Re: Add-On-Air Conditioning, 54 Cavalier.

Posted by HH56 On 2012/5/8 20:17:52

I considered looking for a DC to DC converter that would cover the load of the 12 volt A/C of which the biggest part is the blower, then I could remove the 12 V alternator and the 12 volt battery.

I'd be very interested in hearing your results if you pursue this. I looked a bit last year but didn't have much luck. Didn't spend a lot of time at it either so maybe something is available. Sure would solve a lot of problems for people if something realistic that doesn't cost as much as the AC unit is out there.

One problem I ran into seems to be all the inverter companies specifically say their unit is not for use with motors -- pretty much nothing inductive for that matter. Only one I found so far that allows it is the wiper motor companion unit from Newport Engineering. When I looked into that one, the output fuse was 5 amp so not enough for AC. They currently don't list a fuse capacity but the unit looks the same as the one last year.

Another issue I found on other units is the input amps. A different company had a more than ample unit -- think it was 12 v with 30 amp max output -- a bit more than needed but again was for high power amplifiers and specifically not for motors. Even worse, specs say it would pull approx 60 amps on the 6v input to deliver the 30 out. If wired for worse case, would be a pretty substantial setup Price was also a consideration even if that one would have worked.