Excel in the hot "dirty" South

[TEAMTJ]

Anyone knows who's spent the summer in the South knows it's hot and humid. Just curious how cool do these Excel units stay with only one A/C running? I did get two A/Cs (a 15K Polar Mach and 13.5K), but I'm trying to decide how big of a generator to get. If Excels stay pretty cool in the heat of the South with only one A/C running then I can get a smaller generator, but if two A/Cs are required to keep the unit cool then I will need to get a bigger generator. My main concern is making sure if we have a power outage that my wife and baby are comfy. We have (will have in March) the WC41GKE.

[Workshop]

I live in the South....but what's your definition of "dirty" south?

workhorse

[CapnMorgan]

I know the stereotype is that we are uneducated and no teeth, but dirty, where did that come from?

[Endeavor2BnC]

Quote:

Originally Posted by timbuktu78 Anyone knows who's spent the summer in the South knows it's hot and humid. Just curious how cool do these Excel units stay with only one A/C running? I did get two A/Cs (a 15K Polar Mach and 13.5K), but I'm trying to decide how big of a generator to get. If Excels stay pretty cool in the heat of the South with only one A/C running then I can get a smaller generator, but if two A/Cs are required to keep the unit cool then I will need to get a bigger generator. My main concern is making sure if we have a power outage that my wife and baby are comfy. We have (will have in March) the WC41GKE.

We have a 36' GKE and spent the past summer in the heat of the middle of the country. Hot & humid it was for sure. We have only one A/C and did well. It never got hotter than what ever temp we had it set at. We'd normally keep it at 76* or so. We do have outside window covers which help out greatly to keep the heat out and let light in.

I would think that 2 honda 2000 watt genders running in parallel will be adequate for the job of running your two A/C's.

[rockintom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Endeavor2BnC We have a 36' GKE and spent the past summer in the heat of the middle of the country. Hot & humid it was for sure. We have only one A/C and did well. It never got hotter than what ever temp we had it set at. We'd normally keep it at 76* or so. We do have outside window covers which help out greatly to keep the heat out and let light in. I would think that 2 honda 2000 watt genders running in parallel will be adequate for the job of running your two A/C's.

X2 .......those polar machs are very efficient compared to their predecessors (and they weren't too bad). If you have that 15,000 polar mach running in the AM........it keeps up purdy darn good on those 100* and 75% humidity TX days!!

Yeah, what's with the dirty bit???.....you and I done growed up about 30 miles from one another!!! rockinandrollin'

[jfran304]

If you are only going to be using the generator during power outages I would recommend getting one that is large enough to run 1 AC and the refrigerator.

If it was me I would go ahead and buy one large enough to run everything just in case I wanted to boondock.

Jon

[Still Working "NOT"]

Tim,

With my 39SKM setup with two 15,000, same locations as yours I was able to keep it around 72* this summer with 103* temp. I left the sliding door open so that air would flow through out the rig. One trick I do is in the power vent and bedroom vent is put vent pillows in them to keep the cold air in the rig. Both air's were running most of the time. I was setting in the wide open with no shade. I never have tried running just one air, so I can't help your there. If I was to buy a generator with your concerns about keeping your wife happy, it would be a Honda 6000 inverter.

You can get by with a smaller generator, 4000 watts, if you are only cooling the living quarters and not run the rear air. You want plenty of generator since your converter will be also running part of the time to charge the batteries.

[TEAMTJ]

Thank y'all for the replies. @Work, "dirty" is just a term of endearment for the South. As Tom mentioned I grew up in South Texas so I'm one of those "dirty" Southerners .

I was originally looking at a Honda EG6500 but after reading countless hours online it seems a better choice would be an inverter (EU) type gen. The Honda EU6500ISAC would surely do the job but another consideration is weight and this one comes in at 253lbs. While I can lift it, I need to consider the ability of the lovely wife to lift it when I'm deployed or gone. For this reason, after much reading, I think I'm leaning towards the Honda EU3000iS or EU3000i coming in at 134lbs and 78lbs respectively. From reading online, one of these 3000w gennies could power one A/C (unsure at this point if it could power the 15K but certainly can power the 13.5K) with some lights, etc. And if I find one 3000w genny isn't enough power, I could always buy a second identical 3000w and parallel them together. This way I have two lighter units instead of one heavy one. Just my thoughts so far.

@Still, I don't know if it makes much of a difference in cooling but we got our 13.5K A/C installed in the garage, but it is centrally ducted. We do have the vent pillows and if needed will install 'em.

EDIT: After looking online more, I found a Triple Parallel kit that looks like I might be able to parallel THREE Honda EU2000i gennies giving me 4800w of power. Might be a better option than one or two EU3000's. I think I need to make a call tomorrow to confirm.

[TEAMTJ]

Update on research: According to the specs for the Coleman Low Profile 13.5K A/C it requires 1395w under standard conditions and 1695w desert condition. Coleman Polar Mach 15K requires 1710w and 2100w. Coleman says if calculating watts for a generator use the desert condition.

One Honda EU3000iS with 2800w of continuous power should be able to handle either one of the A/Cs if powered one at a time with some power left over for misc stuff. I always have the option to parallel another EU3000iS if I require more power.

As far as paralleling three EU2000i, I called Electric Generator Direct and they don't carry a triple kit nor have they ever heard of one. I found the kit on WiseSales website: Triple Parallel Kit WiseSales.com. EGD said if it's not Honda made be careful bc Honda will void the warranty.

Anyhow, I'm still leaning towards the EU3000iS with possibly getting two in parallel if I need the extra power. For now I'll prob go with one and see how it works.

For anyone who cares, those are my thoughts.

[Still Working "NOT"]

Tim,

I think you are making good choices. My second air is in the garage area also. When I bought it at the Family Reunion, Bryan put in a 13,500 btu air back there. It was working fine, then two months later it stop working completely. It was covered under Coleman warrenty but PI did not had a 13,500 btu in stock. Coleman authorized replacing it with a 15,000 btu unit. I can thank Ralph for that.

I'd have to think and know more about the triple parallel kit before I would buy it. It is Honda made

[Joe Diesel]

Sorry for the late reply. i just wanted to share you my vote for the EU3000is. I have it bolted to the back of my travel trailer on a custom welded frame. It became a necessity after the power went out on our maiden voyage to Stone Mts. Georgia. We woke up in a pile of sweat and said, "last time for that"! We now have an Arctic Fox TT and use the Honda to run the 13500 btu A/C on the "Eco-Mode". This is such a great feature because you conserve so much fuel when the compressor is not running. The only thing that I found out is that don't run the electric water heater at night with the A/C because apparently if the element turns on, by coincidence, at the same time the A/C compressor is ramping up, it will trigger an "over load" situation on the generator. I found this out the hard way at 2am in the dark. No biggie, all I had to do was switch the heater to gas and restart the generator and no more problems. Hope this helps. Joe

[TEAMTJ]

Over Easter weekend, we took off for Southern Utah, just outside Moab for three days of dry-camping. This was the first family camping trip in the brand new WC!

The new Honda 3000iS was awesome! We actually didn't need to use the a/c bc the highs were only 65ish and lows were 40ish. But nonetheless, the genny was awesome when we did need to use it! Just gotta get better at conserving water for those dry-camping trips. By the end of the third day we had only 12% of fresh water left.

[rockintom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TEAMTJ Over Easter weekend, we took off for Southern Utah, just outside Moab for three days of dry-camping. This was the first family camping trip in the brand new WC! The new Honda 3000iS was awesome! We actually didn't need to use the a/c bc the highs were only 65ish and lows were 40ish. But nonetheless, the genny was awesome when we did need to use it! Just gotta get better at conserving water for those dry-camping trips. By the end of the third day we had only 12% of fresh water left.

I know you guys are have way too much fun out there.....but you haven't forgot my pix on the valve positions on filling fresh water tank is ya? Hugs to all y'all!!! rockin'

[TEAMTJ]

Haha no Tom, haven't forgotten! In fact, I took the pics today while in the basement compartment installing my new water hose hook.

Now the problem is remembering all the steps I took to sanitize the system so I can write about it.