Yamaha EF2400iSHC Brushless Inverter AC Generator

[rideandfly]

Owned a Yamaha EF2400iSHC Brushless Inverter AC Generator for about 5 years, but hardly used it so far. Changed the oil on it the other day and wanted to see if it would operate the 13.5K  Dometic AC unit on the Ollie. It ran the Coleman Polar Mach 13.5K  AC on our previous camper just fine.

 

Tested the Yamaha with the Ollie's Dometic AC and the AC compressor started and cooled the Ollie. Once the temperature is set on the wall mounted thermostat, when the interior temp gets warm enough the AC fan turns on first and the compressor turns on in about 20 seconds while using shore power.  Using Yamaha power, the fan turned on first, the fan momentarily stopped while the compressor turned on, then the fan turned on and operated fine until the compressor cycled off, then the fan turned off in about 20 seconds.  Assume it's borderline on having enough power to start the Ollie's AC compressor, unless a Micro-Air  EasyStart 364 is used.  I'm sure the electrical folks here can better comment on this.

 

The EF2400iSHC  weighs in at 75 pounds dry and over 80 pounds wet. It's larger and heavier than the current 2000W Yamaha and Honda generators available.

 

Yamaha EF2400iSHC:

 

https://www.yamahamotorsports.com/generator/models/inverter-ef2400ishc

 

 

 

[KarenLukens]

Eisleen and all the Casita folk said that the Honda 2000i would run the Dometic AC, so I started it up tonight and it did the same as yours with the fan starting first, etc. It was running at full throttle but it worked fine and cooled the trailer with the fan on low in just a few minutes. I had kicked the fan down to low to see if there was any noticable difference but I couldn't hear any change at all, it just stayed on high throttle. I bought the easy start but haven't had a chance to install it yet as we have been either in the rain or enjoying our trip and haven't been home yet where the ladders are waiting :)

 

 

[Raspy]

I want to see how reliably, if at all, the AC will run on the Easy Start and a 2000 watt generator.  I already have the 2000 watt Yamaha.

 

It may be OK, provided there are no other loads, but the battery charger will also be drawing power unless the batteries are completely charged.  There is also the problem of lower generator output at higher elevations.  About 3% per 1000 ft. if I remember correctly.

 

I'm designing my inverter system to have a 3000 watt inverter (6000 watt surge) using an inverter that I already have.  With a manual transfer switch it seems I could set the switch to position 1 and supply all 120 volt power to Ollie from the inverter. At the same time the generator could be plugged in and charging the batteries, but no 120 volt power would feed on through from the converter/charger to Ollie. The on-board charger would simply be charging the batteries.  This would allow a 6000 watt surge to start the AC and allow the generator to charge the batteries through the onboard battery charger.  The effect is, the batteries would buffer the output of the generator and allow a huge starting load.  Then the genny could catch up on the charging before the next start cycle.  The onboard charger, at full output, doesn't overload the  generator.  As long as the average charging amps met the average AC load, the system would run fine.  There are some inefficiencies. The inverter is only about 90% efficient and the charger has some waste of unknown percentage.  Plus the batteries have losses during charging.  But it might work and adapt the smaller genny to the larger, intermittant load, even at altitude.  Then position 2 on the transfer switch would be for normal shore tie duty and take the inverter out of the circuit.   Thoughts?

[John E Davies]

How do you like the Yamaha and would you recommend it? I currently have an older EU1000i and am considering getting the Yammie and selling off my Honda.

 

The EF2400iSHC gets stellar reviews, here especially.

 

http://portablegeneratorguide.com/yamaha-ef2400ishc-review/

 

I would carry it in my TV most of the time, weight is not a big issue, and would use the generator ocassionally for really cloudy times or running the air conditioning in the boonies. I had an Air Command 13.5 installed....

 

Thanks

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

[rideandfly]

Reed,  Thanks for the reply, sounds like your AC runs the same way ours does on Gen-Set Power.  Assume after Easy  Start installation, the fan would not stop when the compressor turns on. Would appreciate learning if your fan continues to operate when the compressor turns on after Easy Start installation.

 

John (Raspy), My first concern was about AC reliability when using a Gen-Set, too. Since we're on the east coast,  I had not given much thought to reduced power at higher elevations,  you make valid points. We will be taking the Ollie out west to higher elevations.   Thanks for sharing your approach to Gen-Set use while camping. Would appreciate learning how your inverter system works out.  Believe Larry (Mountainborn) uses a Yamaha 3000W Gen-Set, enjoy learning from his high elevation camping experience, too.

 

John Davies, This Yamaha takes only one pull to start, even when the fuel valve was turned off to run the fuel out of the carburetor during shut down.

 

Let it sit for a year after letting it run out of fuel during shut down.  Had a little surging when I cranked it up, so removed the old gas and filled it up with fresh gas. Still had surging. Removed two panels secured with four screws, removed air filter, and carburetor. Found a little fuel left in the carburetor during disassembly and a little build up in a jet, cleaned it out with compressed air. Reassembled the unit and it runs fine. It only took 1 1/2 hours to take it apart, clean the carb jet and reassemble, very easy unit to work on. If left without running for a long period of time in the future, would remove one side panel secured by two screws, drain the carb float bowl completely and reassemble, probably taking 15 minutes.

 

Always liked Honda and Yamaha motorcycles, they build quality Gen-Sets, recommend the Yamaha EF2400iSHC, too.

 

Thanks for the comments,

[John E Davies]

This guy tests every concievable aspect of this generator. It's a pretty amazing project. The generator is a winner.

 

http://www.2manytoyz.com/yamaha2400.html

 

He mentions a $100 Yamaha rebate. I could not find any info on this...?

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

[rideandfly]

John,

 

Purchased our Yamaha on-line. Believe it was around $1200 five years ago, but don't remember a rebate.