RonMar
Elite Member
I am in agreement with Djradz. voltage excursions are far more an issue than freq excursions are. Purely resistive loads such as heating elements don't care about frequency. But the first thing pretty much all electronic devices do these days is take that AC and convert it to DC using either a rectifyer or switching power supply. Neither of which particularly care what the frequency is either. But depending on the design, they will cook themselves trying to maintain their regulated design output when the input voltage drops low. Inductive motors will run at a slower or faster speed depending on frequency, like the electric clock example given earlier.
I also highly reccomend the Kill-a-Watt. IMO, no one who makes their own power should be without one. One of the best features is that it plugs into any wall outlet, so you can check the generator voltage and freq output from whatever room in the house you are occupying. When on generator power, I keep mine plugged into a living room wall outlet most of the time. It gets moved to the kitchen when we cook as that really can use every watt of my 3KW available. Because of the mechanical governor on my engine(much like that of a tractor), I can also gauge engine load by the frequency. I set my generator RPM for 62HZ no load, and I am at full engine load at 58HZ. It has proven to be a pretty linear progression, so at a glance, I also know what the generator load is.
The Kill-a-Watt is also excellent for measuring appliance loads to help determine exactly what your electrical demands are. You can find them online at E-bay and such, and Harbor Freight tools also usually has them on the shelf in their stores as well as their website.
I also highly reccomend the Kill-a-Watt. IMO, no one who makes their own power should be without one. One of the best features is that it plugs into any wall outlet, so you can check the generator voltage and freq output from whatever room in the house you are occupying. When on generator power, I keep mine plugged into a living room wall outlet most of the time. It gets moved to the kitchen when we cook as that really can use every watt of my 3KW available. Because of the mechanical governor on my engine(much like that of a tractor), I can also gauge engine load by the frequency. I set my generator RPM for 62HZ no load, and I am at full engine load at 58HZ. It has proven to be a pretty linear progression, so at a glance, I also know what the generator load is.
The Kill-a-Watt is also excellent for measuring appliance loads to help determine exactly what your electrical demands are. You can find them online at E-bay and such, and Harbor Freight tools also usually has them on the shelf in their stores as well as their website.