mking7
Texas
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I compete in BBQ cookoffs and had been just sleeping under the canopy on a lawn chair when my wife's uncle said I could come get his 2001 Fleetwood Wilderness Lite and use it all I want. Great!
Well, the first cookoff we had electrical hook ups and it was probably 10 degrees cooler (95ish). Everything worked great. The next one was another story. I set up the trailer on Thursday night in an open field. It sat in the sun (105 that day) until about 3:00pm when I arrived and set up the generator (5500 watt surge, 4500 watt rated, NorthStar with 9hp Honda motor). With everything off except the ac the breaker on the generator would trip when the compressor tried to kick on.
Neighbor was having a similar problem. About 6:30pm or a little after everything worked fine. Until the next day when it got hot about noon or so. Same thing, couldn't kick the compressor over.
My gen set has 2 120V 20amp outlets and a 240/12v outlet that I believe is also marked 20amp (but I could be wrong).
Any ideas? Not enough generator? A/C issue? Normal for extreme heat? For what its' worth I found an outlet at the cookoff and plugged into it as well. When I did that it tripped the breaker in the trailer.
Thanks.
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naturist
Lynchburg, VA
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Sounds to me like a problem with the AC unit. A 4500 watt (continuous)/5500 watt (surge) generator should be enough to power a 13,500 or 15,000 btu AC. If it was kicking circuit breakers, on shore power (whether in the rig or on-shore) it indicates a draw WAAAAYYY beyond what it should have called for.
* This post was
edited 07/30/12 05:34pm by naturist *
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old guy
Oregon (pronounced Or e gun)
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my 4200 sears genny will start my a/c every time. might grunt a little but it will start it up.
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Old-Biscuit
Across the USA
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OK you have a 4500W generator that only has 20A breaker which you are plugged into via an adapter.........A/C compressor starts and trips the 20A breaker.
I take it that not everything was really off........converter was probably running and in charge mode recharging batteries.
Was the outlet you found also a 20A circuit?
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Hit the Road Free & Clear April '07
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Tsalla Apopka
Crystal River, FL
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Are you running the generator for a few minutes before trying to start the a/c? Perhaps it's not getting warmed up and equalizing before the heavy load is added?
Denny & Karen
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sc3283
St Louis
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4500 watts is most likely made up of 2 legs @ 2250 watts each.
2250 watts divided by 110= 20.45 amps available.
the spike of the AC compressor coming on...along with any other electrical loads(ie: converter charging trailer batteries, fridge flipping over to AC current from gas etc etc) is probably maxing out the genny.
Keep the fridge on "gas" mode, find the converter and unplug it...then fire up your AC...let it run 5-10 mins to normalize...then go ahead and turn on your other electrical appliances
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mking7
Texas
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Thanks guys. I didn't think about the battery charger.
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mking7
Texas
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Well. I really don't believe but I think the adapter was bad. Loose connections maybe arcing or something. Another site recommended looking for loose connections and the adapter female side looked a bit stretched out. $5 on Amazon and the AC and fridge ran all weekend on the generator in 100+ temps. Crossing my fingers that this is solved.
Thanks for your help.
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CaptJeff1731
Texas Gulf Coast
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If you do not have a hard start capacitor on the ac get you one and use it it will make life easier on you and the ac along with the generator being able to start the ac easier
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mark custis
sheffield lake, OH 44054
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I fix and design HVAC stuff for a living and I agree with Jeff. If it is a Coleman, it shipped with a start capacitor, (think jump starting a car with a not as good as needs to be battery.) and a run capacitor. The start capacitor is/was controlled by a relay that senses the power draw of the compressor motor and shuts down the start circuit when the motor comes up to speed.
Both parts of the start system are sensitive to voltage drops and spikes. Finding someone with the tools and experience to diagnose either part failing can be tough these days, and expensive. A hard start kit as an add on to a run cap does the same thing, but not as well as a dedicated relay.
United Technologies, Carrier, Totaline, parts division make a newer kit that is better than a hard start and cheaper than a service call and testing. You should be able to get one for your uncles unit from any Carrier Dealer. If you can not, PM me here.
Mark
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