Van A/C without a generator?

dc843 · Feb 12, 2017

Was entertaining the idea of building a static closed in insulated sleeper as to have a much smaller area to cool, so say I got a 3.5 foot sleeper, with a wall behind front seats and on the other side before cargo area, will one of those high end plug in A/C units, would it be enough to keep an area like this cool? Will be powered by either 2 or 3 Marine grade batteries that get charged from the engine running.

I really am trying to make something work without a generator.

xiggi · Feb 12, 2017

It's not really feasible to run an ac unit off batteries. You would probably need way more than 2 or 3. What is the reason for not wanting a generator?

dc843 · Feb 12, 2017

xiggi said:
It's not really feasible to run an ac unit off batteries. You would probably need way more than 2 or 3. What is the reason for not wanting a generator?

theres a lot to keep up with as it is I'm just trying to do away with the added hassle of making sure its filled with gas, getting out of the van to hook it up and get it running every time, its loud. None of these are that big of a deal but it would be nice to get rid of these and just press a button on the inside to get the ac going

TeamHutch · Feb 12, 2017

You would need a pallet of batteries to run a ac for any length of time I would think.

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dc843 · Feb 12, 2017

Damn...

dc843 · Feb 12, 2017

what about those apus on the big trucks is there any form of that to be used with a van?

Turtle · Feb 12, 2017

Xiggi is known for his remarkable ability for understatement.

Let's say you get a relatively small air conditioner, say the LG 10,000 BTU unit. It's 1080 Watts, which means it draws 9.6 amps at 115 volts. At 12 volts off batteries via an inverter, that's 99 amps including the 10% for inverter loss. At a 99 amp draw, you'll need 8x99=792 amp hours of batteries to run the air conditioner for 8 hours. And to keep your batteries from draining below 50%, you'll need twice that, or 1584 amp hours. Using 100 Ah Marine grade batteries, you'll need 16 of them (which, incidentally, is exactly the number of batteries that will fit on one pallet layer). With your engine running to recharge the batteries, at an overall average of 20 amps from the alternator, plus the time needed to push the last 10% back into the batteries, the engine will need to be running for approximately 48 hours to get the batteries fully recharged.

dc843 · Feb 12, 2017

Turtle said:
Xiggi is known for his remarkable ability for understatement.

Let's say you get a relatively small air conditioner, say the LG 10,000 BTU unit. It's 1080 Watts, which means it draws 9.6 amps at 115 volts. At 12 volts off batteries via an inverter, that's 99 amps including the 10% for inverter loss. At a 99 amp draw, you'll need 8x99=792 amp hours of batteries to run the air conditioner for 8 hours. And to keep your batteries from draining below 50%, you'll need twice that, or 1584 amp hours. Using 100 Ah Marine grade batteries, you'll need 16 of them (which, incidentally, is exactly the number of batteries that will fit on one pallet layer). With your engine running to recharge the batteries, at an overall average of 20 amps from the alternator, plus the time needed to push the last 10% back into the batteries, the engine will need to be running for approximately 48 hours to get the batteries fully recharged.

Thanks that makes sense.

I'm going to look into a way of maybe getting a smaller less gas consuming less noise generators and only run the AC (or heat if needed but that can probably do with batteries). Preferably one with a remote start! Then I can run my fans, tv, etc off of just the batteries.

dc843 · Feb 12, 2017

wait what about a A/C unit with a sensor for temp?

Say I make my little room super insulated as best as I could and then set the A/C for a certain temperature, so it would only be running when it needed to cool instead of just running and running? Say like a 4-5k BTU I really don't know but I think 10k is way overkill for what would be a small area.

Turtle · Feb 12, 2017

Put the notion of running an air conditioner or an electric heater off of batteries, out of your head. It's not practical or feasible. A lot of people have spent a lot of years trying to figure out how to do it. The math and the physics are not on your side.

For heat, you want an Espar heater (or a Webasto, or similar), or a Mr Buddy propane heater. For air conditioning, you want one with a generator. A house bank of batteries is still good for low amp draws like light, fans, laptops, even for the Espar heater. But even people who live off-the-grid and use battery storage and have an entire basement for batteries, do not use the batteries for resistive heat appliances like heaters, air conditioners, clothes driers, etc.

Get a Honda or Yamaha inverter generator and attach a 5 or 10 gallon external fuel tank to it. It will run whatever you want for many hours, including keeping the house battery bank charged up.

Or, you could spend many days and many dollars trying, and failing, to reinvent the wheel.

ntimevan · Feb 12, 2017

Under $ 375... clearance at some Menards ... .. love mine ... sat it next to a friend of mine's Honda in Laredo with both running under loads .... similiar in sound .... and mine ran longer on gas ...

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dc843 · Feb 12, 2017

alright 10-4 on that, that one ntimevan posted might be a lot better i was using one of those big 4000w champions mounted to the back so maybe it wont be so bad if i get a smaller and/or less powerful one.

DollarSign · Feb 12, 2017

Those champion at Lowe's are loud! 68+ decibel I think. I've got a Honda 2000 watt with a 6 gallon extended run tank and I ran it for 48 hours straight and still had another 24 hours left. It was on eco throttle the whole time.

I would trust ntimevan and for that price that's not bad. I Change the oil in mine every 100 hours and use Mobile 1, the green cap.

I also would get a maximum security cable lock for that and the gas can as well. The best is a swing out basket. Xiggi and I have one and he has pics of his on here.

TeamHutch · Feb 13, 2017

Turtle said:
Xiggi is known for his remarkable ability for understatement.

Let's say you get a relatively small air conditioner, say the LG 10,000 BTU unit. It's 1080 Watts, which means it draws 9.6 amps at 115 volts. At 12 volts off batteries via an inverter, that's 99 amps including the 10% for inverter loss. At a 99 amp draw, you'll need 8x99=792 amp hours of batteries to run the air conditioner for 8 hours. And to keep your batteries from draining below 50%, you'll need twice that, or 1584 amp hours. Using 100 Ah Marine grade batteries, you'll need 16 of them (which, incidentally, is exactly the number of batteries that will fit on one pallet layer). With your engine running to recharge the batteries, at an overall average of 20 amps from the alternator, plus the time needed to push the last 10% back into the batteries, the engine will need to be running for approximately 48 hours to get the batteries fully recharged.

Impressive figures sir. I knew it would be a lot.

TheCraftyTruckers

geo · Feb 14, 2017

there is a way that you could hook up solar panel's to a battery, to run a/c unit and other things
have a friend who has done this, just need how many panel's it will take, and how to do it
when I had my 1800 ud , I had a solar panel used to keep my battery's charge when running clink

bigdogg · Feb 18, 2017

I am just out of the business and have a 8,000 watt portable ac unit that I ran off a Honda 2000 generator with a 5 gal backup can with feed hose. I have the swing away trailer with tire for easy moving. I also have the cable lock. The carrier is also padded with rubber to keep noise down. I just had curtains behind seats and the rest of the cargo area open and this unit worked fine. I have the required extension cord also, plus under extended warranty. I would take $1200 for the whole setup. The generator was used no more than a dozen times, because I had a nice contact with Marriott, so stayed there when in Laredo in the summer.

Moot · Feb 18, 2017

dc843 said:
Say I make my little room super insulated as best as I could and then set the A/C for a certain temperature,

Turtle said:
Put the notion of running an air conditioner or an electric heater off of batteries, out of your head.

I would also suggest you put the notion of "my little room" out of your head. I think you will find you want the whole use of your van when empty and laying over. If you want to reduce the area you have to heat/cool, use some heavy curtains that can be moved easily. Don't make a small, permanent sleeping space. I did that with my first van and that setup lasted about two weeks.