Community Forums

KathyandMark · 03-25-2021, 10:41 AM

Hi everybody,
Thank you in advance for your help.
We have a 2013 Forest River Georgetown, & it’s been a great rv for us. No problems. Our generator has 900 hrs on it, & the front air conditioner was replaced about a year ago, works like a dream, & so does our rear air conditioner. We are on the road now, & boondocking. When we turn on both air conditioners, the power shuts off & only the battery power works. So we’re can only use one of the 2 air conditioners. We keep up with matienance of the generator, oil changes, etc. Any idea what could be going on? Thank you!

lrgomez1976 · 03-25-2021, 11:37 AM

Wow... You have to keep in mind that power is tripped for some reason. Can you run either one and run solo? Or is one the cause? The generator is to power those kind of accessories as It's nice to power up the generator for a little cold AC when boondocking. Also keeping in mind the amp draw when the ac(s) power up, maybe the new ac is a amp hog and blows everything when the second ac powers up.

Thewellz · 03-25-2021, 11:42 AM

As said above your generator may not be capable of running both roof Aire's at the same time.Are you able to use your inverter to power share with the generator? That may help increase your available amperage?

KathyandMark · 03-25-2021, 11:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lrgomez1976

Wow... You have to keep in mind that power is tripped for some reason. Can you run either one and run solo? Or is one the cause? The generator is to power those kind of accessories as It's nice to power up the generator for a little cold AC when boondocking. Also keeping in mind the amp draw when the ac(s) power up, maybe the new ac is a amp hog and blows everything when the second ac powers up.

Yes, each one works solo just fine. Now we’re just using the front air. I don’t think it’s the new ac hogging the amps, as it worked in conjunction with the older one for many months, while boondocking.

fagnaml · 03-25-2021, 11:59 AM

KathyandMark --

If you provide the following info, the forum can provide better help:

1) What is the make/model of your "old" rear air conditioner?
2) What is the make/model of your "new" front air conditioner?
3) What is the make/model/size of your generator?
4) Are both A/Cs trying to start at the same time when your generator trips off?
5) Are other high amp items (Keurig, curling iron, etc.) is use when starting your A/C's?

When I boondock with my coach during LSU football weekends, my Onan Quiet Diesel 8000 watt generator has no problems powering my two, 15,000 BTU each Dometic Penguin Air Conditioners w/Heat Pumps. I do assure that both A/Cs do not try starting at the same time and assure that the Keurig or wife's curling iron are not "on" when an A/C starts to prevent a high amp draw and avoid tripping my generator.

Where are you boondocking?

Sandy12 · 03-25-2021, 01:51 PM

Husband says to run the water heater and refrigerator on propane, not electric. Even then you may have to wait 30+ minutes while the batteries charge before you can run the 2nd AC.

momdoc · 03-25-2021, 03:07 PM

Check that you are not running anything else like coffee maker, TVs, lots of lights, fridge (run on propane if you can). Those amps add up quickly.

KathyandMark · 03-26-2021, 12:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sandy12

Husband says to run the water heater and refrigerator on propane, not electric. Even then you may have to wait 30+ minutes while the batteries charge before you can run the 2nd AC.

Thank you so much for this info. We had absolutely no idea, so we’ll run and water heater on propane. And we will wait 30 minutes to start the second air conditioner. Thank you again!

KathyandMark · 03-26-2021, 12:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by momdoc

Check that you are not running anything else like coffee maker, TVs, lots of lights, fridge (run on propane if you can). Those amps add up quickly.

Thank you for the info. We had no idea that running other electrical could possibly be the issue. This is good to know. Thank you so much.

rssnape · 03-26-2021, 05:47 PM

Try a soft starter for your air conditioner. One trick I would use if I only had 30 amp available is stagger the set points about 2 degrees F. That almost always keeps the airs from starting at the same time.
Here is a link to the video I made of the soft starter I used for my 3 ton unit at home.
https://youtu.be/CDSJrGnxlMM
There is also
https://www.microair.net/collections...-soft-starters

Ray,IN · 03-26-2021, 06:02 PM

Something is amiss with your 8,000W Onan. I have a 7,500W Onan diesel Quiet series genset, it runs my battery charger, basement 24,000btu heat pump, the water heater, absorption fridge, microwave or DW's hair dryer. all at the same time without a hiccup all weekend. When amp draw is high your battery charger should automatically reduce power draw to prevent tripping the breakers.

twinboat · 03-26-2021, 06:38 PM

How are you losing power ?

You say the power shuts off, what does that mean.

If a breaker is tripping, its drawing to much power.
If the generator is shutting off, its a generator engine problem, most likely a fuel filter issue.

If you have a surge guard device, protecting the shore and generator input, and that's shutting you down, again more likely a generator engine issue.
Generator engines depend on clean and flowing fuel when a load is applied, just like the main engine.

KathyandMark · 03-27-2021, 07:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rssnape

Try a soft starter for your air conditioner. One trick I would use if I only had 30 amp available is stagger the set points about 2 degrees F. That almost always keeps the airs from starting at the same time.
Here is a link to the video I made of the soft starter I used for my 3 ton unit at home.
https://youtu.be/CDSJrGnxlMM
There is also
https://www.microair.net/collections...-soft-starters

Thank you so much for this info and your help, this is fantastic info.

Ljwt330 · 03-27-2021, 10:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by twinboat

How are you losing power ?

You say the power shuts off, what does that mean.

If a breaker is tripping, its drawing to much power.
If the generator is shutting off, its a generator engine problem, most likely a fuel filter issue.

If you have a surge guard device, protecting the shore and generator input, and that's shutting you down, again more likely a generator engine issue.
Generator engines depend on clean and flowing fuel when a load is applied, just like the main engine.

Follow this advice^^, and answer the questions posed. It is critical to know how the power is shutting off.

You should not have to play around with powering up devices with the generator you have.