If you have a noisy generator, or any other loud motor, one easy/cheap thing to do is put a piece of thick plywood, MDF or similar between the unit and the direction you are trying to reduce the noise, angled toward the ground. There's is video on youtube of guy doing this that looks kind of like a house of cards around the genny.Originally Posted by boing
Last edited by NEPAKevin; 08-26-2020 at 01:44 PM.
"You can't win a war with choirboys. " Mad Mike Hoare
I think I’ll do a hinged A-frame, with a ridge cap to keep the weather off the machine, and maybe just prop some panels on the ends similar to the video, because I would never expend a lot of effort to over-complicate what could be a simple project.
I only ran the Champion through the 5 hour break-in. One pull easy start. The oil fill port is hidden behind the control panel, so filling is a pain even with the funnel/tube that comes in the box. I haven’t used a generator before, so I’ll just assume it’s “relatively quiet”.
The electrician will be out in a couple weeks to do the interlock switch, and I’ll do a trial run then to see what it will handle and how much juggling of circuits and appliances we’ll need to do.
Here’s a topical article. More than half of the people killed by hurricane Laura died from CO poisoning from generators, including 5 who had it running in an attached garage.
https://www.npr.org/2020/09/01/90851...ble-generators
Hello, sexy. That's the biggest available inverter genny that I'm aware of and Champion backs their generators so long as you're within warranty.
https://www.amazon.com/Champion-Powe...dp/B083V8VNGL/
Quiet Technology and Extended Run Time: 72 dBA is great for your next project or home backup, with 8750 starting watts and 7000 running watts for up to 10. 5 hours run time on gasoline
#RESIST
I don’t know anything about how inverter tech works, but I read somewhere that this machine accomplishes the inverter magic differently than the typical, smaller sets, so it’s kinda like pseudo-inverter or something.
If I did my clamp-metering right, the well pump on this house is 2HP. It pulls 28 amps at startup and settles at 6 running. That puts the starting watts 500 above the start rating for the generator. With everything else turned off, it does run the pump, but the gen bogs down hard for about a second when the pump kicks on.
How much risk is there to the pump motor to be under-volted during startup?
Out of curiosity, is the genny off Eco mode when the pump is starting? This is just a shot in the dark, but I think it's a good one - I bet that a hard start capacitor for your well pump would cease that start up hit on your genny. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable can chime in on this.
#RESIST
Eco mode was off. I did some reading on capacitors yesterday, but it seemed like some pump set-ups can use one, and some can’t, and I haven’t figured out which one I am yet.
Do you have a local well guy or electrician you trust?
#RESIST
I'm thinking that your well pump motor probably has a start winding to give it a big boost on startup
The motor has two windings (big electromagnets) as shown in the above drawing. The run winding is always in the circuit and the start winding is only engaged for a split second to get things spinning. The capacitor that LL recommended is a good idea except yours is probably buried in the pump motor at the bottom of the well, and isn't easily changed.
The start winding/cap circuit draws a huge amount of current at start up which is why the big peak. If the generator is bogging for about a second or two when the pump starts then you are probably okay. If it is taking longer than that, then motor isn't starting quick enough, and the start winding will heat up which is bad.
-Seconds Count. Misses Don't-
Not exactly. The guy who did the panel upgrade/interlock was recommended by a neighbor. The work seems OK, but “trust” is a serious word.
Thanks. The pump is a 2-wire. There’s no control box or capacitor above ground. The house circuit goes to the pressure switch, then out to the well head.I'm thinking that your well pump motor probably has a start winding to give it a big boost on startup
The motor has two windings (big electromagnets) as shown in the above drawing. The run winding is always in the circuit and the start winding is only engaged for a split second to get things spinning. The capacitor that LL recommended is a good idea except yours is probably buried in the pump motor at the bottom of the well, and isn't easily changed.
The start winding/cap circuit draws a huge amount of current at start up which is why the big peak. If the generator is bogging for about a second or two when the pump starts then you are probably okay. If it is taking longer than that, then motor isn't starting quick enough, and the start winding will heat up which is bad.
The bog down time is short, only 1 or 2 seconds before coming back up to full RPM, but that’s just listening to it.
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