Generator output and rv

""Study up on the term "synchronous Generator" You will find your answer once you are educated enough to ask an intelligent question.""

MM49

Sorry, you think I am not educated enough to ask an intelligent question.
But from many years of seeing portable generators ruin electronics, and now I'm into a new venture with RV's, I figured I would ask here for advice.

And thanks again to those who answered my question.

Yeah I am fussy as hell about my power. That's why I paid through the snot-box for a KATO 12-turn. And 990 dollars for a Woodward electronic governor. System goes beyond prime power to "Hospital" grade. The Sola whole house ferroresonant 3KW regulator is great except it eats 93 watts just sitting there doing nothing.

BUT! I have some incredibly (for me) expensive toys to protect. Electronic test equipment. If you were to connect a Macintosh tube-type receiver or amplifier to a cheap generator I would shudder. But microwaves and coffeemakers are light-years less sensitive. For your setup I would think a low-voltage cutout to be sensible.

Good fortune and happy RVing!

babun wrote:

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
Wavy as it may be a generator cannot help but put out its best effort for a sine wave. It is far and away more important to have and maintain the motor in good working order so the engine does not cough, spit, surge up or down or get feminine-like hot flashes.

Always start the biggest load first the successive smaller loads. The generator certainly will run the converter, a coffemaker and a microwave oven at the same time. One RV battery can take a 30-40 amp charge rate and a pair of them 60-80 amps so cutting down on generator run-time when boondocking means increasing the battery recharging potential by a bunch. When any of my generators start up they have a list of chores to do - no slacking off with $3.50 gallon fuel.

Generators require maintenance. Which includes cleaning and oiling the governor linkage. Learn how.

Thanks for your post, but you're a little off the point..

There are basically 3 types of AC voltages. see this chart.


Many cable tele boxes won't work unless it has pure sine power, some microwaves will run but not heat correctly with modified or square wave AC. I believe ONLY invertor type of generators produce sine wave current and to get a high wattage from them means lots of money.
I'm a retired electrical foreman so I know about currents, but a newbie at RV;ing, so I;m asking advice about generator use thru the normal 30 amp rv hook up cord and equipment.

Study up on the term "synchronous Generator" You will find your answer once you are educated enough to ask an intelligent question.
MM49

RJCorazza wrote:
I always thought standard (non inverter) generators produced a true sine wave, though perhaps not as clean as utility power. The only problems with electronics, microwaves, etc I have heard of is with modified sine wave inverters.
Whether this is correct or not, I never had a problem running the items under discussion with any non inverter generator.

I also agree that a regular generator produces a true sine wave. It is not as good as the utilities power since it does not have the controls that the utilities have. The gas/diesel/propane engine speed fluctuates and is not steady enough to maintain 60Hz therefore you won't get your perfect sine wave. JMO

babun wrote:
What works okay with a basic 3500/4000 watt generator?

Generally everything will run just fine.

Sorry about the answer babun. I resisted going technical and calling a spade a spade. Smaller generators develop sinewaves with a lot of harmonic distortion. How's that? :)

But it isn't "square wave" or stepped sine wave. In theory a modified sine wave can mean two steps or twenty - the more steps the more sinewavelike the product will be.

Nevertheless when I am forced to use my Tektronix scope with a low-end generator it connects through my Sola ferroresonant line voltage regulator. An Isolation transformer would pretty much do the same waveform correction.

But all this does not apply toward hammer and chisel cheap generator waveform. Plugger in and go. Things should be fine. The enramada freezers work fine on a harbor freight generator whose waveform is uglier than something that fell out of an uglystick tree.

joebedford wrote:
My previous Onan wouldn't run the microwave on its own because the waveform was too dirty. So I would plug in a 1500W heater first which cleaned up the power and the microwave was fine.

Current Onan doesn't have this problem.

That sir is an "fix" that very few except good electrical engineers
would think of !! My hat's off to you !!

Thanks for all the good answers, I knew this was the place to get info.
If I can ever help with NON-RV electrical questions, just ask..I been doing it for 34 years.

My previous Onan wouldn't run the microwave on its own because the waveform was too dirty. So I would plug in a 1500W heater first which cleaned up the power and the microwave was fine.

Current Onan doesn't have this problem.

I have a cheap ($300) Champion 4000 watt generator I only use occasionally in rest area's or semi-dry camping and I have had no problem running AC and everything else (as long as you do not try to run the AC and the microwave at the same time) only item that gives a problem is the water heater it causes too much inrush to the generator so I only use gas.

I have run everything but the kitchen sink on an Onan or a Kohler/Generac RV generator, w/o a problem.

A "Cheap Generator" ?? I wouldn't know.