Need a reliable quiet inverter/generator.

[RLemmens]

So I bought a used 2010 25FB International Ser a few weeks ago. I love it, I feel like it's more than I need. Here's the issue, I have short-nosed dogs that need the air conditioning to be running full time. I've found that I can't always rely on grid electricity and I need an inverter. I rented a honda 3000i to try out and was disappointed to find out that a few times there was an overload which stopped the air-conditioner from running. It was over 100 degrees and if I didn't go check on the dogs every 30 minutes, results could have been terrible. So, I need a reliable inverter that will be able to power most of the lights and the air-conditioning and the shower fan at the same time. I don't really care about the weight. I think I'm going to have to go with a yamaha ef4500 or 6300 because i'm assuming the 3000 with boost still won't work. Or maybe a honda EU6500is. I don't really care about the company, but want it to be quiet and reliable. Would also consider 2 2000s but I need to make sure they won't ever overload from the air-conditioning.

[azflycaster]

You can never be too careful when your pets safety is at risk. There are too many things that can fail. We do not run the AC off of a generator, but opt for hook ups when the dogs will be in the trailer. We do have a device that monitors the temperature inside the trailer which we can view from my smart phone.

[Wayne&Sam]

It's hard to believe one A/C would overload a 3000. Were you running anything else?

AZflycaster- do you have a link for that device?

[azflycaster]

Temperaturealert.com

[ventport]

Get long nose dogs..... problem solved!

[DKB_SATX]

Originally Posted by Wayne&Sam

It's hard to believe one A/C would overload a 3000. Were you running anything else?

AZflycaster- do you have a link for that device?

I wonder about this as well. Newish AC unit, 3000w Honda... was it the REAL 3000w Honda, or was it the "Handi" model? There's a performance difference, it seems.

Also make sure that everything that can run on propane is doing so (refrigerator, water heater). If the new-fangled refrigerator is on auto I think it'll always prefer 120v, but I have a well-behaved old one that uses the power source I tell it to, for better or worse.

[richinny]

you might find this thread of interest:
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f239...arm-13308.html

[RLemmens]

Originally Posted by Wayne&Sam

It's hard to believe one A/C would overload a 3000. Were you running anything else?

AZflycaster- do you have a link for that device?

Once I was taking a shower, the other 3 times it was just the ac. I came back and the generator was still on but the red overload light was on. I like the temp alert tool and I will definitely add that. However, I still need to know of a reliable generator that can easily handle the ac in temps over 100 for however many hours I need it to be running (because even when I'm there and the ac doesn't work the dogs would still be in trouble). We can't rely on plug in power since all the outlet's fuses were blown. Maybe the generator wasn't treated very well since it was a rental, but regardless I feel like I need something more powerful. It was the real one and not the handi.

[DKB_SATX]

All the outlet's fuses were blown... by what? You may have a problem with your trailer and/or AC unit if it's blowing the breakers on a 30A outlet.

[HiHoAgRV]

Originally Posted by RLemmens

Once I was taking a shower, ..andi.

See if your trailer has a 110V heater option in the water heater. If it does, turn it off and you will likely be ok with a 3000. The heating element pulls a ton of juice.

I bought a Honda 6500 inverter at work and it purrs like a kitten

[TBRich]

A Honda 3000 should handle a single AC with no issues. It may help to cut other draws, especially high draws like electric water heater, but still...

We have two 2000s and have not had an issue when we need AC and do not cut any other draws (though we also have LED lights throughout)...we have a 13,500 btu AC, which is probably what you have. We were in a state park this past summer that had electric sites...the campground was fairly full and everybody was running their ACs in the afternoon hours... the voltage was not up to par because of the heavy usage and our AC was having issues, so the camp host told us we could use our generators (usually a no-no at this park). No more problems. We were planning another leg of the trip where there wouldn't be any power so we just happened to have both generators with us. Thank goodness.

When we need to leave the dogs in the rig with the AC on, we sometimes leave the vents open slightly and set the fantastic fan to go off at a certain temperature... than if the park power fails for any reason, at least they will have some fresh air circulation. We are never gone for long, though.

[mefly2]

Try twin EU 2000s (std + companion) with parallel cable ....

[pickerdd]

I agree with the other folks who asked which Honda 3000 generator you rented. I have a Honda EU3000is and it powers my AC (original Armstrong AC), charges the battery and runs other items in the AS just fine while the AC is running.

What other items were running while the generator powered your AC?

I had issues with my EU3000is running he AC in my AS for a while, but it turned out the be a faulty hard start capacitor in my AC that caused the generator overload circuit to trip. Even though your AC is only a couple of years old it might be a similar issue. Or, it might have been a defective or poorly maintained generator.

Someone in the airforum classifieds had a EU6500is for sale for a very reasonable price a little while back. It might still be for sale. That would be plenty of power for your needs.

[Westfalia]

Check for the obvious (and not so obvious) electrical consumers to avoid an overload situation.

Battery Charger (Off switch by the door will disconnect batteries from convertor/charger) or make sure batteries are fully charged before switching to generator power
Switch Fridge from 120V to LP
Switch Water Heater 120V element off and use LP (off equipped).


The use of the fantastic fan's for emergency backup is excellent and I use this option when I need to leave my dogs in the trailer.

[jkcru]

What do you mean by inverters?

[Wazbro]

Originally Posted by jkcru

What do you mean by inverters?

With an inverter/generator the generator produces current which goes through an inverter that cleans up the waveform and voltage to a consistent and clean 120V AC which is safer for electronics then a typical generator.