Easy RV AC Starter

Easy Start your RV Air Conditioner with a portable generator on your RV Camper or Boat!

If a smaller size portable generator stalls and trips the overload
after the RV air conditioner starts...

Ever tried to start your A/C on a hot day with a generator that, theoretically, should run your A/C? The generator struggles and goes into overload because he cannot supply the starting current required to start the compressor and the fan motor. Of course, you can try to find help on the Internet. RV-forums and the Internet are filled with solutions; often written by folks with not much of experience!

Here are a few facts about RV air conditioners and Hard Start Kits:

1. RV Air Conditioners with 13’500 / 15'000 BTU use about 1500/1800 Watt in cooling mode. That is equal to about 15 Amps on a 120 Volt power- supply. Even smaller portable generators are capable of running this A/C, but the real problem is the START!

The installation of our SUPER BOOST Hard Start might solve this problem, but most of the times, there are a few more tweaks required...

2. Every time an A/C starts, both the compressor and fan motor are energized together. The two motors usually consume about 12 to 15 running Amps while operating in a cooling cycle; however, the Amp draw at the starting cycle is about five times higher. Even though this power surge lasts just a few seconds, it is enough to stall the generator and trip the overload!

Here is a simple solution: Use our RV-AC-Starter™! A smart time control circuit (Pat. pending) delays the fan-motor for a few seconds, giving the compressor enough time to start up and run with full speed before the fan motor starts. As an additional advantage, the evaporator coil has a bit time to cool down before the room blower starts.

The installation of the RV A/C Starter™ is straightforward - all parts are wired together and installed on a small aluminum plate. Just disconnect one wire and attach it to the starter kit, then connect the free wire from the starter kit to the now empty place where the other wire used to be. (Don't worry, easy to follow instructions are included).

We bought a Yamaha EF2400I Generator (2000 Watt cont. / 2400 Watt surge ) to run our 13'500 BTU rooftop air conditioner. That is an excellent choice for Campers, easy to start and comfortably quiet, just like the bigger Honda EU2200i.

But when the air conditioner starts, the generator stalls and the overload trips, not always, but too many times...

No question, this will finally kill your generator and the A/C. We installed a hard-start super boost capacitor and the AC started much smoother and faster, but the overload still tripped too often!

The new RV-AC-Starter™ (pat. pending) will start your AC even with a smaller size portable generator.

We have a small portable generator in our service van, a SmarterTools 1800W (2200W peak) inverter generator.

Just out of curiosity, we connected this generator to our Motor home that has an RV-AC starter installed.

No one expected that this small generator would be able to start and run our Air Conditioner. But It did work - and even run for about 1 hour, and I think he would run for much longer!

No - I don't promote a 1800 watt generator for your RV AC, but this experiment shows that our amazing RV-AC Starter is the solution for many desperate RV enthusiasts (happy wife = happy life...)

The RV AC Starter™ is ready to use, it takes no time to attach the kit to the cabinet wall with the included nylon ties.

Measurements: 2x5" 3/4" high, comes with tie-wrap's, screws and easy to understand instructions.

The RV-AC-Starter™ is AVAILABLE in our store at e-Bay - applianceandair-store

Best Camping & RV Generators to start an RV air conditioner and what to look for:

Noise Level:

RV generators are a great thing to have in your RV, especially when you’re out Boondocking (Dry-camping). But a big downside to RV generators is the loud noise that some cheap generators produce.

Boondocking with an RV Air Conditioner:

If you (and your boondocking neighbors) enjoy the quiet of nature, look for a silent inverter generator like a Honda or Yamaha brand.

Some affordable portable Generators:

Cummins Onan P2500i Portable Generator (less than 700 dollars - 2200 Watt running!) ($695.00)

Westinghouse iPro2500 - 2200 Watt Professional Portable Inverter Generator (700.00)

Power: The inverter technology means smooth, clean energy for the devoted RV expert. If you want to use your rooftop RV AC, you will need at least 2000W running power respectively 2400 starting power. But most of the times, the generator struggles and trips the overload at the start of the air conditioner.