High amps at Air Conditioner

[3_tons]

I have a Coleman Mach 1 P.S. 11k btu rooftop air conditioner (on a truck camper) that has had little use and works well, but seems to draw a high amount of amps per Colemans spec sheet.

Coleman specs suggest 9.0 amps total @95df ambient (including blower), but using a RMS Kill-a-watt meter, I measure a near consistent 11.6 amps at about 86df ambient, and my genny when in Eco mode struggles during compressor starts... Coils are clean..

Any ideas are well appreciated, thanks

3 tons.

[3_tons]

Updated as to the question of why my air conditioner works good but is drawing too many amps...

I was able today to speak to an air tech at the Coleman factory about my ac amp issue...To recap, the compressor is rated at 6.7 run amps, but I’m measuring about 9.6 at the compressor with a clamp on meter - Coils are clean...

Tech said that there could be some leakage about the motor windings, or a bad (i.e. leaky) run capacitor, or that compressor is just getting tired...He suggested that I change out the ‘run’ cap and see if that helps....

I also mentioned to him that in my humble opinion, AirExels claim of only 2.5 x running amps occuring at locked rotor did not seem too credible, and that the real number (LRA with refrigerant) should likely be closer to 4-5 times running amps, at which point he seemed to agree and question the number himself, and said he’d never really thought too much about it... Either way (not to parse the whatever number...), it can be meaningful if planning to run the ac unit from an inverter - he agreed...

So I ordered a new run cap and will report back...

3 tons

[3_tons]

“WHY is this a bad thing????? Xantrex is a merger of Trace and Heart from 18 years ago. Magnum is FORMER Xantrex Engineers, that used their knowledge to build a better Product. AND, They did. Doug”

Sounds like these engineers possibly fit into the catagory of ‘Good Engineers’...

[pianotuna]

Hi Doug,

Where in my post does it say this is a bad thing? I received excellent service from the new company when my unit had a catastrophic failure. I.E. they replaced it. The replacement unit outputs a bit less than 123 volts compared to 120 for the original and I'm glad to have the "extra" voltage "headroom".

dougrainer wrote:

pianotuna wrote:
Hi Itinerant1,

I know they had changed hands by the summer of 2017. The new company name is Sensata Technologies. http://www.magnum-dimensions.com/mobile-power-products/inverter-chargers

WHY is this a bad thing????? Xantrex is a merger of Trace and Heart from 18 years ago. Magnum is FORMER Xantrex Engineers, that used their knowledge to build a better Product. AND, They did. Doug

[MrWizard]

i wonder if the OP
ever checked the wiring for the A/C breakers
or cleaned the fins inside and out side

[wa8yxm]

3 tons wrote:
The bean-counters now run Xantrex...The Prosine 2.0 (designed by Trace Engineering) is rated at 4,500w surge for a whopping 5 seconds...Its purported replacement, the new 2000w Freedom X is rated at 4,000w surge for 2 sec....Xantrex doesnt carry replacement parts for my 5 yr old PS 2.0... I was told by a repair tech that Magnum was bought out as well...

There is a technician in Quartzsite who claims he can fix Prosines. I plan to visit him in Jan. Alas I do not have his ID handy but he is a member of I believe these forums (not sure on that either).

[3_tons]

dougrainer wrote:

3 tons wrote:

dougrainer wrote:
Jeeez. ALL AC specs are with the correct coolant charge. WHY would they state a spec for NO coolant????????????????? Doug

PS, are you some type of Engineer?

Ouch!!

3 tons

Your posts describe a PITA engineer. I HATE 2 classes of customers
Airline Pilots and Engineers. They are PITA's. Doug

Easy Pilgrim !!

[dougrainer]

pianotuna wrote:
Hi Itinerant1,

I know they had changed hands by the summer of 2017. The new company name is Sensata Technologies. http://www.magnum-dimensions.com/mobile-power-products/inverter-chargers

Itinerant1 wrote:

Who bought out Magnum and when?

WHY is this a bad thing????? Xantrex is a merger of Trace and Heart from 18 years ago. Magnum is FORMER Xantrex Engineers, that used their knowledge to build a better Product. AND, They did. Doug

[dougrainer]

3 tons wrote:

dougrainer wrote:
Jeeez. ALL AC specs are with the correct coolant charge. WHY would they state a spec for NO coolant????????????????? Doug

PS, are you some type of Engineer?

Ouch!!

3 tons

Your posts describe a PITA engineer. I HATE 2 classes of customers
Airline Pilots and Engineers. They are PITA's. Doug

[3_tons]

dougrainer wrote:
Jeeez. ALL AC specs are with the correct coolant charge. WHY would they state a spec for NO coolant????????????????? Doug

PS, are you some type of Engineer?

Ouch!!

3 tons

[3_tons]

SoundGuy said:

“You keep referring to your soft starter kit as an "Easy Start" which is the proprietary name for Micro-Air's soft starter but I thought you had mentioned elsewhere your kit was manufactured by Hyper Engineering, called Sure-Start”

That was my mistake, yes it is a Hyper Engineering priduct, just that I have a hard time keeping these propitiatory names straight - Thanks for clarifying ...

[pianotuna]

Hi Itinerant1,

I know they had changed hands by the summer of 2017. The new company name is Sensata Technologies. http://www.magnum-dimensions.com/mobile-power-products/inverter-chargers

Itinerant1 wrote:

Who bought out Magnum and when?

[3_tons]

Itinerant1 wrote:

3 tons wrote:
I was told by a repair tech that Magnum was bought out as well...

Who bought out Magnum and when?

http://www.magnum-dimensions.com/news/201610/top-7-vendors-global-automotive-board-power-inverter-ma...

I couldn’t say, just relaying what was said to me by a marine inverter service tech where I made the inquiry...New parent company is what he said....

[SoundGuy]

3 tons wrote:
So I kinda of the belief that the ‘non-programmable’ Easy-Start (as good as it may be in common applications) is not syncronizing well (or compatible??) with genny on Eco (due to cycling), and the inverter back up takes over without a hitch...

You keep referring to your soft starter kit as an "Easy Start" which is the proprietary name for Micro-Air's soft starter but I thought you had mentioned elsewhere your kit was manufactured by Hyper Engineering, called Sure-Start - no? Based on the detail you've provided I'm still of the opinion that this soft starter may be part of your problem ... have you discussed your problem with the manufacturer? :@

[Itinerant1]

3 tons wrote:
I was told by a repair tech that Magnum was bought out as well...

Who bought out Magnum and when?

http://www.magnum-dimensions.com/news/201610/top-7-vendors-global-automotive-board-power-inverter-ma...