Full Power Switch [RE-wrenches]

[Backwoods Solar Electric Systems]

Roy, I have never fully understood the need to "balance" the load on a
generator.  I understood that each winding would be built to withstand it's
share of the load, about half the available horsepower of the engine.  So if
one winding is fully loaded and the other not, as in running a skillsaw on a
generator without that switch, should it really harm the generator?

Steve Willey   www.backwoodssolar.com
Backwoods Solar Electric Systems
A catalog business on a mountain
2 miles from utility lines,
powered entirely by our catalog products.
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----- Original Message -----
From: Roy <roy at four-winds-energy.com>
To: <RE-wrenches at topica.com>
Sent: Monday, May 01, 2000 12:09 PM
Subject: Re: Full Power Switch [RE-wrenches]


> My experience with full power switches has also been mixed....it most
> certainly does depend on the generators' peak voltage, waveform (yes,
> brushless ARE the worst!) and that pesky little Power Factor.
>     I also find that in a lot of cases, using the full power switch does
> NOT give you the total genset power @ 120VAC but rather something to the
> tune of 75 to 85%. It does help though and is preferrable to the greater
> of  the 2 evils...the unbalanced loading of the generator.
>     The best solution is most definitely use a good quality generator
> that's somewhat oversized to your charging needs....now that I've said
that
> I'll admit that I tend to utilize the "throwaway" generators for my own
> system. I've got a Coleman Progen 5000 that does not have a full power
> switch but is run thru the Trace T240 for balancing purposes. In case
> anyone asks...I would never design and sell a system like this to one of
my
> customers...I just like to experiment on my own system!
>     FYI...my tests show that because of the smoke and mirrors game that
> small generator manufacturers play for their generator wattage ratings,
> what's actually reaching the T240 is just below it's full time rating of
> 3900 watts. Runs my DR3624 charger like a champ!
> Roy
>
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