Air Conditioner Compressor Capacitor

I read some articles where people were able to start their air conditioners off one Honda EU2000i by increasing the size of the compressor starting capacitor. Here is one of the articles http://www.modmyrv.com/2009/05/27/rv-air-conditioner-hard-start-capacitor from the modmyrv website. We have a 13500 unit on our 1685, and I have two Honda EU2000i's that I parallel together to specifically run the air conditioner when we are out in the desert so I thought I would try this mod. I ordered a SPP6E from Patriot http://www.patriot-supply.com/products/showitem.cfm/153429 and installed it yesterday. Here is the install.

The cover has 4 bolts on top that you have to remove to lift the cover



The capacitors are behind a plate on the slide out side of the trailer. Removal of two screws allows you to pull the plate off.



There are two capacitors in this area. A tall round one for the compressor and a short oval one for the blower.



The SPP6E is made to piggyback onto the tall round capacitor for the compressor and there are available contacts.



Remove the wire strap that holds the two capacitors in place, clip the two leads of the SPP6E to open contacts on the tall round capacitor, and install all three back into the box with the wire safety strap holding all three in place.



Put the cover plate and cover back on for the electronics and unit, and you are done.

I was able to start and run our 13500 unit on one EU2000i. Start up required about 1500 watts and once the system was running, the draw was a constant 1320 watts. Plenty of room to spare for one EU2000i.

****UPDATE JULY 12, 2011****
I have found that altitude affects my fix on this.  Camping at 6000' in Alabama Hills by Lone Pine, CA and could not start the A/C on one generator.  Had to use both in parallel to run the A/C.  Works fine at sea level with just one generator.  Obviously I am close to the max power draw on one generator at sea level and the altitude lowers the power generation enough to drop below the power level needed for the A/C.  I will continue to test in different locations as we camp to gather more data.


****UPDATE MAY 13, 2012****
A good friend passed to me information from a Coleman Technician that the the Supco SPP6 capacitor that many forums recommend to help start our A/C compressors are no good and will shorten the compressors life.  The Tech recommended a Coleman 8333a9021 start kit. I ordered one off Ebay for $21.  Swapped it out with the SPP6 and everything still works great.  I have not been camping in altitude since my last update so no new news on using one generator yet. 

Improving Radio Reception

Our radio has never gotten repception since we bought our trailer. Read several times where people found the antenna wire balled up behind the radio so decided to look yesterday. I found a 75 ohm antenna connected and mashed behind the radio. Even when stretched out, this antenna was not pulling in signals very well. Decided to upgrade the antenna to the 300 ohm connection on the radio and run tv coax to the tv antenna panel by the tv.

First, I removed the microwave and snaked a coat hanger over the fridge and through the hole for the antenna panel.



Then I taped a 12 foot coax to the hanger and pulled the coax back though the hole to the microwave cabinet.



The antenna panel has a connection for a second tv (plus the sat connection that is not hooked to anything) so I connected the coax to the "set2" connection and reinstalled the panel.



Now with one end connected, I ran the coax along the outside wall in the top of the cabinets to the radio and connected the coax to a 300ohm coax to terminal connector. We now get GREAT radio reception.



After installing the radio back to the cabinet, I pulled the remaining (about 2 feet) cable back though the cabinets and pushed it into the space above the fridge. Add a couple cable holders along the top wall to hold the cable up and out of the way, and all is done.

Guess if we ever want to add a second tv to the trailer I will have to rethink this but I am not sure where we would put another tv!