What Can I Run on This Generator

[masterdrago]

Originally Posted by Montana Man

I've never heard of appliances having a filtered power supply. If an appliance is designed to run on commercial grade electricity, why would it have a filter?

I learn something new everyday. Trust me. They mostly all do. I worked on microwave ovens since ~1978 as well as freezers, refrigerators, a/c & heat, and stoves & ovens and have seen the guts of a large number of big screen TVs. They all have rather large filtering components at the a/c line input. Commercial grade electricity is often not so clean. I've never thought to ask the makers why all the filtering capacitors, coils, etc.

[masterdrago]

Hey Chris, I just looked at my Fluke which does not have the capability to measure frequency. Then I thought, hey, my EMS-PT50X does monitor amps, volts and frequency. Next time I crank the big genny, I'll try hooking it up to check. I doubt it has the timing circuit to catch short spasms but worth a try. I would really rather not have to depend on the genny this Sunday or Monday when our weather is supposed to cause power outages.

[mlh]

Originally Posted by masterdrago

I learn something new everyday. Trust me. They mostly all do. I worked on microwave ovens since ~1978 as well as freezers, refrigerators, a/c & heat, and stoves & ovens and have seen the guts of a large number of big screen TVs. They all have rather large filtering components at the a/c line input. Commercial grade electricity is often not so clean. I've never thought to ask the makers why all the filtering capacitors, coils, etc.

I worked for a man who had the original microwave oven. This was in 1967. There was an oven was setting under a work bench and I ask what it was. He said it was a oven with a electron tube in it. So I ask what it was for. You can cook a chicken in five minutes boil water in one minute. Then I ask why doesn’t someone make them and sell them. Oh they would be too expensive. He and I guess someone he worked with had put a microwave tube in a regular looking oven. These tubes that they were making were commercial and military grade tube therefore very expensive. At that time all commercial aircraft had a electron tube as part of its guidance system. His name was Ed McClure. A very fine gentleman. He had been the plant manager for one of the big tube companies. As far as I know there are none in business now.
Lynwood

[BB_TX]

Originally Posted by Montana Man

I've never heard of appliances having a filtered power supply. If an appliance is designed to run on commercial grade electricity, why would it have a filter?

Many power supplies have filtering on the input as well as the output(s). Here is some good info on it.

https://ec.kemet.com/blog/the-import...ower-supplies/

[Montana Man]

Originally Posted by BB_TX

Many power supplies have filtering on the input as well as the output(s). Here is some good info on it.

https://ec.kemet.com/blog/the-import...ower-supplies/

Interesting read, thx. Electricity is not one of my strong points. From a logical perspective, it stands to reason that pure sine wave power is desired over lesser quality or otherwise unstable power. With internal filtering in a given appliance, would pure sine wave be of value? How would one know if their devices are well filtered or not?

[masterdrago]

I went into Holiday World yesterday to get one of my LP bottles filled. I'm fair friends with the service manager so I asked him about repairs on RVs brought in for non working electronics. I referenced the question in regards to those folks that have run their RVs on generators. He told me that he sees failures like that from improper power at the campground pedestals and being hooked up to 220vac rather than from any generator use.


Brings up an interesting point. Why does hooking to 220vac present an issue. I mean my box is wired 220 at home where I plug in my 5r. I wired it myself. Across the two hot legs is 220-240. Any one of those legs to ground or neutral is 120. By doing it that way, if I'm pulling 20amps on each leg in the RV, there is only 20amps on the neutral due to the sine waves being out of phase. If on the other hand both hot legs were 120vac (same phase) but not 240 across them, the current on the neutral would be the sum of that on the pair of hot legs. So could be as high as 100amps on a 50 amp hookup.



The point of me starting this thread was to get recommendations for a more fuel efficient, very quiet (much quieter) than my general purpose, large, noisy, construction grade, non-inverter generator. I had originally got it for use during hurricanes to run a couple of reefers, water well and a few fans.

[masterdrago]

Originally Posted by BB_TX

Many power supplies have filtering on the input as well as the output(s). Here is some good info on it.

https://ec.kemet.com/blog/the-import...ower-supplies/

Thanks for that. Our high dollar Vision treadmill puts out an atrocious level of noise on the power line. It can be heard on an AM radio out near the power companies transformer 50 yards from the house.

[BB_TX]

Originally Posted by masterdrago

..............

Brings up an interesting point. Why does hooking to 220vac present an issue. I mean my box is wired 220 at home where I plug in my 5r. I wired it myself. Across the two hot legs is 220-240. Any one of those legs to ground or neutral is 120. By doing it that way, if I'm pulling 20amps on each leg in the RV, there is only 20amps on the neutral due to the sine waves being out of phase. If on the other hand both hot legs were 120vac (same phase) but not 240 across them, the current on the neutral would be the sum of that on the pair of hot legs. So could be as high as 100amps on a 50 amp hookup.

............

Actually if you are pulling exactly 20 amps on each hot leg then there is zero amps on the neutral.

I suspect most RV parks have power as good as your home. But I am just as confident that there are parks that have power systems that are barely adequate, or less than adequate. Those are the ones that create the problems. And enough of those to give a bad name to all.

[masterdrago]

Originally Posted by BB_TX

Actually if you are pulling exactly 20 amps on each hot leg then there is zero amps on the neutral.

I suspect most RV parks have power as good as your home. But I am just as confident that there are parks that have power systems that are barely adequate, or less than adequate. Those are the ones that create the problems. And enough of those to give a bad name to all.

Sorry, that was what I meant to say. That's why on a true 220/240 device/load, there is no need for a neutral. Only on feeds going to those loads that also have 120vac loads within. Like residential cloths dryers - 4 wire including ground - neutral is only for the imbalanced loads.

[laverdur]

It is true that non-inverter generators place your sensitive electronics at risk. I used one at home and the ragged waveform caused delamination of the high voltage transformer in the microwave. The micro still worked but the loose laminations vibrated when the micro was in use, making for a lot of noise. I eventually replaced the transformer when the magnatron failed and I had to replace it. Your furnace runs on propane and 12 volts. The gen would be recharging the batteries as the furnace fan draws current from them. With an inverter type gen, your tv and hopper will be safe. If you were to invest in a Slow Start kit for one A/C, you could probably run that if you didn't use the micro, a toaster, hair dryer, curling iron or electric heater (fireplace) at the same time.

[bcrvman]

Originally Posted by masterdrago

Well, isn't that just nifty - old oil and filters. Sounds like a lot of gobldegoop to me. So the only way to know if a generator is putting out pure sine wave is to have the know how and equipment to measure it. That's mostly above my pay grade. Most of the time we get what we pay for but not always. While I was searching for a generator, I saw the Honda recall on the model where the inverter shorted and caught fire.



So whatever I do is a gamble when it gets to 11 degrees, branches fall, kill power and I'm forced to hide in my 5r running it on external power. Either a 6,000 watt Champion (old, non inverter general purpose) here in my garage right now, or something I go get today at Sam's, HD, Lowes, etc, that has that inverter name in the description. Still not sure how much watts to bring home to run reefer, converter (lights, furnace) and maybe TV and possibly the microwave. Could do without that microwave since we have the gas stove and oven to cook with.

A simple but expensive way to estimate what you need is to get a generator that puts out the same power that a park post does. If you think you need full 2x50A service then a 12,000 watt genny is needed. However if you can run everything on a 30A hookup then 3,600W will work. I use a pair of Honda EU2000 that use a special adapter to couple them together giving me a full 30A or 3,600W. That means I have to limit my AC1 to 15A while using the washer or dryer and no AC or water heater electric or electric fireplace. However, I have the advantage of a hybrid inverter and 400AH of Lithium to provide an extra 20A on AC1 should I need to use the coffee maker, microwave or kettle.
I would not buy a contractor genny or a cheap inverter model, stick with Yamaha or Honda.

[ToolMan]

I use the Honda 2300w inverter generators. The recall is due to allowing water, in particular salt water to get inside and causing corrosion. I can run my a/c on one unit if I turn off the auto idle. Probably not great for either unit so not often. Usually couple 2 together and I can run most anything I want. Another thing to keep in mind, most campgrounds will not allow contractor generators due to the noise, and if they do allow them you won't make any camper friends.

[R.S.O'Donnell]

This is our genny. Says right on it not to exceed 25A.

It's been a real lifesaver. One caveat is the spark arrestor clogged up, fouled the plug, and shut down dead in the middle of the night in a rest area in the sweltering Texas heat. There was some swearing until I figured out what it was (YouTube). The entire spark arrestor was left in a trash can. Been 100% dependable ever since.

https://www.harborfreight.com/3500-w...tor-63584.html

[mlh]

Originally Posted by R.S.O'Donnell

This is our genny. Says right on it not to exceed 25A.

It's been a real lifesaver. One caveat is the spark arrestor clogged up, fouled the plug, and shut down dead in the middle of the night in a rest area in the sweltering Texas heat. There was some swearing until I figured out what it was (YouTube). The entire spark arrestor was left in a trash can. Been 100% dependable ever since.

https://www.harborfreight.com/3500-w...tor-63584.html

I have a 3000 watt Honda, great generator but if I bought another generator it would be the Harbor Freight, great generator.
Lynwood

[bshgto]

I went thru this dilemma of how big issue. Started with one Yamaha 2000 watt went well for the small tag along camper at the time then moved up to a small 5er and bought another Yamaha to parallel with to run the single A/C, Had to micro manage power consumption to keep from over loading the generators which was a pain with an active wife in the kitchen. With her and trying to run the microwave and watch the tv, the hair drier, small heater in the bath room for her showers it got to be a real pain to keep track of what was on and what was not. Then the converter kicks on when it wants to for the lights and battery charger so this draws up to 8 amps.
Then we bought the Beast with 2 A/C`s and the Gens ran at mostly full bore and nothing else. The wife complaining "what no hair drier? for how long?"..."wait I`ll turn off one of the Air conditioners". Then keeping up with filling the small gas tanks all the time in the dark with a flash light in the rain.
That was it for me so I decided to go big or go home. And installed these permanently in front of the Aux tank. Ran a 50 amp cord to the front of the camper with a transfer switch for fail safe use. I don`t even think about power management any more and they are really quiet running on propane so no filling gas tanks anymore in the middle of the night, in the rain with a flash light. So now when she asks the about the hair drier I just say "yes dear" like a good husband.
It`s almost like you never have enough power for some situations or stinking hot weather in a Walmart parking lot or out in the middle of nowhere.
So think big..... to much is always better. Just ask my wife.

[R.S.O'Donnell]

Originally Posted by bshgto

I went thru this dilemma of how big issue. Started with one Yamaha 2000 watt went well for the small tag along camper at the time then moved up to a small 5er and bought another Yamaha to parallel with to run the single A/C, Had to micro manage power consumption to keep from over loading the generators which was a pain with an active wife in the kitchen. With her and trying to run the microwave and watch the tv, the hair drier, small heater in the bath room for her showers it got to be a real pain to keep track of what was on and what was not. Then the converter kicks on when it wants to for the lights and battery charger so this draws up to 8 amps.
Then we bought the Beast with 2 A/C`s and the Gens ran at mostly full bore and nothing else. The wife complaining "what no hair drier for how long?"..."wait I`ll turn off one of the Air conditioners". Then keeping up with filling the small gas tanks all the time in the dark with a flash light in the rain.
That was it for me so I decided to go big or go home. And installed these permanently in front of the Aux tank. Ran a 50 amp cord to the front of the camper with a transfer switch for fail safe use. I don`t even think about power management any more and they are really quiet running on propane so no filling gas tanks anymore in the middle of the night, in the rain with a flash light. So now when she asks the about the hair drier I just say "yes dear" like a good husband.
It`s almost like you never have enough power for some situations or stinking hot weather in a Walmart parking lot or out in the middle of nowhere.
Think big..... to much is always better. Just ask my wife.

Awesome setup. Loving what looks like your custom exhaust pipes.