# generators



## cossie

we seam to loose power here a lot i am after a generator to run some appliences like fridge and freezer and may be one airconditioner all 10 amp.
what size genset would i have to buy in kva i thought may be 3kva


----------



## SABL

Hi cossie,

Loss of power is no fun!! The remnant of Ike made it all the way to New England last fall .....I just happened to be in it's path and went without power for 4 days.

Most generators I have dealt with are rated in watts and you don't want to sell yourself short when selecting a power supply. 

Is your AC unit 120 or 240 volts?? 10 amps on a 240 volt circuit will equal 20 amps on a 110 volt circuit.

Let me see if I can get Mack1 to pop in and give you a correct answer..... he can prolly tell you off the top of his head.

SABL


----------



## mack1

Hi cossie,

The 3kva unit should carry that load okay. I think you will find that the refrigerator and freezer will each draw less than 10 amperes. So you may have a little room to spare on your calculations. SABL is correct on the doubling of the amperes if the airconditioner uses 220 instead of 110 volts. If the cost difference is not too much, you might want a little larger unit to carry a couple of lights and the TV.

FYI, KW (kilo watts) and KVA (kilo volt ampere) are a little different. Watts takes into account any phase difference between the current and the voltage. Volt Amperes does not. 

Best regards,
Mack1


----------



## cossie

hi guys thanks for the imput much app every thing helps, the voltage supply is 240 volts, and i thought that 1 kva is equal to a 1000 watts, so a 3 kva is equal to 3000 watts but i am not sure if that is how you do the calculations so what do yous think i dont want to over spend if i dont have to.thanks again guys


----------



## mack1

Hi cossie,

Sorry, I should have mentioned that power is figured by multiplying volts times amperes.
1 kva can be considered 1000 watts for your use. K is for kilo (1000) and the va means multiply volts times amperes. 

Just use the amperes and multiply each one by it's voltage and add the watts up to get the total. The 220 volt service would be 10a x 220v = 2200watts for your air conditioner. 2200 / 1000 = 2.2 kw or 2.2 kva. 

As I mentioned above, the frig and freezer should pull less than 10 amperes. I'm thinking 3 or 4 for the refrigerator and 3 or less for the freezer. (there's not even a light bulb in most freezers) Also, they normally cycle on and off. If you have a chest type freezer, they are very good at holding their temperature. The standup type lets the cold air fall out onto your feet when you open the door and therefore will run more often than the chest type. 

The airconditioner will place a large load on the generator. The frig and freezer will not. A 3 kva generator will handle the load, but just barely. That's why I suggested that if the price of the next size up isn't too much, you might think about getting it.

Best regards,
Mack1


----------



## SABL

The bare-bones need is what I was worried about.....never do that....always allow some leeway for safety and convenience. And, I am willing to bet that you will begin to stretch the limit of the generator....... it's only a few lights, I need to see where I am going........ I'm gonna see if there's any news on the TV...... so forth and so on. 

Mack1 has given some wise advice and I quite agree on spending a few more $$ and get something that will be reliable. Even my local Kroger ( food supermarket) is selling generators..... $330 but only 3250 watts. For me this unit is a little lite because like Mack1 said, I will turn some lights on and I will watch some TV. 

You can plug/unplug the various devices you are using but that will become a pain in the rearend. Whatever you decide, do it before the need arises..... once there is a need you will not find a generator OR you will be forced to buy one that is really overkill and cost much more than you planned to spend.

When Ike came this way, there were no generators to be had..... they had been shipped to Texas days earlier in anticipation of the need in that state. Little did anyone know that Ike would travel 1400 miles and many peeps would be sitting in the dark. I just camped out at home and brewed my coffee on the BBQ grill...... along with cook dinner. 

Many thanks to Mack1 for stopping by!!


----------



## cossie

hey thanks guys much app very good advice


----------



## heng

I'm a little late here but don't forget the startup load. I have a 5000 watt generator and when the freezer or sump pump kicks on it loads up the engine pretty heavily. Even stalled it dead one time (with other loads on it).

The medium size 3000 watt units may not put out 220/240.

You need to plan out how you are going to connect your appliances to the generator. The safest way is to have a generator switching box wired to your breaker panel. These go for $250 for 6 circuit box, $350 for a 8 circuit unit (un-installed). The circuits mentioned are the circuits in your house you want to power with the generator.

More info if you want it.


----------



## cossie

yea i now what you are talking about but most of the electical stuf has soft storts on them i think not to sure i bought a 2.8 kva and it runs both aircons a fluro light and fridge and freezer but i am interested in how much it will cost to perminatly install the genset to the main power board or have the socket already there so al i have to do is plug the generater in and off i go.that gets rid off all the leads..


----------



## heng

Those switch boxes I mention are permanently wired to your breaker panel. You also have a permanent 10 ga wire to a twist lock outlet box on your outside wall where you would plug the generator in. So that's the setup to plug in the generator and go.

In addition to the cost of the switch boxes, you have the 10 gage wire, the outside outlet box (~$50), and various connectors/hardware. Probably another $200. I installed the setup myself.


----------

