Can you run a 5000 btu AC with a ProForce 2500 generator by Coleman?

Answer 1

Hi:

You got a bonifide good question on your hands there. No kiddin, And , A good question deserves a good answer. This, Is something I'm going to attempt to do for you.

1. 1,,, lets for a moment, ( assume ) that the Coleman generator that you call a ProForce 2500 is in fact a

2500 watt rated generator at lets say,,, 115 V.A.C. 60 cycle and that none of this output ability is divided say amongst several various plugs you can choose from at the generator output. So again,,,, we are ( assuming stuff ) like,,, 115 volt 60 cycle single outlet 2500 watt max. output rating for your generator. By the way ::: I hate assuming stuff , K , it not good design criteria. A good saying is, You are only as good as your information you have to work with. BUT:::: bye golly !!! I do like your question.

1. 2,,, Look at the tag on your A.C. and see if you are dealing with say 115 volt A.C. 60 cycle current in the first place. ( Probably is, But!, Make Sure! )

1. 3,,, Look at the tag on your generator and do the same as

you just did in step 2.

1. 4,,, You probably wont be lucky enough if your like myself

and see the wattage consumption plainly written anywhere on your A.C.. So look for something on there that indicates amps usage. basically, you know it'll be somewhere below 15 and almost certainly less than 20. There are reasons for this such as, design critirea that the A.C. must meet to be passed by government codes and to get U.L. approval. ( U.L. = Underwriters Laboratorys ) it is pretty much a mandated minimum requirement which has to be passed for electrical devices to be sold here in the U.S.A. Once again ( Assuming ) you are in the U.S.A.,, LOL Repeat procedure with the generator.

1. 5,,, 2500 watt pretty well in its simplest form ,, ( I

said simplest form!!!! K,, ) don't go nailing to a tree alright. Again in its ( simplest form ) 2500 watt rating on the generator will mean roughly 25 Amps rating with a pure resistive load. Resistive is the key word here K. What you have with your A.C. is something a wee bit different. It's basically what is called a ( inductive load ),,, which is basically saying it is a motor you pluggin into that thing. This does complicate things a bit, However, we not going any deeper on that.

1. 6,,, Look and see if that generator has a maximum surge

current rating. And also a duty cycle, which is basically how much work it can do as compared to its maximum rating. A wee bit of a rule of thumb,,, The total A.C. load ( all its power pulling components combined ) should not be more than 25% of the surge current rating and definetely not more than the continuous duty cycle rating for the outlet you are plugged into for your voltage requirement on your generator.

1. 7,,, There are yet still other things to take into account

when designing around generators, ( But !!! ) we gonna keep it simple as possible. Your generator will probably operate the A.C. in question. But you may see that it runs into a bit of trouble when the A.C. cycles on and off. This is that inductive thing at work against you. You see,,, A inductive load can pull many times its rated running power rating in amps at start up.

Answer simplified: You cuttin it thin, and I don't think the Coleman Co. would be to comfy with this minimal margin for that particular generator. To be certain though, Call em up and ask them the same question you just asked me. Hopefully they'll have a toll free number for you to use, Cuz it might take awhile.

Jimiwane question. Running a A/C on GeneratorA 18 cf refrigerator uses 600 watts of power. Should be no problem running your ac

An A/C load is different than a one from a refrigerator...

you can 'run' the small 5,000 window unit (3 or 4,000 btu even better, LG makes a 3,000 unit...) with a small genset, even down to about 1kw or a bit more. the problem is, as stated above, the start cycle of the compressor unit needs a lot more 'headroom' than the smaller a/c units can generate (usually). you will wear the little a/c unit out pretty quickly. however, if you're going camping and need the thing for a week or so, by all means go for it. caveat: be careful of using a.c. (alternating current) where it rains, as you don't have any gfci (ground fault circuit interrupter) protection out in the woods! or the lake!!! BE CAREFUL! you'd be better off using a truck bed camper with a room window a/c unit in the front of the cab, stuck out one of the side windows with the cab to bed partition window open to allow air into the bed, using a little plug-in fan to direct the air to you in the bed/camper area. i know. I've done it. it works. at least you have the chassis ground to protect you that way. you'd still need to provide some cover for the genset if it rains though. if you're just looking for an a/c standby at your house, then it'll work, but again the start-up cycling will wear the unit out a lot faster than if it was plugged into an a.c. grid. a Yamaha or Honda is a great choice, as the inverter nature of the unit helps immensely with the problems I've outlined above. that comes at a price though. can't have it all - yet. I'm sure something's on the way...

Answer 2

How many amps does the ac and everything else that is in the surge protector use? If the surge protector has a higher amperage rating than total of everything that is plugged into it, technically yes you can. But I would`nt it is not necessary plus if their were a problem with the ac that could wreak havoc on any electronics plugged into the same protector not to mention the electrical noise of machinery.

Answer 3

It should. Read the label on the AC to check the power demand. Most need 875 watts or less to run, HOWEVER, there may be a brief starting surge of around twice that. A 2000 watt generator will not run much more than that AC unit.

Answer 4

a 5000 btu a/c runs about 4 or 5 amps. Volts x Amps = Watts 120V x 5A = 600 Watts. should run it just fine

Answer 5

Yes