3000W Chinese Gensets Info.

lotust wrote:
hey guys. I noticed today that some electronics act weird when pluged into the Power Pro 3500. For example. My house hold digital alarm clock blinks in a moris code type fashon when I plug it in. Also my house hold fan makes a hum when it running on gen power.


Does this generator just put out crappy power? My honda EU1000i does not reproduce there weid problems.


Thanks. Sorry if this has been talked about. I checked the gen with a multimeter and its putting out 120v.

This is an issue that has been extensively discussed in the past. With the size of this thread, I realize it is darn near impossible to go back and find such info.

Contrary to what JContaster said, it is not DIGITAL electronics that have problems with distortion in mechanical generators; it is the old SYNCROUNIOUS devices that depend upon the 60 HZ wave to provide a "clock" as a reference.

That said, the clock you reference might be considered digital. In reality that so called digital device doesn’t have its own internal clock but depends on the AC line frequency. Other appliances that may show problems are microwave ovens. The microwave timer in my TT when powered from my ELM3000 runs at double speed. When powered from my Champion 40008, all is well. Difference is in the waveform.

I posted these three images a long time ago. Take a look.








You will notice that the AC waveform on the ELM3000 (brand X) has a dip before the peak.

Your genny most likely also has a dip before the peak. Many gensets such as the Power Pro and the dual voltage Champions have this dip (distortion). The newer single voltage (120 VAC only) Champs like those sold at NAPA, Lowe's and Home Depot do not show the dip. The appliances you referenced look at this as a clock pulse, thus interpret the signal to be 120 HZ rather than 60 HZ.

JConstar is correct in saying that the Honda and other inverter gennys provide a cleaner sine wave and if you absolutely must have that waveform then you should spend the additional hundreds of $$$$ to get it. But, 90+% of true current digital electronics use internal switching power supplies and could care less what the waveform looks like. For that matter, the voltage range is of minor importance as well. Computers, phone chargers, TV sets and DVD units are all devices that use switching power supplies – unless they are from the Stone Age. RV air conditioner's also work quite well of of the so called "dirty power".