We have had a trailer with a 13,500 A/C and will now have 15,000. We have two Firman (off brand) 2000 W generators that we parallel together to run our A/C. We have had a little trouble at times in the past with the smaller A/C unit, but I think it was related to being at a higher altitude. It just took more care in starting the unit (fan for a minute, then A/C low, etc). Will we be able to use these generators to run our new larger A/C unit? I'm a little concerned.
Will our Gens start our new AC?
- Thread starter kportra
- Start date
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John From Detroit
Well-known member
Well all answers are guesses but my best guess is "Likely yes" but.. You won't know till you do it.
One thing I noticed when I went from 13.5Ks to 15K's.. the original Carrier Air V's (13,500 BTU) Drew 13.5 amps running (Bit more starting)
The new Advent 1500.. Same 13.5 amps.
The COleman is 13.9
THey do start a bit harder but a "Soft start" cap fixed that.
One thing I noticed when I went from 13.5Ks to 15K's.. the original Carrier Air V's (13,500 BTU) Drew 13.5 amps running (Bit more starting)
The new Advent 1500.. Same 13.5 amps.
The COleman is 13.9
THey do start a bit harder but a "Soft start" cap fixed that.
Kevin Means
Site Team
Your generators should be able to keep the larger AC running, but starting the AC unit's compressor "may" be a challenge. The compressor's startup puts a momentary, albeit much greater load on the generator, that's sometimes enough to trip its output breaker. A soft start capacitor ramps the start process up more gradually, so there isn't as much of a surge. I believe many newer AC units already have soft start capacitors.
Another option is a Micro-Air 364 Soft Start system. It ramps the compressor's start cycle up even slower. We've got three roof AC units, and two of them have these systems. They enable us to simultaneously run our res fridge (with its compressor on) and two 13,500 BTU AC units off 30 amp service, without our inverter's "inverter assist" mode kicking in. A big improvement.
Kev
Another option is a Micro-Air 364 Soft Start system. It ramps the compressor's start cycle up even slower. We've got three roof AC units, and two of them have these systems. They enable us to simultaneously run our res fridge (with its compressor on) and two 13,500 BTU AC units off 30 amp service, without our inverter's "inverter assist" mode kicking in. A big improvement.
Kev
