Generators.

I must apologise, I have posted the same question twice as it did not show up the first time on the forum so I went through the motions again. Sorry.

I think that a 50% discount is fair with just a 100 watt reduction! LOL.. But does it start first tome and run properly????? what about the rest of the guys who have bought the same type?? Do they work?

Have absolutely no experience with these or any other generators, but if you look on the Overlander Forum, someone is making some a fairly concerning claim. I was considering one of these generators as an emergency backup for the Brisbane Storm season given the potential for problems with the QLD power grid.

The following is a direct quote from that forum

"The Bunnings store told me that the unit was only fit for 12 volt applications. They were instructed to warn all buyers NOT to use it for 240 volt items, as the power fluctuated to such a degree it could damage the item and /or the generator. If this happened, there was no warranty and Bunnings could not be held resposible for any damage to your appliance or the generator.

I can assure I was not putting it down - I was going to buy one until the Bunnings rep told me not to because it was NOT a good 240V genny. I complained why would they advertise a 750W 240V Generator in their catalogue. The representative showed me the advert and asked me to point out where it says 240V generator. It didn't. "Now you know why" I was told. It will generate 240 volts, but I was told it fluctuates between 190 to 260 volts, which can destroy a lot of appliances. (When it does destroy the appliance, it will often destroy itself, I was told)

I am just passing on their warning. If you buy it and it works for you, great. If it destroys your TV, computer or whatever and itself, that is your problem."

I have no idea if the above is true - can anyone else shed any light on the above claim.

Bye
David

I was considering one of these generators but am having second thoughts now.

Just a question on the "wildly fluctuating" 240v. Can a regulator or something be attached/fitted that would "even out" this voltage, thereby making the generator a reasonable option, seeing as how I can't afford a Honda? I am a total failure at all things electrical.

Thanks

Jack

Hi Chris,

I have one of the $98 Gen sets from Bunnings.

Just fished out the manual. It says

" It should also be very clearly understood that output voltage fluctuations will occur when various loads are connected and disconnected."

It then goes on in bold letters no less with the following:

"It is not recommended to connect any electronic equipment to the generator without a voltage or surge protector."

It further says:

"Computers, Televisions and stereo equipment can be very sensitive to the input supply and could be damaged if protective equipment is not used in conjunction with this generator. This also includes Caravans where electronic equipment is incorporated as part of the wiring"

So, I think that is a fair enough warning to the user.

Just pinch one of the protective boards you have installed for your computers when you go camping and you will be all set

At $98 to run some non sensitive gear like some lights or power tools or a small pump, can't go wrong.

Cheers

Magnus

Hi Chris
we got one of these generators and took it out west of Bourke for a two week hunting and camping trip recently, it never missed a beat. We only ran lights at night whilst cooking and charged battery's, as others have said I probably would'nt run a computer or rely on it to charge up the pacemaker battery, but for lighting and charging battery's the best $100.00 I've spent.
Foxer

Got one 2 years back, everyman and his dog have borrowed it, never had so much as an oil change... Try as I might I can't kill the bugger.

Get a good regulator for use with laptop or similar sensitive goods. And at $98 you can afford to have a spare laying around!

Blue

Only started mine once, but it sounds like i won't be disappointed. 24mnth warranty too.

There is a lot of comment on these gereators on the MSN caravanners forum as well.

I purchased one of these (750W) a week ago. Excellent value! I couldn't make
the box and packing for $98! :)

I've run mine, on various loads from 100W to 500W for about 15 hours on
a fuel/oil mix of 30:1 (the manual says 50:1). At 30:1 it smokes a bit under
load so I'll drop it to 40:1. Use a _quality_ 2 stroke oil. After 15 hours it is
still starting and running well.

I'm an electronics design engineer so have most of the kit to test it.
On a light load (20W) the output is 250V RMS - a little high but won't cause
problems. The frequency is around 48Hz. At a higher load of 500W the
voltage stability is still good at around 245V, the frequency, however, has
dropped to 44Hz. This reduction in frequency _may_ (but probably won't)
cause problems with some items. Sine wave purity is "interesting" :) There
is a kink in the waveform at 180 degree intervals - voltage droops a bit and
then recovers - again that probably won't worry most things. The frequency
is controlled by the speed of the engine which in turn is controlled by a
mechanical? governor so the poorish frequency regulation on my unit may
well be different on another unit and, perhaps, could be improved by tuning
the governor?

With small gens. the bigger issue is that their output voltage and/or frequency
may well jump around quite a bit when you change the load they are
servicing, so when connecting or disconnecting anything with a load over
(say) 50W I would make sure I had previously disconnected anything which
might be sensitive to spikes - electronic stuff mainly, motors, lights etc
won't mind the odd spike.

The 12V output is also "interesting" :)
It's no load voltage peaks at around 25V with return to zero 100Hz ripple.
In short do not use this for anything other than battery charging or a 12V
compressor or similar. When battery charging this supply is inclined to be
a bit on the hight side so _make sure_ you do not leave your battery on
charge too long otherwise you'll cook it. Invest in a cheap digital multimeter
and when the terminal voltage of your battery rises to more than 14.5 volts
consider it well charged.

At $98...? excellent value - providing you understand it's limitations.

Mike Harding

Has anyone checked to see how many amps this generator supplies to recharge a flat battery. It says in the specifications 8 amps maximum and 14 volts, but I am interested in how efficient it is as a 12 volt battery charger.

Brian DJ

I didn't do a specific load test on the DC output although I did draw about
5A in order to do waveform and voltages tests additionally I charged a couple
of batteries (a 50Ah and a 7Ah) and it charged them OK but tended to apply
a rather high voltage once the batteries were fully charged. I suspect this high
voltage may cause a serious reduction in the life of the batteries _if_ they are
left on charge for extended periods after they have reached full charge. My
main use for this unit will be as a battery charger but it does have it's
limitations - then again it only costs $98?

Mike Harding