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Old 04-27-2012, 11:00 AM   #1
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yet another question from this newbie!

So, the house batteries in my 2009 Class C Winnebago Chalet 24vr need to be charged and my generator should be run. I'm going to my favorite local county campground with hookups to do both.

As I sort of understand things, the house batteries will charge when hooked up to their shore power. Great.

But, I need to run the generator (and it is warming up here in Az, so the AC is needed).

Do I disconnect from shore power before I turn the generator on?

The generator was recently serviced and I'm sure will handle the AC, if I read the manual and figure out what is involved.

And, does the generator need to be running for me to know how many hours are on the generator?

Thanks!

Cautions, warnings, suggestions are welcome!
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Old 04-27-2012, 11:14 AM   #2
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30 amp shore power should run A/C.
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Old 04-27-2012, 11:32 AM   #3
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Should not need to run generator to know the hours. Should be an hour meter someplace on or near the generator. Could also be an hour meter on the dash of the coach. I am not familiar with your unit to know for sure.

Your unit should also have a transfer switch installed. The transfer switch should have a priority sequence. Meaning if you are connected to shore power and you start the generator one of them will have priority over the other. It is usually the genreator that has priority so when started the transfer switch will pick the generator to supply power.

Everything should be covered in your manuals. If not, or you don't have the manuals, I would seek out someone with a similar unit as yours.
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Old 04-27-2012, 12:14 PM   #4
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Fair warning - don't run your generator while on shore power. Bad thing! It can totally mess up the transfer switch and/or affect your converter/inverter. If you are on 30 AMP service you should be able to run 1 a/c without issue but if you start running other things like a microwave, hair dryer and other high use items, you will have a problem.
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Old 04-27-2012, 01:07 PM   #5
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So thankful for the answers! I'll run the generator (disconnect from shorepower, to be safe) and use the AC for an hour or so. Didn't know that generators had to be run to keep them at their best. Toooo many things to read in those manuals!

Then, turn off the generator and hook up with the shore power, which charges the house batteries.

Wow, these people in AZ who just park their rig in storage for 6 months must have problems when they take it out. The heat just wreaks havoc on all sorts of systems!
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Old 04-27-2012, 03:43 PM   #6
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the genny will also charge the house batteries. i presume a 30 amp system and a 4kw genny. they are equivalent. well, 33 amps from the genny, but your main breaker is probably 30 amps. run the genny once a month under 1/2 load (a/c or a 1500 watt heater) to keep the gas from varnishing and the windings dry.
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Old 04-27-2012, 04:00 PM   #7
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Shore power or generator, will keep batteries charged. Shore power will run 1 AC, generator will run 2 AC. Generally speaking, no need to run a generator with 30amp service available.
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Old 04-27-2012, 04:16 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kmesaaz View Post
Didn't know that generators had to be run to keep them at their best. Toooo many things to read in those manuals!
Some companies say if there aren't enough hours on the gen set the warranty is void.
I try and run ours for at least one hour a month, set one heat pump on heat and the other on cool, after about a half hour I reverse them.
You are trying to heat the coils of the generator up to burn off the moisture. This keeps them from shorting out. It also allows fresh fuel into the carb if you have a gas unit.
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Old 04-27-2012, 04:17 PM   #9
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Shore power or generator, will keep batteries charged. Shore power will run 1 AC, generator will run 2 AC. Generally speaking, no need to run a generator with 30amp service available.
We can run both heat pumps off a 30 amp service unless my wife turns on the microwave!
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Old 04-27-2012, 04:34 PM   #10
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We can run both heat pumps off a 30 amp service unless my wife turns on the microwave!
We can run 2 ACs on 30 amp too, only because we have an Intelliac EMS. But yeah, can't run much else! Never fails though, DW turns on the hair dryer
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Old 04-27-2012, 06:29 PM   #11
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I had an 09 Chalet, the hour meter for the generator was mounted on the control panel in the kitchen above the tank level indicators. It was an analog meter so it could be read with or without the generator running.
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