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Portable Generator Question

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Steve Pitts

07-15-2002 19:24:57




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Looking at a portable generator for two reasons. First I am doing some fencing and need power for saw and compressor. Second I had a seperate panel installed in the house to allow using a generator. The generators seem to be divided in two groups. Those with voltage regulation and those without. The less expensive units without regulation do not list spec's for power quality. I assume the engine governor determines power quality. Does anyone have experience using these for residential backup? What issues should I be concerned with for electronic equipment? Thanks for any comments.

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Steve Pitts

07-16-2002 14:23:42




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 Re: Portable Generator Question in reply to Steve Pitts, 07-15-2002 19:24:57  
Thanks for the help. That's kinda what I figured. Hate to spend big bucks on a regulated unit. Lived in the house for over a year now and have so far have not needed a generator. Main problem would be ice storms which hit every couple of years. Home Depot has a Generac unit 5.5 kw/8.5 surge which should handle the pump or the propane furnace. Just not sure what it would do the microwave or TV. Have seen some literature which says to put surge suppressors on sensitive items when using the non-regulated units.

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Ray,IN

07-16-2002 20:42:47




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 Re: Re: Portable Generator Question in reply to Steve Pitts, 07-16-2002 14:23:42  
We've got a 3,5kw Coleman genset that will power the necessities, 2 freezers, frig, furnace, house lighting, and tv's. We've got LPG cooking, water heater, furnace, so there's no major amp draws. We don't try to use microwave oven or AC though. I ran the genset about 6 hours a day through a 3 day outage a few years ago without trouble.



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Red Dave

07-16-2002 11:33:10




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 Re: Portable Generator Question in reply to Steve Pitts, 07-15-2002 19:24:57  
It depends a lot on what you expect to power with your generator. Some things, (such as electronics) are very sensitive to voltage and frequency fluctuations, some are not (like your power saw). Today with electronics used in nearly everything, the list of things that are not sensitive is getting shorter all the time.
Whenever a relatively heavy load (such as a refrigerator or other motor load) comes on, voltage and frequency will tend to sag until the voltage regulator and governor compensate. A better unit will compensate more quickly. A bigger generator will tend to sag less.
On the other hand, when one of those heavy loads cuts out, voltage and frequency will tend to soar until the unit compensates. The larger the load in relation to the capacity of the generator, the more pronounced the effect will be. I think the voltage spike when a load cuts out will ruin electronics faster than anything, although constant low voltage on anything with a motor is just as bad.
My suggestion is to buy the biggest generator with the best voltage regultor that will fit your budget, and make sure you have a good surge protector on anything that might be sensitive to momentary voltage spikes, and unplug anything especially sensitive and/or valuable until power is back on.

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JAE-Tx

07-16-2002 08:58:09




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 Re: Portable Generator Question in reply to Steve Pitts, 07-15-2002 19:24:57  
Steve:

Your electric quality questions will have to be answered by someone better qualified than me, but I installed a generator/battery bank a couple of years ago to power a small homestead, and did alot of research just as you are doing, and made a few mistakes.

Much of the research I did pointed me in the direction of a low RPM diesel generator, such as those sold by Hardy Diesel. These generators were reputed to have long life, be dependable, and to be quieter and less obtrusive than the more typical high RPM generators you find available.

My low RPM diesel generator is one of the noisiest gensets I have ever seen. I can run our Ford diesel tractors next to it and not hear them running! Our little Honda gas genset is much more comfortable to have running when I need more power than the battery system will provide. Oh yeah, and the diesel genset is located in a shelter next to the well house 50 yards from the cabin!

I'm in Texas, and the little A/C unit can only be run when the genset is running (too much for the battery system), otherwise I'll just use battery power - nice and quiet. I'll run the genset to charge the battery bank while we cool the cabin for a couple of hours each day.

Next time, I'll invest a little more money in a propane genset by a well-known manufacturer. Almost everything else we have runs on propane, and it's clean, and it's quiet.

Sorry for the ramble, but I spent alot of money on that genset mistake! Best of luck.

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Kevin

07-16-2002 17:56:16




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 Re: Re: Portable Generator Question in reply to JAE-Tx, 07-16-2002 08:58:09  
The general idea when installing a diesel generator the way you have is to take that little exhaust muffler off and put a tractor style exhaust on. This won't let you leave it run at night while you try to sleep, but it should be much quieter when running that air conditioning unit.



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