AC for dry camping?

Is there such a thing as a portable AC unit to help cool the TM when you don't have shore power?
Cher

[Bill]

For all practical purposes, the answer is a simple "NO". Air conditioning at any level simply draws too much power to operate from batteries.

Of course, if dry camping includes running a generator, the answer changes. You can have air conditioning for as long as you are willing to run the generator. A 2.5 KW generator will run the TM's A/C - a 2KW generator is marginal. A smaller A/C can run from a smaller generator of course, although anything much smaller than the TM's 13.5K BTU A/C will be of only limited effectiveness.

Bill

[YWORRYDOG]

Cheri, if you are dry camping, this will help a lot, not an AC, but moves a lot of air, and runs off of the battery http://www.fantasticvent.com/product...ss_breeze.html

Check out this link: http://www.swampy.net/portable-air-c...-waterice.html They have 12 volt (evaporative) swamp coolers.

We just got back from camping at Clarks Fork, CA. Elevation was 6200 feet.

Though my Honda 2000 will run my a/c at home, 80 feet above sea level, it would not run it at 6200 feet.

I was able to run the a/c fan only on high, which moves a LOT of air around. That made a very big difference. When we returned from a day's exploring the inside temperature was 92.

I wonder if the Yamaha would drive the a/c at 6000 to 8000 feet? I really don't want the Honda 3000 as it is too big. I could get a second Honda 2000, but I really don't need 4000 watts. But, 2000 is definitely not enough at any location much above sea level.

My previous camper had a A/C that one 2000 could power. With the TM I decided to buy the second 2000, because I felt the 3000 was to heavy for me to move around. I could handle the 2000 weight. I also purchased an additional gas tank that allows me to run one, or two generators for an extended period. Take a look at these.

http://durationpower.com/store//page4.html

Originally Posted by YWORRYDOG

Cheri, if you are dry camping, this will help a lot, not an AC, but moves a lot of air, and runs off of the battery http://www.fantasticvent.com/product...ss_breeze.html

I wonder how long this fan would run on a portable 12v battery like those from Costco. Any idea?

Cheri

[Bill]

Here is a rule-of-thumb approach to "how long would it last" questions. It assumes that the battery is fully charged when you start.

Find the amp-hour rating (AH) of the battery in question. This rating is often hidden in the text, not in the headlines.
Divide that rating in half to get an estimate of usable capacity.
Divide again by the number of amps that your device pulls.
The result is an estimate of the number of hours your battery will last.

For example, a new TM usually has a 75 amp-hour battery.
Divide in half, and you get 37.5 amp-hours of usable capacity.
The fan shown in your link draws 3 amps, so divide 37.5 by 3.
The answer is roughly 12. So your TM battery will power the fan for about 12 hours before it has to be recharged. This assumes, of course, that nothing else is pulling power from the TM battery.

Cheri, you refer to a portable battery from Costco. I'm not sure what specific product you are thinking of, but I see that Costco has a number of portable power packs. They seem to have batteries rated at about 20 amp-hours. So again, divide it in half and you get 10 amp-hours of usable capacity. Now divide by 3 amps (the fan load) and you see that the battery will last 3-4 hours before it needs recharging.

Again, this is a rule of thumb approach, and people may argue with specific numbers. But no matter what, it indicates that battery life before recharge is not long.

Bill

Boy Im gonna have to print that one up. Not a chance in you know where that I could remember it.
Good info though!
Thanks!
Cheri:

[B_and_D]

Check this out:

http://www.swampy.net/m200.html

Interesting idea....