits on the floor beneath the 12V fuses and you can turn it off with one of the AC breakers.

EDIT: The silver box with the arrow pointing to it in the attached document is an example of a converter.

 

[JimboJames]

Might want to double check that. I haven’t ever seen a load center on a travel trailer that didn’t have a converter. You’d never be able to charge your batteries from shore power without one. You might not need it very often or for very long given your set up, but it would only take a moment of the converter kicking in at full blast (perhaps in the morning before the solar panels came on line) to overload your generator If you were also trying to start your AC at the same time. It’s an easy thing to test and verify, in any event. The converter is usually behind a panel and sits on the floor beneath the 12V fuses and you can turn it off with one of the AC breakers.

EDIT: The silver box with the arrow pointing to it in the attached document is an example of a converter.

yes that was exactly what my converter looked like before i removed it due to my lithium battery and battery powered inverter.

i found 12lariat21's 2021 thread on this, seems like he really looked into it. i wonder if the battery on the truck that feeds the inverter can be replaced for a battery with a stronger discharge, allowing something like a 1300 watt AC to at least start before leveling off.

 

[HammaMan]

yes that was exactly what my converter looked like before i removed it due to my lithium battery and battery powered inverter.

i found 12lariat21's 2021 thread on this, seems like he really looked into it. i wonder if the battery on the truck that feeds the inverter can be replaced for a battery with a stronger discharge, allowing something like a 1300 watt AC to at least start before leveling off.

What do you have as far as inverter / batts? Can your inverter power your AC? If not, consider upgrading to an inverter than can both power the AC and limit in-coming current. AIOs like this guy are popular https://signaturesolar.com/eg4-3kw-off-grid-inverter-3000ehv-48 -- there's also a 6500w version of it too. Both of them can limit incoming current so you're able to connect to a variety of sources. Of course these are 48v systems.

I put one of the 6500w units in a family member's RV and we gave it ~30kWh of batteries and 2.5kW of solar on its roof. It can plug into anything from a 30a 120v feed or a janky extension cord limited to 10a, safely. Swapped the AC over to a 12k BTU heat pump. That thing rarely needs shore power as it's got another 2.5kW worth of deployable solar that can hook into it, as well as a 48v 4kW alternator as its emergency backup power.

 

[JEB]

yes that was exactly what my converter looked like before i removed it due to my lithium battery and battery powered inverter.

i found 12lariat21's 2021 thread on this, seems like he really looked into it. i wonder if the battery on the truck that feeds the inverter can be replaced for a battery with a stronger discharge, allowing something like a 1300 watt AC to at least start before leveling off.

Ok. I’m stumped. If you yanked out the converter entirely, I‘m having a really hard time coming up with another AC load that would make make your 2K generator insufficient.

What brand of soft starter are you using? Micro-Air?

 

[Tosh]

My rig will charge the batteries when I'm on shore power. If I need to remove that load from my ProPower, I have to disconnect the batteries from the electrical system. There is a bypass switch installed for that purpose (part of the winterizing process).

might want to look into that....

 

[JimboJames]

Ok. I’m stumped. If you yanked out the converter entirely, I‘m having a really hard time coming up with another AC load that would make make your 2K generator insufficient.

What brand of soft starter are you using? Micro-Air?

https://jacksonsystems.com/product/...2yEmZSolRUqwFmUt07kBsn-D4XjDJpzRoCcTsQAvD_BwE

 

[JimboJames]

What do you have as far as inverter / batts? Can your inverter power your AC? If not, consider upgrading to an inverter than can both power the AC and limit in-coming current. AIOs like this guy are popular https://signaturesolar.com/eg4-3kw-off-grid-inverter-3000ehv-48 -- there's also a 6500w version of it too. Both of them can limit incoming current so you're able to connect to a variety of sources. Of course these are 48v systems.

I put one of the 6500w units in a family member's RV and we gave it ~30kWh of batteries and 2.5kW of solar on its roof. It can plug into anything from a 30a 120v feed or a janky extension cord limited to 10a, safely. Swapped the AC over to a 12k BTU heat pump. That thing rarely needs shore power as it's got another 2.5kW worth of deployable solar that can hook into it, as well as a 48v 4kW alternator as its emergency backup power.

wow ya i have no where near that. i have four 100 watt panels of solar with a 1500 watt inverter (3000 peak) and a 170AH lithium battery. does what i need besides air-conditioning and refrigerator although it could do the refrigerator at least during the day, if not all sunny week long.

 

[JEB]

https://jacksonsystems.com/product/...2yEmZSolRUqwFmUt07kBsn-D4XjDJpzRoCcTsQAvD_BwE

I’m not familiar with that particular soft starter. This is the one I use. https://www.microair.net/products/easystart-364-3-ton-single-phase-soft-starter-for-air-conditioners. It works well for me, but I don’t know if it would make much (or any) difference over what you have.

 

[hedge]

I don't think you are seeing the actual maximum amperage, you'd need a very expensive meter to see that. Inrush can be quite large. I'm not an expert on this but if you check out some of the videos by Micro-air you'll see what I mean.

Not sure if you have a smart starter such as a microair easy start that gently ramps up the air conditioner, that might work.

Another option would be if you had a high-end inverter such as a Victron Multiplus, it will share the load by adding some battery power to the incoming A/C current. Victron calls it 'Power Assist'.

PS: sorry don't mean to sound like a salesman, I have no affiliation with either companies. I do own a Multiplus and the power assist works well but no first-hand experience with the easty-start.

 

[JimboJames]

I don't think you are seeing the actual maximum amperage, you'd need a very expensive meter to see that. Inrush can be quite large. I'm not an expert on this but if you check out some of the videos by Micro-air you'll see what I mean.

Not sure if you have a smart starter such as a microair easy start that gently ramps up the air conditioner, that might work.

Another option would be if you had a high-end inverter such as a Victron Multiplus, it will share the load by adding some battery power to the incoming A/C current. Victron calls it 'Power Assist'.

PS: sorry don't mean to sound like a salesman, I have no affiliation with either companies. I do own a Multiplus and the power assist works well but no first-hand experience with the easty-start.

yes i have a softstarter.
that is an idea i have thought about because i have a strong battery with a strong inverter and i was wondering if there was some way my battery could "help" get the compressor going. but at that point i feel like its just not worth it. ill size up one on the propower if i get another ford.

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