Petter diesel 5.0KVA generator

[$ilver]

Would an old Petter diesel 5.0KVA generator type AC1 NO.13245 with 6.0 BHP @ 3000 rev/min rated 50-1 phase 230/115v 21.73/43.56 amps be ok to run a modern inverter?

Was a little worried that it would not be up to the job and I dont understand the amps bit (21.73/43.56 amps) and the (rated 50-1).

$ilver

 

[rtbcomp]

The 50-1 would mean 50 Hz single phase, 21.73/43.56 amps would be the current rating at 230 and 115 volts respectively.

If it's a good sine wave it should be OK with an inverter, providing the rating of the inverter doesn't exceed the rating of the genny of course!

 

[$ilver]

If it's a good sine wave it should be OK with an inverter

What is a sine wave? And how can I tell if it's good?

$ilver

 

[rtbcomp]

A sine wave is the way the voltage of an AC source varies with time, it turns out that way because an alternator rotates in a circle, some electronic devices such as inverters (the things that convert DC to mains in your car for example) don't produce a pure sinewave and this can affect the way other electronic devices (such as switchmode power supplies) work.

If your Petter is a purely mechanical device you should be OK, but I don't want you to risk your welder on my say so!

You could check the output with an oscilloscope.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sine_wave

 

[$ilver]

Ok cheers that helps lots.

 

[$ilver]

Is there anything you can buy to protect your equipment that goes between genny and inverter?

 

[weldequip]

Would an old Petter diesel 5.0KVA generator type AC1 NO.13245 with 6.0 BHP @ 3000 rev/min rated 50-1 phase 230/115v 21.73/43.56 amps be ok to run a modern inverter?

Was a little worried that it would not be up to the job and I dont understand the amps bit (21.73/43.56 amps) and the (rated 50-1).

$ilver

5Kva would only run up to 130 Amps, you would need 7Kva for 180/200 Amps & 8-9Kva above 200 Amps. The generator must have some form of surge protection device fitted or you could damage the Inverter.
weldequip

 

[$ilver]

5Kva would only run up to 130 Amps, you would need 7Kva for 180/200 Amps & 8-9Kva above 200 Amps. The generator must have some form of surge protection device fitted or you could damage the Inverter.
weldequip

But would it harm the inverter if you turned it up to high for the genny?

Like if the genny would only go up to 130 amps and I turned the inverter up to 150 amps, would it cause the inverter any harm?

$ilver

 

[rtbcomp]

It might do - if the genny is overloaded the voltage would drop and the inverter may not be able to cope with that.

A decent piece of kit (inverter or genny) would have protection circuits to cut the power if the voltage (or frequency) drifted out of tolerance.

 

[Drains]

Those petter ac1 gennys are great, good power off them, plenty of grunt and they dont notice a 13 amp draw at all. The surge protector is a good idea and so are ear defenders. They are really noisy!

 

[davey 1000]

Generator Hints

Regarding small generators, I have repaired several. In general what really creates trouble is the single item load as when the load is removed a nasty voltage surge can occur. My advice is to have a 60 or 100 watt filament bulb across the generator output the whole time. The bulb will absorb nasty voltage spikes. (It is a bit like preventing water hammer in a pipe). Anything that uses chopper-type power control can also make voltage spikes, variable speed power drills for example which take gulps of current. It is of course possible to buy Voltage Dependent Resistors from companies such as Farnell Electronics (minimum order used to be £15 however). These VDRs come in different voltage ratings and also different energy absorption ratings. The ones that are about the size of a 50 pence piece are quite useful and they can be paralleled if more energy absorption is required. VDRs are however the last resort and they too can be destroyed if variable speed drills are used without a light bulb. (note that low energy bulbs are no use for absorbing voltage spikes).
As to welding machines. Spotmatic spot welders use a LOT of current but for a very brief moment and some old transformer-type argon-arc machines take lots of current even on standby (its called bad power factor). Modern machines are more thrifty.