Generator sizing issues?

95jersey wrote:

Gdetrailer wrote:

95jersey wrote:
So just to be clear, the limit is the 13.3 amp per outlet, so moving to even 6500/5500 will be the same issue as the outlet does not exceed 13.3 amp? If this is the case why do they even sell these at higher wattage ratings...confused!?!

If I get the 6500/5500 unit would I get 2750 (5500/2)? That may be all I need, and it is 1/2 the price of the inverter.

5500W gen will get you 2750W or 22.9A on EACH of the Duplex outlets which IS still going to be the SAME ISSUE YOU ALREADY HAVE WITH YOUR CURRENT GEN.

A 13.5K BTU A/C is going to draw a min of 12A (1440W) when RUNNING, however the START UP SURGE of the compressor can easily exceed 20A when HOT. Add in any other loads and you are bound to come up short and having random gen breaker trips.

Something else to take into consideration is the AVR (automatic voltage regulator) which samples ONLY ONE of the 120V windings.. Plug into the side which is not sampled and you will have larger voltage swings..

So far by being cheap it IS costing you a lot of money in randomly buying undersized and wrongly wire gens.

Your HF 3200W gen right now is $339 and a 5500W gen is $489 for a grand total of $828 plus tax you have potentially wasted..

Sure, you CAN try to sell that 3200W HF gen, but, you ARE going to have a difficult time selling it AND you are going to have one heck of a time getting even $150 out of it..

People who buy used, buy it for CHEAP.

Put it another way, I HAD a 2000W Chinese built gen which I paid on sale for $175, it was too small for my camping, only had 120V so wouldn't help for home backup. I ran it for less than 5 hrs and it sat in my garage for 5 yrs unused..

I decided to sell it, placed ad on Craigslist for $125, months go by and not one call..

Sat it at the curb with for sale sign for several weeks, fellow stopped by and we agreed on $75..

Do yourself a huge favor, just go buy the HF inverter gen and be done with it..

If you not willing to spend for tan inverter gen you WILL need to look elsewhere for a gen which is 120V ONLY..

I have a Buffalo Tools 4Kw gen which is 120V ONLY that I use for my camping.. Not sure if they sell under that name anymore, seems to me they changed to "Sportsman" brand..

Looks like this..



Found that pix HERE but they are out of stock.. Too bad, cost is $293

There ARE other "brands" of the Chinese clone gens that are 120V only in non inverter setup, you simply NEED to do some detective work.

READ the information carefully, if it says 240/120 you NEED to stay clear of that one.

If it says 120V ONLY then you have a winner..

Just be aware, many of these Chinese Clones have very little warranty/parts support (same with HF, they don't carry or sell repair parts). You will be on your own if it breaks.

Thank you for this recommendation, found it for $229...awesome!

considering there are 2 ac breakers on that unit, he's pretty much going to be in the same boat as the generator he has now.

he needs a generator with a 30amp 120v outlet on it, to get full power from both windings. it has nothing to do with what voltage its putting out. No genny manufacture is going to put bigger then a 20 amp breaker on a nema15r