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Why can't my air conditioner work correctly?

Can I use car battery with power converter to get a air conditioner running?

  • I want to be able to use a air conditioner from car battery using a let's say 600 watt power converter unit .Question is 1.Can a setup like this work . 2.What specs of battery is needed? 3.A 8000 btu air condition unit how long would it be able to run from the specified battery? If it cant work like this or you know a simpler way tell me . Thank You

  • Answer:

    It can work, but the battery would not last long. Guessing, the AC will use about 8 amps at 120 VAC. That is 960 watts. You will need a 1500 watt inverter as the start up current for the AC is a lot higher. Perhaps 2000 watt inverter. Counting losses, you will need about 1150 watts from the battery. that is 100 amps. A large auto battery (70 amp hours) in good shape will last about an 40 minutes before it is completely discharged. You should never use an auto battery indoors as it can emit dangerous gases. If you completely discharge an auto battery, it is damaged. .

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You won't even get the a/c working in fan only mode with a 600 watt converter. Even if you got a large enough converter, the battery would only last a few minutes. To put this into perspective, if you had the battery in an car with the car running, it still wouldn't work because the alternator couldn't produce enough electric to keep the a/c running and battery charged. Something like this is the best alternative I can think of http://home-solutions.hsn.com/stainz-r-out-ice-fan-personal-air-conditioner_p-3432086_xp.aspx

George

your power converter will need to be massive say at least 3000watts(continuous power). air conditioner compressor will cycle on and off and the power surge might damage the power converter if it isn't big enough. depending on how long you want to run the a/c, i suggest those batteries from big trucks

Ron

A 600 watt converter will only produce about 5 1/5 to 6 amps, not nearly enough to even start the A/C with the normal starting amp requirements. Most batteries come with a "reserve amps" number, which is necessary to determine the time any appliance will run with a specific current draw. The formula can be obtained by calling the converter manufacturer. Also, you might call or visit a local RV dealer and ask as this is common with some of the larger motor homes.

bojo8127

air conditioners draw a lot of current. there is the compressor, and 2 fans. the compressor is the heavy load. a car battery really doesn't have the capacity to put out that much power for long periods of time. you could hook it up, however, you'll find that the battery gets dangerously hot. i would highly discourage you from trying it.

linlyons

I have a 5000 btu air conditioner which draws 530 watts. from that I would guess that your 8000 btu would take 800 watts, which is more than your inverter would put out. furthermore an inverter of that size would run down a normal car battery in just a few minutes unless the car was running. the only other way I can think to do this without plugging into your house current would be a small generator.

Drewfuss

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