Is A Start Capacitor Available for the Atwood Air Conditioner
Question:
I have a Honda 2200W inverter generator that I use for my current air conditioner. The specs of the the Atwood Air Command Air Conditioner indicate it will run easily with this generator at 1265W, leaving 935W of excess capacity for my Dometic refrigerator to run. However, the start-up requirement for the Air Command 13.5 amp unit is 3795W. That exceeds the capacity of my generator. Is there a start-up capacitor module available for this unit?
asked by: Jeff S
Expert Reply:
Atwood does not make, nor recommend, a start capacitor for their air conditioners. The Atwood # AT15027-22 15,500 BTU air conditioner that you referenced is rated to "run" at 11 amps, whitch at 120V AC = 1320 watts. In the absense of a start capacitor, the general rule of thumb is that you need double the amps to start an air conditioner. In this case, double 1320 watts is 2640 watts. The 3795 watts you mentioned does seem high.
By the way, if you are talking about the EU2200i generator, 2200 is the temporary surge power, whereas the continous running power is 1800 watts.
You could always give it a try, but in the end you are going to need a bigger generator like the Firman # FIR54FR that can produce 3300/3000 watts.
