Quote:
Originally Posted by xluke
Hello,
I was wondering if it is at all advisable to run a 16kbtu air conditioner from a large inverter while using a generator to keep the charge on the batteries (would only be one 130ampH battery) topped off. I have a 2kwatt generator that is unable to handle the surge of the generator, but also have an inverter that can handle the load, so this seemed like a reasonable approach. I'm concerned about killing the deep cycles, but perhaps this is not too much of an issue.
Anyone have any experience / suggestions about this?
Thanks! |
It's a perfectly reasonable approach if the inverter has capacity adequate to cover the startup surge (most of them will support a much larger load for a short period of time, than their rated power), and if your
batteries have enough
power to cover the shortfall (doesn't take much for just a couple of seconds of load).
An even better approach is to use a charger/inverter which has a
power boost feature -- which will pass through AC power but supplement this with inverter power when needed to make up short-term deficits. Mastervolt and Victron make these. I have a Victron Multiplus in my
boat and it works a treat for this purpose. I don't have
air conditioning, but I can easily pop breakers on 16 amp
shore power circuits if I don't use this feature. I set the
current limit on the Victron and it will not allow the
electrical system to take more than that from
shore power (or generator). It will invert power if someone, for example, switches on an
electric kettle which on top of other loads exceeds shore power capacity. Works great. Would be perfect for
air conditioning startup loads like in your case.
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