I have purchased a new generator for my Hunter 380, 16k a/c. The a/c will run but the condenser will not come on with the generator.
Portable generator for 16k a/c will not turn on a/c Hunter 380.
- Thread starter Bill Small & Lisa Grossi
- Start date
Predator generator, Harbor Freight, 2000 watt. I tried using a friends Honda which works on his 16k btu but that would not work on mine. Many thanks, Bill
I have a 5KW Northern Lights generator in my Hunter 356, but a 2000 Watt Honda will start a 16000 BTUH heat pump. Like you have in the Hunter 380. You need a soft start capacitor kit. The running load is well under 2000 watts and should be able to easily run your HVAC. It is the momentary startup that is causing you the problem. The stored energy in the capacitor will get you over the hump. There are a lot of people running their similar units on a 2000 Honda withnthe soft start kit.
We used to have a 16k A/C run off a Honda 2000. As others said, install a soft-start kit and all will be good.
Whew, that's close to 2kW! (1955 Watts). The Honda eu2000 is rated for 1600W continuous, 2000W surge, or peak. The newer eu2200 is rated at 1800/2200.
While a 2000 watt generator may have the power to run a 16K btu A/C unit it would generally lack the power to get the compressor started. Usually the compressor requires from 3 to 5 times the power to start than what it needs to run once started. You may try adding a Soft Start Capacitor to the A/C unit. What it does it piggy-backs with the unit's built in capacitor to deliver a much stronger surge of power when called to start the compressor and then the unit can run under normal power and the capacitors will recharge for the next cycle. The capacitors can only do so much and I would not guarantee that your set up will work but it would definitely be worth a try. You can find them at Amazon but before ordering inspect the connectors available in the capacitor of your A/C unit to simplify installation. When handling a capacitor make sure it is discharged by grounding for your safety. I would give it a 60-70% chance of working.
I have a 6k btu window unit on my boat and a Honda 2000 genny. I bought the soft start capacitor and spent two huors installing it. I was hoping the ac would start with genny on econ mode but no go. Compressor will not kick on. Not sure what that means. The compressor will kick on if I take genny off econ mode after which I can kick the genny to econ and it will run fine. But if in middle of night the compressor kicks off due to temp drop it will not restart with genny in econ. Bummer. Dont know if this helps but it is my experience. I also saw a website that had all the testing done to determine the impact of a soft start kit and frankly it was minimal. I guess I just have to get used to the Honda screaming all night or disable the thermostat so the compressor runs continuous as I shift down to genny econ mode... gas will go all night on econ which is another reason in addition to noise that I was hoping to run it on econ...
In my experience the Honda 2000 should adequately start a 6K BTU unit in ECO mode. Having said that there are various factors that could impede the operation. 1) an A/C unit with electronic switches, if there is a delay in the power surge needed to start the compressor the electronic control may abort the start. For this reason A/C window units with manual control knobs are preferred. 2) Different brand and model units can have different power requirements. 3) age of the unit, as A/C units age their power requirements may increase 4) state of tune of the generator; a poor running generator will not produce rated power and may have a slower response time to accelerate. 5) Make sure the soft start capacitor is properly installed. Hope this helps pinpoint your problem.
If that is the power load per @capta , then your 16,000 BTU/Hour AC is really making...
≈ 8,000 BTU/Hour of Cooling.
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Power = Power
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So what, Jim...
It means that boat AC is about 50% efficient.
Clean your water side heat exchanger!
I do keep mine clean and my 16K Dometic AC pulls about 20 amps at 120VAC. That includes the air moving fan and cooling water pump.
Real cooling amp consumption depends on so many factors, it would be off topic to explain.
Don't conflate starting Amp load or Locked Rotor Amps, with running Amps for generator size.
Jim...
Have ran a 13.5K A/C unit with a Honda 2000eu but never a 16K. Power requirements will vary with brands and models of the same size. I find that the proof is in the pudding and not always in the spec manuals.
What you need to understand is that while a 16k marine A/C unit may pull 10-12 amps (120 VAC) while running it needs north of 60 amps to start. If your Chinese portable generator can’t do that it will not start the A/C unit. We won’t even go into how clean and stable the power output of that generator may be, but since you are piecing this thing together on the fly you need to know you may blow up your A/C unit if you are not careful.
So my decision is to buy a dometic soft starter ($500) for my 16k btu cruise air
Emerald series split system (2 air handlers & compressor) and hope that my Honda 2000 companion generator can run it. Or just bite the bullet and buy another Honda 2000 ($800 on sale) to run in combination with the companion to give me a total of 4KW. I know the answer; however, I hate the idea of hauling 2 generators on board. Don’t want to spend close to $10k for an onboard diesel generator because I don’t overnite at anchor during summer months to justify the expense. Just saying.......
Emerald series split system (2 air handlers & compressor) and hope that my Honda 2000 companion generator can run it. Or just bite the bullet and buy another Honda 2000 ($800 on sale) to run in combination with the companion to give me a total of 4KW. I know the answer; however, I hate the idea of hauling 2 generators on board. Don’t want to spend close to $10k for an onboard diesel generator because I don’t overnite at anchor during summer months to justify the expense. Just saying.......
I picked up a Yamaha 2000/1600 watt generator from Costco. $499 very quite. Was able to heat hot water, charge battery and run frig at the same time. Very happy with it so far. I can't say if it will start your AC since we don't need that up here.
https://www.costco.com/A-IPower-160...Gas-Inverter-Generator.product.100343958.html
No shipping if your local store carries it.
A nice thing about it is my 30A shore power cord plugs right into it.
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