I have a project coming up in a remote location where I will have to run my power tools from a generator. I know that contractors do this all the time, but I wonder if there are certain tools one should not run this way or other bits of knowledge I should be aware of.
TIA.
Peter
No problem as long as the generator is large enough. Also a long cord must be heavy enough so that the motors are not short of voltage.
Generators start at a high no load volt and drop with load , just be sure to test your full load voltage at the generator to be sure it is proper . Rpm adjustments can be made on the carburator. And you need the proper gauge extensions so there is no voltage drop. Longer the extension heavier the gauge. Low voltage will burn up power tools, electric motors.
Don't fool with the RPM. Doing so will alter the frequency. Portable generators needs to run at 3600 or 1800 RPM whichever it was designed to run at to get 60Hz.
Original Poster: Most construction tools have a motor and they all need starting current. Since generator doesn't have unlimited surge current, some tools might not start up as fast, such as a circular saw, but this shouldn't be a problem.
One thing I'd watch out for is air compressor. It takes a huge amount of starting current. When it tries to start against the tank pressure on a generator without enough peak power, the motor locks up causing the generator to bog down or stall.
AC DC Dude , If you knew generators you would know only one portable line keeps a
1.2% clean sine wave that is equal to or better than the grid,. It is 3 models from Honda, the Inverter line.Unregulated gens swing normaly 35v from no load to full load with a
10+ % variance in HZ . Regulated swing 3-5% in volts and HZ. Did you ever ck HZ on a under 7500 watt unit with a HZ meter , obviously not.They can come new uncalibrated, They all start at the high volt - HZ and reach 120v 60hz at 120 or suposidly rated output. Unfortunatly this is not the case many cheap units drop even more. A 13500w 7500w Regulated generac swings 7 % . Cheap coleman ex 35%. You need it checked and set at your load and rechecked as they go out of set point. Understanding safe operation and calibration is essential for all units , its just a motor. Adjusting is easy and should be a normal part of understanding a unit incase you will power circuits safely or anything for longer than a few minutes.
Honda gets 2.5- 3x the price of the competition becaue of their total package. Build, Reliability of motor and electronics and clean Safe power output, unfortunatly few realise this and screw up apliances. Ive yet to see a cheap gen provide safe power in 0 to full load, they just were not made for it.
OP also should not forget to calculate extension cord volatge drop, and dont let it run out of gas while using motors with Capacitors or the Capacitors can easily blow.
A friend an electrician bought a new 5500- 9000w name brand during a 5 day outage at 30f , Took it home , was real happy to finaly be able to get heat to the family. Plugged it in and in 10 minutes blew out his new TV . He checked voltage. It came from the factory outputing 320
- 160 . After hearing of that I check everything before I use any unit. And periodicaly recheck and adjust the governor spring . To do it any other way is not safe.
According to m Ransley :
I should hope _not_. These things have governors to keep the RPMs constant. You do NOT want to diddle the RPMs. The only time you touch the carb is if the motor doesn't run properly (ie: coughs and sputters and won't run smoothly, or dies on rapid load increase, etc)
Well, go run a few units and test them with a tach and Hz - volt meter. It is worse than you think . Even Coleman now says in the manual After you buy their cheap units to purchase a separate voltage stabiliser if you plan to run anything with sensitive electronics. Thats anything with a circuit. HVAC with circuit boards, Microwaves, TVs , etc. The co they recomend gave me a price of nearly doubling the cost of Colemans gen. Remember these units were here before circuits. A cheap 400 gen can swing 50v. enough to screw up anything. An old poster here said after last years East coast blackout he personaly knew 6 people who fried apliances with cheap gens. I have a 7500-13500 Generac and only need
700-1000w, I reset my governor because it would not stay near 120v 60hz with a light load. It was high. Calibration is easy and quick a nut in plain view adjusts spring tension, you just monitor V and HZ at you needed load. Some Hondas have this feature on the front panel with an adjustment knob and Volt meter. Dont ck your unit ! You wont know what you have. Trust a monday morning hung over laborer building the gen or doing the final Ck, no way. You test drive a new car , right. Test drive your gen.
This is Turtle.
If your air compressor fails because of starting under a load. You need to fix your air compressor unloading valve or set up. Very few air compressors will ever start under a load.
TURTLE
According to TURTLE :
Absolutely correct. Many compressors cannot start up against tank back-pressure. Which is why they have checkvalves and unloader valves.
[I learned that the hard way with the air compressor I built. So I had to add checkvalves and unloader.]However, compressors (and other pumps) are pretty hard starting, and draw full amp load all the time too. So, it is one of the things to be careful of with a generator.
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