How to run Air conditioner off of batteries

[@jennilash3871]

*I love the Input/Output wattage function along with the % of charge remaining. solar **Generater.Systems** Well done.*

[@christianeguimaraes3675]

*Totally impressive **Fastly.Cool** in my room. Wish I designed this myself. We can’t believe how quiet it is. It’s not as heavy as our last AC unit but it works more evenly and efficiently. Extremely happy with this purchase.*

[@trendsupdateph4928]

For those people who can't (don't want to) believe this is possible, I'll explain this on a different approach that other people may find it easier to understand. First, he has 4 x 320AH / 6v batteries connected in series that makes 320AH / 24v battery bank. Using Ohm's law, Power = Volts x Amps , that translates to a total of 7,680 Watt Hours of battery bank. The 8000btu ac specs shows that it is rated 740W, and he turned it on for 4 hrs which translates to 2,960 Watt Hours (740w x 4hrs) consumed. 7,680Wh - 2,960Wh = 4,720Wh remaining power in the battery bank, which is also around 61.45% of the total battery capacity. If we present that in Ah using Ohm's law, 4,720Wh / 24v = 196.67Ah. That means, out of 320Ah capacity of the battery there was still around 197Ah (61.45%) remaining juice and he could definitely run it for another hour before draining 50% of the total battery juice.

[@IFix-Things]

Well said. You fully understand why this works.

[@ddd228]

@@IFix-Things I don't run my batteries that low. For my 12 V. ones,I'll give it break @ 12.4 24.8 is OK for a 24 v.

[@HeliosFire9ll]

@@IFix-Things Was there a reason you hooked the batteries in series rather than parallel?

[@dongdebtv6419]

Hello sir i have a 0.5hp aircon non inverter i want to buy power inverter i have alrwady 2 batteries 9plates fron car. How manny watts i need and what bran you recommend? Thankyou

[@Jc22345]

Not to mention the compressor in the ac won’t be running like this indoors all the time. So technically real world use you’d get more hours out of this

[@snn9019]

That's a nice set up. I like the inverter. I'm using a Samlex 1500 pure sine wave inverter. I made a video demo running my A/C unit while it's in the wall. It has been running for many hours and it works well during the day when the sun is out. I only use 2 solar panels for now.

[@IFix-Things]

Thanks for watching. Nice clean setup you have there. Those samlex PST's are great. What size wire is that orange extension cord? thats the only item that I'd consider upgrading if its less than 12 gauge.

[@snn9019]

@@IFix-Things That was a 12 gauge. I had a skinnier one before that worked just as well. I thought I'd go with a heavier wire. It was never warm to the touch. I am waiting to get a 5 farad capacitor to install in parallel with the inverter to see if that can help with the surges when the AC compressor kicks on. After running the unit for 3 hours it had an overload failure and the unit powered off. The AC was surging too much. Hopefully it will be here by tomorrow. I will have to make an updated video after that gets installed.

[@VITATTA]

THOSE ARE DEEP CYCLE GOLF CART BATTERIES. THEY ARE MADE TO BE RUN INTO THE GROUND WITHOUT HARM. DON'T FORGET THAT IN NORMAL OPERATION THE COMPRESSOR ONLY RUNS PART OF THE TIME.

[@neighborhood6170]

Vitatta

[@dennismyers9879]

No lead acid battery, Trojan or any others deep cycle battery is meant to run down Past 50%..

[@BillySBC]

Not sure how your 1000 watt inverter is handling the expected 1300 to 1700 watt A/C compressor startup surge.

[@IFix-Things]

I believe the surge on that ac was around 2000, the spec on that inverter was inrush at 1500, just goes to show you how stout that inverter was. I can almost guarantee you most cheap inverters would not be able to start that ac.

[@daviedood2503]

What if I use 2 12v deep cycle batteries? I could go past 50% so that'd give me 16 hours with only 2 batteries instead of 4 of the 6v batteries like u have here right?? Good video man.

[@almarco2341]

Thank you for the informative video. My question is, if you are using a larger inverter; say 4000w instead of 2000w. Will the larger inverter itself draw more power from the batteries please?

[@IFix-Things]

Generally speaking at idle yes, but keep in mind there are many factors, such as how efficient the inverter was designed. Most are around 85-93 pct. Under load though, the load is the load, and most will be close , in other words if you are powering a 500 watt device with a 2000 watt inverter, or a 4000 watt inverter the use from the batteries will be similar but will vary slightly.

[@almarco2341]

@@IFix-Things Thank you for your reply I really appreciate it, I'm trying to educate myself on the subject. About how long does it take you to recharge the 6 V batteries in your video?

[@IFix-Things]

@@almarco2341 Al, this really depends on a few factors, but the bottom line is how much energy that you take out, you must put back in, and time time it takes will depend on factors such as type of charger, max charging amps, weather (if solar),how many solar panels ,so you can see alot of variables in play. If you had some specifics, I could help you figure out your scenario better

[@tulw2728]

At 0:08, This is a 8000 btu 740 watts, 7.0 amps Kenmore. I think that this make the difference. Ya'll be well

[@hypaspark2559]

Great video. I haven't read through all the comments here to see if anyone else picked up on it. But those wires between the battery bank and the inverter are miles to small. They must have been getting mighty warm. They need to be at least as big as the interconnects between each battery if not bigger.

[@IFix-Things]

Really depends on how many watts you are intending to use. In general I would agree with your comment, get them as large as you can and prepare for the max wattage of inverter, in my video, I was only using 600+ watts at 24vdc, and the length was about a foot. I used a few online calculators to deterine size of wire needed.

[@yarpos]

I see quite a few videos about the wonder of running AC in an off grid situation. Why is this a big deal? Its a load , a load that can be quantified, so build your system accordingly if you want AC.

[@IFix-Things]

I think the big deal is a lot of people didn't even know this was possible.

[@joetheragman426]

So let me see if I understand you correctly? You are feeding the 24volt battery output into your inverter? Is it a 24 volt inverter producing 115 VAC? Does that inverter run on any DC voltage fed into it?

[@IFix-Things]

correct, its a 24dvc inverter. COnverts to 120vac

[@hgboone3]

Yes we are hearing you from in Illinois just letting you know you're getting out there.. I liked your video but I like to have a conversation on or I should say try to calculate or have the data to calculate... How much solar will it take to maintain the battery Bank.. I was just to buffer and the float charge.. but it coming down to the question do I want to charge my battery bank at 80 amps or do I want to charge him at 60 amps.. and these charge controllers have 1000w maximum intake current.. do I need 1000w because that is 10 solar panels..

[@IFix-Things]

How big (amp hr) is your battery bank? How many watts are you using in a 24 hr period?

[@cadenceandfamily2159]

Awesome! Lol, makes sence for that setup to be efficient! More batteries!

[@IFix-Things]

You got that right!

[@kennysmith2881]

I got the idea you were going to run it as long as you could safely? I see your figures/guesses but do you have a pretty good idea now how long it will run? You used 30%, but was that 30% of available power (above 50%) or of all power?

[@kennys5819]

Do we know how long it will safely run the unit? I got the idea he was going to run it as long as possible and simply give us a time, but all I'm seeing is a bunch of figures/guesses. You drew the batteries down 30%...was that usable 30% or 30% of the full charge? Did you ever get a concrete time it will run on those batteries?

[@IFix-Things]

Kenny S 5is depends on a few things. how low one wants to take their batteries down. some believe 30 % some believe 50 %. it also would depend on how often the ac cycled, or if you decide to set thermostat so that it never cycled. i bought a new 5000 btu and another camera so that i can do a time lapse and i will fully charge, then take down to 50 % and we can see how long it will run. look for a new video in the near future.

[@kennysmith2881]

Ok, thanks, I'll watch for the next video...very helpful info.

[@outlawgmr]

I'm curious why the extension cord, when its clearly unnecessary,

[@IFix-Things]

The plug end on the ac was too big to fit in the inverter so I had to extend it out with the extension cord.

[@outlawgmr]

@@IFix-Things I see, just surprised you didn't go with an adapter instead

[@joltjolt5060]

Don't they explode?

[@londel1767]

Great video, lots of good information. thanks

[@IFix-Things]

Thank you for watching. I actually was planning on doing another one today. I finally got a 5000 btu ac , so now I see how long it will run.

[@larryphillips4164]

Next video... Batteries + alternator + window unit type or equivalent air conditioner plz.

[@ALSILVERU2]

Do you have an update on exact hrs to run before draining? Also how long to recharge with generator? 🤝

[@IFix-Things]

For lead acid it’s really a matter of how many ah you have available , the condition of the batteries, the wattage of the ac unit and Peukert's law

[@10-7blue8]

If you hooked up the batteries up for 12v instead of 24 v would it change things much ? know you would need a 12v to 110n inverter.

[@IFix-Things]

Mostly would just need larger wires

[@bsfishing7073]

How come I don’t hear the air conditioner running after the first hour 🧐

[@IFix-Things]

2:54 you can sort of hear it., and see it spinning. I dont have the mic in the blowing air which is why you cant hear it.

[@sellC1964]

Did your battery cables get really warm? I am thinking the A/C unit may run longer (meaning less compressor time) in a closed room rather than cooling the outside air. Neat test.

[@IFix-Things]

sellC1964 this was about 600 watts @24 vdc so about 25 amps through a 1 ft wire run of 10 gauge , so the wire should have been sized safely. i agree you, it would have had a longer run time had i allowed it to cycle on and off.

[@dongdebtv6419]

@@IFix-Things hello sir i have a 1000watts ups 24volts can i use it for my aircon window type 0.5hp?

[@IFix-Things]

Aither EsGrit highly doubtful it will start it, let alone run it for any significant period of time, ups are not great for this application.

[@ryanphillips5688]

How many years do thos batteries last?

[@IFix-Things]

Depends, on how well you take care of them. By taking care of, I mean making sure they have water, and are discharged and charged properly. If that is done, then around 8-10 yrs.

[@konafox5203]

is there a way to get your car to start automatically before battery dies? so i can run this off my car all night, with automatica car start charging?

[@IFix-Things]

In theory, yes it would be, if you had an automatic car starter, you would need to google search to see if something has been made already, I would imagine a sensor that read battery voltage, but why not just fill up tank, and leave car running? A car battery does not hold alot of standy power to run an air conditioner. If you found such a product, the car would be running way more that it was off. Either way, doing this long term would not be good for your cars alternator.

[@konafox5203]

perhaps if i take the speaker output for the low voltage alarm and soldered it to the button on the wireless remote circuit board when the alarm goes off, it will trigger the remote starter???? anyone think that will work? www.ebay.com/itm/Tonal-Battery-Bank-Low-Voltage-Discharge-Alarm-12V-Monitor-Marine-RV/302724355589?_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160908105057%26meid%3Dc6bcf01808594af58c4aa1b7e152b4cc%26pid%3D100675%26rk%3D4%26rkt%3D15%26sd%3D122975532088%26itm%3D302724355589&_trksid=p2481888.c100675.m4236&_trkparms=pageci%3A46bb1aac-a9fc-11e8-b2ac-74dbd1806624%7Cparentrq%3A7b8cfbec1650a68d76aca145ffff21df%7Ciid%3A1 www.ebay.com/itm/car-alarm-and-remote-start-stop-engine-by-holding-smart-key-the-third-button/182938945014?_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160908105057%26meid%3Dc6bcf01808594af58c4aa1b7e152b4cc%26pid%3D100675%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D15%26sd%3D122975532088%26itm%3D182938945014&_trksid=p2481888.c100675.m4236&_trkparms=pageci%3A46bb1aac-a9fc-11e8-b2ac-74dbd1806624%7Cparentrq%3A7b8cfbec1650a68d76aca145ffff21df%7Ciid%3A1

[@homeskillet7423]

Portable AC with a car battery.. how can I do it?

[@IFix-Things]

Home Skillet one car battery won’t do it. It may run for 10 minutes or so. A 5000 btu ac needs about 425 watts to run, and about 2000 to initially start. If you only have car batteries, you’d need about 8 and that would,only prob get you 1 hour run time. Another option would be to use you car. Your alternator would need to produce 400 or so watts, but you could hook the inverter to the cars battery. Of course having the car idle would surely abuse the cars alternator as it may not idle fast enough to cool the alternator or may not produce enough watts at idle. Your bets bet would be to find a lithium battery., or use solar and lithium or deep cycle batteries. Some people also just buy a smaller generator

[@miguelv431]

Where did you get that inverter?

[@IFix-Things]

i got that on craigslist. I usually search craigslist and ebay , sometimes you can one at a good price. Thanks for watching!

[@endeavour420]

Good info ,thanks

[@leiloumei]

Thank you🙏

[@oasisauto]

My Q now ....what I need to have something similar in my semi truck...good for 8/10 hours 🤷‍♂️

[@IFix-Things]

depends on how many BTU your ac is. You could prob use something like 4 battleborn 100ah batteries, that would give you about 10 hours on a 400 watt ac.

[@oasisauto]

SuperRobkar I was thinking of portable A/C ...I think they like 900 w 😇

[@IFix-Things]

@@oasisauto I have a window a/c 5500btu that uses about 400 watts. try to find you one that is less than 500 watts.

[@daviedood2503]

@@IFix-Things I have a huge question man.. Let's say 4 batteries give 10 hours, you'd need 8 for 20 hours. So 4 pack A is running for 8 hours, then it'd switch to 4 pack B while the other pack is charging, what happens if both packs die? Would you need anitjer 4 pack C to run the next 8 hours so both A and B packs charge throughout the day? This is to keep a constant cycle going..

[@IFix-Things]

@@daviedood2503 yes a 3rd pack, or buy something like a Honda eu2000i as a backup if both packs fail.

[@clydealspaugh8701]

My 5000 BTU window a/c has a label stating that it uses 4.5 amps at 120 volts. It is not a thermostatic model, so you turn it on and it runs (with compressor on) until you turn the switch off. Using Ohm's law, 4.5 amps at 120 volts would be 45 amps at 12 volts. To run the a/c unit for one hour would consume 45 amp/hrs from my batteries. The 200 watt array of solar/PV panels in my RV produces 11 amps in full sun when they are properly aimed. (That is two 100 watt, 12 volt nominal panels connected in parallel with each producing 5.5 amps max.) Having 5 sun hours a day, the array produces 55 amp/hrs of battery charge a day. If you want to be optimistic, you could say 65 amp/hrs. (but that's pushing the envelope.) So, If I produce 55 amp/hrs with a 200 watt array and I use 45 amp/hrs for each hour the unit is operating, how large an array would I need to run the unit for 5 hours? 5 X 45 = 225 amp/hrs a day used. At 27.5 amp/hrs produced for each 100 watts of PV array it would take an array of 818 watts (or nearly one kilowatt.) to replace the usage and maintain the battery's state of charge. Then, we have to look at the battery bank. Using flooded lead-acid deep cycle battery technology, the depth of discharge allowable is 50%. Deeper discharging is possible, but voltage drops severely and the batteries suffer permanent damage. So, we take the amount of amp/hrs we need to use and double it. Then we add 10% for a safety margin. We need to use 225 amp/hrs a day. That doubles to 450. Adding 10%, we get 495 amp/hrs as the smallest size battery bank we should build. So, with an a/c unit rated at 5000 BTU and drawing 4.5 amps at 120 volts, we need 818 watts of PV panels and 495 amp/hrs of battery bank to run the unit for 5 hours. In the practical world, those figures do not consider days that are partly cloudy or panels that are not kept at the optimum angle during the five sun hours of the day. The power requirements of the a/c unit are the same whether the space we are cooling is large, small, insulated or not insulated. Those factors will only effect how effective we feel the cooling to be. A small well insulated van may feel quite cool after about 10 minutes, while a moderately sized room may not feel comfortably cool for 30 minutes or more. BUT, to run the a/c unit for an hour will require the same amount of electricity in either of those environments. Now if the a/c unit is built with a thermostatic control, perhaps the compressor will be on less of the time the unit is running. In that case, some slight downward adjustments could be made. Still, it is hard for me to take this test seriously. He showed that it is possible to power a small a/c using solar charged/recharged batteries, but he came nowhere close to showing it to be practical for cooling even a small closet. Good conversation starter though.

[@IFix-Things]

clyde alspaugh i don’t understand your statement. the ac will supply 8000 btu of cooling for a period of time, why do you think it would only cool a closet?

[@clydealspaugh8701]

I'll try to clarify. I didn't mean to imply that the 8000 BTU a/c would only cool a closet. It should cool a moderate to large room easily. What I was trying to convey is that the actual size of the space one is trying to cool has little if anything to do with the power required to operate the a/c unit being used to try to accomplish that purpose. In other words, it'll take the same amount of power to run that a/c for a hour regardless of whether you are trying to cool a small room or a large one.

[@clydealspaugh8701]

Now let's say you wanted to have 24/7 air conditioning on solar power. We'll take our 5 hour figures and divide them by 5 to get a one hour figure. Then we'll take the one hour figure times 24 and see what we get. Our figures for 5 hours were 495 amp/hrs of battery bank and 818 watts of PV panels. Translated to one hour figures these would be 99 amp/hrs and 163.6 watts of PV panels. Now taking these one hour figures times 24, we get 2,376 amp/hrs of battery bank and 3,926.4 watts of PV panels. So 2,376 amp/hours of battery bank and 3.926 kilowatts of PV panels would run a 5,000 BTU air conditioner for 24 hours. If one assumes $100/100 amp/hrs of battery capacity and $1.00/watt of PV panel, this would cost roughly $6,300 plus the charge controller ($100) and the inverter.($200) Of course, the air conditioner itself will be about $100, so The system will cost about $6600.00 to set up. Is it possible? Yes. Is it practical? Not for most people, I think.

[@brucebear1]

The issue of surge power requirement is a big one, too. It's possible to have "lots of power" left in the battery bank but not enough to kick the inverter high enough to supply surge power on startup. I've heard some "Solar Power True Believers" imply that they can run their whole house, charge their Tesla car, and supply half the city of Portland off a couple of Harbor Freight 75-watt panels, but I know better.

[@clydealspaugh8701]

Nice! Are you running off battery or shore power?

[@thomas4315]

So wildly is it almost double vs 12 volts? Adding My thinking is my 450 watts a.c is 47 amp at 12 volt vs 19 amp and your using tiny inverter cables unbelievable. Read Someone who doing the same watts as mine say he can use a 2000 watts inverter but he need to used double 0 gage cable to run cool. Mine run but thge cable heat up fast So this low amp are the bestbroute. I have 12 volt panels 450 w panels in series now. soon to 950:w . so panel requirement. question? in series my 12 volt panels x 2_= 24 volt that the same voltage as the 4 - 6 volt 260 ah batterys set up in 24 volt Will it charge? Or need house panels above 24 volt?

[@dongdebtv6419]

Hello sir, i have a 2 pcs. 9 plates battery from car and i have aircon window type 0.5hp here in philppines how many watts i need of an inverter? Thankyou

[@marks7067]

thanks for info

[@hawaiidogs9277]

Ty sir

[@IFix-Things]

Gad it helped

[@ottograff3986]

Sure you can start it and run it for a little while but it will kill the batteries. A.C. and batteries don't mix. I know I live on a sailboat and have been playing this game for years.

[@IFix-Things]

It really depends on how many AH of bateries you have , brand of battery, and how deep you discharge them

[@DannyCasino]

It should be

[@colo5220]

Hello! Can you make a video using DEWALT DCB1800B Portable Power Station with Flexvolt batteries to power a 8000btu AC? That should be a great video. The Dewalt power station is so popular now.

[@IFix-Things]

Hi, I don't have one of those, but looking at the specs, it is around 1800 watt max output, I think each battery holds 100 watts, so youd have 400 watt hours, and my best guess is it would last between 10 minutes to 1/2 hour . If I had one, I'd love to test it for you.

[@michaelhardy5399]

2 Ecoflow Delta pro and 4 Ecoflow Delta Pro Expansion Battery Kit test it out on youtube be great 👍power whole house 20,7(KWH 400W Solar 3 plants Ecoflow

[@berendlensvanrijn386]

if you had 1200 watt in solar (4 panels) it would not even use the batteries....

[@IFix-Things]

and it would put some charge back into the batteries.!

[@vet137]

The limit is the "Charge Controller" many are rated at 100 volts max, not all but that Epever he has is rated at 100. After you have a array of panels you must set it up so the voltage never goes higher than the charge controller rating. If you have maxed out like that then simply build another array since you can have 2 Charge Controllers going to the same battery. I am doing this now I have 2 Epever running both go to my LIPO4 battery. And no they do not fight with each other on the output voltage. peace!

[@prejeanoffgridboondocking862]

I DO NOT BELIEVE THIS. There is no way that a 1000w inverter can start a 5,000btu unit, let alone a 8,000btu. The initial surge is too great. Ive tried starting a 5k btu unit using a 1000w inverter and the initial surge spike was measured at 1245watts therefore tripping out the inverter. Even with using a hard start capacitor the inverter trips out. S., my opinion is that he is somehow fooling ppl into thinking that this is genuine (which i don't know why)

[@IFix-Things]

Rick, I'm not fooling anyone. There was no trickery or magic. Having the right brand of inverter makes all the difference. the surge on my inverter is 1500 watts. Not sure why you cant believe this?

[@jmrichsonsr]

He did not say what the Surge Watts are for the inverter. I have a 1000 inverter but the surge watts are 2000. Also if you start fan first and wait a couple of minutes then turn on cool and wait then turn up cool gradually this is very possible. I believe his test.

[@chocolatewithedgarcia1012]

He has a long extension cord between the inverter and the AC. This acts as a resistor, reducing the surge current. Especially if it a 16 gauge wire cord, which is common in a cheap extension. Maybe a different result if no extension? H should be measuring the wattage leaving the inverter, not entering the AC, the difference in wattage will give some indication of how much the cord is affecting the results.

[@IFix-Things]

thats a 25ft 12 ga, no issues there

[@chocolatewithedgarcia1012]

No issue regarding safely passing the current (7 amps and 740 watts steady according to label), but it (the 25 foot cord) will damp (reduce) the initial surge spike due to its resistance. How much? I don't know. More likely that the inverters are from different manufacturers, with substantially different surge capacities?

[@jamesnobles4050]

nothing is running,,no sound of the aircon is working,,lots of BS here,,

[@IFix-Things]

There is no BS , what do I have to gain by having nothing running? What is so hard to believe about 4 Trojan deep cycle batteries running a small air conditioner for a few hours?

[@nhcharmedone]

You can clearly hear it running when he bends down, maybe get a hearing test!

[@vet137]

@@nhcharmedone 🤣🤣

[@vet137]

I can't hear you what??