Congressmen Without Power in DC!

[lektrode]

Re: Congressmen Without Power in DC!

I just lived through a long power outage in the suburbs of chicago. 60 hours without power....

list of new things to get to help us through the next one. Maybe a room air conditioner that could be run by a small gas generator..

the problem here CB is that most 'small' gensets wont start an A/C unit - i know that my honda eu2000 will NOT start a 7kbtu - needed to use my 2000w inverter/charger to get it going, then would plug in the genset and inverters trasfer switch then jumped over to the genset- it might start a smaller 5k unit tho - but without an inverter/battery setup, methinks you will need the honda eu3000(which they say will run "most 13,500 BTU RV AC units" )

this would be the easiest, most immed, least costly route - but IMHO the inv/chgr/batts setup + the eu2000 gen is the better way to go, in that with an inv/batts hooked up thru a subpanel that isolates the ckts one wants 'failsafe' power on, when (vs IF) the grid goes down, the inverter xfer switch flips so quick, one barely notices the grid dropping - this would keep 'critical' loads (or PITA to reset devices) from going down during those 1sec power failures - sizing the battery for how much time you'd want to have before needing the genset is the only other question

as mentioned on a prev thread, this is all doable for appx 10grand or so

add some PV and it might qualify the whole shebang for the 'solar tax credits'

[don]

Re: Congressmen Without Power in DC!

Any motor/compressor system is susceptible to increased head pressure, needing more power for repetitive starting. A frequently seen problem on construction site generators. A/C would fall in that category. (A/C breakers are normally rated for a longer start-up surge before tripping for that reason.)

[charliebrown]

Re: Congressmen Without Power in DC!

I'm thinking a 5KW generator and a 5KBTU A/C unit. Just enough to cool a bedroom. Somewhere to escape to for a few hours to cool off and as I said above it does not have to be refrigerator cold. 78 with low humidity would do the job.

[lektrode]

Re: Congressmen Without Power in DC!

I'm thinking a 5KW generator and a 5KBTU A/C unit. Just enough to cool a bedroom. Somewhere to escape to for a few hours to cool off and as I said above it does not have to be refrigerator cold. 78 with low humidity would do the job.

5k on the gen is bigger than you'd likely ever need - tho costco sells some inexpensive ones - BUT...
i'd think twice and a third time about cheaping out on the genset - the hondas are about as good as they get in this size range - the other issue to be contended with is maintenance of the genset - if they sit unused for long periods, they have a tendency to not want to go at the moment you need em = why i'm suggesting the inv/batt/gen config.
then you only need the gen IF the outage is likely to last beyond the batts capacity

that way you can keep the genset in 'dry' condition (no gasoline in it to get stale) and simply fill it when the need arises - while having 'failsafe' power online ALL the time, via the inv/batts

the honda2000 is ideally matched to the outback2012 (2000w out/12vdc in) inverter's 100amp charger, which takes 12amps max (the limit of the 2000w gen), but will start much higher loads than the genset can

and like don mentions, trying to restart an a/c unit after its been running is tough on a smaller gen - why a smaller a/c unit is a good idea, in that it will want to run continuously in a larger space (cant satisfy the t-stat)