Harvest Host at Pine Drive Farm VA

[Headhunter]

Well we put on 350 miles today then it’s Miller Time. And it is hot, found out 30 amp service will not power both my ACs.

Still have 400 miles to go to hit Deer Springs. Only have one bar. I don’t think pic will send.

 

[Wemustrv]

Nice Rig! How was the Harvest Host? On 30 amps my rig won't run both ACs either.

 

[Headhunter]

Nice Rig! How was the Harvest Host? On 30 amps my rig won't run both ACs either.

I ran the coach on 30 amp when we were out west,, but it was for heat not AC. I have twp propane furnaces so it was fine. So I shut off the rear AC and let the front one run overnight. But first I brought down the temperature running both ACs with my generator for a couple of hrs.

Pine Drive Farm Harvest host was nice. They had a freezer full of frozen hamburger, Sausage, and bacon to purchase if you wanted some, farm groan, really good. They even had a little room with two lounger chairs a TV & AC if you wanted to spend some time inside.

HH

 

[redbaron]

If you find yourself in a position of frequent 30amps like I do, then adding a easy start to the air units will let you run 2 on 30amp.

 

[Chargerman]

Just finished installing soft starts in my units earlier today. Looking forward to being able to run both on 30A in the future

 

[Headhunter]

If you find yourself in a position of frequent 30amps like I do, then adding a easy start to the air units will let you run 2 on 30amp.

Ok I never heard of this before. What is involved in installing easy start to your AC units? How much does it cost?

HH

 

[Chargerman]

It is installed within the enclosure on the roof. Install varies a bit based on the manufacturer of your units. I have Dometic A/C’s. Installation involved adding 3 wires in the electrical enclosure and removing a couple wires and adding 2 wires to the compressor. Overall a rather easy installation if you have some mechanical skills. Cost varies from $90-$300 per unit based on where you buy it from

 

[redbaron]

Don’t buy anything other than Micro Air Easy Start. They make a version with Bluetooth and one without. BT is not needed and is extra money.

You do not need to buy their install kit, just get an assortment of Wago with 2,3,5 connectors. You’ll use these in plenty of other places in your RV.

Installation is well documented and easily done by cutting some existing wires and joining to the easy start and moving connections around.

The hardest part is getting comfortable with discharging the capacitor. I use a long handled screw driver with a rubber handle and short it out to drain. No sparks, and very quick. First time I did it I thought nothing happened.

Overall first one will take you 2x as long as the next one.

 

[Headhunter]

Thanks @redbaron & @Chargerman for the info, I never knew this option existed. But this was the only time, besides out west once or twice I ran into just a 30 amp hookup. So I think I will hold on the conversion. Besides I don't have the gumption to climb up on my roof and try it. LOL

HH

 

[Jonf254]

If you find yourself in a position of frequent 30amps like I do, then adding a easy start to the air units will let you run 2 on 30amp.

careful ! soft starts are just that, designed to control the inrush current needed to start the air conditioner. They will not reduce the required power needed by the air conditioners to actually run.That said, consider Furrions Chill Cube 18K, you can run 2 of these units on a 30 amp service right out of the box.

 

[redbaron]

careful ! soft starts are just that, designed to control the inrush current needed to start the air conditioner. They will not reduce the required power needed by the air conditioners to actually run.That said, consider Furrions Chill Cube 18K, you can run 2 of these units on a 30 amp service right out of the box.

Careful….Newmar is not compatible with Furion.

I personally love the furion, but that won’t help the OP.

And soft starter does resolve the issue as the in rush is the problem.

I only need 11amps to run a single 15k air unit or 33 to run all 3


This is down from the 21 starting and 18 running that I had before. The run would eventually lower itself to 14-15amps but never 11 as it does with soft starter.


So for a Newmar owner or any other owner that wants to resolve the problem for $250 approx per unit, easy start is a great solution.

If you have a non Newmar and don’t utilize central control from RV-C or KIB then you may be able to change to a furion chiller, which is arguably the best unit made today.

 

[Jonf254]

Careful….Newmar is not compatible with Furion. Please help me understand, Newmar is the company that makes coach? and do they use some other kind of roof top air conditioners then all the other RV manufacturers? Sorry i know nothing about these coaches or motor homes, i assumed they used a standard roof top air conditioner mounting over a 14x14 cutout.

I personally love the furion, but that won’t help the OP. Again, please help out here, " OP ? "

And soft starter does resolve the issue as the in rush is the problem.

I only need 11amps to run a single 15k air unit or 33 to run all 3... 33 amps at 120volts is 3,960 watts, that's not going to work on a 30 amp circuit, and if the voltage is under 120 volts, then is going to fail even faster as Ohms Law tells us the lower the voltage the higher the Amperage.


This is down from the 21 starting and 18 running that I had before. The run would eventually lower itself to 14-15amps but never 11 as it does with soft starter.11 amps = 1320 watts x 3 units is 3960 watts which = 33 amps, that's 3 amps over a 30 amp breaker and also exceeds the 10 gauge wire 30 amp max rating generally found on the 30 amp RV park/shore power connecting chord.Again this math all assumes your actually getting 120 volts, as I mentioned before, my life experience has shown me most RV parks are often lower then 120 volts, especially during high occupancy and hot weather.


So for a Newmar owner or any other owner that wants to resolve the problem for $250 approx per unit, easy start is a great solution.I would not disagree with this, Im just saying be careful because the math required to run 3 units exceeds circuit size.Id hate to see someone spend 750.00 to later find out he/she is reseting a 30 amp breaker every 5 minutes.

If you have a non Newmar and don’t utilize central control from RV-C or KIB then you may be able to change to a furion chiller, which is arguably the best unit made today.I agree you can't find any 18K 120 volt roof top unit to run on 1450 watts MAX

 

[redbaron]

Yes, Newmar are very different. They only work with Dometic Penguin 2 and the upcoming dometic
Replacement with a retrofit kit. They have the mounting plates built into the construction and a dedicated plenum for the ducting. Further the electronics that control thermostat, auto generator start, and power management only work with dometic ccc2 controlled units, which is only the penguin 2 units.

The OP (original poster) has an tiffin that is trying to run 2 air. This is possible by running the easy start.

Your math is correct regarding 3 units, but that was not the point of the post. The point is to get 2 units on 30 amp.

Not all newmars have 3 air, but those that do benefit by having all 3 air on the easy start allowing the user to determine which pair of air to run.

During the day I run the front and middle. At night I run the rear and middle.

 

[redbaron]

Beyond Newmar, many other coaches cannot change the air from dometic. This includes tiffin, Entegra, realm, marathon, Newell, and American Coach. If the electronics and original design was for a ccc2 penguin 2, your stuck with that model and protocol for the thermostat and autogen .


And to bring it back on topic…all these coaches will benefit from an easy start when staying at. 30amp site found at any harvest host.

 

[Jonf254]

Yes, Newmar are very different. They only work with Dometic Penguin 2 and the upcoming dometic
Replacement with a retrofit kit. They have the mounting plates built into the construction and a dedicated plenum for the ducting. Further the electronics that control thermostat, auto generator start, and power management only work with dometic ccc2 controlled units, which is only the penguin 2 units. My responses would be " Off Topic " but im pretty sure all of these things could be overcome if an owner would like a more efficient unit for cooling.

The OP (original poster) has an tiffin that is trying to run 2 air. This is possible by running the easy start. OP, Original Poster thank you

Your math is correct regarding 3 units, but that was not the point of the post. The point is to get 2 units on 30 amp.Sorry I chimed in, wont happen again.

Not all newmars have 3 air, but those that do benefit by having all 3 air on the easy start allowing the user to determine which pair of air to run.

During the day I run the front and middle. At night I run the rear and middle.

Thank you for sharing this information and your experience. I had no idea with no experience related motorhomes or coaches, I was just attempting to learn more and share knowledge.