House stealing voltage from generator

[rg66]

Hi all,

I have a 5 KVA 230V generator hooked into the house. When power goes ( I currently live in Uganda so it happens quite a bit) and it's running, the voltage off the genny is 230V but in the house it's 215V and the fridge guard won't switch over at that voltage.

Any ideas as to how I'm loosing 15V?

[rayjay]

Hi all,

I have a 5 KVA 230V generator hooked into the house. When power goes ( I currently live in Uganda so it happens quite a bit) and it's running, the voltage off the genny is 230V but in the house it's 215V and the fridge guard won't switch over at that voltage.

Any ideas as to how I'm loosing 15V?

its called voltage drop due to the length of the cables
thicker cable will mean less volt drop

each wire is rated with a volt drop

all volt drops listed in electrical regulations, google volt drop chart

[rg66]

Thanks for the reply.

Well, I'm no electrican but at 20ft of 8awg wire (10 at the minimum) and drawing about 2amp normally, 15v seems quite a bit. Could a bad ground or neutral cause this?

[Meat-Head]

is it possable to put the fridge nearer the genny?

Seems weird - you have no ellectricty - but internet - weird.

[rg66]

Apart from taking the fridge outside and plugging directly into the genny, no. I guess I'll just take the fridge guard out, it's mostly only needed when there is power to stop spikes and the genny is generally consistent voltage.

I have power most of the time, lately it goes every second evening for about 4 hours so internet is not an issue. But, it can go out for 12 or 24 without warning. Plus, my internet is through a USB dongle so I can use it on my laptop if need be.

I would like to fix this though, because when on genny my
UPS constantly switches to battery and back which makes using my desktop a pain in the arse.

[Meat-Head]

also not sure on your excat job - but you can burnt out the genny because of the back EMF - due to the voltdrop.

Can you move the house closer to the genny - or run another cable alongside the orginal

get solar cells fitted

[rg66]

I think the next time power goes I will take a voltage reading from the end of the cable and go from there. If there is a voltage drop I will shorten the cable to about 5ft. and check again.

Eventually I will get an inverter and screw the petrol guzzling money pit. A litre an hour at 1?/litre.

[cablefreejunkie]

is it a new genny ? whats the make and model no ?

[rg66]

It's at least 6 years old. Elemax SH6000DX with a Honda GX340 engine. I believe it was made in Japan but am not sure. I have a tune up manual for the engine but nothing about the actual electrical. Anyway, it is putting out 230V from the genny socket.

[cablefreejunkie]

seems as though the genny should be fine for the job
is the fridge new ?

[rg66]

Ya, the genny should do the job. Like I said I'm getting 230v at the genny and 215 in the house.

The problem is not the fridge, it's about 3 years old and works fine. It's the fridge guard (http://www.sollatek.co.tz/products/guard-range/fridge-guard.php) that won't turn on and let power through to the fridge. It stops low and high voltage from destroying the compressor. Looking at the website, it's suppost to cut off at 185/190v which is even more confusing because I'm getting 215v.

Also my APC 750 UPS is clicking from mains to battery and back non stop. That should also run on 215v with no problem.

Even though I'm getting 215v, I'm not getting something else (Amps?) as these 2 items should work.

A friend here who knows a bit about everything suggested a Hertz issue but I have no clue how to check for that or even adjust it.

[Meat-Head]

hertz is controlled by the engine revs.

If you slow by 100rpm - you alarm clock will go slower, same with fastering the genny.

Simple - three solutions

1) move to the big bad city

2) move fridge/genny/ups closer

3) thicker cable from house to genny


Worth trying, load up the genny, to the pepsi max - all 5kw - see where you get head in fuse box, power plug etc etc

[rg66]

Have been busy and the power has been good over the holidays so haven't done much about it.

I'll load the thing up as you suggest and check output in the house. Someone here also said they run better with a higher load.

I think I will give it a tune up and adjust the governer and idle speed, shorten the cable to the house and see what happens after that.

[rg66]

Finally got off my lazy arse and did a tune up. The genny seems to be running normal and the fridge comes on and my UPS works normally.

Thanks to all for your input!

[Meat-Head]

*CONFUSED*

You fed it what, with Eh!?

Tunes (confectionery) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunes_%28confectionery%29)