Portable A/C unit

This duplicate post is closed

I'm just curious of what alternator the OP has?

Yes, it will work.
I did the same thing four years ago with a 12,000 btu portable and a deep cycle battery.
My application was a little different. I used the a/c at night in a 28' Rinker cabin cruiser on a trip down the Arkansas River to the Mississippi.
I did a test before the actual cruise. I took a fully charged battery, hooked up the inverter and let it run in the garage. I lasted four hours before the inverter shut off because of lack of power in the battery. Since I was using it at night, the four hours was enough for me.
I recharged the battery each day as I continued on my trip down the river.
Just do a few tests and see what happens.
You may need two batteries, depending on how long you want to run your a/c.
Let us know how your test works out.

Are there any web sites that list energy consumption for household appliances like A/C and refrigerators ?

MrWizard wrote:
... you may find the project costs more in time and money than you think

Yep ! A MagnaSine MS2812 2800W inverter and a battery will be over $2000 ! :E

Emissions are NEVER a non-issue!

BTU "British thermal units"

when comparing with electric heat 5000BTU, that is approx 1500w

BUT when comparing with cooling, it is not a linear transfer
its all about compressor efficiency, condenser and evap coil sizes etc..

10000 btu cooling does not need 3000 watts power
the 10.8 amps sounds correct, and runs on a normal 15a 120v home circuit

still the LRA of the compressor comes into play, and the ability of the inverter to supply this FOR the "Seconds" needed to start the compressor

the surge rating of many inverters is listed in Micro-Seconds or Milli-Seconds, not real Seconds of time

not enough time to start the compressor on most A/C units

you can hear a compressor start up on a strong enough generator or shore power, thats because it takes time to spin up against coolant pressure, its not blip like flipping a light switch

an inverter that has a surge time that is a mere BLIP won't start the a/c compressor

yes there are inverters that can power your a/c,

you may find the project costs more in time and money than you think

philo111 wrote:

The alternator is rated at 100 amps at idle and 200 amps at 1200 RPM.

WOW ! Those are some specs !!

Lock Rotor Amperage is pretty much the maximum an air conditioning compressor will draw under "worst case" conditions.

Like I said earlier, newer window shakers draw less current.

Locked rotor amps. Could you use a 5000 btu? I used one in an insulated one car garage. Isn't that 10,000 btu supposed to be on a 20 amp circuit also?

rjxj wrote:
What are the lra on that ac unit?

I'm sorry, I don't know what Ira is?