How To Run Your Air Conditioning From A Small Generator With An Easystart

This video was about the importance of managing the neutral ground bond on a portable generator when it is used to back up your home. It is primarily about how to use your portable generator to run your air-conditioning system.

[@keithhart3212]

I'm an old HVAC worker who used to cover a portion of the condenser coil with something to increase head pressure. This will provide more heat due to higher pressure at valve before flashing liquid through valve to condenser or reversing valve. Depending on temp you might need to alter configuration of blocked area, you learn what works at given temperature. Maybe this would be simplest way, it won't be more efficient however.... Thanks for your honesty on suppliers for solar, another video which turned me on to you; a lie can change the world in some part.. thank you..

[@kentaltobelli1840]

An idea for your defrost issue - lots of manufacturers use time/temp defrost because it's cheap (the defrost control board will usually have 30/60/90 selection, defrost triggers after accumulating that number of minutes under freezing temps). Instead, you can retrofit a demand defrost controller that compares the outdoor coil vs air temp to determine if the coil requires defrost. This significantly reduces defrost cycles because most people won't need defrost after 90 minutes (but even demand defrost will trigger defrost after 6 hrs or so to ensure sufficient oil return to the compressor).

[@RayBuildsCoolStuff]

Thanks for this. I will definitely check into this.

[@Betterstartnow]

Thanks for the tip on generator neutral bonding! Really appreciate all your videos.

[@SyberPrepper]

Thanks Ray. I wondered how best to handle the bonded neutral issue where you sometimes hooked up the house and other times just used the generator standalone. I like your idea for the plug. Lots of information in this one as usual. I didn't know about how to get around the defrost cycle. Great stuff.

[@kevincarlin604]

Nice job with the EasyStart to start AC and HP on smaller generator.

[@chuxxsss]

Morning Ray, from downunder. neutral bond is a must to earth. Good to cover it.

[@9111logic]

Good of you to give us some more tips, I was not aware of the neutral/ ground jumper, I'll have to check if mine has one too 🙏

[@matthewknight5641]

Ray I see a lot of your videos. I'm working on a solar power system for my off grid tiny home camper that me and my wife live in. I have stage 4 cancer and I'm in a race with time to try to get this system together. I have 8 panels and a 3000 watt all in one charge controller. I need a battery bank that can sustain us for a couple days of bad weather. You build the best batteries on KZbin and I appreciate the knowledge you give us. Any help with how I can get a battery without costing a fortune would be a God send. The cells seem to be very expensive but I'm sure they are worth it. Thanks again for your videos and God bless

[@RayBuildsCoolStuff]

I’m not sure how it can be done cheaper than what I show in the videos. You might cut a few corners, but I wouldn’t cut corners on the quality of cells fusing or the BMS. Sorry to hear about your situation. Wishing you the best of luck.

[@Bob.W.]

Good point on the defrost mode. I will have to check my mini-split specs. I just bought the 6250/5000 version. The bond wire colors didn't match the manual or the online video. They couldn't tell me what to do so I just followed the leads and did it. Works so far. Thanks.

[@RayBuildsCoolStuff]

Good job!

[@murrat]

Thanks for you pointing out that defrost in winter will be too much for my generator or inverter on a heat pump (air).. For me up here in Canada, I plan to switch to a wood stove or off grid propane furnace in the event of a power outage in my rural area.

[@a64738]

Heat pump defroster can here ruin your economy if you are not paying notice... We are to close to open ocean so the air is always very moist and if the temperature drops under -7 the heat pump defroster start using enourmeous amounts of energy wasting it on defrosting. I got 5 double energy bill first month the temperature dropped below -7 because I did not know that as they claimed it could handle -25c and still use less energy then electric heating (not true where I live....). But one time it was -20c and wind blowing from inland with dry air and then the heat pump indeed had no trouble at all. Problem is that happens maybe 1 time in the winter, normally wind is always straight in from the open ocean with exstremely high air humidity....

[@hejasverigeee]

Greetings from Stockholm Sweden Europe 🇺🇸🇸🇪

[@staceysimmons7611]

Always look forward to your videos.

[@jamesbsa6450]

Thanks, Ray, added my MicroAir 368x72 to my 4T compressor and brought the Locked Rotor Amps from 109 to about 49A. Sweet! Generator can handle it now.

[@RayBuildsCoolStuff]

That still seems very high. Has it gone through its five training cycles?

[@jamesbsa6450]

@@RayBuildsCoolStuff it had. Though I haven't checked lately. I think the outdoor temp was only in the 60s when I installed it, wonder if that mattered.

[@TheVaga9]

Brillant as ever!!

[@hardbrocklife]

I didnt know how outdoorsy and mechanically inclined you were. You feel very much like a sensible prepper/self reliance youtuber. Imma assume there are some firearms floating around the property as well.

[@RayBuildsCoolStuff]

I can neither confirm or deny but 6ppc and 204r are said to be of interest. I have lots of interests and I’m hard to label. Hard to pick favorites in any of my worlds like favorite horse or favorite motorcycle or favorite bike or favorite dive site or……

[@Dutch_off_grid_homesteading]

Heya, not chore if I'm gone bay me a generator like that but if I'll do I'll check if it has it or not. love this kind of info thanks again.

[@raytry69]

Your dog is sooo cute! :)

[@patrickmckowen2999]

Good info 👍

[@poserstookmyalias]

Another way to use a small genny to run your whole house is to use it to charge your battery bank. In my case, I have 2 6500w inverters in split phase, providing 240v, and a 30kwh battery bank. I have it set up so i can plug the 30amp cord from the generator to my solar shed and have it charge batteries anytime I need it. No need to worry about turning off loads, easy starts, and NG Bond.

[@rwstarke]

My tri-fuel Firman runs on natural gas and so does my furnace. A 30 Amp 240 Volt generator will power a 4-ton A/C outside unit using the Micro-air EasyStart. My unit now uses 12.8 to 13.8 Amps and a Start Peak of 33 to 36 Amps. A 5-ton unit may have a start peak of 45 Amps.

[@johncopp7018]

one happy dog you have.

[@notw2247]

Added an easy start and a whole home 100amp propane generator. Had ac tech put in a relay that connects to my whole house ats and is triggered to turn off all but 5k of the heat pack. During a grid outage. Works great.

[@RayBuildsCoolStuff]

How long does your propane tank last? What size is it. Lastly, why do you think you need the resistance heat?

[@typxxilps]

7:13 low temperatures for you are different for me yes, that might be true considering from where over the world people are watching. Right now 14 °C and rain, but during winter and till may we now do he with single split AC in heat pump mode and maybe 3 or 5 days a year during summer we use AC too, otherwise it is not needed and we tend to avoid ac rooms and offices. Even in most cars AC had been missing till most recently . Yes, the mitsubishi can run even during very low temperatures and therefore we had gotten another one , each 5,4 kW heating power and then we have an oven connected to the hotwater heating system as the oil heater too, but we do no longer use the oil heater in general except a few days. We are going away from gas and oil, both are dead here in the private sector, only the industry is using it but in a decreasing amount cause it is replaced by solar power generated systems and wind turbine systems too.

[@acoucou]

Hi, kinda miss the explanatory video you did before about LiFePO4 batteries. We are Acoucou batteries and used to learn battery product knowledge by watching your videos, now I want to see if you are interested in choosing Acoucou?

[@codycoontz6199]

If you have a 12kw portable generator is any of it really an issue at that point when just trying to run a 2.5 ton unit?

[@RayBuildsCoolStuff]

My 2 1/2 ton unit had a starting impassively of 59 A. A 12 KW generator will not start a starting load that high.

[@codycoontz6199]

@@RayBuildsCoolStuff ah so prob at least a 15k watt generator

[@RayBuildsCoolStuff]

@@codycoontz6199 still not enough.

[@Bob.W.]

Ray, could you tell me what type, make, model of mini or micro ohmmeter you use to test your batteries and connections? I like how you can test down to 3 places. Thanks.

[@RayBuildsCoolStuff]

It is a YR1035+.

[@Bob.W.]

@@RayBuildsCoolStuff thanks.

[@kf5hcr176]

I've heard diesel heaters are very efficient, but need an exhaust to outside. Thank you for the nice program today. I'm not sure I understand why neutral and ground cat remain bonded in the generator. Ground loops?

[@RayBuildsCoolStuff]

Yes, we never want to create a ground loop.

[@Bluntask]

I’m currently running my house with a harbor freight inverter geny- first I’ve heard about removing the ground. Everything seems to work fine, but I’m not understanding the issue- ground loop. And if I do need to , how do I rig the plug as you did ( one came with the geny).

[@thomasgriffin4714]

Can the bonded neutral be done with a 120v plug instead of the 240v plug?

[@RayBuildsCoolStuff]

Yes it can.

[@cobbles62]

Useful video as ever. Note: your audio sounds bad. Is your mic clogged or something? I need to strain my ears to hear.

[@RayBuildsCoolStuff]

Sorry about that

[@peterking1134]

When are you going to continue on your power shed project?

[@RayBuildsCoolStuff]

Pretty soon. Winter had lots of challenges thrown at me and spring is incredibly busy. Almost caught up.

[@calvinflager4457]

I'm not an HVAC person and not associated with any company selling heating and cooling products. C&H makes a mini split they claim will heat to 20 below zero. Just thought some folks may find that information useful.

[@ezeal5964]

Hey Ray how can we reach out to you for business inquiries? We’d love to send you some free grade A lithium cells!

[@RayBuildsCoolStuff]

[e-mail]

[@ezeal5964]

@@RayBuildsCoolStuff Excellent thank you!

[@tracyt4327]

Has anyone had Chinese companies, where they bought their batteries 2 years ago, offering to buy their LIFEPO4 batteries back? Weird.

[@jennysmith3224]

Write an article don’t waste time with video

[@blackoutbass5360]

Too much talking

[@williamhill7999]

didnt actually show how. thumbs down.

[@RayBuildsCoolStuff]

😢