Installing Advent Air AC Units on 40 Foot Bus

Updated 04/01/2019 | Published 03/29/2019

Question:

I want to put possibly two of these units on my school bus. Is this a good option? What generator would I need for one of these or could I get one to run both at the same time. Bus is a 40 ft. 71 passenger.

asked by: Bernie

Expert Reply:

Two of the Advent Air RV Air Conditioner # ACM150C that you referenced will definitely be enough to cool down your 40 foot school bus.

I did reach out to my contact at Advent Air just to get his opinion on this particular application along with obtaining the power draw of the unit to see what type of generator is needed. He said before proceeding there are a couple things you will want to be aware of.

This AC unit (along with all of the Advent Air models) are designed specifically for RVs because of their suspension and housings. This isn't to say that customers don't often use them for alternative applications with success, but because of the copper pipes in the unit there is a higher risk of them breaking when mounted to a more rigid surface like what would be on your bus. If this were to happen it would cause coolant to leak and essentially make the unit inoperable.

If you decide to go this route, a single unit draws 3,500 starting watts and 1,750 running watts. If you wanted to run both units with one generator you would need one that has a starting power output of at least 5,250 watts and a running output of at least 3,500 watts.

Something like the Buffalo Tools # BTGEN7500DF should be plenty sufficient. It has a starting output of 7,500 watts and a running output of 6,000 watts.

expert reply by: Chris R