- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message
Bigger Generator or Just Portable Air Conditioner for Power Outage?
Posted on 8/26/16 at 10:38 am
Posted on 8/26/16 at 10:38 am
So I was looking at buying a portable AC for the house in the event of a power outage. Wife doesn't want the window unit scuffing up her new windows and all that. So the big enough ones are running $400 +- $100. Had a brain fart and realized our house has a 2.5 ton air conditioner.(the zone with our bedroom) My generator is currently 5500 running / 8200 starting. I think I read somewhere that a 2.5 ton air conditioner will require around 3000 watts. New house has a plug for a generator wired up. I do need to get a cable for that though.
Should I not be buying a new portable air conditioner and instead be buying a bigger generator? Anyone issues running central air off a generator?
Should I not be buying a new portable air conditioner and instead be buying a bigger generator? Anyone issues running central air off a generator?
5
Posted on 8/26/16 at 10:47 am to BeerMoney
Your generator will probably not be able to start the compressor. It takes a lot of power for the initial start.
Hook the generator up and try it. If it can start it without too much trouble, don't mess with a window unit.
Hook the generator up and try it. If it can start it without too much trouble, don't mess with a window unit.
Posted on 8/26/16 at 10:47 am to BeerMoney
quote:
Anyone issues running central air off a generator?
The "book" way of doing it is to make your A/C soft start. That's the biggest hurdle to run your A/C - for most folks, A/C is between 1/3 and 1/2 of their peak load, and even more at start.
If you have overhead space of amperage and wattage, you should be able to run the A/C off a generator (people do it all over the world) - it's that start load that is likely to overload, trip breakers and cause problems with surges and such.
ETA: For the record, I'm not an electrician, I just read a lot.
This post was edited on 8/26/16 at 10:49 am
Posted on 8/26/16 at 10:53 am to Ace Midnight
I'm ordering a soft start for mine today. I'm pretty fuggin excited.
Posted on 8/26/16 at 10:57 am to Ace Midnight
It looks like I can buy a 9200 continuous / 11500 starting generator off Home Depot for about $1,000.
I'm asking here just to make sure there aren't gotchas. Googling this sort of thing is hard for me as it's not something I'm accustomed to talking about. So I guess buying the bigger generator and knowing which switches to flip in the breaker panel would be the way to go? It's a little more money but probably less hassle.
I'm asking here just to make sure there aren't gotchas. Googling this sort of thing is hard for me as it's not something I'm accustomed to talking about. So I guess buying the bigger generator and knowing which switches to flip in the breaker panel would be the way to go? It's a little more money but probably less hassle.
Posted on 8/26/16 at 11:03 am to DownshiftAndFloorIt
quote:
I'm ordering a soft start for mine today. I'm pretty fuggin excited.
Never heard of soft start. Being able to Google that makes me believe even the 10k generator isn't big enough for the 2.5 ton unit unless I invest in that.
Posted on 8/26/16 at 11:10 am to BeerMoney
You can run a 12,000 BTU portable air conditioner using about 1200 watts. Haier Specs: Maximum Wattage 1200 Maximum amperage 10.8 Amps
Small 2000 watt generator would burn about 3 gallons of gas a day.
Running your central a/c with a 10,000 watt generator will burn about 18 gallons of gas a day.
Small 2000 watt generator would burn about 3 gallons of gas a day.
Running your central a/c with a 10,000 watt generator will burn about 18 gallons of gas a day.
Posted on 8/26/16 at 11:34 am to BeerMoney
Basically, the compressor motor pulls a shitload of power to start turning when the switch turns it on.
A soft start ramps up the current in a controlled manner, rather than just letting the motor do whatever it wants.
A soft start ramps up the current in a controlled manner, rather than just letting the motor do whatever it wants.
Posted on 8/26/16 at 12:21 pm to BeerMoney
quote:
Bigger Generator or Just Portable Air Conditioner for Power Outage?
I did a lot of research last summer because my primary AC went out and my wife was on nights so she was trying to sleep during the day in some awful heat. Took a while for the service company to get out there so I looked into all options.
Long story short - portable AC units suck. They're unreliable and undersized and do a poor job of moving air. A window unit is far and away better than a portable AC unit. Not even close.
So for your situation, if the window unit is a definite no-go, get the bigger generator.
Posted on 8/26/16 at 12:45 pm to DownshiftAndFloorIt
It a Hard Start Capacitor kit, it uses the stored energy in the capacitor to help start the motor slowly. 
Posted on 8/26/16 at 12:53 pm to The Last Coco
I use two window units. One for my main living room, eating room, and kitchen that I leave on constantly. I use the other one in my bedroom at night. No complaints with that setup
Posted on 8/26/16 at 1:14 pm to BeerMoney
Serious question- How does a window unit scuff up a window?
Those portable a/c unit are much more expensive than a window unit and are harder to store.
Those portable a/c unit are much more expensive than a window unit and are harder to store.
Posted on 8/26/16 at 2:39 pm to hogdaddy
That's different. A hard start capacitor is just a big arse capacitor that discharges across the compressor motor to help get it started. A soft starter uses software logic to ramp up the current to the compressor in a controlled manner.
Both are intended to help cope with the big inrush you get from starting a motor, one does it by adding a burst of power, the other controls the ramp rate of the power.
Both are intended to help cope with the big inrush you get from starting a motor, one does it by adding a burst of power, the other controls the ramp rate of the power.
Posted on 8/26/16 at 2:55 pm to Jj283
quote:
Serious question- How does a window unit scuff up a window?
that's what i was wondering lol.
had a window unit in last week for a few days, no scratches
This post was edited on 8/26/16 at 2:56 pm
Posted on 8/26/16 at 2:56 pm to Jj283
quote:
Serious question- How does a window unit scuff up a window?
Mine has a couple of screws on the mounting hardware to connect to the window and frame to keep the unit from falling out.
Posted on 8/26/16 at 3:04 pm to The Last Coco
I never use those in temporary situations. Just close the window down on the bracket
Posted on 8/26/16 at 3:07 pm to Hammertime
quote:
I never use those in temporary situations. Just close the window down on the bracket
this. close the window and put a couple window locks on the rails. that window unit isnt gonna go anywhere
Posted on 8/26/16 at 3:13 pm to Hammertime
quote:
temporary situations. Just close the window down on the bracket
Same here. I just shift it to one side of the window and fill in the other side with a precut piece of plywood. Duct tape around the edges/seem and you're good to go.
Posted on 8/26/16 at 3:39 pm to Hammertime
quote:
I never use those in temporary situations. Just close the window down on the bracket
Fair enough. The one time I needed it was for a period of over a week on a second story bedroom. Didn't want that thing falling. Lol. And mine came with an accordion style part to cover the open part of the window. Sealed well on its own, no duck tape needed.
Posted on 8/26/16 at 3:46 pm to The Last Coco
quote:
Didn't want that thing falling.
if you have it in the window frame right and use some window locks (you really dont even need the locks), it isnt going anywhere
Page 1 of 2
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News