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Old 05-03-2017, 02:16 PM   #61
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Originally Posted by Mollysdad View Post
I was always convinced that an enterprising AC tech could make a living following the Nascar circuit in his service truck. With 100 car haulers, 30 souvenir trailers, and 20 TV trucks, I don't think there's an event without demand for a AC unit being serviced. They all use the front mounted units (on semi trailers).
I just think AC units are not suited to bounce down the road every day.
Funny you should mention that.

I actually had an offer from the Ganassi team to follow the Indy circuit about 10 years ago, as I was the primary service tech for their fleet of Newells when they were in FL and especially at Homestead.

Lots of $$$$ to be made, but living on the road for the race season just was not appealing!
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Old 05-03-2017, 02:19 PM   #62
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Originally Posted by Troutboy View Post
Lew, what AC unit would you recommend if replacing a penguin II?
There really is only one other choice in my mind: the Mach 8 series my RVP/Coleman. They are lower profile than the Penguins and have 2 separate motors; one for the evaporator blower and the other for the condenser.

I have been told that they are a bit louder OUTSIDE the RV, but quieter inside. They are built in Kansas, have similar warranties as Dometic and are easily interchangeable.

One of the benefits is their condensate pump, which actually pumps the evaporator drippings directly into an interior drain tube rather than relying on gravity.

I think some form of the Mach 8 is now used on the new Basecamp.

And if interested, YES, they also work well with the Easy Start!!
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Old 05-03-2017, 02:50 PM   #63
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There really is only one other choice in my mind: the Mach 8 series my RVP/Coleman. They are lower profile than the Penguins and have 2 separate motors; one for the evaporator blower and the other for the condenser.

I have been told that they are a bit louder OUTSIDE the RV, but quieter inside. They are built in Kansas, have similar warranties as Dometic and are easily interchangeable.

One of the benefits is their condensate pump, which actually pumps the evaporator drippings directly into an interior drain tube rather than relying on gravity.

I think some form of the Mach 8 is now used on the new Basecamp.

And if interested, YES, they also work well with the Easy Start!!

I'm guessing this would be a fairly involved retrofit on a ducted-air trailer with the CCC thermostat... or is there some sort of control integrator that allows for running a Mach with the CCC?
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Old 05-03-2017, 06:45 PM   #64
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I'm guessing this would be a fairly involved retrofit on a ducted-air trailer with the CCC thermostat... or is there some sort of control integrator that allows for running a Mach with the CCC?
The ducted air shouldn't be much of an issue for a qualified and experienced tech, but you would need a new control thermostat as there is no cross-compatibility between RVP and Dometic units.
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Old 05-03-2017, 08:14 PM   #65
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The ducted air shouldn't be much of an issue for a qualified and experienced tech, but you would need a new control thermostat as there is no cross-compatibility between RVP and Dometic units.
The only wrinkle I expected from ducted+ retrofit is that you can't cheat and get the ceiling controls, bypassing the thermostat.
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Old 05-04-2017, 05:32 AM   #66
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Lewster, good info on the AC units. Thanks!
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Old 07-17-2017, 01:35 PM   #67
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Interesting insight from people in the business.

I'm looking into a new A/C to replace my Penguin I 13.5 in my 27FB. Possibly with a Dometic NXT. I haven't been able to find much about these units.

Any commentary or thoughts on the Dometic NXT 15k? And will the Easy Start 366 install to this model?
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Old 07-17-2017, 02:07 PM   #68
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http://www.airforums.com/forums/f427...xt-169944.html
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Old 07-17-2017, 02:20 PM   #69
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Got my popcorn. Subscribing.
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Old 07-23-2017, 02:55 PM   #70
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My Experience to date, still learning.

2007 Trailer has a 15K Penguin and WF9855 converter. I recently bought a Honda EU3000is. At that time, actually didn't know it was a 15K.
For grins last week at home, hooked up the 3000 and fired up the AC. It started and ran, sounded good.

About 10 min or so later, over load, auto disconnect. Drat, now what. Packed it up.

Of all the manuals my folder didn’t have was the Dometic AC.

A few e-mails to Dometic and bingo manuals and specs. Dometic was VERY prompt.

Purchase a clamp on meter with MIN MAX. Stripped back some insulation on my gen power cord so I hit individual cable for testing.

Started Honda, but this time I had ALL distribution circuit breakers open. Plan was to close one at a time and record results. I did not run TV, microwave, hot water tank or other loads. None of the circuits showed any issues until I hit the convertor.

The convertor didn’t seem to have a fixed load and I saw a peak of 14A. That may be an issue. Convertor now switched off.

AC time. Fired up, sounded good. Saw a MAX of 41A (not same grade as Matteo’s lab recorder) and it calmly settled into 14.17A @ 124VAC.

Now, add that WF9855 at 14A and you are looking at 28A which I think led to my overload on a 23A circuit. Later I saw 7A on the convertor so the output may vary. Nameplate data says 105-130VAC, 950W

Here’s my very early generator newbie comments.

You may have to consider power management, selective power consumption.

A clamp on ammeter if you’re DIY kinda guy, pretty good tool.

I took my AC cover off and nothing exciting found. With the power off I took the cover off of the control board and cap area. I have pondered adding the Easy Start and wanted to take a look.On my Penguin I didn’t see any space for much of anything; I’d have to check with Matteo about how to install that box in an apparent space limited space.

Batteries were new this spring and have had regular charge sessions.

WF9855 is the unknown at this time as far as power consumption.

Limited, very limited generator experience.

Gary
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Old 07-23-2017, 03:27 PM   #71
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I've played around with the power management. Looks like my converter has to be enabled for the AC to run for some reason. Flipping the converter circuit off also shuts off the AC for some reason. Anyone know why?
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Old 07-23-2017, 03:32 PM   #72
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FYI

https://www.microair.net/collections...-soft-starters
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Old 07-23-2017, 03:51 PM   #73
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Originally Posted by pteck View Post
I've played around with the power management. Looks like my converter has to be enabled for the AC to run for some reason. Flipping the converter circuit off also shuts off the AC for some reason. Anyone know why?
the converter must run the t-stat
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Old 07-23-2017, 04:02 PM   #74
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I've played around with the power management. Looks like my converter has to be enabled for the AC to run for some reason. Flipping the converter circuit off also shuts off the AC for some reason. Anyone know why?
This seems counter-intuitive. The AC should be on a dedicated circuit, and the controls for the HVAC should be DC (so, for example, you can run the furnace off battery power when boondocking.) Were you perhaps in Store mode and opening the breaker for the converter killed all your 12V DC power?
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Old 08-28-2017, 05:42 PM   #75
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Today it's 96 degrees outside. I'm in southern Canada at about 1200 feet elevation. I've been running the AC on a 15,000 BTU machine equiped with the micro air device for some time with a Yamaha 2000.
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Old 08-29-2017, 01:23 PM   #76
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Today it's 96 degrees outside. I'm in southern Canada at about 1200 feet elevation. I've been running the AC on a 15,000 BTU machine equiped with the micro air device for some time with a Yamaha 2000.
Glad it's working out for you. I can't get either of my AC units to run more than 2 minutes on either of my 2 Honda 2000i. I have installed EasyStart on both AC units and they start up great. MicroAir tells me my AC units are out of spec, or my generators are out of spec, or all 4 are out of spec, with all kind of technical Blah Blah Blah. I should have put the money I wasted on the 2 EasyStarts toward the 3500 watt inverter generator I just bought. Back to where I started years ago with running one AC with 2 Honda 2000s. Guys like me are good for the economy.

Bruce
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Old 08-29-2017, 01:29 PM   #77
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Well even though you may be in a very small minority, I do not think you wasted your money. I believe your A/C units will last longer with the reduced starting surge provided by the Easy Starts. That is reason enough to buy them. They are far superior to the very old starting capacitor design.
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Old 08-29-2017, 01:47 PM   #78
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Originally Posted by AstroBruce View Post
Glad it's working out for you. I can't get either of my AC units to run more than 2 minutes on either of my 2 Honda 2000i. I have installed EasyStart on both AC units and they start up great. MicroAir tells me my AC units are out of spec, or my generators are out of spec, or all 4 are out of spec, with all kind of technical Blah Blah Blah. I should have put the money I wasted on the 2 EasyStarts toward the 3500 watt inverter generator I just bought. Back to where I started years ago with running one AC with 2 Honda 2000s. Guys like me are good for the economy.
Bruce! At last we left your investigation back in mid-June in the other Air Forums thread at this link, it was clarified that both of your Honda EU2000i generators were running on propane. Another forum member made a comment about the jetting for such kits, and then the thread went silent. Since June, I have worked with some other customers who had Honda EU2000i generator converted to propane with various aftermarket kits. Genconnex, US Carb, and Hutch Mountain. Not all kits are created equal, and some seem to greatly limit the power output of the generator beyond the expected 10% reduction. I don't want to take this thread off track or hijack it, so maybe you can add a post to the old thread I referenced above mentioning which propane conversion kit you used, then I can reply with my learning from another customer case with propane, and we can continue your investigation from there?

Or, if you've had enough and are done trying to make it work, please send me an e-mail and we can work out a return/refund for your EasyStarts. We're not about leaving anyone unsatisfied at Micro-Air, even if it isn't our fault. Thank you.
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Old 08-29-2017, 02:40 PM   #79
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Well.....I'd like to know what you've learned about propane converted generators. I just ordered a Honda eu2000i from Genconnex and was planning to install an EasyStart in our 15,000 BTU AC. Do you happen to know if that combo will work? Thanks
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Old 08-29-2017, 03:49 PM   #80
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Or, if you've had enough and are done trying to make it work, please send me an e-mail and we can work out a return/refund for your EasyStarts. We're not about leaving anyone unsatisfied at Micro-Air, even if it isn't our fault. Thank you.
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Matteo,
I have no problem with MicroAir or the 2 EasyStarts I installed on my AC units. They do the job they were designed to do, and do it well. That is to ease the starting load. My problem, as you know, is the Honda 2000s can't carry the load at higher ambient temperatures. Has nothing to do with EasyStart. The generators have a US Carb conversion with an adjustable load block. I can adjust the mixture with the turn of a screw.
My generators are at borderline max output running the AC. I get that. If you come up with some kind of fix, I'm all ears.
Thank you for all the help you have given me online and off. I learned a lot. The EasyStarts are staying right where they are. Great piece of gear. I'll keep monitoring these threads.

Bruce
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