Question for people useing/have used a generator for air conditioning

[deryk]

Ok, i have been reading alot here and on the casita forum about what people say works and doesn't. Alot of it doesn't make sense to me ...honda 2000 runnin a rooftop unit but not running a 8000btu window unit etc...so I'm kinda curious what size/type air conditioner (if you know watts and amps) with what size/brand generator.

I'm in the market since i will be useing it at the least if I just camp out on my friends property for the weekend to just hang out. Naysayers can say what ya will...I slept a few weekends ago in my ParkLiner right next to the shed with a big old harbour freight generator running with my earplugs i use nightly it didn't bother me at all and I'm lookin at a super quiet Honda or Yamaha unit.


deryk

[cpaharley2008]

Not sure where you are getting the info that a 2000 watt Honda will not operate a 8000 btu window unit. Need to know the amps and watts, not btu's. I had a 5000 btu in my EggCamper which was bigger than your Parkliner, ran fine off my Yamaha 2000 and cooled the interior fine. Doesn't Chandler install a 5000 btu in his units anymore. That is all you really need. If you get too big a unit it will short cycle, run for 10 minutes, freeze you, off and repeat. You want something that runs for 30-45 minutes that "conditions the air and dehumidifies it", that is what a properly sized unit is supposed to do, not freeze and repeat like the people who put 13,500 units in a small trailer. I'm sure there are charts for sizing the unit via cu/ft. You would be surprised how small a unit you may need.

[cpaharley2008]

Here is a link for sizing
Sizing Your A/C Unit - hvacdistribution.com

[honda03842]

We have a 5000 btu air conditioner and it adequately cools our Scamp 16. The key thing is that it removes humidity and makes the trailer comfortable in short order. We use a small fan to blow the cool air about the trailer.

Our general rule is if the temperature is real high or real low we try to be somewhere that we can plug in, allowing us to run our heater or air conditioner. I will say we have never run either one all night long, even when plugged into power.

[Steve Hammel]

As I've said in previous posts " just because a 2000 might be able to do it doesn't mean that it should". Why have a 2000 run at top rpms and beat itself to death running a rooftop AC. it doesn't make sense.

[Ryan P R]

While not as nice as a Honda EU genny you might want to at least look into the Kipor line.
They are a lot less expensive and still very quiet- although just a bit louder.

I have a Kipor 3000i that I got slightly used for a good deal 50% off. Just had to take apart the carb and clean out the gummed up old gas ( the PO let it sit for a long time). After that it has run perfectly for us ever since. It can run the 13,500 rooftop unit AC, coffee maker, electric heater, fridge, stereo.... On my 24' stickbuilt trailer just fine.

However, it is overkill for a small trailer with a small AC. I would opt for a Kipor 2000i or Honda 2000.
I'm keeping the 3000 mainly for home use for power outages- just to run the fridge and few smaller items as needed.

Having said that-- we don't really use ours for camping and only did so on a few occasions. Over the past 2 years I have become somewhat opposed to Generators and can no longer stand to hear them running when I go camping. Even the quiet ones pluck my nerves--- especially folks that will literally run them all day in very mild weather when neither a heater or AC is needed....but If I go camping in superheated weather with no shade for our trailer, and no stream,lake or river to cool down in- I will be tempted to bring along the genny for AC.

[deryk]

I was on the Casita club forum...sorry I'm at work on my droid I can't post the link i posted this morning on my "I got a ParkLiner egg". People were saying a whole lot of conflicting things...not running a 5900 btu window unit and someone else saying they can run a roof top unit off a Honda 2000

I have a Frigidaire 5000 btu 4.9 amp unit ( low 500 watts) and I'm just leery of spending a grand and on a 100' day it not being able to run the ac.

I don't camp in campgrounds but friends private property for parties and get togethers and some music festivals where it's so loud you wouldn't hear a little quiet generator...

deryk

[Donna D.]

I didn't see any conflicting info in this post deryk: A/c Power Question - General After-Market Accessories Forum - The Casita Club Forums

Other than reminding folks to NOT run their generator and be plugged into shore power at the same time. There was (is) only one reply after your question and it has to do with wiring and a designated circuit.

[deryk]

Check out the 4 page one generator air conditioner one

[Mike Magee]

I have read that getting a kipor serviced or getting parts for one can be dicey.

AC size can depend somewhat on weather where you intend to camp. My 5k btu does ok up to about mid 90s, beyond that it cannot catch up.

[deryk]

Mike are you using a generator if so what brand/size? I was told high temp and altitude effects the generator too. Heh the polar bear in me would love icicles from the ceiling but am realistic... but ya never know if a slightly larger unit might be better and find out your gennie can't start it.


deryk

[Donna D.]

deryk, one guy is trying to power an a/c from 1991... and another "I replaced the front AC with a roof top AC because the front AC would not cool the 17’ in the Gulf Coast heat and humidity." And only one person has responded since you posted in the thread and they support your conclusion about running the Yamaha 2400i.

[Francesca Knowles]

I have a hard time understanding folks' obsession with air conditioning, especially when it comes to the dinky space inside a fiberglass trailer.

If relief from weather conditions required that I shut myself up in a box the size of a phone booth, I wouldn't go "camping" at all.

Francesca

[deryk]

Well Francesca, Im not talking about during the day, just at night when I need to sleep. Feel free to stay home if its too hot, but I wont let that stop me... monsoon rainey weekends maybe but Ive had my friends postpictures of bein drunk in the pouring rain lol.

deryk

[Glenn Baglo]

Cheaper to buy a couple more quarts of booze and just pass out.

[deryk]

Donna the person who said they are useing an LG 8000 btu ac with a honda 2000, well LG doesn't make an 8000 any more, the 7000btu draws 720 watt's and 6.6 amps. If we assume start up could be 3 times running amperage thats 19.8 amps... the Yamaha 2400 would barely be able to do that at 20 amp surge (Ive heard ppl say it will go higher then that but Im trying to stick with figures the manuf says)
the guy who says his rooftop unit will run directly off of the 2000 I really wonder about.

My unit is 5000 btu Frigidaire ac Power and Performance: Cooling Amperage: 4.8 Cooling BTU: 5000 Cooling Wattage: 515 Cord Length (ft.): 6 Energy Efficiency Rating: 9.7 Kilowatt Hrs. per Year: 12877 Maximum Air Flow (CFM): 120 Rated Amps (Receptacle): 15 Room Coverage in Sq. Ft.: 150 Total Connected Load: N/A Voltage: 110/120V

I figure i should be more then safe with the Yamaha 2400... but i dont understand how plugged into his house power on a 15amp fuse the ac will run but not off a 16amp generator?


deryk

[deryk]

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

Cheaper to buy a couple more quarts of booze and just pass out.

lol

[Joy A]

Originally Posted by deryk

I was on the Casita club forum...sorry I'm at work on my droid I can't post the link i posted this morning on my "I got a ParkLiner egg". People were saying a whole lot of conflicting things...not running a 5900 btu window unit and someone else saying they can run a roof top unit off a Honda 2000

I have a Frigidaire 5000 btu 4.9 amp unit ( low 500 watts) and I'm just leery of spending a grand and on a 100' day it not being able to run the ac.

I don't camp in campgrounds but friends private property for parties and get togethers and some music festivals where it's so loud you wouldn't hear a little quiet generator...

deryk

Deryk,

I have a Frigidaire window unit installed in the closet of my 13 footer. It's 5950 BTU, according to Frigidaire people it runs on 6 amps and needs in the neighborhood of 10/12 amps to start it.

My Honda 2000 does the job just fine. Doesn't seem to be taxed at all running my A/C.

[Francesca Knowles]

Originally Posted by deryk

Well Francesca, Im not talking about during the day, just at night when I need to sleep. Feel free to stay home if its too hot, but I wont let that stop me... monsoon rainey weekends maybe but Ive had my friends postpictures of bein drunk in the pouring rain lol.

deryk

Some of my fondest memories have to do with being drunk in the pouring rain...but then out here in the Pacific Northwet, "pouring rain" is pretty much the norm whether drunk, sober, or anyplace in between!


Francesca

[Otters]

Originally Posted by deryk

Feel free to stay home if its too hot, but I wont let that stop me... monsoon rainey weekends maybe but Ive had my friends postpictures of bein drunk in the pouring rain lol.

deryk

I'll drink to that! Today at the trailer supply store, when I inquired about the cost to add a small pump and water heater, the sales guy told me: "are you sure you want to put that much money into an old fiberglass trailer?" The nerve! I think whatever it takes to make our little trailers comfortable for us, we should do, if we have the funds to do it. It just means we'll use it more.