problems with my portable A/C

DST001 · Jun 22, 2015

For some reason I'm having a problem with my 10,000 but AC I'm powering it with a Honda eu2000 the ac starts up and then after 3-4 minutes it quits on all settings hi med and low. I have used this unit before with no problems and of course it won't work when I'm in Tennessee and its 90 ℉ out any thoughts. I checked the Cord no cracks or slices I'm stumped

Turtle · Jun 22, 2015

Well, first thing would be to plug it in to a regular household outlet somewhere. If it works there then things point to the generator. If it does the same thing then it's probably the AC unit itself.

DST001 · Jun 22, 2015

Thanks Turtle I'm at a TA I'll ask if I can plug into their hydro for a quick sec I hope it's the ac not the Genny just bought it a couple months ago

Turtle said:
Well, first thing would be to plug it in to a regular household outlet somewhere. If it works there then things point to the generator. If it does the same thing then it's probably the AC unit itself.

Moot · Jun 22, 2015

It's been a few hours and no reply. Hopefully he got a load and not electrocuted. Not much info to go on but the first post reads like it happened more than once. No mention of resetting a circuit breaker or replacing a fuse. Could be a malfunctioning self-setting circuit breaker in either the AC unit or generator.

DST001 · Jun 22, 2015

Moot said:
It's been a few hours and no reply. Hopefully he got a load and not electrocuted. Not much info to go on but the first post reads like it happened more than once. No mention of resetting a circuit breaker or replacing a fuse. Could be a malfunctioning self-setting circuit breaker in either the AC unit or generator.

Nope no load wishful thinking went to home depot and bought a 8000 btu my other ac is gonzo . The new one has been running for 3hrs now and no problem it must have been a bad ac from Canadian Tire looks like I have to do some receipt searching to do and a return when I get back home .

Treadmill · Jun 23, 2015

DST001 said:
Nope no load wishful thinking went to home depot and bought a 8000 btu my other ac is gonzo . The new one has been running for 3hrs now and no problem it must have been a bad ac from Canadian Tire looks like I have to do some receipt searching to do and a return when I get back home .

It may have froze up to.

DST001 · Jun 25, 2015

Well I'm back at home and now the ac unit will work again I tried to recrate the same settings cranked the heat in the van and my webasto and it worked . It has to be the Genny anyone have any thoughts on what I should do when it gets super hot ?

ysracer · Jun 25, 2015

Get a bigger generator or, another EU2000 and parallel them.

xiggi · Jun 25, 2015

There should be no need for a bigger or second genny. Have you cleaned the air filter on it lately?

DST001 · Jun 25, 2015

ysracer said:
Get a bigger generator or, another EU2000 and parallel them.

I thought about that as a last resort I don't feel like spending money right now because it's so slow

DST001 · Jun 25, 2015

xiggi said:
There should be no need for a bigger or second genny. Have you cleaned the air filter on it lately?

I just did maintenance on it before I left on my trip changed the oil and cleaned out the air filter which was clean as a whistle

gotto_03801 · Jun 28, 2015

what brand was the 10,000 BTU unit?? I was thinking of going with a Honeywell unit, I would also avoid LG and Samsung units at all cost

DST001 · Jun 29, 2015

gotto_03801 said:
what brand was the 10,000 BTU unit?? I was thinking of going with a Honeywell unit, I would also avoid LG and Samsung units at all cost

10000 is a Danby from Canadian Tire and my new 8000 is a lg why do you stay away for lg and Samsung ?

gotto_03801 · Jun 29, 2015

DST001 said:
10000 is a Danby from Canadian Tire and my new 8000 is a lg why do you stay away for lg and Samsung ?

I bought an LG microwave and in under a year it turns on when you close the door and not when you press the start button. so I called up there customer support there in a third world country and can not understand English very well. they looked in my area for a repair place and they said that there was no authorized service centers in my area. complete crap

DST001 · Jun 29, 2015

Wow lg are a big company that's a bummer

gotto_03801 · Jun 29, 2015

DST001 said:
Wow lg are a big company that's a bummer

LG = LIFES GARBAGE. just the old goldstar brand if you remember them just re badged

greasytshirt · Jun 30, 2015

It's not totally accurate, but for quick and dirty genny testing you can hook up a bank of high wattage devices. A couple of portable heaters, heat guns, hair dryers, whatever. Tally up the total wattage. You can let them run for hours if needed. A multimeter with an AC clamp can accurately measure amperage output, but youll have to separate the output leads at the genny. A foot-long extension cord made of three separate pieces of wire can be made to accomplish this.

The genny also needs to put out the correct frequency, as some electronics may be sensitive. An inverter generator should take care of this, I think. Pretty sure your Honda is an inverter generator. Can anyone verify?

Banging, bouncing, and vibration can do a number on unhardened electronics. Sitting stationary in a house is a hell of a lot nicer than riding in a vehicle.

OntarioVanMan · Jun 30, 2015

greasytshirt said:
It's not totally accurate, but for quick and dirty genny testing you can hook up a bank of high wattage devices. A couple of portable heaters, heat guns, hair dryers, whatever. Tally up the total wattage. You can let them run for hours if needed. A multimeter with an AC clamp can accurately measure amperage output, but youll have to separate the output leads at the genny. A foot-long extension cord made of three separate pieces of wire can be made to accomplish this.

The genny also needs to put out the correct frequency, as some electronics may be sensitive. An inverter generator should take care of this, I think. Pretty sure your Honda is an inverter generator. Can anyone verify?

Banging, bouncing, and vibration can do a number on unhardened electronics. Sitting stationary in a house is a hell of a lot nicer than riding in a vehicle.

I actually think inverter gens lose some power with age....think think the inverter loses capacity with hours of use....

I had exactly the same problem as the OP.....1st year new Honda gen everything worked great,.. 3rd year....the gen could not handle the surge no matter what I did....I even run the AC on house current to cool everything down and warm up the parts.....nothing....

xiggi · Jun 30, 2015

We all lose power with age.

ysracer · Jun 30, 2015

Cant think of how the inverter section would be affected, unless a capacitor or three is drifting out of spec. The engine may be losing power. A valve adjustment might be a good place to start.