Is my generator big enough?

It might. Good luck.

Hi,

Generators are rated in VA not watts. At low altitudes and with some air conditioners 2000 VA is enough. Others may not be so lucky. The only way to tell is to try it and monitor the voltage. If it dips way low, then it may not be a good idea to do it.

pianotuna wrote:
Hi,

Generators are rated in VA not watts.

Well, it says 2500 watts on the label. Maybe they have a different standard in Canada.

By "way low" he means 110volts or less. Voltage this low will cause long term damage to electric motors.

Your a/c unit is a 13,500 btu unit. I do think your generator is adequate,just watch the voltage.

You probably actually have about 2200 or 2300 watts. 2500 is probably surge.
Generators will be rated in watts and your manual probably says that if you have a 13,500 btu ac it requires a 3500 watt gen. Many will run on less.

They are saying that if you check your system voltage as the ac works you can see if the voltage drops too low.

2300 watts divided by 120 volts equals 19 amps.
If you can borrow a clamp on amp gauge it would be good to check amp draw. You want to see starting amps and amps as it cycles on and off with compressor head pressure.

Remember that your converter and anything else on 120 v will add to the ac load. Put the frig, water heater on propane

You dont want to run maxed out because it's hard on both pieces of equipment.

I just checked my rig and the ac was pulling 5 to 6 amps but the ambient is only 60. I have seen it pull more but cant remember how much.

Beg borrow or borrow a clamp on amp meter.

I know AC units have a start up and run amperage. They pull 30% to 50% more at start up then they do running. It is the start up that I am worried about. Most AC units, that I have seen, state what their start up and run amperage or wattage is. This one does not, or I have not found where it states it. That is really what I need to know.

jungleexplorer wrote:
I know AC units have a start up and run amperage. They pull 30% to 50% more at start up then they do running. It is the start up that I am worried about. Most AC units, that I have seen, state what their start up and run amperage or wattage is. This one does not, or I have not found where it states it. That is really what I need to know.

Right. I'm no ac guy but the ambient will matter too. I think the amp draw is much more when it's 95 vs 60 which is probably what I'm seeing when I tried mine tonight.

I have ran a 13,500 for a short time on a 14 gauge extension cord. I tried it but didnt do it long.

14 gauge is normally good for 15 amps. 15x120v=1800 watts. Not good but it ran.

My guess....your genny will do it but you may be borderline. Again, I would go by the amp draw.
I see you are in Texas so say it's 95 degrees and you see 8 amps running. That would be about 50 % of your gen capacity and would probably be fine to run it there. You then want to see what the amps are when the thermostat cycles off and a little while later it kicks back on. That's the amp surge that it will see over and over. Just guess and say it's 12 amps, you would probably still be ok. BUT, I'm not an ac guy and none of us are charging you anything either. :)

Hi,

Yup, they say watts on the label but when you look in the owner's manual it may very likely specify VA. It will also very likely be the surge rating.

For example the Honda 2000 watt is really only 1600 VA continuous. It is about marketing not "real life" numbers.

By way low I mean below 107 volts--and staying there for more than one second.

jungleexplorer wrote:

pianotuna wrote:
Hi,

Generators are rated in VA not watts.

Well, it says 2500 watts on the label. Maybe they have a different standard in Canada.

Looks like your compressor load is 11.3 amps and a minimum generator size of 3,500.

So....they want 3500 divided by 120 = 29.16 amps. They cant be sizing it by locked rotor because that's about 60 amps. They are sizing it at 1/3 of total capacity?

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