A generator question

I got a Flyer in the mail from Cabelas advertising a small scale Generator 2000Wi, says it has a 4.3 hp motor and produces 1,900 watts and max of 2000 watts. Its from a company called PowerHouse. I know pretty much NOTHING about Electrical and was wondering it this generator would run the a/c and maybe a light or television in my 3580 Big Horn in those rare occasions for if and when the power goes out ?? It seems like a decent price of $540.00, I know those Hondas and other name brand ones are alot more money than that. I know Cabelas can sometimes be pricey but I would use my Cabela bucks/points to help pay for it. Need advise please !!

Thanks in advance,

Bobby A

>produces 1,900 watts and a max of 2,000 watts

In a word, that one is not going to start your AC unit. It is also likely very noisy compared to the Hondas or Yamahas, and check the weight - it may be more than one person can safely lift. Also, generally once you put gas and oil in a generator, you can't return it for refund anymore.

Cabellas sells the Yamaha 2400iSHC which is the single generator I have which runs my Dometic 13,500 BTU AC unit. One person lift from my pass thru to the ground, weighs about 70 pounds. Yamaha designed it to provide 2400 watt starting current that the AC needs to start up. Cabellas has a 3500 Watt that would work but read the reviews - IT IS LOUD compared to the Yamaha or Honda.

Also, I bought one cheap generator that did not last - never again. Its Honda or Yamaha from now on for me - I want something that lasts and that I don't have to use starting fluid to get started.

Spend the money on a good generator.
Nothing is more frustrating than not being able to turn on than A/C when it's 100 degrees outside and 130 degrees inside.
And LOUD contractor gens are NO bargain. You'll soon hate the noise as much as your neighbors do.
Buy a Honda or Yamaha RV generator, 2 if they're small. LOL
Just my experience, yours and others may be different.

We bought a Champion 3500 watt gen that has a 30 amp plug in on it for $300. It works great for the AC and is decent on fuel, but yes it is loud. I guess it depends on your budget and where you plan to use it. It works great for our current needs.

Buy the Honda 3K or a pair of Honda 2K with a paralell kit, You will not be sorry you did the right thing.

O.K. Thank you everyone for your opinions, I think you have made up my mind for me.

CliffP said:

We bought a Champion 3500 watt gen that has a 30 amp plug in on it for $300. It works great for the AC and is decent on fuel, but yes it is loud. I guess it depends on your budget and where you plan to use it. It works great for our current needs.

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I have a 4400 Duramax gen than produces 3500 watts but it will not run the 13.5 ac in my Sundance. I plug the power cord into the 30 amp recept and set it to 120/240 but still no good, it starts but kicks off. Does anyone know anything I can do to run it short of buying a new gen.? I only intend to use the gen. at home if we have a bad power outage like a few weeks ago.

Bobby A said:

I think you have made up my mind for me.

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Oh no! Does this mean we're going to get blamed if we made up your mind wrong??? By the way, I just bought a single 2000i Honda generator and love it. Maybe next year we'll find it a mate...Wahooo, 4 Kw of whisper quiet energy pulsing through our rig!

My Honda 2K pair run my 15k A/C just fine. No A/C then I just run one which handles everything else with common sense selectivity (e.g., don't run the hair dryer and microwave at the same time)

We love our pair of Yamaha 2k. Able to run both or just one. Whatever the situation calls for. Very portable and quiet.


Steve
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I also bought a Champion 3500/4000 from Cabelos and got it on sale with wheel kit for about $325. It is a little noisier than a Honda or Yamaha but not that much. I don't use it for camping a lot but when I do it supplies everything very well. They are also sold by Camping World and many other major retailers. It is designed in US and built to US stds in China. Starts very easy and for the money can't be beat. If you are going to do lots and lots and lots of camping and will run very delicate AC appliances then it might be worth to go Honda or Yamaha.

I am looking for a good running not to noisy generator myself. Also cheap.

Zeke666, Welcome to the forum.
I don't think you will find a generator with those three qualifications.
Good running, not too noisy and cheap do not go together when talking gennys.

Peace
Dave

Rrloren said:

I have a 4400 Duramax gen than produces 3500 watts but it will not run the 13.5 ac in my Sundance. I plug the power cord into the 30 amp recept and set it to 120/240 but still no good, it starts but kicks off. Does anyone know anything I can do to run it short of buying a new gen.? I only intend to use the gen. at home if we have a bad power outage like a few weeks ago.

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This should get your AC unit started. http://www.modmyrv.com/2009/05/27/rv-air-conditioner-hard-start-capacitor

About a 15 minute job, cost, $20. The SPP6E worked for me.

westxsrt10 said:

This should get your AC unit started. http://www.modmyrv.com/2009/05/27/rv-air-conditioner-hard-start-capacitor

About a 15 minute job, cost, $20. The SPP6E worked for me.

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Thanks for the tip. I didn't realize that the outside temp can affect the ease of starting an a/c, cause last Fall I know I ran the a/c with the gen. to test but it was cooler. Today I hooked up house power on a 20 amp circuit and it ran just fine. I'll bet if I took the gen. out it would run it today since we're only in the 70's . I'm going to pull the cover to make sure my unit has this capacitor and then go ahead and order one, great tip thanks again.

Note the link in the article points to only the basic SPP6 on Amazon.com, but you can see the SPP6 E class on the page that loads. The consensus seems to be that the SPP6 E class is a better choice if one is going to take the time to do this modification. I am going to do this modification on my Edge M21 Dometic 13,500 BTU AC unit in a few days once the part arrives from Amazon. Hopefully this will make it more bullet proof to start my AC unit with my Yamaha 2400 iSHC generator, even when there are other things pulling some 110V load on the generator.

I think Hard Start Capacitor Kits are typically introduced when the compressor is already having difficulty starting, so the kit is used as an alternative to buying a new compressor. I have always heard that Hard Start Kits shorten the life of the compressor.

It's what I've heard - I don't know for sure if it's true. But I'd suggest you check it out before you add it to your A/C.

Thanks for the insight, Dan. On second thought I think I am going to leave the Supco E class i just bought on Amazon in the parts stash for now and stay with the factory starting capacitor. The AC already has a starting capacitor, larger is not always better. In come cases the larger capacitor may never switch out after the compressor motor has started up, this CAN cause premature wear out of the AC compressor motor. For sure if changing the factory starting capacitor be sure to use an Supco E class, it has a electonic timer circuit inside that will switch out in all cases after a given amount of time.

How hard start kit works: Its a larger start capacitor. The larger capcitor will allow the motor start windings to get more current than the normal size capacitor which helps the motor develop the required torque to spin up the compressor pump even when the AC voltage is lower than it is supposed to be, resulting in lower starting current than there should be. The capacitor used by the manufacturer was selected assuming normal AC voltage and proper wiring that delivers the proper voltage and current when under stating load. Old hands have posted on other forums: "if lights in house dim when AC comes on, then hard start capacitor kit will help"

http://www.supco.com/eclass.htm

danemayer said:

I think Hard Start Capacitor Kits are typically introduced when the compressor is already having difficulty starting, so the kit is used as an alternative to buying a new compressor. I have always heard that Hard Start Kits shorten the life of the compressor.

It's what I've heard - I don't know for sure if it's true. But I'd suggest you check it out before you add it to your A/C.

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I'm curious where you heard Hard Start Kits shorten the compressors life? I have only heard the opposite. Damage can occure if voltage drops more than 10% during start-up. Slower starts are hard on a compressor.
I called Boily and asked them why my AC is so hard to start on their generator, the tech suggested I install the Supco capacitor.

Increased starting torque=faster starts

Faster starts=less current pulled

Less current= COOLER WINDINGS

Less heat= LONGER COMPRESSOR LIFE

If the compressor is hard to start to begin with - it is already going bad, adding a hard start kit just masks what is happening.

Adding a "hard start" as we are discussing should actually increase compressor life. Minimizing voltage issues which seriously affect compressor life.