13,500 btu air conditioner - how to power?
we have access to a Winnebago 1995 Itasca Passage 23RC. this has a 'roof mounted' 13,500 BTU central cabin air conditioner. the Winnebago does NOT include the 'specially-designed-to-fit' OPTIONAL ga...
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I agree, running that AC off batteries is out of the question. The AC would suck a single RV house battery dry in minutes; you'd need a semi full of them for a reasonable run time.
The easiest and cheapest way to go is to get a 4,000 watt or bigger generator and just plug the RV's shore power cord into it. (2,000 watts is marginal for running the AC ONLY; 3,000 watts will often accommodate losses in the converter and run other things, but can be marginal for many folks; 4,000 watts will cover most all your needs.)
If you can find a 4,000 watt, 120 volt only generator, that would be best, because a 240 volt unit that size will be using only one side of the 240 volt coils, and this can cause issues.
I found an 1800 watt, 120 volt only, inverter generator at a pallet sale at Northern Tool a couple years ago for $200. It is fine for recharging the RV batteries when we go camp where there is no electric, but of course it is too small to run the AC. I caught a 5500 watt (6875 watt surge) open frame generator on sale a while after a big wind storm had knocked out power in our area for a week or so for $650 at Tractor Supply Company. It's big and heavy and loud, but plenty of muscle for the RV or for the house in an outrage provided we mind we don't try to run the electric clothes dryer or the electric water heater. So you can find generators on sale if you keep your eyes open.
The easiest and cheapest way to go is to get a 4,000 watt or bigger generator and just plug the RV's shore power cord into it. (2,000 watts is marginal for running the AC ONLY; 3,000 watts will often accommodate losses in the converter and run other things, but can be marginal for many folks; 4,000 watts will cover most all your needs.)
If you can find a 4,000 watt, 120 volt only generator, that would be best, because a 240 volt unit that size will be using only one side of the 240 volt coils, and this can cause issues.
I found an 1800 watt, 120 volt only, inverter generator at a pallet sale at Northern Tool a couple years ago for $200. It is fine for recharging the RV batteries when we go camp where there is no electric, but of course it is too small to run the AC. I caught a 5500 watt (6875 watt surge) open frame generator on sale a while after a big wind storm had knocked out power in our area for a week or so for $650 at Tractor Supply Company. It's big and heavy and loud, but plenty of muscle for the RV or for the house in an outrage provided we mind we don't try to run the electric clothes dryer or the electric water heater. So you can find generators on sale if you keep your eyes open.
