Can two of this kind of generator be run in parallel like the little Hondas?Originally Posted by hufnagel
note the 1 time 25% off coupon available cannot be used on generators.
also note, that if you don't use the above coupon but DO use the 20% off one, you save $80. HF can be tricky like that.
eta: and because i'm a nerd...
(removed temporarily. I messed something up.)
Ken
BBI: ...”you better not forget the safe word because shit's about to get weird”...
revchuck38: ...”mo' ammo is mo' betta' unless you're swimming or on fire.”
the gas-hole units can never be run in parallel. there's no way to sync the waveforms.
the inverter ones, it varies depending on model. some can, some can't.
Ok, I assumed all of these were inverter. Thank you!
So, like this: https://www.harborfreight.com/genera...ogy-59188.html
Ken
BBI: ...”you better not forget the safe word because shit's about to get weird”...
revchuck38: ...”mo' ammo is mo' betta' unless you're swimming or on fire.”
I should have caveat to that in that, I've been working out a couple of ways that you actually could parallel chain gas-hole generators. Some of them are mechanical, others are electrical.
Elon is delivering his Starlink system to my place today (pretty stoked to see how much better this is than friggin' Hughesnet). Got s transfer switch and two old(er) school gas gennys. Reckon the SL router would be okay on that, or should I be looking at an invertor genny for the router, TV, ARLO system, etc.?
All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.
No one is coming. It is up to us.
You'd probably have to put the output of your gennie on a scope to verify the waveform, but it would be an idea to insert a UPS / Surge Protector with automatic voltage regulation between the gennie and any vulnerable electronics.
https://www.apc.com/us/en/faqs/FA158913/
These aren't cheap, however e.g. here's a APC 420W unit at $210:
https://www.apc.com/us/en/product/SC...id=23679172486
Most of my household stuff (computer, cable mode, router, etc.) is plugged into inexpensive household UPS/surge protectors. I have a couple of these 625W at $55 from Costco:
https://www.costco.com/cyberpower-62...100530926.html
But of course those are into house outlets, not gennies.
Note that these automatic voltage regulation devices do not condition the power to remove glitches or smooth out the sinewave. They sense high or low voltage and switch the power to go through different coils in their transformer to boost or lower the voltage back to a usable level. So while it can switch to regulate the voltage somewhat , it will not put out perfect 60 hz 120v power like an inverter.
I use an older version of this,
https://www.apc.com/us/en/product/LE...age-regulator/
and I still had my Cisco FW fried by my non-inverter generator when it stumbled during the 2021 Icemagedon.
Gringop
Play that song about the Irish chiropodist. Irish chiropodist? "My Fate Is In Your Hands."
Yeah, I was kinda sorta hoping running the signal through a UPS would help dampen spikes; I'd have to look at the diagram to see if they had a relatively simple low-pass R-C filter on it. But I guess not. Problem is no one has a handy oscilloscope around the house anymore...
FWIW I took a look at the manual for my Champion Inverter 2,500W #100889, and the only thing I see is on the Champion web site where they claim Confidently connect your sensitive electronics since this inverter produces Clean Power (< 3% THD). I dunno if 3% total harmonic distortion is real good, or average, or poor, or what; I'd have to look more into what industry standards are for clean power. 3% doesn't seem real impressive, thinking about it, especially if it's an average, but like I said it's something I'd need to go research. A good piece of equipment is going to have a normal 4 way bridge diode rectifier to make DC out of AC, and it's own low-pass R-C filter, but obviously over-voltage short duration spikes are anathema to integrated circuits. At age 15, I inadvertently soldered a 115VAC supply to a set of low-voltage tantalum capacitors in a Heathkit Stereo Amplifier I was building. After a startlingly loud "pop", the smell lingered in the house for days...my mom was not impressed.
Last edited by RJ; 01-04-2023 at 12:03 PM.
I can tell you it takes about 5 minutes of running before my current generator's output is pleasant enough for my UPSes to cease periodically tripping to battery due to poor waveform.
the majority of consumer UPSes are line-interactive; they have the battery and inverter in parallel with the mains input, and switch between them at a very rapid rate to maintain uninterrupted power. this is more efficient than the alternative, which is usually known as double-conversion UPSes. these do (input)AC->DC and DC-AC(output). you'll get a much nicer waveform and more stable power supply, but the cost is in the efficiency. they're also frequently much heavier duty (aka expensive) units as well. much like anything else (need, want, can live without) you need to determine what operating mode is required, and plan accordingly.
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