Hello!I am looking for some way to keep myself cool through the summer in Texas, since I cannot handle a 3.5Kw generator by myself, and where I am going for 11 days next month does not have hookups of any kind. I will be working for at least 4 of these days (work weekends and might work elsewhere during the week, but chances are I have to stay in my trailer during the week).What AC options do I have that would run off a much smaller generator? It doesn't have to be a roof-mount AC? Is there something that sits on a table or a counter?

friends company has portable ac units they hook up in service vans, the girls working in the vans say its great, go to e bay type in portable ac unit.

there are previous threads on stand alone aCs but I don't remember if current draw was ever discussed.bumpy

Have you thought of Portable Room Air conditioners.

I have brought along my 5000BTU House Window A/C unit on my tent camping trips and it would run just fine on my 2KW Honda Generator.Even the 8000 BTU Window units would be under the maxiumum watts draw from the 2KW Honda type generator. Try it out before you commit...Roy Ken

Portable A/C units have to have an exhaust to outside....

Portable AC unit to use in travel trailers | Good Sam Community

bsinmich
Explorer
Jan 21, 2015
AmericaOverland wrote:
Yes, I was looking at portable AC units. The evaporative type is what I'm looking at. How well do they work?

An evaporative cooler is not really an air conditioner. It only cools air by adding water to the air to make it cooler. It works OK in dry climates but makes things a lot worse in humid climates. Your regular RV AC is probably the most efficient unit you can find because they are designed to work on some poor circuits in CGs and still make cold air. The suggestion of 2 smaller generators linked together could be a great answer for you. Just keep in mind they are also great targets for thieves because they must be left in the open for cooling.
LeeRogers
Explorer
Jan 20, 2015
http://www.thegoodgears.com/Portable-Air-Conditioner/
Portable AC make me comfortable when travel to desert. I usually supply it with generator.
Bumpyroad
Explorer
Aug 24, 2014
don't swamp coolers require a non-ending source of water. not too practical in a rV?
bumpy
Allworth
Explorer II
Aug 24, 2014
Lived in Dallas for years and always had swamp coolers. They work great from the Hill Country to Amarillo, but if you get down on the coast they are useless.
JiminDenver
Explorer II
Aug 24, 2014
I have used the portable air conditioners twice. They are great if you are in front of it but the heat being put off by the exhaust hose causes the area behind it to become sweltering.

Swamp coolers work great in low humidity situations. In a humid situation they just add humidity and make it worse.
AmericaOverland
Explorer
Aug 24, 2014
Yes, I was looking at portable AC units. The evaporative type is what I'm looking at. How well do they work?

It's possible that I won't get one if I find myself on a rennie circuit where it's almost always cool wherever I go, which would mean that I could use one inverter generator to only run the battery charger plus sensitive electronics like my phone charger and computer.

I'm going to Sherwood Forest Festival near Austin next month, and I have a electric site reserved in Participant camping (I'm bar-backing for Celtic Music Festival, September 20-21 and 27-28).
rollingslow
Explorer
Aug 24, 2014
costco has some nice portable ac units that will work
Bumpyroad
Explorer
Aug 23, 2014
opnspaces wrote:
I have a portable air conditioner in my house, well actually it sits in my garage unused because it's not very good. It was free so I can't complain, but I also wouldn't recommend one as they are grossly inefficient and rally don't work.

Read this link from Consumer Reports, it pretty much sums up how well these work. Pay attention to the "How we test" section.
Link

sounds to me like they only tested one hose units. we have already discussed the failings of them.
bumpy
opnspaces
Navigator II
Aug 23, 2014
I have a portable air conditioner in my house, well actually it sits in my garage unused because it's not very good. It was free so I can't complain, but I also wouldn't recommend one as they are grossly inefficient and rally don't work.

Read this link from Consumer Reports, it pretty much sums up how well these work. Pay attention to the "How we test" section.
Link
TXiceman
Explorer II
Aug 20, 2014
To run on a smaller generator, will require a lower capacity A/C unit. In the Texas heat, you will need multiple of the small portable units. Look at the capacity of your roof top and see how many of the small units it will take to replace it. The multiple units will require a larger generator.

Best bet would be a pair of Honda EU 2000i generators with a parallel kit and an extended run tank.

Ken

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