Digitalsteve

He could run the coach generator until the charging load was reduced, then use the 1000w generator to finish charging and provide some house power. The little generator has a circuit breaker that will trip if it is overloaded, it should not stall. Also he would need to leave the frig and hot water on propane, until the batteries were fully charged, otherwise the generator would trip every time the frig compressor started and or the electric heating element in the hot water heater turned on. (might even have to leave the water heater off in the 120 volts circuit breaker panel.) Jimmy, What was the cost to add the solar? I was thinking of adding some panels to my rig. 200 watts doesn't seem like much, but it would nice if they could keep the batteries (4 8D's) charged enough to run the inside lights (LEDs), water pump and keep the laptop charged. Not sure they would pay for themselves very quickly with fuel savings, but lack of generator noise and pollution would sure be nice.

It's a good idea to to drain them when ever you shut off the engine. There probably is a switch near the pilot's seat, that actuates the drain valve, hood it on for 20-30 seconds. Leaving water in the tanks, leads quickly to rust, which can get into the system, clogging filters. Depending on the weather/humidity and the type of driving (hills, traffic, etc) the water can build up fairly quickly.

Just be careful, a long extension cord and/or a worn or loose 115 volt plug end can get hot. It can heat up enough to cause a fire if combustibles are near (especially above), so even keep a good connection out from under your coach and away from anything that burns. When I connect this way, I turn off the breaker to my coach's hot water heater, so I can run the frig, otherwise the breaker trips if they both happen to start at the same time. Also, when first plugged in, my coach can draw almost 15 amps (for just the charger), if the batteries are low. So I even leave the frig off until I see the charger has reduced it's output.

Could be one or more of the following: A. Since the electrical panel breaker for the AC unit does not trip, the total load on the generator may be near the limit. I.E. You have othe things pulling power from the generator or something else comes on like the frig, waterpump, electric water heater, etc when the AC unit is running. (As has been suggested, see if the AC unit runs on shore power and does not trip the breaker in the panel. This will give you a good indication that the AC unit is OK) B. A loose connection between the AC unit and the electrical panel or between the electrical panel and the generator could heat up after 15 minutes of heavy load and the generator breaker trips. Since the eletrical panel breaker for the AC unit does not trip, then I suspect the problem may be between the generator and the electrical panel. C. The circuit breaker on the generator may be bad. ( A loose connection at the breaker can cause heat that will damage the breaker. check to see that the connection is tight and there is no dis-coloration from being hot.)- vibration from use can sometimes loosen the connections. Placing a clamp-on amp-meter on the output of the generator will tell you if the load is exceeding the breaker rating. If it is not, then the breaker is bad, if the load is near or above the rating of the breaker, then you need to see what is using the power. Good Luck Steve Snyder Electrical Contractor