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Hi. My house runs on a generator. I have a problem with the ACs when they kick in. each AC (and there are three of them, one on each phase) pulls 18 Amps as when the compressor kicks in. Is there a way to make it have a 'soft start'? Here's an excerpt from an article I read on the web:

"One method is to use the same wire used to feed power to the input of small HP AC drives and create an air core reactor by winding the feed wire into a coil, with a diameter of the width of a hand, about 75 turns and tie wrap the coils. This is done in each input phase. In many installations, these �handmade coils� will provide sufficient inductance to slow the current and limit over voltage shutdowns"

So can I put this 75 turns winding at the input of each AC so that i can reduce the start up current to its operating current of 8 Amps?

Your advise would be very much appreciated

A motor can demand up to 8 times it's rated current when it's starting under load. This starting current surge is normally very brief. Anything that will slow the surge down should do the job for you. An inductor will slow down this current surge. If it's slowed down enough your generator can keep up. You can certainly start with a 75 turn coil and see how it works. If it doesn't do the job, add more turns. You don't want to go overboard as the coil will impede the current flow of an AC circuit and could cause your motors to over heat. Add about 25 turns if the 75 turn coil doesn't work. Keep adding until things seem to run right. You might not be able to reduce the starting current to equal the run current. The motor needs some extra current to start.

This entry was posted on Friday, January 2nd, 2009 at 9:04 am and is filed under Article Generator. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.