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Old 02-25-2021, 09:05 AM   #1
jsb5717
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Generator Usage

Nearly 40 years of pulling trailers and have never used a generator. I just bought a 3500/4000 inverter generator with a 30amp RV plug. I was partly motivated by our recent 5 days without power at home after our ice storm. Having a generator as a back for home or RV seems a good idea.

Question: Eco-mode - yes or no? I like the idea of eco mode to conserve fuel and strain when load is light. When the AC kicks on this genny should handle it but am wondering what the general wisdom is for using eco mode in RV's.

Thanks for your insights
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Old 02-25-2021, 10:03 AM   #2
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Always leave mine on eco mode. Saves lots of gas if it doesn't need the power.
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Old 02-25-2021, 10:11 AM   #3
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With our Honda, if we are going to run the microwave oven, I will go outside and switch the ECO mode off so it revs up some. It seems to take the strain off of the microwave when it starts up. Switch the ECO back on when we are done. If I have the generators paralleled and planning to use the A/C, I will switch off the ECO mode also.
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Old 02-25-2021, 12:01 PM   #4
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Maybe double check the manual. On the yamaha I have, I leave the eco mode on, the purpose is to idle at a lower speed. When the genny needs power it speeds up is it would without eco on. Under a load it does not matter if it was on or off eco mode. Without going back into the manual to check. I think the eco mode is/should be your normal setting. Unless your putting it on a steady heavy load or half load. RV use it goes from mostly idle to heavy load and back as you turn stuff on and off.
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Old 02-25-2021, 12:25 PM   #5
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Originally Posted by Ken / Claudia View Post
Maybe double check the manual. On the yamaha I have, I leave the eco mode on, the purpose is to idle at a lower speed. When the genny needs power it speeds up is it would without eco on. Under a load it does not matter if it was on or off eco mode. Without going back into the manual to check. I think the eco mode is/should be your normal setting. Unless your putting it on a steady heavy load or half load. RV use it goes from mostly idle to heavy load and back as you turn stuff on and off.
I've got a Yamaha 6300 Inverter generator at home and something I just learned when I was trying to start it a week or so ago during a cold snap and they were predicting some freezing rain overnight. It acted like it just didn't want to start and when I finally got it started, I went back to read the manual on it, thinking that maybe the auto-choke was not working. Something that caught my eye was to ALWAYS turn the ECO mode switch off when starting. I guess it just has a harder time getting enough fuel when ECO is on. I let it completely cool down and waited a couple of days and tried it again with the ECO switch turned off and it started right up.
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Old 02-25-2021, 12:48 PM   #6
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Ha! On my Cummings Onan P4500i, the Eco mode has a O and a - on the button. I cannot figure out which one is on and which one is off. Both settings work well, even when running in parallel.
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Old 02-25-2021, 01:02 PM   #7
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Ha! On my Cummings Onan P4500i, the Eco mode has a O and a - on the button. I cannot figure out which one is on and which one is off. Both settings work well, even when running in parallel.
Are you sure it is a ... - ? Most of the time they use a 1 or a 0 which is kind of analogous to digital electronics I guess. 1 = on, and 0 = off.
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Old 02-25-2021, 01:35 PM   #8
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Originally Posted by dutchmensport View Post
Ha! On my Cummings Onan P4500i, the Eco mode has a O and a - on the button. I cannot figure out which one is on and which one is off. Both settings work well, even when running in parallel.
If you start the generator, let it warm up, completely disconnected from any load, turn that ECO switch to either position and note the engine RPM sound. Then turn that ECO switch to the other position and note whether there's an RPM increase or decrease. If it increases, the second position is ECO OFF. If it decreases, the second position is ECO ON.

The ECO switch ON position reduces the RPM of the engine to maintain economy with a lighter generator load. The ECO switch in the OFF position, removes that "RPM:load" matrix and the generator runs at FULL SPEED continuously.
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Old 02-25-2021, 02:07 PM   #9
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My Champion 3400 on Eco will speed up if needed by itself.. when the load goes away it runs at a lower speed by itself... and the Eco position is noticeably quieter and lower speed under light load... not sure it helps since we are talking about different Generators...
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Old 02-25-2021, 04:17 PM   #10
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Thanks, all. This is generally what I was thinking about it's usage but so good to hear from those with experience. This genny doesn't have a load gauge so not easy to tell what percentage of power is being used at any given moment so will need to pay attention to a calculated load based on general applications. I went back into the user manual and it did say to switch off the eco mode when the draw is above 75%. In the RV it should be easy to establish wattage for things like the AC, Microwave, Coffee Pot, Fireplace Heater, Hair Dryer, etc.
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Old 02-25-2021, 04:35 PM   #11
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Jeff,

Do you have an EMS with a remote display? If so, there's an ammeter on the display that will tell you "exactly how much amperage you're using"... Wattage is amps x 120, but it's easier to just calculate the amps out of the generator at 75% and watch the EMS ammeter to stay under that load...

If all else fails, just remember, the generator has a circuit breaker on it and it'll shut down power to the trailer before it "injures itself"... Problem with doing it that way, at least with my generators, is you have to shut them down, restart them and then go back online...
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Old 02-25-2021, 05:10 PM   #12
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Jeff,

Do you have an EMS with a remote display? If so, there's an ammeter on the display that will tell you "exactly how much amperage you're using"... Wattage is amps x 120, but it's easier to just calculate the amps out of the generator at 75% and watch the EMS ammeter to stay under that load...

If all else fails, just remember, the generator has a circuit breaker on it and it'll shut down power to the trailer before it "injures itself"... Problem with doing it that way, at least with my generators, is you have to shut them down, restart them and then go back online...

Good thought but I don't have that particular animal...yet. I guess for now I'll have to resort to having to do some math...
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