Community Forums

Gadget Man · 07-08-2007, 07:46 AM

I read with interest the article about the new Onan-Cummins Hybrid Diesel Gensets in the current issue of MH Magazine. One thing about them that peaked my interest was the ability of the Genset to auto-start, in case of power failure. They gave the example of folks leaving their pets inside with the A/C on in hot weather, and the Genset starting up automatically with a loss in shore power.

I never thought of this feature being that important until I thought of our dog being trapped in a hot vehicle should a campground lose all power. I went to Onan's website to see if this feature was available as an add-on to existing systems, but I couldn't find anything. Does anybody know if in fact this is available?

Craig

Gadget Man · 07-08-2007, 07:46 AM

I read with interest the article about the new Onan-Cummins Hybrid Diesel Gensets in the current issue of MH Magazine. One thing about them that peaked my interest was the ability of the Genset to auto-start, in case of power failure. They gave the example of folks leaving their pets inside with the A/C on in hot weather, and the Genset starting up automatically with a loss in shore power.

I never thought of this feature being that important until I thought of our dog being trapped in a hot vehicle should a campground lose all power. I went to Onan's website to see if this feature was available as an add-on to existing systems, but I couldn't find anything. Does anybody know if in fact this is available?

Craig

skp_member · 07-08-2007, 08:00 AM

Craig,

If you Google "generator auto start" you will get a lot of places to buy a auto start pannel.

Here is just one of them

Jim
'96 Safari 3540, 300 CAT

RV Wizard · 07-08-2007, 09:18 AM

Craig, what type inverter do you have on board. You may be able to add a remote controller to it that will start the generator. If you will provide the make & model I will see what I cn find for you.

Pusherman · 07-08-2007, 10:51 AM

I just installed an Onan Energy Command EC-30 for the very reason Craig lists. You can purchase it from Onan Indiana (factory) for $200 + the cost of the pigtail, which is required.

Here is the info on it from their website.

Gadget Man · 07-09-2007, 07:29 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by RV Wizard:
Craig, what type inverter do you have on board. You may be able to add a remote controller to it that will start the generator. If you will provide the make & model I will see what I cn find for you. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Thanks Wizard. I have the Xantrex Freedom 458.

Gadget Man · 07-09-2007, 07:32 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Pusherman:
I just installed an Onan Energy Command EC-30 for the very reason Craig lists. You can purchase it from Onan Indiana (factory) for $200 + the cost of the pigtail, which is required. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Thanks Pusherman. I saw EC-30 on the Onan-Cummins website, but it looked like it did a lot more than auto-start, and the description said it is expensive to add it to an exisiting system, so I moved on. Was it difficult/expensive to install?

Gary RVRoamer · 07-09-2007, 09:29 AM

The Xantrex RC7-GS remote panel has a auto generator start feature and Xantrex also makes a separate auto Gen Start panel.

Pusherman · 07-09-2007, 05:12 PM

The EC-30 AGS provides for starting the generator when shore power is off and there is a call for a/c. This is the primary reason I installed it. Don't want to cook the pooches in the event of a power failure. It also provides for AGS when the batteries need charged.

The website warns that installation is complex and takes 8 hours to accomplish. I installed it myself, taking 4-5 hours to accomplish. All the connections I needed were at the Winnie One-Place panel, with the exception of an ignition sense line. I had to run a conductor to the electrical panel to get an ignition line.

So it only cost me the materials to install, and I found the process pretty easy.

FloridaFitz · 08-23-2007, 03:49 PM

We have the auto start feature by accident

. It wasn't ordered with our coach because it was officially not available with our model. The remote panel to our Xantrex inverter / charger can be set to send start signals to the 7.5 Onan if the house batteries are low or if the A/C thermostat sends a start signal to the rooftop unit and no shore power is available. Genset will auto shut down when necessary...again, based on how you set the parameters. It's a fantastic feature.

Cruzer · 08-24-2007, 04:35 AM

The Xantrex RC7/GS control panel is designed for the RV series (RV2012, RV2512, and RV3012) of inverters. It won't work on the Freedom 458. Also, the Xantrex AGS modules do not sense shore power. If you are monitoring the thermostat leads to kick in the genset when the thermostat calls for cooling you'll see the genset start, even if shore power is present. You'll need to add a relay that is controlled by the shore power lines and breaks the thermostat to AGS module line. I had to do that on my 2004 Bus with the Xantrex RS2000 inverter and AGS.

I now have the Onan EC-30 and highly recommend it. It does have the ability to sense shore power and will do exactly what you want it to do. It'll even give descriptive error codes should they occur so that you don't havce to count pilot light flashes and look them up in the manual. It will work with any inverter because it is a standalone system. The only caveat is that in order to sense shore power you need to feed it a low voltage signal. Onan makes an optional transformer for this. It's a small unit that mounts on your transfer switch and sends a low voltage signal to the EC-30. You just have to make sure you order this transformer when you order your EC-30 because it doesn't come with it.