Will a portable <span class="highlight">generator</span> run a portable aircon?
Submitted: Friday, Nov 26, 2010 at 18:37
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wallabyshane
Hi all,
Can anyone tell me if a portable gen. will run a portable air con unit please. If so, how many HP will the gen. need to be?
Thanks.
Wallaby.
Reply By: Member - Graham H (QLD) - Friday, Nov 26, 2010 at 19:10
Friday, Nov 26, 2010 at 19:10
More info might get an answer
Like how big is the aircon
Where are you going to run it and how big an area do you want it to cool.
Ask the right questions to get the right answer.........
AnswerID:
437018
Follow Up By: wallabyshane - Friday, Nov 26, 2010 at 20:04
Friday, Nov 26, 2010 at 20:04
Fair point. Will do the best I can.
Am looking at a 15000BTU or 4.7kw or thereabouts aircon.
I have a new camper trailer so will need to cool the sleeping area and the annex. The sleeping area is around 2.2m x 2.7m with the annex(enclosed I might add) 2.4m x 6.5m.
Hope this helps.
Wallaby.
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Follow Up By: Dunaruna - Saturday, Nov 27, 2010 at 07:09
Saturday, Nov 27, 2010 at 07:09
What brand/model number?
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Reply By: Motherhen - Friday, Nov 26, 2010 at 21:18
Friday, Nov 26, 2010 at 21:18
Is it a reverse cycle air conditioner (compressor), or an evaporative cooler? If the latter, you would do as
well to get a 12 volt fan and hang a wet towel in front of it. If you have a battery for your camper it will probably run the fan without the need for the genny. We have a powerful 12 volt truck fan which seems to use next to no power.
Motherhen
Keeping camping simple
AnswerID:
437031
Follow Up By: equinox - Friday, Nov 26, 2010 at 22:11
Friday, Nov 26, 2010 at 22:11
12 volt fan with wet towel on it...
that's a great idea MH
thanks-will add to list
FollowupID:
708456
Follow Up By: Motherhen - Friday, Nov 26, 2010 at 22:16
Friday, Nov 26, 2010 at 22:16
Hi equinox - better hung a little way from it than on it - best between you and the fan.
Mh
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708457
Follow Up By: wallabyshane - Saturday, Nov 27, 2010 at 11:33
Saturday, Nov 27, 2010 at 11:33
Hi MH,
It's an aircon - not evap.
Worried that the gen set wont start it at all.
WS
FollowupID:
708488
Reply By: oz doc - Friday, Nov 26, 2010 at 21:52
Friday, Nov 26, 2010 at 21:52
Hi WS, We have a Honda 20 which runs a Dimplex portable refrigerated air conditioner. It will run for 7 hours, on high cool, on one tank of fuel. This was sufficient to cool the camper main tent overnight and let us get to sleep. Ambient temperature outside the camper was about 35-42 degrees. Does this help? doc.
AnswerID:
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Reply By: OzTroopie - Saturday, Nov 27, 2010 at 00:55
Saturday, Nov 27, 2010 at 00:55
Hi Wallaby,
I've always had a good run with Honda generators. They have a good reputation, along with a nationwide service and spare parts network. You may struggle to get spares if you buy a cheap Unit. For this reason i'd recommend a Honda or Yamaha
generator. Just for the record i'm not involved in the
generator sales industry.
Anything over 2-3 KVa starts getting heavy and is usually on a trolley or wheels. Have a look at the Honda EU30i and EM50is. Just remember when adding up your watts, the 4.5KVa may not cover the start up draw on your aircon. For example, it could spike to 5.5KVa when the motor turns over on startup - someone with more electrical knowledge may be able to explain this better.
Not sure if there's a specialised caravan aircon with lower power draw out there. The smaller the
generator you require, the less fuel you'll use and the quieter it'll be.
Safe Travels,
OzTroopie
AnswerID:
437044
Follow Up By: wallabyshane - Saturday, Nov 27, 2010 at 11:35
Saturday, Nov 27, 2010 at 11:35
Hi OT,
Thank you.
Will have a look at both. I'm guessing the bigger/more powerful the gen set is the more chance of it working?
Will ask my local sparky.
Appreciate the input.
Regards,
WS
FollowupID:
708489
Reply By: Member - John and Val - Saturday, Nov 27, 2010 at 14:27
Saturday, Nov 27, 2010 at 14:27
Wallaby -
First point - evaporative cooling v's a compressor driven portable air conditioner.
The evaporative cooler is far simpler, but in fact, although the air coming out has a lower temperature, it actually contains more heat than the incoming air. This heat is carried in the higher humidity resulting from evaporation of water, plus of course the energy used to move that air. A downside of simple evaporative systems is the increased humidity, which reduces the effectiveness of our own evaporative cooling system, sweating. The wet towel and fan system is the same. They do not remove heat from the "cooled" area.
Compressor systems are simply heat pumps, pumping heat from inside the cooled space to outside. Consequently they have an "inside" part, (the evaporator) and an outside part ( condenser). In a portable system these are close coupled together resulting a pretty ineffective system. While split systems used in homes typically pump 2.5 to 3.5 times as much heat energy as the energy required to drive them, portable systems are usually 1.5 to 2 times.
I think by a 4.5 kW unit you are referring to the cooling capacity, not the power required to run it. IF I'm right in this, you'll probably need at least a 2kva alternator to start the air con motor. Should run off something smaller, but they are pretty demanding on starting. So.. to cool the sleeping area at night you'll need a substantial
generator and it'll need to be quiet so you can sleep AND for the sake of your neighbours too.
Cooling the annexe area has too many variables to even try a guess. Sunlight on the roof and walls has an energy of up to about 1 kW per square metre and a fair bit of this will end up in the annexe. I wouldn't even attempt to cool it.
In our experience, a fan to provide air movement so as to make good use of your own personal sweat based evaporative cooling works pretty
well.
Cheers
John | J and V
"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted."
- Albert Einstein
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Follow Up By: wallabyshane - Saturday, Nov 27, 2010 at 17:03
Saturday, Nov 27, 2010 at 17:03
Thanks
John.
So all in all I shouldn't worry about it.
Appreciate your thoughts.
WS
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Reply By: Member - edwin (QLD) - Saturday, Nov 27, 2010 at 16:14
Saturday, Nov 27, 2010 at 16:14
by the time you buy a 4.7kw a/c unit and at least a 6 .5kw genset to run the thing ,unless its an inverter type (doubt it) plus a few jerry cans of fuel, youll need another trailer to put them in ,best bet is to get a couple of HI VELOCITY 240 volt or smaller 12 volt fans,the 450 mm fans are quite reasonable in price(supercheap auto ABOUT $70),theyll blow a hair piece off an old man at 10 metres,it will save you thousands that you can then spend on beer and wine to help you get to sleep on those hot nights
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Follow Up By: wallabyshane - Saturday, Nov 27, 2010 at 17:04
Saturday, Nov 27, 2010 at 17:04
LMAO.
Beer and wine it is Edwin!
Thanks.
WS
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708503
Reply By: Member - Doug T (NT) - Sunday, Nov 28, 2010 at 03:18
Sunday, Nov 28, 2010 at 03:18
My A/C is a Dometic, 1600kv , the Gen is a 2KVA, the Gen revs flat out and uses to much fuel, so when I did travel I didn't use it,
get a FAN.
.
AnswerID:
437103
Reply By: drowned_rat - Sunday, Dec 05, 2010 at 22:05