Frank B
Well-known member
We are snowbirds, and like to be in Arizona and SoCal in the winter. It is not usually hot down there then, but there is the odd day. We also boondock as much as possible, and while I just added 1.2 kw of solar to my rig, even that will not keep the batteries up during the day if I run the a/c.
So, several questions in order of desirability:
1) Is there ANY way to get a single Honda eu200i to run a 1500 watt Coleman / Mach 13,500 btu a/c by itself? It SHOULD, were it not for the start current, as the Honda is rated at 1600 watts continuous. Will a 'hard start' kit on the a/c allow this? Can I hold the overload breaker on the Honda down until the compressor starts? Can I manually speed up the generator engine just before closing the a/c circuit, giving it a 'run' at the startup load?
Failing that:
2) I have a 2500 watt Sunforce pure sine inverter in our unit which should run the a/c if I can supply enough DC power. I have 6 GC-2's in my battery bank, and can, on a good day, generate close to 50 amps from the solar. However, the a/c is going to cause the inverter to consume about 120 amps at 12 volts. What if I 'turbocharge' the input by adding a 60 or 100 amp external battery charger to the battery bank and power that from the Honda? Net drain on the batteries should be about zero.
3) Finally, shall I just give up, sell the Honda, and buy a cheap 3K generator instead for the very rare time that I will need to run the a/c? With the solar that I have, there will never again be a need for me to plug in OTHER than to run the a/c. And, I can always put a noisier generator way out in the field well away from the trailer if needed.
Thoughts?
Frank.
So, several questions in order of desirability:
1) Is there ANY way to get a single Honda eu200i to run a 1500 watt Coleman / Mach 13,500 btu a/c by itself? It SHOULD, were it not for the start current, as the Honda is rated at 1600 watts continuous. Will a 'hard start' kit on the a/c allow this? Can I hold the overload breaker on the Honda down until the compressor starts? Can I manually speed up the generator engine just before closing the a/c circuit, giving it a 'run' at the startup load?
Failing that:
2) I have a 2500 watt Sunforce pure sine inverter in our unit which should run the a/c if I can supply enough DC power. I have 6 GC-2's in my battery bank, and can, on a good day, generate close to 50 amps from the solar. However, the a/c is going to cause the inverter to consume about 120 amps at 12 volts. What if I 'turbocharge' the input by adding a 60 or 100 amp external battery charger to the battery bank and power that from the Honda? Net drain on the batteries should be about zero.
3) Finally, shall I just give up, sell the Honda, and buy a cheap 3K generator instead for the very rare time that I will need to run the a/c? With the solar that I have, there will never again be a need for me to plug in OTHER than to run the a/c. And, I can always put a noisier generator way out in the field well away from the trailer if needed.
Thoughts?
Frank.