7.2KW generator not able to handle a circular saw

[Twilighthan]

When trying to test air compressors with some battery generators I had, I found that the startup energy would overcome the Inverter, so it would trip the system. Those older saws may be drawing more than 5 times more electricity at startup.

I have the Max Towing packaging in my platinum, but I do carry around a 6000 watt generator in my bed. It charges via the plug adapter in the truck, so all in all, at least I have portability while I have all the xtra fuel for the vehicle as well.

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[Deleted member 2919]

When trying to test air compressors with some battery generators I had, I found that the startup energy would overcome the Inverter, so it would trip the system. Those older saws may be drawing more than 5 times more electricity at startup.

I have the Max Towing packaging in my platinum, but I do carry around a 6000 watt generator in my bed. It charges via the plug adapter in the truck, so all in all, at least I have portability while I have all the xtra fuel for the vehicle as well.

Yeah, but are you able to get 25MPG on 14 mile trips to Costco. ??

 

[Twilighthan]

Yeah, but are you able to get 25MPG on 14 mile trips to Costco. ??

With Costco just 3 miles from me... never, but I do save at the gas pump. With the 36 gallon tank, I only have to go once every few months.

 

[NO LIMITS]

I have a Limited which came standard with Power Boost and the 7.2kw generator.

I’m reaching out to this forum as I’m hopeful someone might have some ideas for me. I am having an issue with the 7.2KW Pro Power on Board generator.

I am under the impression that the tailgate receptacles (110v) should be able to power handheld power tools. However, I have a Ridgid 10” 15amp Miter saw and every time I plug it in and attempt to start the saw it shuts-off the generator. It does NOT trip the circuit breaker, but it shuts off power to the receptacle. My Saw works as expected on house power.

To troubleshoot, I plugged in a regular Dewalt 15A circular saw, and the Circular saw also shut-off power to the receptacles. Not sure this is important, but both saws would begin to fire up, the blades would spin for a fraction of a second, and then shut off.

Additionally, and to troubleshoot further, I purchased a 240v/35a trailer adapter that converted the 240v/35A outlet to four 20A/120V receptacles. When the saws were connected to the trailer adapter (purchased brand new from Camping World), both saws again shut off power to the receptacles. To be clear, the saws were never connected at the same time. These were 2 independent tests.

I have read through this forum and the most I can find is information about resetting tripped circuit breakers. However, the circuit breakers are not “tripping”. before each attempt to power my saw, i plugged in a light bulb to make sure they had power. The generator is simply being tuned-off. There is a little orange light under neath the green power button in the tailgate. when power is on, the light is a solid orange, when it 'shuts-off' it flashes orange.

If anyone in this forum has any guidance, thoughts, ideas or suggestions they are greatly appreciated....

Does the tool have a universal motor (AC/DC) or brushless motor? If it has brushes (universal motor) system might think it's an arc situation and the arc fault sensor shutting down.

 

[RMaas]

Thank you all for responding. Here’s my update and some follow up for all those interested and anyone else who may stumble across this thread.

tonight I ran every appliance I could find in my garage. A 6gal Dewalt air compressor, 5HP shop Vac, Ridgid Pad sander, a shop fan, Black Flag Bug Zapper, my wife’s hair dryer, and an old school halogen work light. All at the same. Had no issues whatsoever.
I tried varying the receptacles (A vs B). I even mixed up the ‘start’ order to see if the initial draw of power would Trip or ‘shut-off’ either of the circuits / generator.
I’m happy to report I could not trip my circuits. I got circuit A up to 2900 watts while B ran at 1300. I probably could have made them trip if I’d had a power strip.

My generator appears to work properly.

that being said, as soon as I plugged in my dewalt circular saw and pulled the trigger - Off went the generator. Again, it didn’t trip the circuits, just turned off the whole generator. Inside cabin circuits included.

to answer Daemonic3’s question, I waited to test with both the engine running, and with the engine off.
both times generator shutoff.

I’m afraid ‘greyhound’ might be correct, perhaps my Dewalt circular saw and Ridgid Miter saw are just too old. They’re both 15a saws but I do not know what their initial draw is. Nor do I remember how old they are. Photos of each are below.

I can also confirm that pressing the button at the top of the dash is exactly the same as turning on the generator from the center screen.

I’ll run my neighbors saw this weekend and report back.

Have you tried running a miter saw or jobsite table saw? I'm just thinking that those items would offer a similar type of draw, with the brushed motors... Might be worth testing if you haven't already.

 

[Dan Texas]

Wow that is interesting and makes me think perhaps the protection circuit is software based. Something like watching for a current spike as a percentage of current draw.

With nothing else running it sees the spike as a more significant surge and potential short so shuts it down. I wonder if an update can fix it.

Each leg of the 7.2kW should have 30 amps available, but the household type (NEMA 5-20) outlets are supposedly limited to 20A, right? Perhaps the truck knows when only one outlet is in use, and limits to 20A before shutting off. When it senses two outlets on the same leg being used, it allows 30A of draw? So maybe a way to help the aging saw’s inrush current is to plug something that uses little power into the other outlet on the same leg?

 

[Stubblejumper]

Most anything with a motor will draw more than its rating on startup.. circuit breakers are designed to allow this for a VERY short time...

Motors typically draw 3-5 times the rated amperage when they start up..

 

[NoSnow]

I have the 2.4 watt generator and have used a circular saw and grinder many times without any problem. I have a Honda 2200 watt generator and the truck generator seems just as reliable.

 

[Dan M.]

I also used a circular saw on mine a week ago with no problem. I have the 2.4 KW generator.

 

[Merccat]

Well, whenever my truck finally arrives I know the first thing I’m plugging in lol.

 

[uavmx]

Wow that is interesting and makes me think perhaps the protection circuit is software based. Something like watching for a current spike as a percentage of current draw.

With nothing else running it sees the spike as a more significant surge and potential short so shuts it down. I wonder if an update can fix it.

This makes a lot of sense of what's going on. On my trailer, the first time I start the AC (15kbtu) it fails with an over usage error. Reset everything than it works fine moving forwards, pulling a reasonable amount of amps. It seems that the initial spike of the system freaks it out....it feels like they need to allow a little more startup buffer, obviously the battery can handle it, give it 5 seconds before shutting down.... Please!

 

[Twilighthan]

This makes a lot of sense of what's going on. On my trailer, the first time I start the AC (15kbtu) it fails with an over usage error. Reset everything than it works fine moving forwards, pulling a reasonable amount of amps. It seems that the initial spike of the system freaks it out....it feels like they need to allow a little more startup buffer, obviously the battery can handle it, give it 5 seconds before shutting down.... Please!

You may be able to get a soft start for your AC unit. Helps tremendously.

 

[John_C]

I got word from my dealer over the weekend on the issue I was having with my pro power. To summarize, I'm in the same boat as the OP, my truck (7.2 kWh) runs everything just fine, but one tool in particular turns off the generator every time, instantly. No breakers trip, the pro power just simply turns off.

According to my dealer, I'm using the pro power wrong. "The outlets in the bed only work if you turn them on with sync4. The button in the bed does not turn on the outlets for full power.". With how wildly incorrect this is, I'll likely just move on to another dealer. When I was first showing them the issue, they mentioned that they'd never seen a powerboost before.

 

[daemonic3]

I got work from my dealer over the weekend on the issue I was having with my pro power. To summarize, I'm in the same boat as the OP, my truck (7.2 kWh) runs everything just fine, but one tool in particular turns off the generator every time, instantly. No breakers trip, the pro power just simply turns off.

According to my dealer, I'm using the pro power wrong. "The outlets in the bed only work if you turn them on with sync4. The button in the bed does not turn on the outlets for full power.". With how wildly incorrect this is, I'll likely just move on to another dealer. When I was first showing them the issue, they mentioned that they'd never seen a powerboost before.

I just LOL'd at the ineptitude of the dealer, and the audacity of them trying to sound like an expert when you obviously know your way around technology. Hilarious...

 

[uavmx]

You may be able to get a soft start for your AC unit. Helps tremendously.

Just purchased one, I just feel like a 7.2kw (or 3.6 in my case) should be able to handle this load! And it does after it starts the first time....but none the less, I also like that it seems like it will start it up quieter, I think it kept waking up my baby last time we camped, so this is helpful anyways.

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