Home Generator vs A/C

[3154tm]

i'm hoping someone here has tried one of these units. it's a soft start kit for the a/c compressor. the idea is to reduce the amps required on start up and therefore the size generator needed to run the a/c system. the reduction is advertised as anywhere from 50% to 70% depending on the unit. there's a video online of a guy whose in rush or LRA amps went from 70+ to 20. i've been putting off buying a home generator because i've been told i needed at least 17kw and the generac people said i needed 24kw. with this unit on my a/c unit it works out to about 8kw. hard to believe but if true it would make a whole house generator doable for me.

Soft Start Single-Phase | Eltwin

www.hypereng.com

 

[DAS HUGH!]

I've seen portable generators that are crazy strong enough to run whole houses that sell for cheaper than typical models. But,... you need a tractor with a PTO. You use the tractor to pick it up and put it beside the house. Then back up to it and power it with the PTO. I like this of all I've seen best because if it floods it will kill a Generac one. You can load this one up and go up north with you so it can't get looted while you're gone. Then lastly it don't need the added bulk and cost of a big gas/diesel motor, because you'll already own that part. You could likely buy a small used old tractor and the generator both for less than what the deluxe self start models cost these days. Just an idea I ran across in case It help bud

 

[Grits1/5]

i'm hoping someone here has tried one of these units. it's a soft start kit for the a/c compressor. the idea is to reduce the amps required on start up and therefore the size generator needed to run the a/c system. the reduction is advertised as anywhere from 50% to 70% depending on the unit. there's a video online of a guy whose in rush or LRA amps went from 70+ to 20. i've been putting off buying a home generator because i've been told i needed at least 17kw and the generac people said i needed 24kw. with this unit on my a/c unit it works out to about 8kw. hard to believe but if true it would make a whole house generator doable for me.

Soft Start Single-Phase | Eltwin

www.hypereng.com

No experience on using a soft start kit on a home AC unit, but I did use one on a small Coleman Mach 8k rooftop ac. It worked great and allowed me to run the unit off a small 2kw Honda generator.

 

[Bamaboy19]

I have not used one, however as an industrial electrician we use motor drives (inverters) on just about every motor, 100s, in our plant for just that reason. You can get them to trick a 3 phase motor into running on single phase.

 

[3154tm]

i'll probably do this after i find an electrician that can install a switch and dedicated panel for a generator. it's hard to get someone on the west side to come out, everyone seems to be slammed. if this unit works as advertised it'll make a big difference in the generator capacity need to run a house. especially since the a/c unit is by far the biggest draw.

 

[Baddog 0302]

Start saving your $$$, the electrician's I talked to quoted me prices in the $700.00 range to put a "soft start" in my A/C system.
Another thing to consider is how much gas one will use.
During IVAN my brother in law used a small [3.5 kw] and had his house weened off power, just running 1 small window A/C the refrigerator, one freezer and ceiling fans. We cooked on gas BBQ /camp stove , bathed either in the creek behind his house, or with a DIY shower with only cold water .
My point being, ask your neighbors & friends that were without power during IVAN what they did to survive .
Also, plan ahead for buying and storing gas

 

[capt.joe]

i'll probably do this after i find an electrician that can install a switch and dedicated panel for a generator. it's hard to get someone on the west side to come out, everyone seems to be slammed. if this unit works as advertised it'll make a big difference in the generator capacity need to run a house. especially since the a/c unit is by far the biggest draw.

Call white sands electric. The estimator lives in coral creek. Took less than 4 weeks after i signed the quote to get the new panel and transfer switch installed. $2400, and took about 5 hrs. It took so long because we had to wait on fpl to disconnect the meter.

 

[kendive]

i'm hoping someone here has tried one of these units. it's a soft start kit for the a/c compressor. the idea is to reduce the amps required on start up and therefore the size generator needed to run the a/c system. the reduction is advertised as anywhere from 50% to 70% depending on the unit. there's a video online of a guy whose in rush or LRA amps went from 70+ to 20. i've been putting off buying a home generator because i've been told i needed at least 17kw and the generac people said i needed 24kw. with this unit on my a/c unit it works out to about 8kw. hard to believe but if true it would make a whole house generator doable for me.

Soft Start Single-Phase | Eltwin

www.hypereng.com

 

[Baddog 0302]

Call white sands electric. The estimator lives in coral creek. Took less than 4 weeks after i signed the quote to get the new panel and transfer switch installed. $2400, and took about 5 hrs. It took so long because we had to wait on fpl to disconnect the meter.

capt.Joe
please explain ; new panel & transfer switch.
New panel, is that the whole panel with circute breakers below the fpl meter ?
transfer switch, used to by-pass fpl and hook a generator to ?

 

[Baddog 0302]

Kendive,
Do you do this sort of work for others ?
I can pay in primers, powder ,& bullets

 

[kendive]

Kendive,
Do you do this sort of work for others ?
I can pay in primers, powder ,& bullets

 

[kendive]

...

 

[Baddog 0302]

Thank you , maybe that boat ?? not being anchored will act as a deterrent to all storms and send them into mexico or up the east coast and then the tree hughers and "George Jettson putter mobile lovers see how they do with their solar & wind keeping them cool and no gas.
If I thought about a DYI, I'd wait till around Thanksgiving, when I usually don't need A/C

 

[Shadowtech]

I have an 8kw portable generac i am able to run my house on it but I don’t run my ac or dryer i have 2 small window ac to keep comfortable

 

[5lima30ret]

I've seen portable generators that are crazy strong enough to run whole houses that sell for cheaper than typical models. But,... you need a tractor with a PTO. You use the tractor to pick it up and put it beside the house. Then back up to it and power it with the PTO. I like this of all I've seen best because if it floods it will kill a Generac one. You can load this one up and go up north with you so it can't get looted while you're gone. Then lastly it don't need the added bulk and cost of a big gas/diesel motor, because you'll already own that part. You could likely buy a small used old tractor and the generator both for less than what the deluxe self start models cost these days. Just an idea I ran across in case It help bud

^^^A diesel tractor is one of the cheapest ways to power a generator! Running on natural gas can be very spendy! A friend had a NG powered whole house generator it cost him a little over $400 for 8 days during Sally! Diesel stores much better than gasoline as well.

 

[kendive]

Thank you , maybe that boat ?? not being anchored will act as a deterrent to all storms and send them into mexico or up the east coast and then the tree hughers and "George Jettson putter mobile lovers see how they do with their solar & wind keeping them cool and no gas.
If I thought about a DYI, I'd wait till around Thanksgiving, when I usually don't need A/C

 

[capt.joe]

capt.Joe
please explain ; new panel & transfer switch.
New panel, is that the whole panel with circute breakers below the fpl meter ?
transfer switch, used to by-pass fpl and hook a generator to ?

Sorry, been out bush hogging. Yes, they installed a new breaker panel under the meter along with new breakers. In the panel i have a main breaker coming from the meter with a lockout between the second main breaker for the genset so i cant backfeed to the meter. I was going to go natural gas until i read how diesel is cheaper in the long run. Plus im 1/3 a mile off the road. I bought a rewound military surplus perkins 22kw with 5,000 hrs. Now im looking for a diesel tank on a trailer.

 

[capt.joe]

Just took a pic. Looks like i even got the meter box replaced. Time to wash the genset lol

 

[kendive]

Just took a pic. Looks like i even got the meter box replaced. Time to wash the genset lol

 

[capt.joe]

My old panel wasnt big enough to re-fit, so they put a bigger and newer panel in