Quote:
Originally Posted by Ryland
anyone know how much power it takes to turn the A/C compressor?
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Hi Ryland,
A small car A/C takes about 5 hp at the worst, and half that in more moderate conditions. Automotive belts are in the "L" series. 3L is 3/8 wide across the wide face. 5L (5/8") are the widest Vee belts you'll see on cars. Vee belts are rated by power and load capacity. For instance the water pump is running all the time the engine is, and the pump power is related to rpm so the water pump belt has a load capacity of 1. The belt must be rated for the full pump power to have a normal service life. The alternator belt only sees maximum load 1% of the time, so it can be down rated to a fairly "weak" belt and still have a long service life. Your motor might see maximum power a few percent of the time; 10 or 20? So a belt rated at 1 HP, (I think 5L just get to 1 HP) might work OK. Before wide multi groove belts got popular some cars used 2 parallel belts for the A/C.
-mort