I'm running off at the fingertips so you might want to pour a cuppa coffee!
We too tend to shelter in place, even if that means some risk. Mostly because the gov't knuckleheads prevent returning in a timely fashion. "It's not safe..." Oh pleeeaasse... They don't realize that by sticking to a "zero risk" policy regarding and thus delaying return, they are encouraging folks to take large risks by staying put.
Exactly.
Bringing it back to what I was originally asking about...
I'm looking at the following:
KEY ASSUMPTIONS
1. window A/C will be 10k btu Frigidaire; consumes about 7.7 amps.
2. over an 8 hour period that will be about 565 ah w/12v battery bank.
3. I'm expecting to be able to run at about a 40% duty cycle, which would work out to be about 226 ah.
4. I factor in a margin of 50%
Today I tested (Killawatt meter) on the neighbor's Frigidaire 12k btu a/c unit. His starts at 120 watts and moves up to 1180 watts when cooling. Like mine his starts with just the fan then a minute later the cooling part kicks in.
Figure 1% for fan, and 10% for the cooling part when doing your math. Though the "real" math works at 7.7 amps I'd use 10 as a figure. You're going to have line-losses and there's your safety margin of error...
AIMs Inverter/Charger- These haven't developed a reputation in the boating market or the home solar panel market. I suspect AIMs is Chinese and all that that implies.
I have had and use an AIMS1000 (square wave) on Seaweed since 2010. It works fine. No issues.
It even will power my a/c unit. Mine is the simple dial Haier, not the one with a digital and remote. It works though. My Haier 5k btu will work from my batts using the AIMS1000.
I just measured the 5k BTU Haier air conditioner in my daughters bedroom using my Fluke 376 (current and in-rush) & Fluke 289 (voltage).
AC Service Voltage = 119.22V
Running High AC = 4.1A (Ran 5 min before taking measurement)
In-Rush/Start Up 26.4A
I see different figures for certain. When my Haier starts (on 3.5 incidentally of 10) first the fan starts. That 45 watts. Then a minute later the cooling part kicked in. The AIMS1000 handled it. I did not see anyplace near 26A draw. It went to 455 and then climbed up to 485.
I solved the problem on my boat by installing a Sepco Hard Start Capacitor. They are less than twenty bucks. It allowed me to start and run my boat AC on a Honda 1000. Come to think of it I put on on my 8k wall unit at home and ran it on a Honda 2000.
The other "trick" is to have your a/c turned on when you start the genny. During start-up (for the generator) you get more than peak amps out. That brief time-span when it's putting out extra can sometimes get larger power draws started.
Anyway, that's my take.
I did upgrade to an pure sine wave AIMS1200 recently. The AIMS1000 would not power my microwave. It's a newer one with digital controls. Though the nuker came on and the turntable moved it didn't sound right and nothing heated.
Pure sine wave solved that issue.
Hey, a girl's got to have popcorn with her afternoon DVDs.
J, who almost has this decadence thing down to a science.
Good luck. I did want to share that AIMS works for me. I did burn up the first AIMS1000 after 55 weeks at anchor. I came into a dock and the first thing I did was plug in -- without unplugging the inverter. Smoke. Toasted that thing.
The AIMS1200 has a cord and automatically disconnects when a/c power is present. It automatically will restart too when the a/c goes out. It's a hefty unit. The good thing for me is that the inverter can be mounted in any direction. And it comes with a remote control so I can shut if off when starting Betsy (my engine)
The AIMS 1200 does not have a charger. I prefer separate units.
Walmart sells Group 27's that are 109A for $80 each. That's what I have in Seaweed and they are fine. I check them on the first of each month.