Using the R1S to power an air conditioner?

[Yossarian]

The backstory for this question:
I'm a bicycle rider and every year look forward to the doing the [Des Moines] Register's Annual Great Ride Across Iowa, aka RAGBRAI. This week-long event traverses Iowa from west to east, over a different route each year. Most of the 12,000 or so riders camp each night, with your clothes and gear getting transported to each day's host town either in one of the RAGBRAI semis, or a smaller truck operated by one of the charter groups.

While that's great, I've been looking for a way to bring my non-riding spouse and our two Welshies along, something that's easily possible with most RV's. Our RV however is a T@B 320 teardrop that has solar/LFP electrical power and dual-fuel water heating and is reasonably well-equipped for off-grid camping, except for one thing - running the air conditioning. That requires shore power, or a generator, neither of which are really options for this use. Since having a/c is pretty much mandatory for my wife and dogs to survive the Iowa summer heat, at least during the day, this is an issue. It's one that been a bit tough to overcome as there are generally few campground or RV parks on the RAGBRAI routes I'm hoping - perhaps unrealistically - that our soon-to-be-delivered R1S will change the equation.

Will it though? That is, will I be able to power the T@b's small air conditioner (Elwell AIR8) with the inverter of the R1S for at least a few hours each day? Specs on the Air8 are hard to come by, and all I can find is this:
Nominal cooling capacity 8000 BTU
Power consumption 1000W
Starting current 15 A (<1sec)
Operating current 9A
Air flow 220 CFM

Given my rather rudimentary electrical knowlege, it looks to me that if the a/c was used for say 8 hours, and allowing for efficiency loss through the inverter (10%?), we'd be looking at something under under 9 kWh consumed by the unit. Is this right? If it is, it would seem that this chore is a pretty easy one for the R1S.

Sponsored

 

[Madsen203]

R1 should be able to power this without issue. However, it will keep vehicle awake and thus use 20-50% more energy than AC will use. So likely, to run AC for 24 hours, it’ll be 33-40% or SOC.

 

[Madsen203]

Also to note, towing kills range by 50%. So if you charge to 80%, you have 60 miles of towing range and a day of off grid power.

 

[Thedude]

The starting draw of the AC is right at the limit of the Rivian’s inverter. I’d say 50/50 chance it will trip the breaker when starting up. You can buy a soft start that limits the initial draw and it should work fine.

https://www.amazon.com/ActiveStart-Softstart-Conditioning-Reduces-Current/dp/B0BL2HX9GV

 

[Yossarian]

Thanks for the replies. The tip for a soft-starter to dampen the initial current draw is very helpful. I should have added some other detail about the planned RV "camping."

I have to do some more research into charger availability, but I hope to be able to recharge the R1S nearly every day. The camper will need to be moved 40 - 80 miles each day, mirroring the bike ride. My lovely bride would be towing the trailer to the next overnight town and she can [hopefully] stop and recharge either at the destination town or along the way.

For example, the starting point this year is Sioux City, IA where, according to ABRB, there are two chargers. So after arrival there the night before, the R1S could get fully charged for the trip to the Day 1 destination town of Storm Lake, 77 miles east. There's only one charger on that route, but it will take me at least 10 hrs to ride that leg (that's quite hilly of section of Iowa), so there will be plenty of time for charging. Day 2 is Storm Lake to Carrol, 62 miles south. There are no chargers along the route, but there is one in Carrol itself. Sadly, it's only a 50 kW unit so it will take a while, but it will take me 8 hours to get there anyway.

In case you think that 77 miles in 10 hours or 62 in 8, are slow bicycle paces, they are. But there are hills (Iowa is far from the flat prairie that many think it is) and a ton of bicycle traffic (10 - 12,000 is the least most days; 30,000 or more on stretches that are near cities). In addition, the routes go through many small towns and with so many bicycles, you usually wind up walking a considerable distance. Finally, there are the breaks. You've gotta get a slice of pie from at least one of the church fund raisers at the aforementioned towns, and maybe pancakes, sausage or an ear of corn at a local firehouse. We're not done yet. There's a mandatory stop at each of the two IA Craft Brewing tents that are on each of the five legs, and you should never miss a chance for a corn-cob smoked Mr Pork Chop (two for $15). Averaging 7 - 8 miles per hour is not actually not that bad, all things considered.

 

[Yossarian]

The starting draw of the AC is right at the limit of the Rivian’s inverter. I’d say 50/50 chance it will trip the breaker when starting up. You can buy a soft start that limits the initial draw and it should work fine.

https://www.amazon.com/ActiveStart-Softstart-Conditioning-Reduces-Current/dp/B0BL2HX9GV

Should also have asked if anyone knows if the inverter in the Rivian is a pure sine wave type. I don't think that the motors in a/c units work well with the modified type.

 

[Joe schmoe]

I don't know if you've considered this, but the most efficient thing might be to "car camp" in the back of the R1S and use its AC. I've done this in the summer (muggy July nights in Wisconsin) in my Tesla model S. Running the AC all night and charging my devices burned through about 20-25 miles of range a night. I'm considering the R1S for the same task this summer, butr worried about the lack of DCFC in the Oshkosh, WI area.

YMMV

Sponsored