<span class="highlight">generator</span> std vs puresine

Submitted: Monday, Oct 22, 2012 at 18:38

ThreadID: 98674 Views:2177 Replies:3 FollowUps:5

This Thread has been Archived

Generator Power

The generator, which was discovered by Michael Faraday, is an ingenious device that converts mechanical energy into electrical energy.

putrol

a quick question about generators
if useing a std genny not a sure sinewave model to stop things form being spiked & dying if i use a spike protected 4 plug adaptor will that solve the problem or is there more to it thanks

Back Expand Un-Read 0 Moderator Share

Reply By: Dennis Ellery - Monday, Oct 22, 2012 at 20:02

Monday, Oct 22, 2012 at 20:02

The advantage of an inverter generator is that it will run at low revs for a low load.
The old generators had to be run at high revs even at low loads to produce the correct cycles per second and were subject to large variations in voltage – these aren’t spikes and a surge diverter had no effect on them.

AnswerID: 497170

Reply By: homevale - Monday, Oct 22, 2012 at 21:03

Monday, Oct 22, 2012 at 21:03

If you buy a generator, don't skimp! A pure sinewave generator is quiet and when charging batteries or running lights, will run at very low revs. Honda is the pick of the crop with the 1 kw and 2 kw models. The 1 kw model will easily run a smallcampsite, camper trailer or caravan but will not run microwaves or air conditioners. They are very quiet and will run for up to 8 hours on very little petrol. They are light and easy to lift and they are expensive.

Be very careful when buying cheap 2 stroke or other generic generators.

AnswerID: 497176

Follow Up By: Dennis Ellery - Monday, Oct 22, 2012 at 22:33

Monday, Oct 22, 2012 at 22:33

Don’t confuse the terminology, the old non-inverter ac gensets were also pure sine wave – more so than the inverter type. The drawback was that they had to be run at 3000 revs to produce 50 cycles.

FollowupID: 772951

Follow Up By: Racey - Tuesday, Oct 23, 2012 at 16:02

Tuesday, Oct 23, 2012 at 16:02

Dennis, I must disagree with the statement "the old non-inverter ac gensets were also pure sine wave – more so than the inverter type. ". Many, if not most, produced very distorted waveforms due to a lackof sufficient iron. So much so that electronic equipment would not function correctly due to the distorted waveform.

Member
My Profile Send Message

FollowupID: 772999

Follow Up By: Dennis Ellery - Tuesday, Oct 23, 2012 at 18:16

Tuesday, Oct 23, 2012 at 18:16

Yep you got me on a technicality - delete the word pure - I should have said sine wave.
We are starting to split hairs - I suppose no genset is completely without distortion unless at very low loads – more so the smaller and cheaper ones.
Inverters aren’t pure sign wave either - outputs are electronically produced, modified sign waves –the ones they name as pure sign wave have less distortion than the ones they call modified.

FollowupID: 773012

Follow Up By: putrol - Tuesday, Oct 23, 2012 at 18:20

Tuesday, Oct 23, 2012 at 18:20

thanks for the reply guys i no hondas are the best by a country mile i used to sell them but the price is also the best up there i have 280watts of solar the run most things but just curious as to wether a surge protected plug would save any item plugged into a gennie that might play up as i will mainly use it for tools & the odd phone\camera charger ect thanks

FollowupID: 773013

Follow Up By: Dennis Ellery - Tuesday, Oct 23, 2012 at 20:50

Tuesday, Oct 23, 2012 at 20:50

Many small non-inverter gensets have poor speed control and voltage regulation – I don’t believe that a surge diverter will protect your equipment from a prolonged period of overvoltage. My understanding is they will protect against spikes or short bursts of overvoltage. If you want guaranteed protection you would have to locate specifications on the performance of the diverter – an impossible ask for the surge diverters available from your local hardware store.

FollowupID: 773020

Reply By: Lee G1 - Friday, Oct 26, 2012 at 04:37

Friday, Oct 26, 2012 at 04:37

People seem to get very emotional about Hondas being so good well thats good marketing for you. If you want good small engine equipment I.E. Generators Outboards then Yamaha is by far the best. The Yamaha 1 and 2 KVA generators are lighter and quieter than the Hondas.

AnswerID: 497412