EasyStart 366 in a Dometic 6815xxx

[lsbrodsky]

On my trip last week, my EasyStart 366 failed after 3 days of heat pump operation, when trying to start. I got up on the roof this week, took things apart and saw that the start capacitor and the SC bleed resistor were toast.
I contacted Matteo and it was their considered analysis that one of the terminals, in my configuration, may have shorted to the case of the run cap.
They sent me a new board and start cap, and some insulated flag terminals for installation. I also decided that I would insulate every terminal that was not insulated, I installed a thin piece of adhesive-backed vinyl on the cover/mounting plate, and I installed a thin piece of Teflon between the run cap and the 366 board. It is still very tight in there and it is impossible to see what interferences might exist, but my precautions will preclude a short to the case of the run cap or to the cover. I will repeat from my initial post. Save yourself the trouble and install a 364, either as Matteo has, or in a location outside of the electrical box. Nevertheless, I am back in business and hope to be done with this project.
Finally, I never seen the high level of customer care provided by Micro-Air. Matteo offered to come to my campsite, come to my home, do whatever it would take to get me working. They sent me a new board, capacitor, and connectors at no charge. They thought hard about possible failure modes and their analysis is most likely accurate, which puts the real fault on my installation. They are buying a Penguin II and will, no doubt, noodle through alternative mounting options for the EasyStart.
Sometimes the guy at the front of the pack has to catch the spear.
Larry

[Troutboy]

Thanks Larry! You are catching many spears in these projects, same on the solar! Appreciate it. My installs for both the lithium solar and the Micro-air have gone smoother because of your help and insights (lessons learned).

Thanks for leading the pack!

PS - when are you doing a lift kit, figure I'll wait to do mine until you do one [emoji12]

[lewster]

Just installed my first Easy Start 364 on a new Airstream Interstate will 400 Ah of Victron lithiums, Magnum MS-2012 2000 watt inverter/charger and 400 watts of solar. Super easy installation that took all of 15 minutes, most of which was going up and down the ladder for removal/replacement of the shroud from each side.

After the initial 5 start learning period using the on-board generator, the Magnum 2000 watt inverter easily started and ran the Penguin from the lithiums. Also, no more compressor start BANG!!

Great stuff!!!!

[GettinAway]

Originally Posted by lewster

Just installed my first Easy Start 364 on a new Airstream Interstate will 400 Ah of Victron lithiums, Magnum MS-2012 2000 watt inverter/charger and 400 watts of solar. Super easy installation that took all of 15 minutes, most of which was going up and down the ladder for removal/replacement of the shroud from each side.

After the initial 5 start learning period using the on-board generator, the Magnum 2000 watt inverter easily started and ran the Penguin from the lithiums. Also, no more compressor start BANG!!

Great stuff!!!!

Great news all around. The compressor bang might be the best part. I figure if it took you 15 min, it won't take me more than six hours. To get it done in a single day will be great.

[Rocinante]

Just thought of another potential benefit of using an EasyStart: Fewer blown breakers.

Let's say you're microwaving something, and at that moment the compressor kicks on.

OR

Let's say you have the water heater in "electric" mode, that the tank happens to be heating and the compressor starts up.

In Rocinante, either of these situations almost always results in a popped breaker. Maybe this would happen less often with the EasyStart installed.

[Micro-Air]

Originally Posted by Rocinante

Just thought of another potential benefit of using an EasyStart: Fewer blown breakers.

Let's say you're microwaving something, and at that moment the compressor kicks on.

OR

Let's say you have the water heater in "electric" mode, that the tank happens to be heating and the compressor starts up.

In Rocinante, either of these situations almost always results in a popped breaker. Maybe this would happen less often with the EasyStart installed.

You are absolutely correct! EasyStart will definitely help under those circumstances, even when operating on utility power. As Jayseejay mentioned earlier in this thread - which was something I was previously unaware of - operating two A/Cs on a single 30A power cord typically doesn't work. EasyStart enables this, which is a huge benefit since boondocking with 1 or 2 generators or camping with a 50A utility connection available happens much less often than camping with a 30A utility connection.
Similarly, operating a single A/C along with the other high-draw appliances you mentioned is made possible with EasyStart.

[TRIPPPIN]

Has anyone tried using the Easy Start on one propane powered Honda 2000is or equivalent. Propane powered generators reduce the power output 10% or more? I want to power my single heat pump/AC with my propane Honda 2000. I have to get up on the roof to see if it is a 15000 or 13500 BTU because the documents I got with my 25EB says both are in the specifications. I don't want to push the limits too much and shorten the life of my heat pump/AC.

[Micro-Air]

Originally Posted by TRIPPPIN

Has anyone tried using the Easy Start on one propane powered Honda 2000is or equivalent. Propane powered generators reduce the power output 10% or more? I want to power my single heat pump/AC with my propane Honda 2000. I have to get up on the roof to see if it is a 15000 or 13500 BTU because the documents I got with my 25EB says both are in the specifications. I don't want to push the limits too much and shorten the life of my heat pump/AC.

Hi Trippin - The answer to your questions is yes. Please check out the PDF document I attached to the post at this link. In it you will see that we successfully installed an EasyStart into both a 13.5kBTU and a 15kBTU A/C system on an Airstream, and ran the 15kBTU unit off of one Honda EU2000i using propane. We also ran both using 2 Hondas on propane as well, starting the larger 15kBTU unit after the 13.5k was running (which is the worst case loading). The Hondas performed magnificently while running on propane, and there were no noticeable issues with power loss. As detailed in the report, we loaded up a single Honda with as much auxiliary load as possible before starting the 15kBTU unit, and all worked well.

Regarding your concern about shortening the life of your heat pump A/Cs, although we have no empirical life test evidence to support this (yet), in theory the use of EasyStart should actually extend the life of your heat pump's compressor because the added stress of the normal LRA startups is eliminated with EasyStart installed. Also, the EasyStart has advanced diagnostics that constantly monitor the compressor even after the startup is over and done with. These diagnostics will shut down the compressor if any problems are detected, much more quickly than the compressor's thermal overload or a circuit breaker would.

[TRIPPPIN]

Thank you for the info. I have a question because your install running one Honda 2000 generator on propane resulted;

"With EasyStart installed and running a single generator, the 13k would start and run with enough auxiliary load to max out the Honda's state-state capacity." Does "max out" mean the 15K alone with one Honda 2000 propane Generator may not work?

You further explained; " The 13.5k required about 13A to run, and we turn on as many additional lights as we could in order to add about 4A to that, before we started the A/C." Are you saying adding 4A to the 13500 btu Heat pump will not cause any stress/harm to the system?

[Micro-Air]

Originally Posted by TRIPPPIN

"With EasyStart installed and running a single generator, the 13k would start and run with enough auxiliary load to max out the Honda's state-state capacity." Does "max out" mean the 15K alone with one Honda 2000 propane Generator may not work?

No, the 15k does work. As was detailed in the first bullet point in the post text you cited, the 15k also would start and run on a single Honda with the auxiliary load maxed out.

Originally Posted by TRIPPPIN

You further explained; " The 13.5k required about 13A to run, and we turn on as many additional lights as we could in order to add about 4A to that, before we started the A/C." Are you saying adding 4A to the 13500 btu Heat pump will not cause any stress/harm to the system?

Sorry for the confusion with the text. By "auxiliary load", I am referring to additional appliances that we turned on before we started and ran the air conditioner. This additional load has nothing to do with the heat pump itself and adds no stress or strain to it. What this additional load does is add stress and strain to the Honda generator, which then makes the fact that the EasyStart was still able to start and run the A/C thereafter even more significant. The Honda can handle 16.7A maximum, and any load above this (that persists for 10 seconds or more) will result in the Honda shutting itself down with its overload fault, thus protecting itself. There is no danger to the system as a result.

Hopefully the above clarifies everything for you. Thank you for your questions.

[Mike S.]

I have a question. Sitting here in sunny Florida. Ac compressor kicks on and there is the "clunk" people say this eliminates. Then the compressor kicks off and there is a louder "clunk". Wouldn't think so but does the easy start help with this? Is there anything that can reduce this? Thanks. Mike

[Micro-Air]

Originally Posted by Mike S.

I have a question. Sitting here in sunny Florida. Ac compressor kicks on and there is the "clunk" people say this eliminates. Then the compressor kicks off and there is a louder "clunk". Wouldn't think so but does the easy start help with this? Is there anything that can reduce this? Thanks. Mike

Hi Mike - It's cloudy where I'm at in FL. The EasyStart does a great job of quieting the compressor's startup since the gradual startup ramp does result in less physical inertia with the internal mechanical components of the compressor itself. Many EasyStart customers have reported that they cannot even tell that the compressor even started. This is most especially true with the Dometic Penguin II systems that are commonly use on recent Airstreams. These A/Cs are already pretty quiet to begin with.

The "louder clunk" that you are hearing during shutdown though is uncommon, and it won't be affected by the EasyStart since it doesn't actively "ramp down" the compressor or anything like that. All compressors do normally "shutter" a little bit during shutdown since the slowing inertia of the internal components will physically move the compressor on its shock mounts. But the A/C manufacturers typically take deliberate steps in their designs to prevent this movement from causing any noises. Clunking during shutdown therefore is typically an indication that something with the compressor mounts may be loose, or a refrigerant pipe is in close proximity to something that it shouldn't be. Watching the compressor itself during a shutdown might enable you to see what is causing the noise.

[rmkrum]

Good information. Thanks!

[Mike S.]

Thanks Matteo. Will investigate when I get home.

[NoResults]

Just ordered. Love tinkering and looking forward to installation if it ever stops raining here in Oregon.

Yes I seldom need the air in my part of Oregon but plan on traveling more to warmer climates.

Dave

[The Colonel]

Lew was your install a black or gray box

[Argosy Heir]

Could this be utilized on an old Armstrong a/c ? Would be nice to run it on just a 2000 watt Yamaha . Wiring is shown on page 21 and 22 I think. Hopefully someone with a/c knowledge will chime in on this .

[thiel]

Originally Posted by TRIPPPIN

Has anyone tried using the Easy Start on one propane powered Honda 2000is or equivalent. Propane powered generators reduce the power output 10% or more? I want to power my single heat pump/AC with my propane Honda 2000. I have to get up on the roof to see if it is a 15000 or 13500 BTU because the documents I got with my 25EB says both are in the specifications. I don't want to push the limits too much and shorten the life of my heat pump/AC.

I was concerned about this a while back and was told (by Gennconnex I think but don't quote me) that an LP generator was only like 2% less power, but a natural gas conversion was more like 10% loss of power.

Hope that helps!

[Micro-Air]

Originally Posted by Argosy Heir

Could this be utilized on an old Armstrong a/c ? Would be nice to run it on just a 2000 watt Yamaha . Wiring is shown on page 21 and 22 I think. Hopefully someone with a/c knowledge will chime in on this .

Hello Argosy Heir. Thanks for your interesting question here. Not having heard of Armstrong RV A/Cs, I was intrigued, so I did some research. A Google search actually led me back to this forum and to another thread from 2006 that I saw you wrote the same question into earlier today! Now I know why Airstreams are so popular. You've got people with 1967 models out there still! That's pretty impressive. I also learned that the Armstrong A/C units were being used then and have since gone out of business. Although, it does appear Armstrong, or some company rebirth therefrom, continues to manufacturer residential A/C systems today.

Anyway, the answer to your question is a definitive YES. A lot of things may have changed since the 1970s, but single-phase compressors still used run caps and start caps back then as they do now. The wiring is pretty much the same. See the image below from page 20 of the document you provided. I drew in where the EasyStart goes.

Thanks again for teaching me a little Airstream history lesson. Interesting stuff.

[Barkingdogg]

Just installed a 364 yesterday and although not hot hear yet worked like a charm with my eu2000i in econo mode. My only complaint is I found out if I had used airstream as a coupon code it would have been fifty dollars less. 😒



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