I posted on HVAC-talk.com but the moderator would only give me a hint of the solution since that is not a DIY website.
We have a Generac whole house standby 20kw propane powered generator which while running during an outage will attempt to start the compressor and fan in our 5 ton Rheem condenser unit (heat pump), but after about 2 seconds the heat pump goes into time delay and shuts the heat pump down. If one bypasses the condenser circuit board the generator easily starts and runs the condenser unit---so we replaced the circuit board but same problem. Generac authorized our dealer to replace the generator engine but that does not help and we have plenty of propane flow. ODDLY, when he asked me to turn on the kitchen stove and then see if the generator would start and run the condenser THAT worked! So if there is a resistive load on the generator to start with, the generator starts our condenser unit. We tried a hard start kit early in the process and that did not work--nor did shutting down all house circuits except for HVAC. The air handler and zone systems are not affected--only the condenser. In past Rheem and Ruud had issues with condenser boards but this board is new. A moderator at HVAC talk.com insists there is an issue in our air handler but since they are not DIY will not give me more information on that. My HVAC serviceman does not believe that. What would be an easily solvable issue in our air handler which causes the problem I have presented?
We have a Generac whole house standby 20kw propane powered generator which while running during an outage will attempt to start the compressor and fan in our 5 ton Rheem condenser unit (heat pump), but after about 2 seconds the heat pump goes into time delay and shuts the heat pump down. If one bypasses the condenser circuit board the generator easily starts and runs the condenser unit---so we replaced the circuit board but same problem. Generac authorized our dealer to replace the generator engine but that does not help and we have plenty of propane flow. ODDLY, when he asked me to turn on the kitchen stove and then see if the generator would start and run the condenser THAT worked! So if there is a resistive load on the generator to start with, the generator starts our condenser unit. We tried a hard start kit early in the process and that did not work--nor did shutting down all house circuits except for HVAC. The air handler and zone systems are not affected--only the condenser. In past Rheem and Ruud had issues with condenser boards but this board is new. A moderator at HVAC talk.com insists there is an issue in our air handler but since they are not DIY will not give me more information on that. My HVAC serviceman does not believe that. What would be an easily solvable issue in our air handler which causes the problem I have presented?