I have two 1500 btu A/c (stock) and one 13,500 (aftermarket) for we do most of our Rving in the desert. in temps of 105 at a minimum. so thats why the genset gets a bit bogged down. I guess ill just add the caps to the AC only...
Yes for those of you wondering i did a lot of electrical work on the rig to add the third ac and its on a seperate cord so i can still use the standard 50 amp service. But when available i can use the third ac. Thanks for all the help
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Gene&Ginny wrote: A large capacitor works nicely .... on a DC circuit. Don't try it on an AC.
So why do they work on an air-conditioning compressor which is aC power?
The answer to that is a college course in case you are wondering (AC THEORY)
Capacitors do many things, In an electric motor you have a "START" capicator.. This motor has two windings, a start coil and a run coil,, if you put power to them equally, the motor just sits there and hums at you.
But put a capicator in series with ONE of the windings and a phase change is caused in that winding, this causes the motor to.. Turn, (Actually turn in a specific direction) ON some motors the two windings are identical and to reverse the motor, simnply apply power to the OTHER end of the capacitor.
In other cases it's bit more complex.
But the reason for the start cpacitor is to set up the mis-matched phase relationship that makes the motor start turning in the proper direction.
The run capacitor is to offset the inductance of the motor and correct the power factor.
IT all has to do with an old friend of the electronics and electrical engineer, ELI the ICE man.. Once you meet Eli, you will understand.
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Way over my head --- I got rid of my vacuum cleaner issues when I tossed the carpet and put in Allure flooring. I suspect complex electrical issues are not appropriate for the beginning RV forum -- just an opinion.
Gene&Ginny wrote: A large capacitor works nicely .... on a DC circuit. Don't try it on an AC.
So why do they work on an air-conditioning compressor which is aC power?
The answer to that is a college course in case you are wondering (AC THEORY)
Capacitors do many things, In an electric motor you have a "START" capicator.. This motor has two windings, a start coil and a run coil,, if you put power to them equally, the motor just sits there and hums at you.
But put a capicator in series with ONE of the windings and a phase change is caused in that winding, this causes the motor to.. Turn, (Actually turn in a specific direction) ON some motors the two windings are identical and to reverse the motor, simnply apply power to the OTHER end of the capacitor.
In other cases it's bit more complex.
But the reason for the start cpacitor is to set up the mis-matched phase relationship that makes the motor start turning in the proper direction.
The run capacitor is to offset the inductance of the motor and correct the power factor.
IT all has to do with an old friend of the electronics and electrical engineer, ELI the ICE man.. Once you meet Eli, you will understand.
Yes, I know all of this and I sell motors all day long but my response to this poster was questioning his statement that capacitors only work on DC circuits, which BTW, is not true.
javaseuf wrote: ....Yes, I know all of this and I sell motors all day long but my response to this poster was questioning his statement that capacitors only work on DC circuits, which BTW, is not true.
That post was about putting a large capacitor directly across the AC feed. A large value capacitor acts as a storage device/filter on DC. On AC it has a low impedance making it effectively a short circuit. Now tell me, what is the Z of a 10uf capacitor at 60 Hertz?
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Is it possible that you may be running out of capacity after adding that third AC unit? I understand that when connected to shore power you have the option of connecting that unit directly to a separate source and essentially the MH's electrical system requirement is returned to stock.
If the genny is powering all three AC's and then you add the vacuum too, the genny bogs down? does the genny recover?
How does the genny respond if you only power the stock AC's while vacuuming?
I don't believe the capacitor (of any size) will help your situation. Capacitors used in the manner you are describing is used to help maintain voltage at a specific range value when loads are introduced to the circuit, the goal to keep the power factor as close as possible to unity. Adding too much capacitance (especially if you don't know what the power factor is) may actually
make the situation worse.
Have you taken the time to add up all of your loads (wattage) including this 3rd AC unit or maybe slapped on an amp probe to determine load with all components on at capacity? All AC's, refer(If on AC not LP), house lights (I'm thinking these are dc but the inverter is charging), vacuum, etc.
Mike,
Save your time on the addition of a capacitor. As you can tell from all the responses there are lots of uses for a cap in an AC circuit, but none of them will help you with your problem.
deblas is correct. It sure sounds like you have too much load for your generator. When I commented before that you generator should be big enough, I didn't know you had 3 A/Cs running with your vacuum!
deblas wrote: If the genny is powering all three AC's and then you add the vacuum too, the genny bogs down? does the genny recover?
How does the genny respond if you only power the stock AC's while vacuuming?
Answering these questions will help you determine where the problem is.
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