3000W Chinese Gensets Info.
professor95 wrote: EDIT ADDED 45/5/2013- When this thread started in March of 2005, I never expected to see it survive this long or amass the quantity of information that has been shared here. In...
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sidst wrote:
My suggestion is you get a dual 15 to 30 amp adapter, plug it into your dual socket and it will electrically tie both sockets together(if not already done inside the generator) and provide you with an RV 30 amp socket with full power available
This idea (combining at the 120 volt outlets) has popped up several times in the past and again lately. While I would like to believe the person(s) making this suggestion know what they are talking about, I am not sure everyone who reads the suggestion will fully understand the possible consequences and dangers.
It is all a big “IF”.
If your generator is series wound so as to provide two independently fused 120 volt circuits from a single 240 volt center tapped stator, you may NOT combine 120 volt outlets. Doing so will cause the output to read zero volts on a volt meter due to each side of the center tap being 180 degrees out of phase with the other. Under certain conditions, this arrangement possibly could send 240 volts into your RV (or you). Many generators are wired in this manner – especially models over two years old.
If your generator is parallel wound so as to combine two 120 volt windings (no 240 or center tap) that are both in phase with one another then is perfectly OK to combine the 120 volt outlets with a bridging adapter. Recently, several “dual voltage” generators in the 3,000 watt class have begun to offer this feature.
What if you are not sure about how your generator is set up? Best advice is to leave it “as is” unless someone who is known to be knowledgeable can assure you that it is safe to combine the outlets.
