Installation of Onan Energy Command in Adventurer

[tderonne]

I feel dumb, I realized Bruce told us his price above. There's so many threads on the Energy Command, I forgot he mentioned it.

No matter, good to have a current price.

(Now if they'd just finish my warranty work at the dealer (started Dec. 21, 3 week break for a Florida run, and still there).)

[jdsr]

what is the onan energy command 30, what does it do.

[tomsm]

Check the link toward the bottom of the first post on this thread...

[shedman]

Just installed the Eneregy Comand and wanted to say thanks for all the great info on this site. If it wasn't for this infor I don't beleive I would have put it in.

Works great You can't beat this item for the $200. it cost.
Thanks Again!

[DancinCampers]

Was wondering, I have the SurgeGuard hardwired in the coach after the generator & shore power. Will this system work in this configuration also?
Thanks, looks like a very useful add-on.

[bsmith8]

Its been several days since you posted your question so I guess no one knows for sure. I can't think of any reason why it would not, since it is just controlling the starting and stopping of the generator based on information it gets from the batteries and the thermostat.
Bill

[DancinCampers]

Bill,

Did you make any changes since your initial install?

I just installed mine. Seems to work ok as long as I don't plug in the Shore sense transformer. When it is plugged in I only get about 4 mins of run time, then shuts off. The last action menu says Shore Svc On. I didn't think the EC30 was supposed to shut off after it started when shore power came back on.

I noticed on Onan web site they mentioned running wires to the transfer switch. Maybe this is what I need to do.

Thanks

[bsmith8]

Dan
I made one change based on the instructions from ONAN. The last NOTE on the Onan instructions joined two wires together at the thermostat. I joined Pins 1 and 3 together as instructed. According to the Winnebagos wireing diagram for my 37b they are already joined at the basement AC unit. That was the only redo I had to make. The unit is working fine now.
I did not run a wire to the Gen as indicated in note #1. I looked at it and the wireing that Winnebago provides seems to be contrary to what Onan recommends. Either way my unit is working fine.
I hope this helps.
Bill

[DancinCampers]

Thanks Bill,

I removed wire 4, & jumpered the thermostat wires 1 & 3. System works great, shuts off 10 min after last hvac request.

But this is as long as I do not have the shore power transformer plugged in. My instructions which came with the unit indicates that the unit will turn off once shore power is sensed. I have version 1.1r. In the system info display, which provides info on the last automatic action, one of the options says
Auto Stop
Shore On
Explained as Genset stopped, shore power present.
This basically puts the system in a loop, starting, stopping shortly after the surgeguard kicks in, then restarting due to loss of shore power.. The time it takes to stop is about 4 min, taking into consideration the time lag on the surgeguard.
I've put in a call to Onan Tech, but no call back yet.
It looks like I will need to power my transformer at the transfer switch where the power cord comes in. My concern here is that I have the surgeguard installed after the genset & shore power. I will see if the delay on the surgeguard causes any problems. If it does I will have to rewire so it is between the power cord & transfer switch.

[DancinCampers]

Oh, the sweet smell of success

I got a hold of John, the Tech Trainer at Cummins. Told him my problem, he had the answer. All I had to do was switch the leads on the shore sensor transformer. Works great. I'll check it out with shore power on Sunday when we bring the MH over to the house to start packing for the trip to GNR.

Had a very nice talk with John, & learned a lot about how the system operates. The internal battery has a life expentancy of 10 years. The EC30 knows that it started the generator, so when it senses the shore power after it comes on line, it ignores it, till after it stops. Then if shore power is present it won't restart. So hopefully my surgeguard won't present a problem.

Thanks again Bill for your help & info on your install.

Just a thought, but now that we have a spare gen hour meter, can we hook it into the ignition safety sensor & have an engine hour meter? Wonder if the meter can be re-set.

Oh well, now I have to get the panel back in without breaking any connections.

[DancinCampers]

Update

When I hooked my MH up to AC at home the EC30 would start genset even though A/C started up on shore power. Switched the 12v +/- on shore sense back to original way & genset would start/stop every 4 mins as before. I finally tapped my 12v transformer into the transfer switch where the shore line comes in & now all is well. The genset will stop upon return of shore power.

I have my SurgeGuard unit installed just before power goes into coach, & this actually works great because it provides a delay which allows the A/C system to equalize more before it tries to re-start.

[vicsryd]

I only recently discovered this thread and I'm thrilled at the notion of using this to automatically run the house A/C on the road when conditions warrant as well as when dry camping.

I read the thread end-to-end and I have two questions not yet covered:

1. Any reason this can't apply to heat pump operation as well as a/c mode?

2. Where have those with Winnie DP's with One Place done installed the EC-30 control panel? There's no ready free space up where the control panel was installed on Bills Adventurer gasser. The water heater switch is to the left and the engine heater switch is to the right.

Re #2, I've considered relocating and replacing the engine heater switch with a lower profile one that could be mounted horizontally. I've also thought about just replacing the battery voltage monitor panel with the EC-30 and wire up the engine batteries to be monitored from the EC-30.

[Scott N Molly]

I installed the EC-30 a while back but never connected the air conditioners.

My air conditioners are roof mounted Duo-Therms with a single "Comfort Control Center". It uses a telephone-like cord to connect all the components so there is no "yellow" wire. I think there is another component from Duo-therm to help and I've sent a message to them. Their website shows the control center but no part numbers for the other component.

I do not own a Winnebago but I'm hoping someone might know where else to turn.

[John_Canfield]

Jon/Vicki,

I installed the Xantrex version of the Onan Energy Command, but there are many similarities between the two products. I would wager a very large deluxe Krispy Kreme doughnut that the EC wouldn't care if it is a demand for heating or cooling. My Xantrex is just looking for a contact closure on a pair of leads. In fact the Xantrex AGS has two thermostat inputs. Look at my install of the Xantrex version of the Onan. If you can't figure out how to make it work with the installed thermostat, you can always just add an el cheapo manual heat thermostat. Set it for, say 60 degrees or whatever - just make sure it is set a few degrees under your original thermostat. If you have lost power and the coach is getting cold, the added thermostat will activate and call for heat (as in start the gen) and give the EC a contact closure.

Scott N Molly - welcome to the Winnie forums

[BucknJeff]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Scott N Molly:
I do not own a Winnebago but I'm hoping someone might know where else to turn. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Welcome aboard Scott!

You'll find this a (mostly) good group of thoughtful folks, learning, helping and sharing as they can.

Since we don't have a National Centered forum here at IRV2, this might be the best place for you to hang out.

Give Molly a big squeeze from her Uncles Buck and Jeff!

[Scott N Molly]

Thanks for the welcomes. I've been "lurking" for quite a while and certainly find this forum more friendly than others!

[joe_dejesus]

I know this thread was a while back... but I was wondering if the Onan Energy Command 30 can be used on the Onan Marquis 5500 series? My gen is not that newer gold or platnum version..

Thanks

[rebelsbeach]

From the:Onan Energy Command website
Which models of generators work with Energy Command? The Energy Command family is compatible with all current models of Onan RV generators.

[joe_dejesus]

Thanks for that info, but I was aware of that..


Maybe I overlooked something but it seems like the only show stopper in retro fitting this command 30 onto regular marquis 5500 gensets is that the new gold series has a self-diagnostic capability and the original marquis 5500 did not...

Not really sure how much that feature is needed to run the energy command 30...

[rebelsbeach]

Sorry....I thought I was answering the "can you use" question....

Good luck.