Cheap Generators at B&Q

[Fecn]

Just got back from my local B&Q (Croydon)...

They've got a sale on Generators - I just picked up a 2.4KW 4-stroke with a 15litre tank for a mere £99.00

Seemed like a very good deal to me - Thought I'd let you all know.

They've also got 1KW models for £70, which didn't seem like such a great deal since I've seen them elsewhere for £50 before.

Fecn

EDIT: Now I've had the chance to get it out of the box, here's some pics...

 

[Mike.C]

Nice one Fecn, I have been thinking about getting a generator as we had our 3 rd power cut in the last 6 months yesterday, thats what you get for living up here.

I see that it has 2 plug sockets, but how do you workout what you can plug in at the same time, telly, kettle, lights etc?

Cheers

Mike

 

[MooreToolsPlease]

the power ratings are usually on the label of the appliance in watts
that generator is rated for 2000 watts

 

[Mike.C]

Thanks Matt, so am I right in saying that you add up the wattage of each appliance you plug in and as long as they are not a combined wattage of 2000w I will be ok?

Sorry if that sounds a bit thick, but coming from London I have not needed a generator until I moved up here so I am not familiar with them.

Cheers

Mike

 

[Fecn]

Mike.C that's basically right... yes.

A TV set is about 100W watts, a light bulb is 40-100W, electric-drill is about 700W, Microwave is around 900W, Fridge can use 1Kw when it's running, but won't be running most of the time... etc etc

Heating appliances (kettle, oil radiator, oven, toaster etc) all use lots and lots of electricity... A kettle will use about 2KW on it's own... Likewise the oven, toaster etc

Fecn

 

[mambo]

we have a 2.4kw generator at work and during a powercut the other week we used it to boil the kettle

took over 1/2 an hour :shock:

 

[RogerS]

Mike

If you do have as many power cuts as you seem to be having, I'd recommend that you try and shell out for a larger generator...say 6kW.

Until they invested in new cables for our overhead power lines we also used to have power cuts. I worked out that 2kW wasn't that useful as I couldn't, for example, drive the central heating boiler and boil a kettle at the same time.

The other thing to consider is something called diversity. In other words, not everything will be on at the same time. So, for example, with our gennie, I run the whole house, washing machine, central heating, the lot (apart from the dishwasher) and also the workshop.

All done before Part P, thank God

 

[Fecn]

I awoke at 7 this morning to find that we're in the middle of a power cut.... here in the wilds of Surrey.

Now... should I feel smug that I bought a generator less than 48 hours ago... or should I feel stupid because it won't run our kettle (which turns out to use 3150Watts)... and the UPSes refuse to accept it's power, so once the batteries run out, I'm reduced to measley laptops for my Internet use. (At least it's not dark in here

Maybe I should have bought a bigger generator - Since they all say the're just for powerering pumps, lights and tools.... Does anyone know of generators which are recommended for powering electronic equipment. For work reasons, I've got about 2KW of computers that I need to have running 24x7.

Cheers,

Fecn

 

[woodshavings]

The connection of generators to the house supply are covered by regulations. As far as I recall, generators should only be connected to house wiring through a changeover switch that isolates the circuits from the incoming mains supply. Using a "plug to plug" connection is not allowed (ie making a lead with plugs on each end, one plugged in the generator and one in a house socket) is very dangerous with the potential of live, exposed plug prongs.
John

 

[RogerS]

Does anyone know of generators which are recommended for powering electronic equipment. For work reasons, I've got about 2KW of computers that I need to have running 24x7.

Cheers,

Fecn

My generator seems to work fine with my computers etc although it does give one of the UPS's a bit if a headache. Possibly the voltage is fluctuating a bit too much and/or the waveform isn't as sinusoidal as the UPS would like.

I'm assuming that you've got UPS's on your key equipment to keep stuff powered up while you change over to your standby generator? What happens if you have a power cut in the early hours? Do your UPS's shut your system down cleanly before they run out or do they sound an alarm to rouse you from your slumbers :lol:

True uninterrupted clean power is very expensive...involving the likes of static transformers etc.

 

[Fecn]

I'm assuming that you've got UPS's on your key equipment to keep stuff powered up while you change over to your standby generator? What happens if you have a power cut in the early hours? Do your UPS's shut your system down cleanly before they run out or do they sound an alarm to rouse you from your slumbers :lol:

Got three UPSes... APC 2200VA with extra batteries for the servers and network equipemnt... Runs everything for about 60 mins... Firewalls and hubs only for about 5 hours. Got a couple of smaller ones for the workstations etc. Most of our kit lives in datacentres so I don't have to worry about the power... It's just a few machines in the office that I need working so that I can earn a living.

UPSes sound an alarm, but it was the fact that our baby daughter's baby monitor 'lost link' that woke me this morning.

I only tried the generator with the 2200VA UPS (the most important one)... I suspect the UPS is intelligently noticing the voltage dip as it connects it's load and disconnecting itself. I tweaked the generator to a good 50Hz @236V, but APC UPS still didn't want to play.

Power's just come back on, so I'm off to buy some more petrol.

 

[RogerS]

Some of the UPS's use a switched mode power supply and this presents a very peaky load to the generator and possibly making it hunt which then upsets the UPS as the voltage isn't constant. Also 2200VA is going to be pushing the output capacity of your generator, I'd have thought.

 

[Fecn]

2200VA is going to be pushing the output capacity of your generator, I'd have thought.

I agree... but that's rated power that the UPS can deliver and not the actual power that I'm using. I only have about 400VA of load attached to it these days, so i figured I'd get away with it. I was planning to let the UPS clean up the output from the genny, but I guess it's too smart for that.

I think the UPS is detecting the voltage dip as it connects itself to the power and then disconnecting itself again. It does that so quickly that the genny doesn't even get the chance to change pitch.

 

[RogerS]

2200VA is going to be pushing the output capacity of your generator, I'd have thought.

I agree... but that's rated power that the UPS can deliver and not the actual power that I'm using. I only have about 400VA of load attached to it these days, so i figured I'd get away with it.

Mmm... I'm not an expert (hopefully Tony will be along soon :wink: ) but I have a sense that the way switched mode supplies work is that their input demand is still very spikey regardless of the load.