# Generator Issues



## taxidermist (Sep 11, 2007)

When it comes to a generator, I must have the worst luck. I purchased a Champion 4000 inverter and the seller said it would run the A/C unit my RV. Well, that was a total BS song and dance. Ran great, but wouldn't run the A/C. I took a loss of $200 and sold it.

My Son-in-Law said his Westinghouse Wgen 4850 dual fuel powers his A/C and everything else in his trailer. Cool I thought, and snagged one from Amazon. After tax and shipping it was near $675. Read the manual, assembled the wheel kit, filled with fuel, hooked up the battery wiring and gave it a try. Took a few times to get gowing, but it finally fired up and ran for about 30 seconds and began sputtering, and died. It worked great on Propane Fuel, but with the propane it wont generate the power to run the A/C. 

I contacted the "helpline" and that was joke in itself. Finally after multiple emails and speaking with a rep. He said it sounded like an altitude issue. I ordered the kit ($25) installed it today and the same chit happens. So now, I'm into a Generator $700 and it doesn't work. I've had it with Westinghouse and I've demanded they send a new one or refund my money at 100%. 

Oh, and get this. You would think that with the name Westinghouse, it would be a USA product. LMAO!!!! In bold letters it says "Made in Vietnam" Really??? 

What would any of you do if you were in my shoes? It's been three weeks since I've had this boat anchor.


----------



## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

Sounds like you are buying too small of a generator. I'm presuming that the generator that you bought off of Amazon is 4850 watts by it's name.

First off you will need to find out how many amps your home on wheels draw with everything on. That's AC, fridge, microwave, lights, TV and such. I'm guessing that the AC on the unit is 110 and not 220. But once you figure out how many amps everything draws you can convert them over to watts to see what size of a generator you need. 

Or use this simple calculator they have a section for RV's.









Portable Generator Wattage Calculator - Easily Calculate the Right Portable Generator Size


Our portable generator wattage calculator makes sizing your portable generator a cinch. Easily calculate the right home generator size by checking off which appliances you want to power.




www.electricgeneratorsdirect.com





Have you contacted Amazon to tell them what a piece of junk that you bought off of them yet? And as you should know nothing is built here in the good old USA anymore as far as appliances. I just purchased a home AC unit that was made somewhere in Asia.


----------



## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

What people don't realize is you loose 10% power output every 1000ft of elevation over 4000'ish ft elevation. So what works great at sea level, ain't going to cut it on the Skyline.

For a 13.5k AC, it needs 3400 watts generally to startup and run. But at High altitude you need 4000 watts of power if you want to run it. Bigger trailers use the 15k AC's, so while a 4000 watt ac might be just fine at sea level, its not going to work for 15k ac's high altitude. Those trailers with dual 15ks... or even 3... good lord, they must have a massive Onan on board.

I learned this the hard way as I tried one of those "soft start kits" for the AC. People on youtube were running 13.5k ACs off a single UE2000 watt Honda generator. I had just sold my old and very tired EU2000's and bought a single EU2200, so the thought of AC on a single generator sounded like the bomb...and you know what? The AC started right up and ran FANTASTIC on a single generator... in my driveway, on a cool day. We went up fishing for the weekend and found there was no chance in hell of it working in hot thin air. We had to run fan only over that hot weekend at +8k ft elevation. Came home and bought a second EU2200.

I still have the soft start installed... figured what the heck, might as well leave it. Less wear and tear starting up anyway. But yea I'm running 4400watts now so AC is effortless plus a bunch of other stuff works fine at the same time.

I have a bulk 6 gallon boat fuel tank now setup to feed the generators. They can run for 3-4 days nonstop without fueling if I needed to. Or a week on a single generator running on eco.

As for the Westinghouse, my wife's cousin's son came camping over Memorial Day weekend with us. He had a brand new Westinghouse and it was surging like crazy trying to idle. The son said "they're supposed to be like that", me and my brother in law (who also runs Honda's) keep trying to tell him no they are not supposed to do that. You got plugged or incorrect jets. But yea, I wasn't impressed with it.

-DallanC


----------



## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

PS: You also loose 10% power output if you run generators on propane vs gasoline. Propane just doesnt have the energy Gasoline has.

-DallanC


----------



## MrShane (Jul 21, 2019)

Also be sure to run pure gas in your gen, you will get a little more power from any engine without the 10% corn juice in your fuel tank.


----------



## taxidermist (Sep 11, 2007)

The Son in Law has the identical Gen that I purchased. It will run his AC and everything else in his trailer at 8,500', that's why I got it. I went with it because of the remote start feature, it would be a lot easier for the wife to get running if I'm out hunting. 

I've done the calculations like Critter mentioned and this will operate the trailer. It's a small 21' 5th wheel just perfect for the wife and I. I like the smaller size which makes it better for pulling doubles. 

I'm frustrated with the way Westinghouse CS has treated me. There is a certified repair shop in Layton for them, but I'm not going to pay out of pocket for the small engine repairs possibly needed to make it run properly. I wanted to send it back through Amazon and even that is a joke. I have to deal with Westinghouse first. 

I've learned my lesson about ordering online now. I will never purchase anything like a generator again to save $60. I'll drive to the dealer and pay them. 

Oh ya, I only run 91 octane clear fuel in my small engines. I buy it at Cardwell Oil and not the crap they sell at Maverick.


----------



## MrShane (Jul 21, 2019)

taxidermist said:


> The Son in Law has the identical Gen that I purchased. It will run his AC and everything else in his trailer at 8,500', that's why I got it. I went with it because of the remote start feature, it would be a lot easier for the wife to get running if I'm out hunting.
> 
> I've done the calculations like Critter mentioned and this will operate the trailer. It's a small 21' 5th wheel just perfect for the wife and I. I like the smaller size which makes it better for pulling doubles.
> 
> ...


Maverik pure gas has always treated me well, especially in my outboard.
Have you had issues?


----------



## taxidermist (Sep 11, 2007)

MrShane said:


> Maverik pure gas has always treated me well, especially in my outboard.
> Have you had issues?


A couple years ago I purchased a Honda Snowblower from Jordan Mower. Dave (the owner) said to stay away from the Maverik gas. He has had to "fix" engines from folks that have used it. I run the Cardwell fuel in my outboard and side by side. Haven't had any issues so far.


----------



## MrShane (Jul 21, 2019)

taxidermist said:


> A couple years ago I purchased a Honda Snowblower from Jordan Mower. Dave (the owner) said to stay away from the Maverik gas. He has had to "fix" engines from folks that have used it. I run the Cardwell fuel in my outboard and side by side. Haven't had any issues so far.


Gotcha.
I bought a lot of equipment from Dave and Brody over the years.
I was the Park and Cemetery Superintendent at South Jordan for 11 years and then went to Draper as the Parks and Open Space Superintendent for almost five years.
Lots of mowers, string trimmers, and chain saws.


----------



## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

Pure gas is best for sure, I get mine at Silver Eagle when I can. But honestly, any gas will work if you drain and run the generator dry after each use.

This is where the new Honda EU2200s are snazzy... the "ON / OFF" rotating switch has an additional setting from the EU2000s, it turns off the fuel pump so you can let the generator run itself dry. They also added a drain screw right on the carb bowl so you can drain them just as easily that way (they extended the carb drain tube out the bottom of the generator so its easy to capture the fuel back into a gas can).

-DallanC


----------



## taxidermist (Sep 11, 2007)

If they sold the Hondas cheaper, I'd get one. But, I'm cheap and don't want to pay 2K for a generator. After looking back I'm dang near into this boat anchor I have now that much.


----------



## MrShane (Jul 21, 2019)

DallanC said:


> Pure gas is best for sure, I get mine at Silver Eagle when I can. But honestly, any gas will work if you drain and run the generator dry after each use.
> 
> This is where the new Honda EU2200s are snazzy... the "ON / OFF" rotating switch has an additional setting from the EU2000s, it turns off the fuel pump so you can let the generator run itself dry. They also added a drain screw right on the carb bowl so you can drain them just as easily that way (they extended the carb drain tube out the bottom of the generator so its easy to capture the fuel back into a gas can).
> 
> -DallanC


I sold my old 2000 and bought the new 2200 last year.
I also love the ‘fuel off’ part of that switch.
The 2200 can run my Lance camper A/C just fine but does need to have about a 30 minute rest for A/C to depressurize for re-start.
I also have the EU1000 for beach camping out of my boat to charge my trolling batteries after a long day.
I also pack it with toyhauler for when wife runs down Onan starter batteries.
That little 1000 at 26 lbs is priceless to me!


----------



## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

Oh yea, the 1000 is an awesome generator. My dad gave me one shortly after I was married for Christmas. Super handy and reliable. Later on when we upgraded from tents to a camp trailer, I bought a pair of used eu2000s. We put a ton of hours on them, and they finally started to smoke a bit, needing rebuild. Decided to sell them and upgrade to a single new eu2200 with a soft start for the AC. The generator would actually power my AC at home on a cool day, but if it got warm, or if we got in thinner air it was impossible. I ended up buying a second eu2200 and life has been nice. More than enough juice to use the AC whenever, and anything else we want to use at the same time.

It will kick a breaker if either generator shuts down, but I can immediately restart the AC with the soft-start ... so its at least good for that, makes startup fairly easy on the unit.

Thats one reason I went to a bulk tank setup for both generators. No worrying if either gets low on fuel.

-DallanC


----------



## MrShane (Jul 21, 2019)

DallanC said:


> Oh yea, the 1000 is an awesome generator. My dad gave me one shortly after I was married for Christmas. Super handy and reliable. Later on when we upgraded from tents to a camp trailer, I bought a pair of used eu2000s. We put a ton of hours on them, and they finally started to smoke a bit, needing rebuild. Decided to sell them and upgrade to a single new eu2200 with a soft start for the AC. The generator would actually power my AC at home on a cool day, but if it got warm, or if we got in thinner air it was impossible. I ended up buying a second eu2200 and life has been nice. More than enough juice to use the AC whenever, and anything else we want to use at the same time.
> 
> It will kick a breaker if either generator shuts down, but I can immediately restart the AC with the soft-start ... so its at least good for that, makes startup fairly easy on the unit.
> 
> ...


I have an old snowmobile tank in my shop in case I want to use a Honda to run an ice eater at my duck property.
I think it is 7 gal or so, I figure it would run the Honda at least 4 or 5 days.


----------



## Corey (Aug 26, 2021)

I run my a/c with a Honda eu2200. I was going to get the 3000 since the 2200 is usually not enough but I didn’t want the extra weight and bulk of a bigger generator until I found the hutch mountain easy start. It’s a little box that is easy to wire into the ac unit and basically acts like a dimmer switch for a the ac so when it kicks on it slowly ramps up the power instead of coming on all at once which allows you to run a smaller generator without popping the breaker. Once it gets started the ac runs as normal. It was about $300 and has worked perfectly for the last few years. My buddies have a couple harbor freight predator generators that look to be Chinese Honda knock offs that have been really impressive for half the price. They have used their generators 100x more as I do and haven’t had an issue. Whatever brand generator you go with the addition of the easy start is the way to go imo. Just a couple more ideas…


----------



## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

Like I said, I have that soft start on my 13.5k AC, the EU2200 will run it, but only at my house elevation on a cool day. At the house on a hot day, it wont run it. Go up in elevation beyond 5500ft, it wont run it.

I wasted $340 or whatever it was on the soft start.

-DallanC


----------



## Corey (Aug 26, 2021)

DallanC said:


> Like I said, I have that soft start on my 13.5k AC, the EU2200 will run it, but only at my house elevation on a cool day. At the house on a hot day, it wont run it. Go up in elevation beyond 5500ft, it wont run it.
> 
> I wasted $340 or whatever it was on the soft start.
> 
> -DallanC


Sorry I didn’t notice that you mentioned the soft start. That’s weird though, mine has worked at elevation 7k+ 90 degrees without issue. The initial learning procedure for the box could be the culprit, it’s been awhile but I remember it being simple but specific. I wonder if there’s a procedure for you to run so the unit relearns the start cycle?


----------



## Corey (Aug 26, 2021)

Corey said:


> Sorry I didn’t notice that you mentioned the soft start. That’s weird though, mine has worked at elevation 7k+ 90 degrees without issue. The initial learning procedure for the box could be the culprit, it’s been awhile but I remember it being simple but specific. I wonder if there’s a procedure for you to run so the unit relearns the start cycle?


After I responded to your response I got curious and looked at the instruction manual. They say that since most generators are calibrated to run optimally at sea level anything else on like a water heater, fridge battery charger etc will be too much for a 2000 watt generator. If nothing else is on and it’s not working the generator might need to be recalibrated for altitude, which a simple change of carb jetting. I don’t know why mine seems to work at altitude, maybe a difference in fuel since I try to get the least amount of ethanol %fuel and add a ethanol treatment but It’s still likely too rich and not running optimally so I will probably start rejetting mine when at altitude and just swap jets back when at home for emergency use. I’m glad to have stumbled on to this since it showed me that I probably need to correct my carb jetting for future trips.


----------



## bowgy (Oct 10, 2007)

I have 2 of the Honda 2200 generators that you can wire together for 4400 or so. They seem to work great and are light, for my other travel trailer I bought the Harbor Freight Predator 3500, it is more quiet than the Honda's and runs the aircon with no problems. But I haven't tried it at high altitudes yet, about 8500 is the highest that I have used it.


----------



## BearLakeFishGuy (Apr 15, 2013)

I would have went to Harbor Freight and bought a bigger generator for less money than you spent and been enjoying air. My friend has a HF generator (7000 watts) with a wheel kit and electric start and it has been flawless for a few years of heavy use. I think HF generators (and all HF gas engines) take a bad rap from people. I've had a HF woodsplitter that works better than my buddy's $1,699 wood splitter from Lowes, and I paid $650. Run Starton in the gas on all small engines and use premium gas and you should be all set.


----------



## taxidermist (Sep 11, 2007)

I finally have an "OK" from Westinghouse to take it to the only "certified repair" dealer they use in Utah. It's in Layton and I've heard great remarks about them. I will be dropping it off today to see what they can come up with. I will post what comes of it and how the Gen runs (if it's not jacked up beyond repair) when I find something out.


----------

