Finally bought a small generator.

[ponytug]

I have no idea how to flash the coils on an inverter generator. On my old conventional generators, all you have to do is plug in an offset grinder or drill motor and give it a spin while the engine is running. I doubt very much that would work with an inverter in the way.

You don't need to flash coils on every inverter generator that I know of. They are like modern front load washing machines with a fixed stator of coils, and a circulating ring of magnets. That generates high frequency AC, that gets converted to DC (rectifier and capacitors), that gets inverted back to regulated 60Hz AC.

So no need to ever flash coils on an inverter generator.

There is a guy in New Zealand that has repurposed dead washing machines into hydro powered generators for his property.

All the best,

Peter

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Looks like the Generac 18kw LP units only use 1.7 gal of LP per hour at 50% load... So if we have a standby 500 gal tank we will be all set for a power outage and be able to run the house.

 

[TheMan419]

We have a horse farm, so need water for the animals and heat/cold for the people. When we lived in a subdivision I got a 6900/8500 unit. Not an inverter because back then $$$$$. Only went that big because we still had well water.

It runs everything we need. Not all at the same time, we have to be smart about our load management. Electrician wired it to the house with a sub-panel and lock out etc.

If we were going to have a lengthy outage I would likely get a Predator inverter from HF so we could safely run the electronics, and have the old genny as a back up to the back up. Knock on wood in 7 years the longest outage we have had was just over 12 hours..... and most of that was overnight.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Now days a 9500w inverter is only $2700. Sadly my well pump uses 7500w on startup

 

[ponytug]

Now days a 9500w inverter is only $2700. Sadly my well pump uses 7500w on startup

You might look into a variable frequency drive soft start for the well pump. It cuts the startup surge to zero, i.e. less than or equal to the normal draw. Basically they are variable frequency drives designed to ramp up the pump speed as fast as possible while limiting the current. E.g.

Soft Starters – Pumpsupermarket.com

www.pumpsupermarket.com

(never used them, just an example. Your well driller may have better recommendations.)

All the best,

Peter

 

[geteh]

I’ve researched a lot of smaller inverter types, and between Predator, Westinghouse and Champion, those seem to have the best overall reviews. I may have gone the Westinghouse route, via Amazon, had I not needed it immediately.

I will say, the reviews of the Predator units are very good. This morning I decided to just use the recoil start to see how that would go power generator. Not wanting to pull the 100lb unit across the porch, I barely rolled it over, and I’ll be damned if it didn’t sputter to life on one meek pull!

Looks like we will get about 24 hours from 5 gallons of fuel… and we only run it for about +/-12 hours per day.

What is the smallest generator that I can currently buy? Planning to get a passenger van XL and seeking additional power sources to a power bank. Not planning to invest in solar at this time.

 

[bdhsfz6]

What is the power bank for? Since you plan to get a passenger van, I assume it will not be used for camping. If you need extra power while driving, look at high output alternators and use an inverter.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

What is the smallest generator that I can currently buy? Planning to get a passenger van XL and seeking additional power sources to a power bank. Not planning to invest in solar at this time.

I think you can still get the 800 watt continuous camping generator. If all you are running is lights and a furnace fan, that's plenty.