2000 Watt Generator

I just bought a 2010 Cougar fifth wheel.  It has no generator.  90% of the time I will be in a park with hookups.  I want to buy a generator for the few times I am not.  Just about the only thing I will run on the generator is my A/C.  The Honda 2000 puts out 16.7 amps peak.  My brother says it will run my A/C.  Another person told me they ran their A/C with one.    My A/C is 13,500 BTU.  The manufacturer's paperwork says I should use a 3000 watt unit.  I realize I will have to turn off the A/C to run the microwave.  All I really want it for is the A/C.  Honda's are so quiet.  This unit only weights 47 pounds.  I don't want to spend a lot of money on a Honda and then have to buy another Honda to run in parallel.  Does anyone else have any input?

I doubt very much if you could start the compressor, you will kick the breaker out every time.

You will be very lucky if it can start the compressor, better go for the 3,000.  Starting current is about double the run current or a little more.

As the others have said, it depends on how long the Honda can tolerate an overload. For a couple seconds, that a/c is going to pull 25-30 amps before it settles down to around 12 amps.. If the Honda can handle that without tripping its breaker or shutting down, you will be ok.  But I doubt if it will...

I was able to start and run my Airconditioner off a single Honda 2000, right up until it cylced. Once the compressor was warm the poor honda could not get it to start. I opted for a second 2000 (the companion), and run them in parallel for summer use, and then use a single gen. for cooler camping that doesn't require airconditioner use.

I just tried using my older Honda EB 2500 running my A/C and tho it did it and never popped the breaker over two nights you could tell it got close when the compressor kicked it.  I'm with robroy, I don't think it'll handle the restart.

In my 5ver days I had a Honda 2000 (loved it) that I tried to run my single 15,000 roof AC with it.  It would start once, but not after the initial start.  I traded up to a Honda 3000 which did the job nicely (for a bunch more money).  After owning the Honda, I may suggest the Yamaha. The Yamaha has a 2800 that has a special circuit built in. During moments of peak demand (like starting a AC). It connects the generator to the starting battery which boosts the starting voltage to around 3200 volts.  It's only for a short period, but it does the job.  It may solve your problem for a lot less money.   

I think you mean 3200 Watts, not Volts.  3200 volts could be lethal if you're standing too close

OOPS, sorry it's margarita time............  I am watching old Hitchcock movies, eating dinner and drinking margarita's.  It's raining like crazy in Delaware right now and not much else to do other than surf RVforum.net......................

This is probably in the Top-10 most asked questions on the big board and there are many who have done, or are doing it. Several have said that the Honda is much happier if you install a hard start cap on the A/C. Either way the gen is running at 100% load.

BTW- There is no such thing as a quiet Honda 2000 when running at max load.

A 2000 watt won't handle the start current I have one. I'm keeping my eye out for used 2000 to parallel it when needed. But most of the time I try to stay out heat .

I am currently looking at the Boliy 3600, it looks good on paper, they will run a 15000 A/C, constant 3000 watts, electric start, weighs 78lbs,will fit under the bed rails of your truck, has an ECO mode, runs at 56 to 59db, and they are around 1050.00. They have been out for a few years, and are currently selling the 6th generation. I know when they first came out they had some issues , but owners of the new revised units are claiming that they are working out pretty good. I would still like to hear from more folks that have experience with these . Thanks gang

shooterdad said:

I am currently looking at the Boliy 3600, it looks good on paper, they will run a 15000 A/C, constant 3000 watts, electric start, weighs 78lbs,will fit under the bed rails of your truck, has an ECO mode, runs at 56 to 59db, and they are around 1050.00. They have been out for a few years, and are currently selling the 6th generation. I know when they first came out they had some issues , but owners of the new revised units are claiming that they are working out pretty good. I would still like to hear from more folks that have experience with these . Thanks gang

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Had the newest model w/elect start delivered this week, so far so good, filled it with oil n' gas, gave a couple of pulls with the ignition off to get the oil moving, one more pull with the choke on, ignition off, started up on first pull with ignition on.  The econo switch is nice, just purrs.  Hooked up an electric leaf blower just to test, very responsive, then went back down to low idle when turned off.  If it runs the 15k aircon like it's supposed to, will be happy.  Have to wait for spring for that test.

Hope it works well for you. Be sure to let us know after you've used it some. Everybody is looking for a relatively inexpensive genset like this, but so far the results have been somewhat disappointing. This technology is reasonably mature now, so a reasonably priced inverter generator ought to be practical.

Will do.  Trying to figure out something that will draw that many amps for a test, can't think of anything.  Just waiting for the weather to get better now, will be fabricating a pull out rack for the back of the trailer.  The winters get longer the older I get, can't play with the toys that we want to... :'(

Gary RV Roamer said:

Hope it works well for you. Be sure to let us know after you've used it some. Everybody is looking for a relatively inexpensive genset like this, but so far the results have been somewhat disappointing. This technology is reasonably mature now, so a reasonably priced inverter generator ought to be practical.

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So far so good with the Boliy purchased last fall.  Used it on a trip up to see my parents in Upstate, the electric start is really nice, the auto idle (econ) mode works fine, it starts the 15k aircon (even on the 10/3 50' extension cord) (tested that last week during some warm weather here) without problem and was pretty much a miser on the fuel consumption with low load.  As with any generator we have owned for RV'ing, I'll be changing the oil constantly, just my way of doing things...  Found a very inexpensive cover/sound damping "tent" that makes this very quiet unit even quieter, very heavy material with fiberglass panels inside the material pockets.  I can lug the thing around by myself (for now) and think that with DW's help, will be no problem in the years to come.  All in' all, think (at this point) I found a genset much  cheaper than Honda's line, but actually does the same job.  Advantages that we see now, are that we can have the unit in the back of the F350, use it quickly in overnight stops (like walmart) and then place the unit on the mount I made for the bumper, for the longer stays, like at Bristol at Farmer Bob's (we stay for a over a week out there) without feeling guilty about the noise of standard (however capable) units.  Still not giving up my trusty 1k Mitsubishi unit though!  When no aircon needed, that thing is the closest to a "never-ending" battery... it's so quiet and uses so little fuel... a real conversation piece around the campgrounds... that's for sure!

Thanks for the feedback. I saw anotherreport that suggests the newer Boliy's are more reliable than the early ones. I heard (no verification) that there is a new distributor who is providing better service and support too.

I was unable to run my a/c on the Honda 2000.  I bought the second one and had no problem.  I would parallel the two and use my cheater box, one plug in each gen, and it worked great.  If no a/c needed I would run just one.  Now I have a coach, but I still pack one of the Hondas.  If no a/c needed I use the Honda instead of the coach gen, uses less fuel and makes less noise. 

rtluft said:

I was unable to run my a/c on the Honda 2000.  I bought the second one and had no problem.  I would parallel the two and use my cheater box, one plug in each gen, and it worked great.  If no a/c needed I would run just one.  Now I have a coach, but I still pack one of the Hondas.  If no a/c needed I use the Honda instead of the coach gen, uses less fuel and makes less noise.

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Those honda's sure are the gold standard, that's for sure.  It's hard to believe how quiet they are.  I had looked into the twin 2k set-up last year, just could not bring myself to spend the cash with all the other expenses that come with moving up from the TT to the FW.  What's a cheater box?

I found this when doing some google-ing to try to figure out about the need for one or 2 honda 2000's.  Has anyone tried this, does it work?  Looks like alot of mixed reviews but might say $1k on a 2nd honda 2k if it works.

http://www.modmyrv.com/2009/05/27/rv-air-conditioner-hard-start-capacitor