I Have Two Roof-Mounted Dometic A/C Units.
Do I Need Two SoftStartRV Units?
Will the one Honda EU2200iii generator be enough, or will I need to hook up my second one as well?
I do have both the EU2200iii and the Companion one, but I was hoping that I could get away with only having to carry one on our trips. I have a 2,000 watt inverter in addition to a Converter. I have 4 x 12volt deep cycle batteries on board as well as a Dometic refrigerator.
Your combination of a Dometic 13.5k and 15k rooftop A/C is actually quite common. Our customers have lots of installations into configurations of this type.
You have 2 basic choices:
- a) If you only want to carry one generator, choose an A/C unit into which you will install the SoftStartRV, and that will be the only A/C that will need the SoftStartRV.
That will be the only A/C you can operate when you are just using a Honda EU2200iii.
If you go this route, we recommend you choose the smaller 13.5k A/C since that will leave your more electrical space on the generator to supply some auxiliary loads in your trailer to other appliances like your Dometic refrigerator.
These auxiliary loads will be limited…
- b) If you want to carry both generators to run both A/Cs, or if you want to be able to run both A/Cs on a single 30A cord, then you would need to install a SoftStartRV on both A/Cs.
Customers tell us that being able to run both A/Cs in hot weather conditions is really a necessity because one A/C can’t typically keep up with the cool air needed in a larger trailer.
Also, being able to run both A/Cs on a 30 amp hookup instead of having to find the more elusive 50amp hookups is also a huge advantage.
The auxiliary load is a very important point to consider when it comes to your total generator capacity and how much you want to have to worry – or not – about power management.
You mentioned the Dometic refrigerator, which can draw upwards of 800 Watts, and a converter which can draw up to 1,000 Watts in rapid charge mode when lighting and other appliances are turned on.
Those two items – under certain conditions – could almost completely use the entire output from one Honda EU2200iii generator. Add that to the consumption of your A/Cs units, 1,600 Watt for the 13.5k and 1,750Watt for the 15k, and you can easily see that you need one generator to handle one A/C and perhaps some small auxiliary loads of no more than 200-300W, and a second generator to handle the other more substantial auxiliary loads like your big refrigerator and converter.
Ideally, two 2,000 Watt generators and 2 SoftStartRV units on each A/C would work nicely, without having to be concerned about power management.
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