Micro-Air

[Buzzy]

Matteo,

 

You might consider sending a Personal Message (PM) to "Hardrock", (Coy) who is the owner point person for the Rally, and/or "Essary17",(Jason) who is the Oliver Travel Trailer point person.

 

Buzzy

[Overland]

If you do decide to go to the rally, that might be enough to make me drive over, at least for the day. I'd like to see and know more.

[KarenLukens]

Not to take this topic off-track, but I’m looking at your 2nd Annual Rally at the beginning of May in TN (thanks to a tip from donbob3). I see many vendors will be there, including our largest OEM customer Dometic, to which we sell marine A/C controls in high volume and have for many years. Thanks to this topic here, I’m thinking that a lot of Oliver owners might be interested in hearing more about EasyStart at what looks like quite a wonderful event. I would really like to participate to perhaps give a demonstration and/or a technical seminar, but I realize it may be too late to get in. From reviewing the rally web page, I cannot quite tell who the best person is to contact about perhaps joining in with the vendors and seminars. Does anyone know who I should contact? Thanks in advance.

 

Another thing to consider if you plan on going is if you do installs, you could set it up to take appointment times to install the easy start for people attending the rally. I'm sure that you could book yourself as solid as you want to before the rally.

[GrayGhost]

Here's a video of a 16k BTU a/c  unit starting with EasyStart powered by a Honda 2000 generator.

 

 

 

[Micro-Air]

Thanks GrayGhost. That's a great video from one of our top marine dealers, Coastal Climate Control, in Maryland. If you have more time, please check out the video we at Micro-Air did of the installation into a Coleman rooftop unit. This video is almost a year old, and used the original black-enclosure EasyStart 364, which is now obsolete. It has been replaced by a beige IP65 (fully weatherproof) enclosure now shown on our website.

 

And if while watching you start to fall asleep ;-), there is a clickable video outline in the description box that will allow you to jump to different parts of the video that you may be more interested in.

 

<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/soP0uZFd0nQ" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="">;</iframe>

[Micro-Air]

Thank you, GrayGhost. That's a great video made by one of our top marine dealers, Coastal Climate Control, in Maryland. He sells a lot of EasyStarts into marine applications. We at Micro-Air also did a detailed video of an EasyStart installation into a Coleman rooftop. There's a lot of information in this video, including some head-to-head testing with a hard start kit. I used the original black-enclosure EasyStart, which is now obsolete and has been replaced with a fully weatherproof IP65 enclosure (beige), as shown on our website.

 

If while watching this second video I start to put you to sleep, please use the clickable video outline in the video's description box to jump to the parts that you are more interested in.

 

soP0uZFd0nQ

[Micro-Air]

Matteo, You might consider sending a Personal Message (PM) to “Hardrock”, (Coy) who is the owner point person for the Rally, and/or “Essary17”,(Jason) who is the Oliver Travel Trailer point person. Buzzy

 

Thanks to the leads from Buzzy, I spoke with both Coy (Hardrock), which led me to discussions with Jeff and Jason at Oliver. We're all set to attend the rally. I'll be there will lots of free stuff, EasyStarts, some test equipment, and perhaps a presentation. We're going to do a before-and-after demonstration, probably on Hardrock's trailer.

 

Looking forward to meeting everyone in the Oliver community and seeing a part of the country I have yet to visit.

[hardrock]

For those that desire to have Easy Starts installed on your Oliver, you may want to contact Jason Essary to coordinate the installation

 

coy

[Mike and Carol]

Coy, assuming Micro-Air will have a vendor area for demonstrations Saturday afternoon?  Just look for your trailer!  ????

 

Mike

[Hikegsm]

Overland, Yes, some owners have installed the Easy Start. Not sure if we have Forum members who are also using the Penguin II AC. Since many of the Ollies in circulation use the Penguin II, I am hoping the Micro-Air rep will post his experience working with Penguin II owners. I should think if your dry camping in southern states, you absolutely need an Easy Start. Never made sense to me that I can dry camp and run my furnace, but not my AC. I guess I view this technology as essential if it works on my configuration. Although an Easy Start may allow me to fire up the AC, not sure how long I could run it on my battery supply. I do not plan to utilize a generator. Would enjoy hearing from an experienced owner for a reality check! Buzzy PS – Sent off a PM to our Micro-Air member with the hope he/she will post on this thread. Fingers crossed!

 

For all of you lucky enough to attend the rally, what did you think of the easy start? Can you run the current Ollie A/C with a Honda 2000? Can you start with the inverter? Seriously considering this purchase...

 

Thanks

 

Yvonne

[hardrock]

I was the first at the rally to purchase the easy start and have it installed by the factory representative, Matteo.  He installed the easy start in my unit and provided training to the Oliver technicians. Now Oliver has the easy start in stock and can install on new Ollies or retrofit, as was done with mine

 

I am very pleased with the easy start.  When the AC  Starts up the first time , it is much quieter.  It is a slow start and you do not get the loud THUMP and jarring movement of the whole trailer.  Each time the compressor turns on after the AC  has been running, it is much more quiet with no jarring movement.  I have a Dometic Penguin II 13,500 with heat strips. Although I have an Elite, it is the same AC unit as in the Elite II. I had a Coleman and after using it the first time, I took it back to Hohenwald.  It was extremely loud, inside and out.

 

I was told by Matteo that many were using their easy start with the Honda 2000 with no issues.  He advised to purchase the companion model since it has the 30 amp plug.  I will purchase the Honda generator this summer.

 

Hardrock

[Micro-Air]

For all of you lucky enough to attend the rally, what did you think of the easy start? Can you run the current Ollie A/C with a Honda 2000? Can you start with the inverter? Seriously considering this purchase… Thanks Yvonne

 

I was told by Matteo that many were using their easy start with the Honda 2000 with no issues. He advised to purchase the companion model since it has the 30 amp plug. I will purchase the Honda generator this summer. Hardrock

 

Thanks, Hardrock.  To help answer Yvonne's question and everyone else who is wondering, in spite of the fact that there have been hundreds of success stories with the Honda EU2000i and EasyStart, I don't have a video!  What I do have though is oscilloscope shots since we do own a 15k Dometic Penguin II and a Honda EU2000i at our factory in NJ.  (Note that the new Olivers use only the 13.5k Penguin II, either the heat pump or electric heat versions.)

 

As you can see in the below, the start-up without EasyStart on utility power is huge, over 50A peak. We measured over 46A at the rally using another device. With EasyStart on utility power, the peak current draw is way down, below 14A for the compressor alone. We measured 14.5A at the rally using another device. Lastly, the start-up on the Honda EU2000i with EasyStart is almost indistinguishable from that of the start-up on utility power with EasyStart. In other words, the Honda doesn't even flinch. Hope this helps.

 

Start-up of 15k Dometic Penguin II on utility power without EasyStart:

 

Start-up of 15k Dometic Penguin II on utility power with EasyStart:</u>

 

Start-up of 15k Dometic Penguin II on Honda EU2000i in ECO mode with EasyStart:<u></u></u>

[Micro-Air]

For all of you lucky enough to attend the rally, what did you think of the easy start? Can you run the current Ollie A/C with a Honda 2000? Can you start with the inverter? Seriously considering this purchase… Thanks Yvonne

 

I was told by Matteo that many were using their easy start with the Honda 2000 with no issues. He advised to purchase the companion model since it has the 30 amp plug. I will purchase the Honda generator this summer. Hardrock

 

Thanks, Hardrock.  To help answer Yvonne's question and everyone else who is wondering, in spite of the fact that there have been hundreds of success stories with the Honda EU2000i and EasyStart, I don't have a video!  What I do have though is oscilloscope shots since we do own a 15k Dometic Penguin II and a Honda EU2000i at our factory in NJ.  (Note that the new Olivers use only the 13.5k Penguin II, either the heat pump or electric heat versions.)

 

As you can see in the below, the start-up without EasyStart on utility power is huge, over 50A peak. We measured over 46A at the rally using another device. With EasyStart on utility power, the peak current draw is way down, below 14A for the compressor alone. We measured 14.5A at the rally using another device. Lastly, the start-up on the Honda EU2000i with EasyStart is almost indistinguishable from that of the start-up on utility power with EasyStart. In other words, the Honda doesn't even flinch. Hope this helps.

 

Start-up of 15k Dometic Penguin II on utility power without EasyStart:

 

Start-up of 15k Dometic Penguin II on utility power with EasyStart:

 

Start-up of 15k Dometic Penguin II on Honda EU2000i in ECO mode with EasyStart:

[Micro-Air]

For all of you lucky enough to attend the rally, what did you think of the easy start? Can you run the current Ollie A/C with a Honda 2000? Can you start with the inverter? Seriously considering this purchase… Thanks Yvonne

 

I was told by Matteo that many were using their easy start with the Honda 2000 with no issues. He advised to purchase the companion model since it has the 30 amp plug. I will purchase the Honda generator this summer. Hardrock

 

Thanks, Hardrock. To help answer Yvonne's question and everyone else who is wondering, in spite of the fact that there have been hundreds of success stories with the Honda EU2000i and EasyStart, I don't have a video!  What I do have though is oscilloscope shots since we do own a 15k Dometic Penguin II and a Honda EU2000i at our factory in NJ.  (Note that the new Olivers use only the 13.5k Penguin II, either the heat pump or electric heat versions.)

 

As you can see in the below, the start-up without EasyStart on utility power is huge, over 50A peak. We measured over 46A at the rally using another device. With EasyStart on utility power, the peak current draw is way down, below 14A for the compressor alone. We measured 14.5A at the rally using another device. Lastly, the start-up on the Honda EU2000i with EasyStart is almost indistinguishable from that of the start-up on utility power with EasyStart. In other words, the Honda doesn't even flinch. Hope this helps.

 

Start-up of 15k Dometic Penguin II on utility power without EasyStart:

 

Start-up of 15k Dometic Penguin II on utility power with EasyStart:

 

Start-up of 15k Dometic Penguin II on Honda EU2000i in ECO mode with EasyStart:

[Micro-Air]

For all of you lucky enough to attend the rally, what did you think of the easy start? Can you run the current Ollie A/C with a Honda 2000? Can you start with the inverter? Seriously considering this purchase… Thanks Yvonne

 

I was told by Matteo that many were using their easy start with the Honda 2000 with no issues. He advised to purchase the companion model since it has the 30 amp plug. I will purchase the Honda generator this summer. Hardrock

 

Thanks, Hardrock.  To help answer Yvonne's question and everyone else who might be wondering, although there have been hundreds of success stories with the Honda EU2000i and EasyStart, I don't have a video to prove it!  What I do have though is oscilloscope shots since we do own a 15k Dometic Penguin II and a Honda EU2000i at our factory in NJ.  (Note that the new Olivers use only the 13.5k Penguin II, either the heat pump or electric heat versions.)

 

As you can see in the below, the start-up without EasyStart on utility power is huge, over 50A peak. We measured over 46A at the rally using another device. With EasyStart on utility power, the peak current draw is way down, below 14A for the compressor alone. We measured 14.5A at the rally using another device. Lastly, the start-up on the Honda EU2000i with EasyStart is almost indistinguishable from that of the start-up on utility power with EasyStart. In other words, the Honda doesn't even flinch. Hopefully, this helps everyone out.

 

Start-up of 15k Dometic Penguin II on utility power without EasyStart:

 

Start-up of 15k Dometic Penguin II on utility power with EasyStart:

 

Start-up of 15k Dometic Penguin II on Honda EU2000i in ECO mode with EasyStart:

[Micro-Air]

Hi DeadGrandp. I believe I am aware too. I was discussing this specifically with an owner at the rally. Examining my records, I've worked with 3 separate customers since December on EasyStart installations into Atwood/Air Command rooftop A/C units. The wiring is pretty much the same, although Atwood draws their wiring diagrams a bit differently. I created custom wiring diagrams for these customers, and did dialogue back and forth with them a few times, but I don't seem to have any record of their reporting success or failure. I assumed "no news was good news". I'd have to imagine that if things were not working, they would have let me know. Bottom line, all rooftops are designed with basically the same wiring and components, so EasyStart will work fine in Atwood, Coleman/Airxcel, or Dometic. Where it gets physically located inside the unit is the only part that might differ.

[Windwalker]

Hey Buzzy missed you at the rally, the Micro Air easy start product works as advertised it's an amazing product I installed this on my trailer and can now run my Mach8 off of my Honda 2000 and has reduced the compressor start up bang that is normal on most RV air conditioners, I have not tried to use my inverter yet as I need to move the airconditioner over to the Inverter side of the a/c panel.

 

Marc

 

 

 

 

[ScottRicki]

Is anyone having trouble running their Penguin II on a Honda 2000? The Easy Start was installed by Oliver before trailer pickup. Since I couldn't the gen to work properly, the Oliver team spent hours ensuring the Easy Start was installed correctly. They also tested with my generator and even had Scott Oliver bring his Honda 2000 in to test with it.  We left thinking it may be an "old generator" problem since both of them were 10 plus years old.I don't have issues with the Easy Start starting up the A/C. But after a few min. the amp reading on the Progressive Ind EMS monitor climbs to 18-20 amps and the gen shuts down. I have tested on shore power and the amp climb is similar. I have also  removed the Easy Start and tested on shore power. I have also tested the capacitors. I am thinking my issue may be with the A/C unit. Or the Honda 2000 really isn't going to big enough to handle the Penguin II

[Micro-Air]

Is anyone having trouble running their Penguin II on a Honda 2000? The Easy Start was installed by Oliver before trailer pickup. Since I couldn’t the gen to work properly, the Oliver team spent hours ensuring the Easy Start was installed correctly. They also tested with my generator and even had Scott Oliver bring his Honda 2000 in to test with it. We left thinking it may be an “old generator” problem since both of them were 10 plus years old.I don’t have issues with the Easy Start starting up the A/C. But after a few min. the amp reading on the Progressive Ind EMS monitor climbs to 18-20 amps and the gen shuts down. I have tested on shore power and the amp climb is similar. I have also removed the Easy Start and tested on shore power. I have also tested the capacitors. I am thinking my issue may be with the A/C unit. Or the Honda 2000 really isn’t going to big enough to handle the Penguin II

 

Hi Scott.  Given that you were measuring steady-state amperage that climbed to the 18-20A range, this is not an issue with your generator.  Honda EU2000i generators can sustain 16.7A (2000W) at best.  Something else is going on with your trailer.  Either the A/C is drawing more than expected, or another auxiliary load was on in your trailer.  Turning off the battery charger (converter) is sometimes hard to do since it is out of sight and out of mind. Do you know for certain that all other loads in the trailer were eliminated as a cause?  If so, then yes, something isn't quite right with your A/C unit. Even in 100°F conditions, our Dometic Penguin II at the factory draws no more than 16A.  More typically, they draw 14.5A.

[ScottRicki]

I am also thinking it is a A/C issue. During testing everything else was turned off including the charger/converter. The trailer was also sitting in shade and only 75 degrees

[Micro-Air]

I am also thinking it is a A/C issue. During testing everything else was turned off including the charger/converter. The trailer was also sitting in shade and only 75 degrees

Wow.  Okay then. That almost makes the conclusion a certainty.  I would check a few things in this order:

 

1) Condenser coil dirt and/or corrosion - the number 1 cause of an A/C drawing more current than it should is a blocked or compromised condenser.  Sometimes, the aluminum fins can corrode on a condenser, restricting its airflow.  Other times, it might just be built up dirt or debris restricting its heat exchange capability.  You might need to get some of that foaming coil cleaner from Lowe's or Home Depot and do a treatment followed by a hose down.

 

2) Condenser fan dirt/debris or a break in the gasket on the top cover - If the condenser looks good, check the outdoor fan squirrel cage for caked on dust or debris, which can cause turbulence and reduce CFM.  Also, make sure the foam gasket at the top of the A/C is intact since when the cover is installed, the seal created for the condenser "air box" forces all of the air drawn by the outdoor fan through the condenser coil rather than around it.

 

3) Run capacitor degradation - a run capacitor that is supposed to be say 40MFD that is now only providing 20MFD will definitely cause a compressor to draw more amperage that it is supposed to.  Many multimeters have a capacitance test feature built in.  Check the run cap with nothing connected to it to see if it is still whatever the rated MFD value is stickered to the side of it.

[ScottRicki]

The A/C is brand new. Just picked up trailer in May. It is clean and seals are good. Capacitor tested good. Jason and team talked to Micro-Air when we were there trying to diagnose. I also talked to someone at Micro-Air after I got home and started testing some more. Everyone at Micro-Air and yourself have been very helpful. I think we have all narrowed the problem down to something with the A/C unit.

[KarenLukens]

The progressive surge protector comes with an additional plug that needs to be plugged into the generator on the open port when using it. John Davies has a thread on it somewhere, check it out if you didn't plug in the progressive gen plug.

[claricia57]

David Kemp (trumpetguy) was using this equipment in his Oliver. He is now using the same in his Airstream. In full Florida sun, he was running his AC off the Trojans for as much as 8 hours at a time! Hopefully, he will chime in here with his experiences. The company has a complete Dometic Penguin II installation instructional on their website. It fits neatly inside the unit on the outside. The necessary unit costs a little over $300.00.

It is rather affordable compared to those sold on

[Micro-Air]

Hi again everyone. I hope all is going well with everyone's summer vacation travels with their Oliver TTs!

 

Micro-Air and Oliver have recently dialogued, and the Oliver team will be offering the EasyStart as an installed option and aftermarket accessory with some of their own future discount promotions.  This is great news for everyone.  Micro-Air is therefore going to discontinue the "OLIVER" discount coupon that we have been offering (for direct Micro-Air purchases only) per our original plan on August 31, 2017. DIY installations and purchases are still always welcomed of course, and Micro-Air will always be happy to help out anyone at any time.  Please contact Brent Robinson at Oliver Travel Trailers if you have any further questions about purchasing an EasyStart through Oliver directly.  Thank you again to everyone for the business and for all the great support of EasyStart!