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K_and_I's avatar
K_and_I
Explorer
Oct 15, 2018

Generator Issues

Before I go any further, this is not a generator I use in a camping situation- it is back up power for my home. Yes, it is an open frame contractor generator. Yes, it makes a certain amount of noise. No, I don't have any close neighbors- nearest one is 1/4 mile away.
With that out of the way, we lost power a few days ago, so I fired up the generator- Briggs and Stratton, 5500 running watts. As I usually do, I plugged a power monitor into a receptacle to monitor loads being applied. Unloaded, the generator was making over 130 volts and sometimes running at 62 Hz. This has not happened before, and I am not educated enough to know if it is a problem and if so, what to do about it. When loads were applied, it settled back to 60 Hz and ran what I usually run with it. Your thoughts?

10 Replies

  • K_and_I's avatar
    K_and_I
    Explorer
    Oct 15, 2018
    Thanks for the responses. I finally contacted by brother who is an electrical engineer for a power company. He said the same thing- small generators have a little more leeway.
    Thanks again.
  • marcsbigfoot20b's avatar
    marcsbigfoot20b
    Explorer
    Oct 15, 2018
    My Onan 2500LP specifies 120-126 v and 62.5 hertz +/- .5 at no load.
    Looks like yours is normal at no load.
  • bounder39zman's avatar
    bounder39zman
    Explorer II
    Oct 15, 2018
    Portable type generators have very "loose" or sloppy governor systems.
    you want voltage to be 110-125, and hz to be 58-62, but what you have is pretty normal for these units
  • Lynnmor's avatar
    Lynnmor
    Explorer II
    Oct 15, 2018
    When the voltage is low, try manually pushing the governor towards more power to see if it already has the throttle wide open. If the throttle is wide open, clean out the carburetor.
  • K_and_I's avatar
    K_and_I
    Explorer
    Oct 15, 2018
    I did run the engine for about 5 minutes before plugging the house circuit in. I ended up running it for 15 minutes or so under various loads, the highest of which was the electric oven, which pulled the voltage down to 108 and cycles to 60. As the oven would cycle off, with no other appreciable load on, it would run back up to 130+ volts and 62 Hz.
  • 185EZ's avatar
    185EZ
    Explorer
    Oct 15, 2018
    Interesting.
    I just bought a new generator for boondocking and had the issue of the hz wandering everywhere all the way up to 98 with the old generator.
    The EMS monitor wouldn't let voltage through to the rv.
    I also found hz related to rpm and adjusted the governor so i would get a reading close to 60hz.
    Didn't work so something else is wrong.
    The EMS gives a variance of + or - 9hz and I would only vary from 60 to 62hz with the new gen.
  • newman_fulltime's avatar
    newman_fulltime
    Explorer II
    Oct 15, 2018
    engine was cold so running higher rpm once warm it settled back down nothing to worry about
  • MEXICOWANDERER's avatar
    MEXICOWANDERER
    Explorer
    Oct 15, 2018
    Plug in something that is bulletproof like a heater and remeasure. Testing is always better than assumption, especially if it takes under 5-minutes and costs nothing :)
  • K_and_I's avatar
    K_and_I
    Explorer
    Oct 15, 2018
    Thanks, Don. That is what I was thinking, but as I said, I am not educated well on the generation side of electricity.
  • pianotuna's avatar
    pianotuna
    Nomad III
    Oct 15, 2018
    hertz is a function of speed. Since it corrected under load I'd not worry too much.

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