A/C on 116 volts?
I just pulled into a site and EMS only shows 116 volts. Would you trust it to run 10,500btu AC unit for one night without doing damage go the unit? Thanks
Forum Discussion
solismaris wrote:Low voltage damages the windings on AC motors due to overheating the insulation. The damage is cumulative over time and an AC unit can suddenly fail one day for no obvious reason.
I've run it occasionally with voltage reading as low as 100. Not recommended I know. But no problems yet. Crossing fingers.
Also, when an AC unit starts up, it draws a momentary inrush current of around 50-60 amps. Even if you're at a borderline of 104 volts when running and you think you're okay, the voltage can dip very low and still damage the motors. The voltage dips so fast you can't tell how much on a voltmeter.
Replacing AC units is an expensive affair and not worth gambling IMO.
I installed a flush-mounted mini LED panel meter on the wall near the door. I got a quality US-made Datel meter but any of the inexpensive ones out there should be just fine. Available in a plug-in version too. And 'cos it's a hobby and time & money is no object, I also installed one of their ammeters right above the voltmeter. Current rarely goes much above 15-20 amps and it's the voltmeter that is by far most useful.
If you had a hard-wired EMS with remote display inside, you could also read volts & amps that way but I find the constant scrolling of the data to be annoying.
