3000W Chinese Gensets Info.

mrekim wrote:

I might be willing to give up the 240VAC if there was good gain in AC signal quality.

The 46514 is one of the "main line" workhorse units for CPE in the 3000 watt class. There are thousands of them out there doing a great job.

The needs you listed do make it appear that the 46514 would do the job for you. But, please keep in mind that if you were to try and use the unit with a transfer switch for home back-up in 220 mode you would have only 15 amps MAX for each of two branch circuits. If a branch circuit of 15 amps, rather than the often needed 20, would power your equipment it might be OK. Professionally (as an EE and Master Electrician) I would not advise interfacing a 3500 to a residential SEP. The cost and power limitations are not compatible unless you have a small cabin in the woods. The 46514 is better suited for backup operation by connecting to a breakout box via the single 30 amp 120 VAC outlet or splitting the 220 volt outlet via a different style breakout box into two 15 amp circuits. As you know, there is only one 15 amp North American style outlet and circuit on the 46514 so using it exclusively only provides 1/2 of the available 120 VAC power.

Your parts listing was interesting. I have never taken the initiative to compare them as you did.

The 40008 I own and tested is now obsolete. UltraFab was the only distributor for this model. It was either the first or one of the first 120 VAC only models. When I first tested my 40008 my observation was that it had lower distortion than the models that switched the windings from series to parallel with a switch. In truth, my measurements of THD varied greatly depending not only on the apparent load but the power factor of the device being powered. The greater the load, the greater the distortion. The lower the PF% of the load device, the greater the distortion.

Actually, harmonic distortion of the AC sine wave from this class of generator rarely is an issue for RV and home appliances. At the higher THD levels some gas furnace controls and UPS systems rejected their signal. Certain brands of microwave ovens also developed less power and "cheap" non-ballast fluorescent shop lights flickered at higher THD. Other than that, refrigerators, pumps, TV sets, fans, and lights operated without problems.

During our recent power outage from Isabel, I used my inverter generator to connect to my APC 1000 UPS, which is connected to my digital home entertainment (TV) system, because the UPS would not work with the signal from the synchronous generator. The UPS interpreted the "noise" and distortion of the synchronous unit as a power interruption.

The world of Chinese synchronous generators is complex and well populated. Earlier, I encountered some models with really cheaply made alternators and regulators. I now believe the majority of those are no longer marketed in the USA. The EPA pretty much did away with the cheap models when it implemented the $5 million emissions performance bond a couple of years ago. I am now under the impression that most all of the available Chinese synchronous generators in the 3,000 watt class are pretty much the same as far as the quality of the AC signal.

All of the 3,000 watt class Chinese synchronous generators are going to have pretty much the same exhaust and mechanical noise level unless they have some sort of sound canceling added. The advertised level is 68 dB, but the true level will range from 65 to 74 depending on load and which side you are facing.