Hard Start vs Soft Start

[klpauba]

Brittany Dogs, you mentioned the Honda 2000 being close to its maximum power rating. A newer technology that's intriguing is the hybrid (or boost) inverter that is able to supply additional energy from the battery when the generator (or shore power or solar) is not able to handle the load alone. This would probably help with those generators that are marginal for the load. It's a bit too pricey for me and doesn't work as well with lead-acid batteries (lithium ion, with about three times the energy density, are better suited to the task). Magnum makes one along with Victron Energy.

Hopefully, the prices will come down in the coming years.

[Padgett]

Agree, Honda EU2000i does not have much left when running the AC (1600W continuous vs 1440W AC draw) and don't think about the 80% rule.

Problem with coupling an inverter to a gen is matching the phase of the AC (what parallel cords really do (one gen is a "slave" and matches phase with the "master" - why you cannot just connect both with one cheap cord and the gens have to be designed for it).

[bheisser]

is there a simple way to tell if your tm has a soft start installed (by prior owners)..can't ask and there have been a few

[Padgett]

Unlikely since a recent discovery but you can either remove the top cover and look or connect an ammeter and start the AC - without there will be a peak surge around 40A with it will be around 20A.

[bheisser]

thanks..not an electrician. so if i have it plugged into a 20 amp gfi. /20 amp breaker in garage and it starts and runs fine...and at a campground. it only has 30 amp. so how does it surge to 40? and not trip

[Bill]

Circuit breakers are designed to allow an overload for a specific period of time before tripping. The bigger the overload, the shorter the delay. There are different kinds of breakers, but for the household one I am looking at, the spec says it will withstand 10 times rated current for as much as 2 seconds, and 2 times rated current for about 40 seconds.

This makes sense. It avoids a lot of nuisance trips, while ensuring that an overload doesn't last long enough to overheat the wiring that the breaker is protecting.

Bill

[Padgett]

Just FYI they often (but not always) trip a 15A circuit but usually run on a 20A. The 40A peak is only for a few milliseconds, why you need a peak hold ammeter.

[RottieMom]

Bob, if you're going to be plugged into 30a at a campground, you'll be fine running your AC. If you're planning on dry camping somewhere and want to use a generator to run AC, I think you better take the cover off your AC unit and see what's in there. And, for what it's worth, I recently installed a soft start device on my AC and it wasn't that hard to do.