ac appliance in the truck

**jardel** · 06.30.2012

Ok i have question i have a old apu with kubota 1 cilinder ( frigette ) any way, ac condensor went bad it will cost to replace about 700$ so i was thinking to run a portable ac unit from home depot is lg 7000 btu ,my gen produce 3400watts 60 hz 28 amps ,the lg ac needs 120watts ,15amps.anybody did try something like that?thank you in advance for taking the time.

**HARMONFREIGHT** · 06.30.2012

I have a portable ac unit in my truck from best buy. I have a 3000 watt inverter in the truck to run it. I vent out the window. Gets the truck down to 68-70 degrees at night while I sleep which is very comfortable.

**jardel** · 06.30.2012

and it doesn't kill your batteries ? what kind is it ,how much btu?thanks.

**HARMONFREIGHT** · 07.01.2012

It's a commercial cool unit 8000 btu. And no it doesn't kill the batteries. Works out really great.

**Quickfarms** · 07.02.2012

What is the amperage draw of the inverter?

**HARMONFREIGHT** · 07.03.2012

Originally Posted by Quickfarms

What is the amperage draw of the inverter?

Im not sure of that.

**leftlanetruckin** · 07.04.2012

Originally Posted by HARMONFREIGHT

I have a portable ac unit in my truck from best buy. I have a 3000 watt inverter in the truck to run it. I vent out the window. Gets the truck down to 68-70 degrees at night while I sleep which is very comfortable.

So everyone is clear...
You shut down your truck, and then run the inverter on 4 truck batteries alone, and power a 8k btu ac unit all night??
I just cannot see it NOT running down the truck batteries myself.

OP, if the ac unit you are looking at requires 15 amps, that is a hell of a lot more than the 120 watts you posted mate.
amps x volts = watts.
So, 15 x 120 = 1800 watts

I run a 13,500BTU rooftop ac unit off my Honda EU3000is generator, and it does fine. I just had to add a $15 hard start capacitor to make the ac compressor a little less power hungry.

Martin

**HARMONFREIGHT** · 07.04.2012

Yes I do. don't know how the inverter is hooked up. I paid to have the inverter installed in my truck I did this because another friend had the same setup with no issue. Also my truck has a switch in it that turns all power to the truck. I turn that off and then turn on a.c. So far no issue truck cranks right up in the morning.

**leftlanetruckin** · 07.04.2012

Well if it has an isolator switch, you never will have a problem starting the rig. Surprising that the remaining battery (assuming a 3+1 system) can power the ac overnight though.
If it works, great news!

Martin