Generator: DON'T Forget To Do THIS or You'll FRY Your Sensitive Electronics!
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- Опубликовано: 29 июн 2024
- It is important to anticipate the approximate load that you plan on putting on your generator in order to make the proper adjustments so that you don't ruin your electronics -- especially sensitive ones!
Most electronics that we're familiar with prefer 120 volts and 60 Hz. Being too far above or below could ruin your electronics and cost you some big bucks!
With a Killawatt meter and a phillips head screwdriver, you can easily make a simple adjustment to dial in your Hz and voltage.
Typically, you'll want to locate your carburetor and above that is a screw that is threaded through a bent, flat metal piece that has springs and linkages attached to it. This screw controls your generator's governor and RPMs (and in turn, the Hz).
Turn the screw slowly (quarter or half turns as you go) and you will find that your Hz will adjust as you turn. You can read the changes in real time with a Killawatt meter.
Turn clockwise to increase your Hz, and turn counter clockwise to decrease your Hz.
Make these adjustments under the load that you anticipate using with your generator. When the load is removed, you will find that your Hz and voltage will be slightly higher than 60 and 120 (respectively) when the generator runs at idle.
Once under load though, you'll be dialed right in to the proper numbers.
You can find a Killawatt meter on Amazon at the link below (affiliate -- and thank you:) )
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Why not?. They are built for that. I've had to run mine for days at a time.
Why would you want to? Just a waste of fuel.
A properly functioning generator should automatically compensate engine speed for any load changes. Incidentally, even voltages from your powerline in households can vary. There's no such thing as a constant steady fixed voltage that never changes. For example, you turn on the clothes dryer and this can reduce voltage to other things connected to the same electrical panel circuit in your house. Same idea when the fridge and the deep freezer kicks in. You might notice a light bulb might go dim briefly when this happens. Does anything blow up or break in your house when this happens? No, of course not. Electronics are designed to compensate for all that. They are designed to operate within a voltage "range" not at a specific fixed voltage. Low voltage doesn't typically hurt anything. But when you have high voltage that far exceeds the ratings for the electronics device, (sudden power surges / spikes) that's when you start blowing up damaging things. So if your generator is varying output anywhere between 115 to 125 volts, it's perfectly normal. Everything connected to it will be perfectly fine. When electricians and others refer to our household power as "120 volts" it's not really exactly 120 volts. That's just a common expression and term everyone uses to describe a range of voltages anywhere from 115 to 125 volts. Similarly, a 120v "60Hz" rating on electronic devices means a range anywhere from 50-70 Hz.
Thanks for making the video. I have the same generator Honda EG2500 bought in 93, garage keep only used during power outages. Still runs perfect. Every year i do regular maintenance, but have never adjusted the Hz and voltage. Will get it done before winter.
Best demo of how to use a Kill A Watt Meter. Thank You
That engine speed dip from no load to about 60% load is quite big. The problem is in the governor linkage spring. Most generators have several holes to mount the spring on, which effectively adjusts its sensitivity and how much compensation the speed governor does to the throttle under various loads. The behavior I see in your case is that the governor is not sensitive enough to pick-up the engine speed when there's load. I suggest you tune that governor linkage before adjusting the throttle screw. Typically, the generator should be doing around 62Hz no load, and around 58Hz full load. If you can make it tighter than that, the better. The problem with setting the frequency too high is that, you're also over-revving the engine. At 60Hz, the engine will be doing 3,600 RPM. But at 65Hz, it's turning at 3,900 RPM. In many small engines, that's borderline too high.
As for the voltage, 122V is fine. It seems that changing the engine speed is not affecting the output voltage by much, so the AVR is doing its job and no voltage adjustments are necessary.
I agee; tune the automatic regulating device , not the base idle .
this also makes sense... also read a techs advice claiming the same thing...ruclips.net/video/OIYwuuf8IMk/видео.html
If I recall, my generator documentation strongly advises against (says it is against the law) to modify he governor
@@NinjasOfOrca Under normal circumstances, like if it was working properly, I wouldn’t touch the governor either. But in this case, it’s not performing as well as it should so a bit of recalibration is maybe what the doctor ordered. The governor regulates the RPM to 60HZ (3600 RPM). It will be in your appliances’ best interest to keep it within a very tight tolerance from no-load to full-load. If you think about it, what irks the government more is when you start playing with carb jettings as this will have a major impact on how much pollution the engine produces. That’s why CARB-compliant generators would have fixed air-fuel ratio set screw.
So engine speed, not so much. But having the wrong jettings and/or A/F mixture (ie. Running rich), the latter has more legal ramifications.
This isn't exactly the way things work, viewers could be mislead. Modern generators that are non-inverter are still extremely self regulated in more ways than one; their power board keeps the sine wave a lot cleaner and less fluctuating than a generator from 20 years ago. I have two champion generators, a small 4000W/5000W peak and a 11,500W dual fuel one. None of them are inverters (which is what keeps voltage ⚡ perfectly @240 and Freq @ 60hz) Inverter/pure sine wave power generators are much more expensive and not absolutely necessary. Non-inverters (regular generators) do fluctuate a bit, but very very little. Mine are spot-on, even testing sudden 2000-3000W load spikes, it maintains and goes from 122V to 118V at the most. Freq goes from 61.5 to 58 etc.. fluctuations are so insignificant. It's the modern tech of all new generators, all of them, WestingHouse, Generac, DeWalt, Champion, Honda, Predator... All have these power boards with Intelligence and Voltguard even when they're non-inverter generators. Nice video, but can be misleading. For example, my Champion generators are warranty void if you touch the governor (engine throttle regulator), because the automatic voltage regulator and the computar power board is what does the job of putting out proper voltage and frequency.... In the past (decades back) things were very different.
Hi you seem to know your stuff, I have a sort of newer generator how can I give it a fast test to know if it is safe, no I don't mean by plugging in something and frying it to see I did enough of that with my old Colema, had to throw out a microwave and get the oven fixed
@@chadbosko8935 You would need to use a tester that can measure both voltage and Hz frequency. Many testers have your A/C, D/C, resistance testing in ohms, and other functions, but may lack ability to measure Hz freq ... There are some affordable testers between 35-45$ US that can check the frequency in Hertz, most of the ones that are capable of doing this will be able to display the frequency in real time between 9.99 and 99.99 Hz. These testers are just (entry level) and would also check for standard stuff and be multi-use, check DC current etc... You just have to look for one that can measure Hz. As you know, here in the US we need to be at 60 Hz, and keep an eye on the way that freq fluctuates; same thing with the voltage.... As you add and remove loads on your non-inverter generator, you'll notice fluctuations in voltage and frequency, that is normal. Somewhere between 54-58 hz when the gen is very loaded is normal and could be considered acceptable, not ideal, but it shall not break or damage anything. When gen is loaded to capacity your 240V could be 220-225V or so, that is normal... Similarly, your 120V can drop to 110V more or less... If your Frq in Hz is stable and fluctuations in voltage are minor and within acceptable range, then your appliances are safe. Now, as an example of inadequacy, do not try to power an ECG/EKG machine to check the heart, ICU hospital equipment, or medical equipment that measures finely tuned waves of electricity to measure heart rhythm and heart electrical current, that would be full of noise and inaccuracies, as the SineWave of a non-inverter generator is jagged and NOT CLEAN, its just called "dirty" power for those applications. Computers and Laptops, as well as digital appliances are powered by DC current with their own power supply and transformer; in this day in age, those are safe with "dirty" generator power as long as your generator is not broken or putting too high or too low a voltage, or maybe dangerously fluctuating frequency, sometimes defective AVR in a gen can cause this and damage appliances... This is rare, there are safety measures that shut off Gen power and trips it out (newer generators with volt-guard) etc.. Hope this helps. here is one tester that could measure both: UNI-T Digital Multi Meter UT89X 6000
what you are referring to as power board are called AVR (Automatic Voltage Regulator ) and not all Newer Generators have them a lot of the Cheaper China Made one's Don't have a AVR , The worst are called Brushless Generators and are Horrible at controlling the Voltage i have seen them go from 86V-168V when loaded and unloaded
The only way to know for sure that you have perfect since wave output is to look at it with an oscilloscope.It will also let you measure peak to peak wave voltage and frequency.
@Melvin Dwayne Thanks for your comment! I couldn't find this anywhere everyone is claiming I have to buy an expensive generator for the purpose I need it but I want to ask:
So I bought a cheap traditional dual fuel generator (sportsman 4000) solely for the purpose of charging my Solar Generator/Power Station in case it's needed (and to have a backup to the solar that is stronger)
I didn't find out till after I bought it that "I have to have a newer more expensive inverter generator" just to charge the battery of the Solar Generator/Power Station.
My dad is old school & says "that's thinking too much you'll be fine old generators have worked for years"
Could you (or anyone else) give some insight on this? Or WHY I HAVE to buy an inverter just to charge the battery of the Solar one?
(The sportsman can use gas or propane btw, I figure to keep & use propane). Thanks for any help/answers as there's not much AT ALL on this topic. Maybe 1 or 2 resources out there on the whole topic.
Nope. Your electronics operate on DC not AC. Their power supply rectifies the AC current to DC so that little frequency change makes no significant difference. It's the voltage spikes that does damage.
Nice catch. Thank you for the correction! Cheers!
5% THD is the limit for most modern electronics with micro processors. so you are taking 57-63hz operating range. you are rolling the dice of outcomes if you exceed those limits.
What causes a voltage spike?
Excellent video, thank you
Thanks for the video. Let's say we buy a generator with 6000 W output but our load is 3000W. Should we adjust the screw to adjust the power output with a conventional generator?
Cool video - you clearly know your stuff! I'm considering a Tripp Lite LC1200 power conditioner for use with my emergency generator (still brand new/unused). I expect the generator won't deliver steady, even power, especially when using a fridge or small single electric cooking element since those cycle on/off. I don't want to damage electronics, such as a router, laptop or phone while being charged. Am I on the right track considering one of these power conditioners to provide clean power? Thanks!
A power conditioner will not adjust the frequency (it may smooth the sine wave or regulate the voltage). You would need a double-conversion UPS for that which is prohibitively expensive
It's a bit comical that you are using a "Kill-A-Watt" (a $30 device) to tell you if the power from your generator is acceptable.
Do this. Hook up an oscilloscope to the generator terminals (under load) , then do the same for that load on utility power to find out the power regulation and "dirtiness" are different.
Since I'm running the house with the 50amp 120/240 outlet how would i check it ?
Good to know! Thanks!
Glad it helped you out!
I have a predator 7250 running 9k staring gen back fed (professionally) into the breaker box of the house. I have it for my fridge, stair chair, freezers etc… I will run the 220 line into the breaker box if I need it. Is there a device I can just plug in somewhere that will fix all this? Sorry, but I’m not an expert on this stuff and am looking for a simple effective option without buying a new unit.
1500 is very low and not efficient enough for that size
but I’m sure it very reliable I would need a min of a 30 amp continuous power in my application still looking for a good one thanks for the video
That generator is past 50% capacity which will introduce dangerous distortion for frequency sensitive inputs.For example using this for feedthru on solar inverters fights against the frequency control circuits. It simply can’t synchronize when the deviation is off.
I have a 10,000 watt Reddy Honda powered generator that I bought new in 2001. Since I live in an area that loses power up to 10 times a year I have often used my generator to keep the furnace, fridge, well pump, etc going. No problems so far but recently I checked the voltage coming out of the generator and it's 134 volts at the plug. Now I'm afraid to use the generator until I have both the RPM and the Hz checked.
It seems to be the conclusion with most comments I read of owners who have non inverter generators all saying no problems with any of there electronics in there house. The only thing I worry abt is the electronic control board in my older furnance. I wonder if your generator may have been running at that level since it was new possible. Hope all works out. The for good comment
@@kolobkolobkolobkolob Update, I think you may be right about my generator always putting out 134 volts since day one. I never checked the voltage just assuming it was correct from the factory. My first indication of over voltage was trying to charge my 2000w inverter generator battery. The breaker kept tripping so I measured the Reddy generator voltage 134 volts.
@@kolobkolobkolobkolob My Reddy generator voltage is controlled by the rpm of the Honda engine. The rpm was supposed to be 3600 but was 3790. At that rpm the voltage was 134v and Hz was 68 cycles according to my Kill A Watt meter. I adjusted the rpm down to 3600 and now voltage is 119v and 61Hz.
@@kolobkolobkolobkolob My advice to anyone with a non inverter generator, buy a tachometer and a Kill A Watt meter and check your generators output. Don't just assume it's correct from the factory.
I watched this video fully expecting the host to mention in wrapping up that none of this adjusting is required if you have an inverter generator. I have a Honda EU20i Inverter generator which outputs a constant 230V 50Hz, I'm guessing there's an equivalent model for the US market @ 120V 60Hz. I would never ever consider using the types of generators that you have for house supply. Here in Ireland the non-inverter generators are used mainly for portable power tools, and that's all. Those kinds of tools are robust enough to handle voltage and frequency spikes. Sure, you might get away with avoiding damage to a AC to DC electronic unit such as a laptop, but things like printers, fridges, coffee machines with electronic elements etc can all be damaged by these cheap generators. As more of our electrical items become smart there's more at risk from a "dirty" supply.
Spend the extra money, buy an inverter generator rated for sensitive equipment and at least you won't have worry about frying your equipment.
couldn't you just adjust the AVR? thanks. great video
the thing you need to do is NOT tune up a generator, its to get an inverter generator that makes clean power. No way I would plug my computer or phone or TV into a non inverter genny
all the volts on my gen
are high @ no load .
I have thought about swapping to a electronic governor, to respond to loads faster, , keeping a steady frequency,
Ha! The Peterson clip was great 👍
That's why you buy a Quality Generator with a AVR (Automatic Voltage Regulator ) & ETC (Electronic Throttle Control ) which is very accurate at maintaining The engine Rpm's to maintain 60HZ , Mechanical Governor Control is not very accurate at maintaining a Engine Rpm's so HZ will fluctuate , Plus most Owner manuals will give the NON Load Voltage & HZ settings for your type of Generator
Wouldn't tuning your generator while it's under load potentially fry those electronics if the hz is above 62? Seems like the backwards way of doing this, or am I missing something?
i'm confused. isn't the entire point of the governor to keep the engine at 3600 rpm so that it produces 60hz no matter the load? I understand that initially a load would cause a drop in engine speed, but on my generator, the governor fixes this almost immediately. the frequency readout on my generator remains at 60
This is a great product for a power outage!
Any electronic devices I have seen are rated for 50 hz to 60 hz and voltages ranging from 110 to 240. All depends on the power supply for device. You feed 110-120 volts into your phone to charge it, right? Does it get fried? Seriously doubt it, because of the charger taking voltage down to a proper level.
Amperage can also a culprit in frying sensitive equipment
A little less confusing would be to say no load instead of idle. Typically, generators run at rated speed, when started.
agreed - I don't think this guy knows what he's doing. not sure why he thinks he's qualified to give advice lol
Put your sensitive electronics on a UPS. The UPS will clean up the power nicely.
You can also replace your generator with an invertor generator--it provides much better auto-adjusting when loads change.
Thanks for sharing!
…UPS have problems too depending on the model. I’ve measured a lot of ‘pure sine wave’ UPS under load with an oscilloscope. Many have a wave which roughly matches a sine wave, but when you look closer the wave resembles a sharks mouth. Why have I done this? Because I’m a communication engineer and have experienced many instances when UPS have damaged the electronics they are meant to be protecting. Hope this helps.
It has to be an inline ups, most ups are not, if they detect power input they pass it to the electronics as it is
the generator can fry the ups motherboard
do we have to do this even with AVR generators?
i just bought generator for first time and my main work is freelance & IT stuffs so yeah i kinda need my computer & rest of equipment stay safe not roasted i appreciate your input
My sits at 60hz 125 volts under the load I'm using. Bit confusing .
Any man that is a J.P. man is a good man in my book
Where did you buy that monitor
I want to install one of these watt meter to my generator. Do you have a vid on how to do it? i can never find a cood vid on how to
The one in the video is a Kill-A-Watt, it just plugs into an outlet.
You need to be looking at total harmonic distortion
I noticed you only adjusted the engine RPM at load for 60 hz. and did not check the voltage or adjust the VR voltage regulator for approximately 120 vac output. Remove the back cover on the generator head and there should be a kidney shaped part that has a small adjustable screw that can be adjusted for proper voltage regardless of engine speed. Sometimes the VR may be located instead behind the front cover where the electrical outlets are located. Check the manual if you have it.
What if you have a furnace, a fridge, & a sump pump, coming on & off?
I prefer to use inverter generators. Costs a bit more up front but pays off in the long run. Just my opinion.
You get far less wattage output also for 3x the price… and more shit to fail.
I agree. i spent $800 buck for a 4500 watt dual fuel genny a year ago. i would never use a non inverter construction generator
An inverter generator is good for sensitive electronics, but it's the worst choice (i.e the most expensive or luxury one while not needed) for heavy loads, especially for those used for heating purposes (i.e for pure Ohmic loads). A standard generator in cooperation with a quality electronic voltage stabilizer is a much more preferable and cost effective solution. The worst case in working with such generators is the high possibility of frying a small load, when the generator feeds it along with a heavy one, at the time when the heavy load is switched of and the small load remains connected...This needs a very fast governor to reduce the generator speed immediately, but this is not always there...This is the most common reason of inverter welding machines failures when working on portable generators...the governor delay...
Can I just plug a portable inverter to my standard generator for TV and other sensitive devices without damaging them?
The inverters Ive seen are designed to be hooked to batteries to make AC power
You could if you get a generator that happens to have a dc power port, there's a few out there.
It's not at "idle". You mean "no load".
The whole point of the governor is to maintain the rpms regardless of load. So not sure why you'd need to fine tune a properly designed gen set.
I am trying to understand the issue with sensitive electronics. My laptops, cameras, mobile phones and other devices all run with power supplies that specifies AC voltage input of 100 to 240 VAC. So, running on a 120VAC generator, why would spikes to 140VAC etc or drops to 110VAC be a problem?
Hi Herman Nel,
You have the key word there "Spike". Generators take on surges every time you connect an appliance. Those surges cause fluctuation that are harmful for sensitive electronics like phones, laptops and other appliances.
To help you better understand, generators have a starting load and a running load , you will have a higher starting load and a slightly lower running load for wattage.
When you plug an appliance into a generator it takes a Load (Starting Load) anytime you plug say a coffee machine into your generator and that coffee machine has a running load wattage of 300 watts, you multiply that running wattage by 4 there by giving you 4 x 300 = 1,200 watts. That is how many watts it will take to Start that Appliance! Once it starts it will than start using the 300 watts continuous to run that coffee machine. When you do this it bogs down the generator and causing that spike/fluctuation and if your laptop or phone are plugged into your generator that will suffer the surge and weaken the draw demand of the running watts and this will harm and damage your sensitive electronics.
The electric company brings you in a continuous supply of power, reason why you can plug in your devices in a wall outlet and it will not suffer damage. Reason why we also have what are called Surge Protectors for our expensive equipment, because anytime you take a high surge that surge protector will protect your equipment. Another reason is when you plug into to many devices or heat spacers in one line on your outlet you have a breaker and if you over draw the demand for that line your breaker will pop until you reduce the load, because it cannot handle that load.
If I were you, I would consider also looking at Inverter Generators, the difference between a Generator and the Inverter generator is that Inverter generators produce energy without the surges that can damage electronics. They also have the advantage that they can produce only as much electricity as is demanded at a specific time, making them more efficient.
The only downside also to getting an Inverter Generator is that they are pricey, but you could just get something small like 1,000 watt running wattage (if that) to run a television, laptop and phones. That's what I would recommend.
I would recommend a generator for a refrigerator or a coffee pot machine and some lights. Keep in mind that the more appliances you connect the more demand for your generator, so it pays to make sure you get something that can handle all of that. Just take your Running Watts and multiply by (4) to get your starting load, every time you plug an appliance in keep in mind that once you have an appliance in you have to subtract what you are taking and you can that do the math to see what else you can plug into the generator. Don't overload your generator! You will damage it.
Hope this helps and sorry for so much dialog.
@@knowledgeseekerr Thank you for your response. It is appreciated.
I agree with most of your explanations. However, I am still in the dark regarding the damage to sensitive electronics. Given I have a sine wave with acceptable THD, (no cross-over voltages - I can see that it will confuse electronics that depends on the 60 or 50 Hz for switching), plugging in a power supply into the mains will jump from 0 to 120vac , no problem. Why would jumping from 120 to 140vac be a problem? I looked at surge protector specifications and it seems that the average surge protector only cuts the voltage at 300-330vac, so, no use adding a surge protector since the generator regulation already stopped at 140vac.
The inverter-generator is a good idea but I think the initial concept here was to reduce “noise pollution”. Cleaner sine wave low THD probably came as a bonus.
This is my sixth genset. I have been running generators in RSA for the last 25 years, sometimes 4 to 5 hours per day due to the utility company’s inability to supply continuously electricity, powering “sensitive electronics” in my offices and home, from before inverter generators existed, and still do. I only became aware of this issue the last month or so while doing homework for my latest purchase.
Do you think modern day electronics are no longer robust or, are the current day gensets not as controlled as before? I don’t want to labour this issue, it was never a problem for me but since the issue became known to me, I’m worried that I am now missing something.
I found this video ruclips.net/video/I2-3dyBHlhc/видео.html which sheds some light on the issue.
@@hermannel1310 Hello again Herman Nel,
I am happy that I could help shine some light on your question. I am sorry to hear that your electric company becomes unreliable to supply you with a continuous use of electricity.
To help answer your question "Why would jumping from 120 to 140 vac be a problem"
When you are having jumps (Spikes) of those kinds of currents, which a generator will do! It will create a ripple effect, that ripple effect can cause peaks into the power supply, which the power supply cannot handle. It could also over peak with power into the power supply, resulting in damage of the power supply.
It will also vary Herman, some power supply's can handle those kinds of jumps, but they typically are really designed around for the standard in home electricity ( does that make sense?) They really aren't meant to be plugged into a generator, because generators do not supply constant flow of electricity. If you have a Sine Wave hook it up to your AC in your home and record it and than plug it into your generator and record those sine waves and put loads on your generator and watch what will happen.
Here is a helpful video ruclips.net/video/_0vN2Jjbdis/видео.html
He has 3 generators and his using his sine wave. You might get a bit more information and release why a generator is unpredictable when bringing in power.
BTW! Yes Surge Protectors are useful, they protect you for those 300 +VAC, a lot of equipment and power supply's can handle a 240 vac max! But if takes that on it will blow your power supply and it will send that current if plugged into your laptop or devices and fry your laptop because of that spike.
To answer your other question "Do you think modern day electronics are no longer robust"
Yes I do think that, because modern day electronics don't last worth 2 cents! plus a lot of technology has advanced over the last 25 years! more electronic parts are super sensitive to the slightest things. I remember when you could drop a pager in a bottle of coke or coffee, open it up dry it out, clean it with distilled water and all the other cleaning process and it would fire right back up. Today's electronics just have very small components and are sensitive to the slightest touch.
Its not like a Motor! a Motor is nothing more than magnets and copper coil windings. Reason why its safe to plug in your refrigerator because it uses a motor and a compressor to keep the refrigerator cold. Or running basic lights, because your just pushing electrons through a filaments bulb, basic simple components like that wont be effected. But keep in mind your generator has to be able to handle all that load! If not, you can still damage your own refrigerator and your generator.
Buying a Larger Generator will help with Spikes i see so many people buying 3500Watt and thinks it will run there frig ,microwave, lights , etc with no problems , as already said when you plug in a appliance it puts a load on the gene and if its small 3500w gene it will surge But if you had say a 7000-8000w gene it can handle that load way better with no surge so the point i am making the Bigger the Gene the less it will surge when load is added .
@@danray9744 you just made a great point
Could you just plug in a Power Conditioner to protect your electronics?
Just get an inverter generator. They are now comparable in price to non-inverter types. There are also some with clean energy that are not inverters. These have naturally low THD.
Inverter generators are 25-30% more expensive than non-inverter generators in the mid-range kW units, and this disparity increases with capacity. It's similar to SSD and HD cost differences.
No need to do this. Most consumer electronics is rated 50/60Hz and works fine in the range 45-65Hz. Even a voltage drop of 10% is mostly acceptable. Its understandable if you want to get maximum power but it could actually increase chance of frying electronics: What if someone starts this generator unaware this high voltage setting and connect a highly sensitive low power load?
My operational instructions tells me not to adjust the engine speed on my generator from factory settings
Thats why i bought an inverter generator
i use inverter generators
I usually adjust mine at my load that I will be running.
Your governor should kick in when revving too low a well-adjusted governor should take care of these problems
Any LED lamps flickers on normal generators ; others no flickers. I have no high prices LED that no flickers.
How in the heck do you adjust if you’re using your generator to run your house in a power outage?
Frying sensitive electronics .....is an OFTEN REPEATED warning......Have not seen ONE person commenting on any discussion board that it happened to him....but the warning gets picked-up and repeated by everyone, as gospel. I get it.....your video here is good to numerically measure Hz and voltage and to bias these factors, to accommodate a loaded vs unloaded condition. Excellent. BUT...the frying of electronics overall is overhyped as a warning, and as long as your NORMAL ( non-inverter, open frame) generator has an AVR ( Automatic Voltage Regulator) and if you also tune per this vid.....you should be good -to-go. Besides tuning operating speed (RPM), the AVR itself can be tweaked. In any case, it's typically voltage spikes that kill equipment....not inverter "clean" vs non-inverter "dirty" ( sine wave) power. And this....if you have a lot of loads that toggle on/off.....better if your genset is larger than normal so these swings are less pronounced.
Although your comment is logically correct, there are some differentiations. The AVR sets the nominal voltage output at a given (nominal) generator speed. Moreover AVRs are not always adjustable. The frequency now, depends exclusively on the speed (and the number of poles) of the generator (a fact that affects the output voltage as well). So, the AVR regulates the field (exciter) current which in turn sets the nominal voltage output. The frequency now, being revolution speed dependent, it is obviously varying with load variations. The correction to that, is the task of the governor adjustment/responce. And the occurring overvoltages are due to the (unavoidable) governor delay in order to reduce the generator speed fast enough so that no overvoltage will occur at the output when a heavy load is switched off and other small loads are still on. Furthermore the use of a much bigger generator (in order to avoid this problem) is both the most expensive and impractical solution to this problem...
@@user-pz6cx8zf2y ...my point is that the "warning" to only use inverter generators for home use....to avoid "frying electronics" etc....is an over-blown warning that someone first posted... and then it gets picked up repeated with no further thought...yet, I see no one mentioning they actually had a problem. I took the action to actually install a Volt / Amp / Frequency meter on my (cheap) Harbor Fereight unit...and under a no-load or loaded condition....I am tightly managed to 60 Hz. I actually have two such meters...one for each of the 120V legs that can also supply the 220V output via the heavy 4 prong connection to the house by using both "legs". Same thing.....each leg shows 60 Hz. My point of suggesting maybe using an oversizing the genset is only a minor addition to the issue....as a larger unit not loaded as heavily will likely encounter lower swings as to load. My unit is smaller, more closely matching my need.... and does fine. I stand by my previous comments relating to the excessively exaggerated safety warning of this issue that only serves to give folks unnecessary worry...and for sure causes increased sales for the pure inverter units...it's not the problem as presented.
@@TheWilferch I understand (and agree with) your point. Nevertheless I have repaired many inverter welding machines after being put to work on such generators...And the failure mechanism is always the same. Burned out input circuit components due to overvoltage, which happens due to slowly responding governor of the generator.
Keep in mind that due to the exactly same reason, the most difficult test of a power plant is the load rejection test without tripping the unit...It fails in most of the cases...
@@user-pz6cx8zf2y ...not a problem for home standby generators with properly functioning AVR's..... we simply don't see the reports of this actually happening....just the warning that it may happen. As I said, my unit is now equipped with additional V/A/ Hz meters....and all seems tightly controlled to the required parameters. Maybe a slight voltage drop under load....that's about it....and such a drop won't cause these catastrphic failutes we are all warned about. My sense is that was all started to encourage people to dump functioning older units to then buy new inverter units.
@@TheWilferch It’s a quite logical thought. Marketing...
I believe the same thing about the argument on pure sinus inverters against their modified sinus counterparts...
Exaggerated fear about burning various loads, which is not valid...
New generators with a good customer service and name to back it this is where you get what you pay for stick with , Honda, generac, champion, Yamaha, etc - there are more but for home use, stick to these or something comparable
I have a 4000 watt generac generator that puts out 57 hertz when a 1500 watt load is applied!
Or better have a power conditioner for electronics or at very least a power strip surge protector.
or you just buy an inverter generator and you will be good to go...
Their application it's limited 😣 I wouldn't run engines on it, only welding, lights, oven, VHS cassettes, hair trimmer.
"Idle" seems like a very poor choice of words. I think you meant "no load."
wired mine into the panel for whole house. fried, bath fan, room fan, computer , luckily i didnt have the TV on
Wtf happened? This scares me, all I really want powered is forced air furnace, refrigerator and freezer, both stand alone.
@@jolkraeremeark6949 ...why would any type of "fan" (motor) fry?.....it's not even the "delicate" electronics we are all cautioned about. Something else and basic must have been amiss.
...why would any type of "fan" (motor) fry?.....it's not even the "delicate" electronics we are all cautioned about. Something else and basic must have been amiss.
@@TheWilferch reverse polarity during bad wiring?
@@jolkraeremeark6949 ...AC motors are not polarity sensitive.......
I can tell you a smart guy by the Jordan Peterson clip.
Why do people that don't know what they are talking about do youtube video's, volt does not burn things out, it's the Hz that matter, electronics will burn out at anything over 52 Hz, and matters not what the voltage is doing, so yeah go ahead and run 60 Hz and see what happens in a year or so....
It still sends out dirty power not pure sine wave so I wouldn't run a tv off that generator ever
You're my JESUS 👁️👃👁️🙏
You did not reference a most important criterion and that is the type and quality of the sine wave. A unit equipped with a voltage regulator will keep a more steady current and an inverter generator will give a true sine wave. Buy a Honda Eu generator and forget about your dirty power concerns.
so the Hertz Hurt
Bad information
This should be removed
I have to agree with you Henry. While over and under voltages are issues, dirty power generally refers to the Total Harmonic Distortion of the Sin wave that the generator produces. Sensitive electronics generally require
@@HomesteadEngineering Agreed. The THD of a non-inverting generator is quite high and causes unwanted heating and plays havoc on sensitive electronics. This is not what this video was about. Quality of RUclips has gone downhill fast. Anybody with a video camera or smartphone thinks they are an expert now.
@@Sherlock_Ohms You could say the same about anyone with a keyboard...
@@nodak81 good call
Why do you keep sticking your hand in the screen
Crap!!! That's why I fried my 2 chargers for my electric bikes.
If charging batteries you DO want an inverter charger but this is the exception but your battery charger I would think would have shorted out first they are super sensitive and deeply made units these days unless u have some old school battery chargers.
Jfc get on with it....
get a new generator,,please,,,dont be chippy,,,new ones adjust,,to the load,60hz
Dawg that's noisey