Portable Generator Powering a 230V 18000 BTU Air Conditioner

[malcauskas7]

What is the fuel consumption powering the A/C?

[rvr2]

@malcauskas7 No exact measurements but we ran that AC for about 6 hours one time and it seemed to use about 1/2 of a 5 gallon tank..

[MrShawn305]

Thats a good system, seems like it runs it just fine. How reliable is commercial power down there?

[rvr2]

@MrShawn305 Just as bad from what I've seen and heard..

Frequent 'brown outs' and power outages seem to be the norm down here.. Even computers are Required to be on voltage regulators or they run the risk of being damaged.

[MrShawn305]

@rvr2 Wow that kind of stuff can really mess up your appliances. I know computers and flat screen tv's are really sensitive to brownouts even more so than power surges. I would get some battery backups on as much stuff as you can when your there. And when your not there, turn off the main breaker just to be safe.

I'm in the process of building a trail mounted diesel generator out of an old light tower I found on craigslist for times like this.

[rvr2]

@MrShawn305 Oh yeah, definitely! We just completely unplug everything when we're not here for the most part.

Little by little, the power grid is being improved but it still has a long way to go IMO..

Thanks!