002 or 003 for 3.5 Ton A/C Unit?

[Olympus]

New member here and I'm getting close to purchasing a MEP genny as a backup. I currently have a gas powered residential screamer. I'm looking to switch to diesel for sure, leaning toward the MEPs as opposed to the 3600rpm diesel units. I keep 100 gallons of diesel on hand at all times with access to another 5000 gallons at any time through my family farm. I have a diesel tractor and a diesel ZTR mower as well, so I keep fresh diesel on hand throughout the year.

I believe the 002 will power my whole house, just not sure about the a/c unit. The only large electric pullers I have would be the a/c and the electric dryer. Water heater, furnace, and range are all natural gas. We have underground power, so we don't lose power often but I sure like the feeling of security of knowing I have a genny and fuel to last a good long while. I would just prefer to buy a genny big enough to run my a/c unit if necessary. If I bought the 002, I would just plan to only run the a/c on the genny, nothing else. Cool the house down adequately, then remove the a/c from the genny and resume powering the rest of the house as normal. My a/c unit is a 3.5 ton Bryant. I can't find any info on LRAs though. I've called several local hvac companies and the best they can tell me is that 7500W "should" be enough to run the unit. They say it's plenty for the normal running and 7500-8000 "should" be enough for the initial surge to kick the compressor on. I also have a hard start kit on the a/c, but if I understand how those hard start kits work, they will not be effective after they lose power for longer than 5-10 minutes.

I'm really hoping someone can give me a better answer on whether the 002 will work for me in the scenario I just laid out. The 002 is about $1000 cheaper than comparable 003 in my area and I can't justify that much more money.

 

[Isaac-1]

The LRA and RLA should be on the data plate on the unit. A couple of other questions, about how old is this unit and what is its SEER rating?

 

[Olympus]

My unit is 12 years old. The data sticker is completely faded and I can't make anything out on it.

 

[DieselAddict]

I have a 4T 13 SEER unit about 10 years old and my MEP003a starts it without issue. When the compressor kicks off the load meter on the MEP will jump from 15% to 75% then settle back down to about 35%. Other than a puff of smoke from the exhaust it doesn't seem to care.

 

[cuad4u]

I cannot comment on whether or not a 002A will operate a 3.5 ton AC, but it will start and operate a 20 year old Carrier 2.5 ton AC unit plus some. I recently did a real world load test for a potential buyer with one of my 002A generators. First I turned on all 12 150 watt incandescent overhead lights in my shop. Then I turned on two 1HP 36 inch exhaust fans - one in each end of the shop. Then while all this was running and for good measure I wanted to see if the 002A would start and run the 2.5 ton AC in the attached game room. It did. What it may not do is operate an electric heat pump in the heat mode. That will depend on how many "emergency" heat strips are in the unit.

 

[Olympus]

I knew the 003 would run the air. I just don't know about the 002. I'd prefer to save money and go with the 002 if possible.

 

[DieselAddict]

I suspect it would start it if it was the only thing running at the time. The inrush on my unit is close to the 130% limit of an 002. If you were running 20-30% load on the 002 the breaker may trip.

I think this one is too close to call with certainty.

 

[Olympus]

That's what I'm talking about. Having no load on the unit except for the a/c.

 

[timntrucks]

i can run my one 5 ton and one 3 ton plus 2 freezers and 2 refigeraters and what ever i need on 58% using 10k if i turn off the 3 ton upstairs i only use 30% i have found out the 5kw uses almost as much fuel as the 10k

 

[m-35tom]

if you don't like 'screamers' then you won't like the 002 or 003. listen to one in person before you buy.

 

[DieselAddict]

Or make sure you buy one with an ASK. My 003 has an ASK and is much quieter than any of my neighbors gassers.

 

[Olympus]

Again, I'd really rather not pay an extra $1000 for a 003 considering how little it will get used. I was hoping the 002 would be enough.

 

[DieselAddict]

You can get the 002 with an ASK.

Do you have a generator now that starts your ACU?

Oh and a hard start unit doesn't work that way. Its basically an extra large starting capacitor.

 

[Olympus]

My gas unit is 3500W and I've never tried it for my air. I've always been told it's too small so I've never tried.

 

[Isaac-1]

A MEP-002a is in a whole different league from a civilian 3500 watt gasoline powered generator. My gut feeling is it will probably work, but if it does not it almost certainly will when it comes time to replace your current air conditioner unit with something more modern.

 

[Ray70]

It's probably too close to call on this one. One of the problems with the MEP-002 is the main breaker. It's design will allow you to pull a heavy resistive load with no problem but inductive loads like motors and compressors starting up will often trip the breaker instantly. You might be able to run it provided there isn't much else running at the same time, but there's a good chance the surge current will trip the breaker. Some people have worked around this problem by installing a panel with a conventional style breaker (which is more forgiving of short surges) and bypassing the breaker on the generator. This lets you better utilize the MEP's full potential when starting a motor, rather than tripping the breaker. stick with a 30A 240V breaker. What size breaker is your AC running on now?

 

[Olympus]

I want to say my AC is on a 40 amp breaker, but not completely sure. Out of town for the weekend or I'd go check.

 

[Keith_J]

All depends on the main breaker and the adjustment. I've run a 4 ton AC with my 002a just fine, frequency drops to about 55 Hz for a second, load is well over 130% for that time but it starts right up. Just a bit of voltage drop too. RLA is 22 amperes, LRA is 130 amps.

What helps is adjustment of the governor to have a bit of hunting when the load is removed, this is max sensitivity. When a motor starts, there is a bit of overshoot for 1-2 oscillations before it settles back down. Most came from the military with a bit of droop, unloaded at 61.5 Hz per TM.

now when I hook my 002 up to my Miller Dynasty running SMAW (stick) and crank the output to 200 amps, I can see 120% load. Supposedly, this welder has a PF of near unity so that is a resistive load but it is an inverter welder. And I run it on three phase off the 002.

 

[ctfjr]

Just throw my $.02 in here - no water pump on your farm? could be a substantial starting load.

 

[Olympus]

No water pump.