We've had more power outages this year than in years past, and I have been remiss in not being better prepped. We have two homes on the property, each with their own breaker panel. But the homes share a well system with pump and pressure tank. If we lose power, we only have the water in the tank. Want to be able to power the well pump from backup generator.
Have a couple of 5500/4800 watt, dual fuel Duromax generators. I have used them for small projects. They are electric start, and reliably start on propane. Have avoided ever putting gasoline in them, to improve their reliability.
I have most of the wiring done to hook one to the house with the well power, via a genny plug and 240v/30A circuit. Just need to install the manual lockout disconnector and breaker in the panel.
I've read many times about the potential to damage electronics with generator power. Have never heard of a real world example.
Anyone have experience with this happening?
Generally, well pumps will draw 3-7times their running current at start up. Unlike most other loads, they start at zero rpm against a full load. So, unless the well is shallow, and low flow, I wouldn't bet on a 6kW generator starting the well more than a few times. I.e. there is a real risk that you will burn out the generator. I also wouldn't want anything else hooked up when the generator was trying to start and run the well, as the voltage drop on start is likely to be large (aka brownout), and the voltage overshoot when it stops may also be large, depending on the type of generator that you have.
There are three main types of generators;
- Old time brush generators that put out sine wave AC (no regulation beyond engine throttle for frequency, and may have very limited voltage regulation, as in only a capacitor or diode)
- Newer brushless generators that mostly have some form of voltage and frequency regulation (some much better than others)
- Inverter generators that make high frequency AC, rectify it to DC, and then transform the DC to tightly regulated AC (in terms of voltage, frequency, and distortion)
I have one of the first type, 4kW, and it is actually pretty good, and I use it around the property for running portable tools, I.e. one skill saw, or one electric chainsaw. Voltage is within 2% of specification no load to full load, except when a motor starts, and then the voltage drops 10% and 5Hz or so. Ok for motors.
I have two of the second type, and they both typically hold both voltage and frequency within 2% no load to full load. (Suddenly dropping an extra 2kW, on an existing 2kW load for a total of 4kW transiently drops 2Hz, and 3-4% in voltage.) The 5kW diesel happily runs the whole house, except for the electric dryer and AC. Both have solid automatic voltage regulator circuits built in, and it shows.
Inverter generators have very clean power, but, and it is a big but, they don't usually have the surge ratings of the other two generators, making them less ideal for starting wells. The largest that I have seen are around 8kW, so they may be able to start a 1.5-3HP well motor.
"Electronics" covers a host of products, some quite sensitive to power specifications and some not very. Read the label; if it says something like "AC 100-270V, 50-65Hz", it will probably be just fine on a generator. If it says "120V, 60Hz", you can't bet on it being happy, and if it is pricey, I would not put it on a random generator without testing the generator to see how well it puts out 120V/60Hz, both loaded and unloaded, and ideally testing to see what the harmonics look like.
So,
@rbstern I kind of doubt that you would be happy starting your well pump with the 5kW generators. I suspect that they won't last long, but you might get lucky.
All the best,
Peter
. Same as my stove, washer and dryer...least ways until they die and I have to get new crap......
