MINI SPLIT SYSTEM INSTALL

Make and model?

 

Before you get too many hours on the Predator, a couple of things...

1. Don't fill the gas tank all the way up or run down the road with it full. If you do, it'll fill the charcoal canister with gas and run like crap. Disregard anything you see online about not enough air and drilling holes in the case to fix a rich running condition. A flooded canister from overfilling the gas tank is the cause.

I remedied that problem on mine by removing the canister and venting the gas tank to the outside of the case.

2. Two of the replacement units I had, wore through the main wiring harness where the pull cord is attached to the bracket. Remove the pull cord side cover (you have to remove the wheels on that side) and make sure the pull cord isn't rubbing against the harness.

Speaking of the pull cord, after about 400 hours, you'll notice it has disappeared. This is because the metal bracket it goes through will chew through the rope, depositing the handle in the road somewhere. Not sure if a different rope would last longer or not. It's a pain to remove the recoil.

3. The starter solenoid will fail at about 1000 hours. I used a high amp momentary switch to bypass it. The starter itself will go about 4000 hours.

 

Oh, and my mini-split is a 12,000 BTU Senville. It's been on the truck a little over two years.

 

Does yours heat as well? If so, how well?

 

It does, and I've used it down to about 5°. It keeps it fairly comfortable except when it goes into defrost mode. It can get a bit chilly then. If it's real cold, I have an auxiliary electric heater.

 

I've got one of Pioneer's newer Inverter++ 9000 BTU mini splits with the higher SEER rating. The compressor never causes the generator to surge. Even when the unit gets turned on, it barely increases the load on the generator. The owner's manual says it can heat in outdoor temperatures as low as -12F. The old one worked really well in cold temperatures, but at that temperature a lot of people prefer to idle anyway to reduce cold starts and help avoid fuel gelling. I think I'm somewhere around 20 hours on 2.5 gallons, or around 8 hours per gallon.

 

I assume thats gal/hr on your generator not truck? Cause if my truck could idle at 1/8 gall an hr, id install a mini split, add 2 more batteries and carry a spare alternator... forget a generator