Hi Plumber,
Ask yourself "why".
The start up surge for the compressor may over load a 2k generator. But that is because the genny makers quote VA rather than "real" watts. I believe the Honda 2k unit is capable of 13.3 amps (1600 watts). There are solutions to this. One way is to use a hybrid inverter that will draw the start up load from the battery bank. Then, the air conditioner will run pretty much as it would from a 15 amp shore power source. As the ambient temperature increases, so does the demand from the air conditioner. So just when you REALLY need the air a single 2k unit may not be up to the task.
Don't forget that generators are derated as altitude increases. My Yamaha 3000 Sieb (500 watts of boost for 10 seconds, 2800 VA or 23.3 amps) struggled to run the roof air in Cranbrook, BC which is only at 3021 feet. It is true that it had less than 20 hours of run time, so the generator was not "broken in". Of course, assuming a power factor of .8, means that 2800 is really only 2240 watts. The 500 watts for ten seconds do help. But then again, I have seen 1900 watts of demand during continuous running of the unit. That is 84% of the total capacity of the Yamaha--and all generators recommend only 80% of that total for continuous use.
Derating is about 3% per 1000 feet.
Now I have a hybrid inverter and I can run the Yamaha in eco mode with no problems starting the air conditioner at all.
Plumber101010 wrote:
I am talking about the fact that the AC could not physically run off one 2000 generator PERIOD. By itself. Nothing else running with it.
