Portable Air Conditioner Unit

danfromsyr · Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2015 6:52 am Post subject:

law of diminishing returns
you are using more than you are making.
look at the wire you have from Battery to Inverter, it should be fat
look at wire from Alternator to batter it's much smaller
and your alternator is doing duty to 1st provide power to your engine and such.

sorry to say this was never going to work from the start..
while it's not rocket science
it is electrical engineering.
to run the AC unit you want you'll need to have a 110v generator on the back hitch carrier to power it.

crazyvwvanman · Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2015 6:57 am Post subject:

Look at the size of the wire between your inverter and your aux battery. How big is it? It needs to carry some serious amps so it has to be big.

Now look at the wire that came with the GoWesty kit. If the alternator is to provide the power for your aux battery and A/C unit it has to transfer all the same amps through it's charging wires. How can is possibly do that without BIG wire? You would need big wire all the way from the power source to the power consumer.

You can't expect to attach a fire hose to your garden hose spigot and fight fires with it. The fire hose needs to attach to large pipes all the way to the water main. You can't just put a hose adapter on your garden spigot and step the hose up to fire hose size. The small pipes feeding the garden spigot will never carry enough water for a fire hose.

However if the A/C unit constantly needs more amps than the alternator can safely supply then increasing the wire size could slow down the battery drain but burn out the alternator after a while.

Mark

Westified · Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2015 7:01 am Post subject:

Like TK said add a generator in a rear mounted tray or box. I have seen one here where a 2000 watt Honda fits in the box. The large RV rigs run a generator to run their roof top A/C units. Yamaha also has a dual fuel generator, gas and propane that looks nice. I don't think the 1,000 watt generator will be enough because of your start up draw. Also a generator isn't as efficient if it has to run at 100% all the time. These Honda and Yamaha generators are pretty quiet.
_________________
1984 Westy Wolfsburg, owned since 1987. FAS 2.0 NA engine conversion in 2022.

HENDO · Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2015 7:28 am Post subject:

dixoncj · Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2015 7:28 am Post subject:

There is no way you're going to get a high output alternator to put out enough amps for a 120V a/c. Your better bet would be to - as suggested - put on a Honda genset on the back of your van. Or figure out a way to mount a second alternator - but even then I think you'd have major issues.
The Syncro I helped buildout for JBuffett had a Subie 3.0 with a high-output alternator and a huge bank of aux batteries and a big old inverter to run a RV AC on the roof. It was done by a really good boat guy. We still melted the alternator a couple of times before realizing that sometimes, you'd just need a bigger dang rig for all that power consumption. So we made sure the Behr in-dash a/c was running perfectly and JB only used the roofer if he was plugged in to a generator or shore power.

HENDO · Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2015 7:35 am Post subject:

Again, I already had a camping a/c unit.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

I have this generator inverter.

http://m.campingworld.com/shopping/item/3100-watt-inverter-generator/70829
_________________
84 Westy AKA "Sludge"

djkeev · Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2015 7:50 am Post subject:

On the thoughts of a built in 110 AC air system......

What size electric motor would it take to spin a Sanden 508?

I know that their literature indicates 3-5 HP under load but what does that translate into on a spinning reduced pulley electric motor?
Surely not 5hp for every window unit going draws far less than that. Of course they are running a different compressor and Gas as well.

IF an electric motor size could be realistically determined, why not create a second built in AC system not unlike what Air Cooled units have run for decades! ....... Only made of modern components.

A Sanden Compressor.... Or cheap knock off or Junk Yard used......

************
***************
A ceiling hung Evaporator, use a 110AC to 12v DC convertor to run the fans.....

*****************
*****************
An under vehicle Condenser with cooling fans, again using 110 converted to 12v ........

Put the compressor above the Transaxle.

I've considered picking up just such an Evaporator to hang on the Drivers cab ceiling to blow AC up front.

Abandon the rear Evaporator but now utilize it as is for the 110 system.

Not cheap!
New parts..... Probably a grand or so.....
But it would be neat and clean.

The key is IF a practical size 110AC Electric Motor can be determined.

Dave
_________________
Stop Dead Photo Links how to post photos

Ghia
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=392473

Vanagon
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6315537#6315537

Beetle
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=482968&highlight=74+super+vert

dobryan · Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2015 7:53 am Post subject:

HENDO · Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2015 8:14 am Post subject:

MarkWard · Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2015 8:19 am Post subject:

Hendo, You are a bit early for April Fools Day.

That said, it would be possible to add a second alternator rigged to charge at 120 volt independent of your automotive charging system. I can not speak to the sustained watts it can provide, but if you Google search how to covert an automobile alternator to 120 volt there is a lot of information out there. It is the poorman's way of building a cheap generator for a hunting cabin type situation. Good luck.
_________________
☮️

crazyvwvanman · Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2015 8:22 am Post subject:

You missed the whole point. All of the alternator amps have to flow through the GoWesty solenoid wiring to the aux battery or the aux battery will be quickly drained when the A/C is running from the inverter.

Also if the GoWesty aux kit is wired to the main fuse panel then all of those amps have to flow through that vehicle wiring before it gets to the GoWesty wiring.

Mark

djkeev · Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2015 8:27 am Post subject:

Terry Kay · Banned Joined: June 22, 2003 Posts: 13331

<<On the thoughts of a built in 110 AC air system......

What size electric motor would it take to spin a Sanden 508? >>>

10 horse Dave--I'm still LMAO on this brain wave you came up with this morning--

Keep the cob coming--

Bwa Ha, Ha, Ha --oh my god--your outa your mind.

If you were Tesla or Tom Edison-- maybe--

Where do you come up with this goofy idea's?
You are the king of off the wall stuff.

Got your Vans AC system all dialed in already do you?

Push yourself away from the keyboard, quit dreaming, & get busy--
_________________
T.K.

HENDO · Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2015 8:36 am Post subject:

crazyvwvanman · Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2015 8:44 am Post subject:

This is what you wrote to start with. The wiring in the Gw solenoid kit is part of the components of the aux kit you said you installed. The wire that comes with the kit is tiny for the job you tried to do.

Mark

Terry Kay · Banned Joined: June 22, 2003 Posts: 13331

If a few folks tried to talk some common sense to you in your trip into Never-Neverland in your attempt to create the impossible, and you deem that condescending, well hello to the real world of politically incorrect honesty.

It wouldn't have taken too much to read the amp requirements label on your AC unit & then do the same on your inverter, or gen set, without publicly making a clown outa yourself.
Your did that all on your own.

Or--you could have jumped back into the reams of already posted info here by folks who have thought the same as you do, at one time or another in the past--

Nothing condescending here, just honest info--

Now where's Dave / Marconi 10 horse electric motor powered Sanden AC compressor--
I wanna see this one fly--
More Rube sets up's by none other than Dave the NJ Mountain William-- Rolling Eyes

I'm still rolling on the floor with this Eureka--
_________________
T.K.

HENDO · Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2015 8:55 am Post subject:

Terry Kay · Banned Joined: June 22, 2003 Posts: 13331

I am almost 100% positive you'd have on hell of a time getting that puny relay to absorb that load--forget about the heavier wiring.

Get it outa your head--it ain't gonna fly with 12v DC supplied current.
_________________
T.K.

HENDO · Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2015 9:05 am Post subject:


Hello! Log in or Register \| Help \| Donate \| Buy Shirts	See all banner ads \| Advertise on TheSamba.com

Portable Air Conditioner Unit
Page: Previous 1, 2, 3 ... 15, 16, 17 ... 23, 24, 25 Next Jump to:

	Forum Index -> Vanagon	All times are Mountain Standard Time/Pacific Daylight Savings Time Page: Previous 1, 2, 3 ... 15, 16, 17 ... 23, 24, 25 Next Jump to:
Page 16 of 25