Electric power generator standby

[Hard Knocks]

This is not off-topic, it's for the electric starter of my chain saw:hmm3grin2orange:

That's right. Some of us might prefer to run electric chainsaws but don't have enough extension cord to reach the house.

 

[Hard Knocks]

Hey Raised By Wolves, that one is definitely a keeper. How old is it?

 

[bytehoven]

We had (again) a power outage in Sweden after a storm. This time it lasted a full week, so I went out and bought a (Chinese) 3-phase electric power generator. I know that many of you people live in rural areas and have the same problem. My question is: How often do you test-start your generators to keep them operative during the year, and how do you avoid that the gasoline in the tank becomes old before use?

May I note a friend runs a local radio station. They are required to run their diesel generator for 1 hour once a month, as part of their emergency broadcast system requirements. And when I say run it, they actually have to run the station from the generator, not just a test load.

So would say a similar schedule is probably just fine for a homeowner, but they should also put a heavy load on the gen set during the routine run time.

I say this because the common failure on a generator seems to with the gen set, not the engine.

 

[RaisedByWolves]

Thanks, man.

Allways lookin to hook a brotha up!

Hey Raised By Wolves, that one is definitely a keeper. How old is it?

Its older than some, but I think not as old as others.......



To be honest, I think its fairly old as it has the tank on top and the cyl is upside down. It also dosent have the light on top but does have very strange looking Bakelite outlets on it, unfortunatly their both broken.


It also hase a nice anti safety feture where theres two bolts sticking out the bell end that carry current, Yep, Grab it wrong while its running and you get fried, maby even dead as this unit puts out only DC current.



Im planning on playing the irony card someday and use this generator to power my electric saw.


That'll make em think!

 

[Lakeside53]

What's the difference between a marine multistage charger and a trickle charger?

This is not off-topic, it's for the electric starter of my chain saw:hmm3grin2orange:

A trickle charger (one stage) is usually a crude device just has a voltage output that is matched to the approximate fully charged voltage of the battery (say 13.2-14.5v for a 12 volt lead acid battery). This leads to slow charge times, over-charging as a battery ages, and sulphation of the plates.

For long battery life, and particularly in cases where the device is unused for long periods, trickle charging alone will dramatically shorten battery life. Boats, generators etc are examples.

A three-stage charger charges the battery at a constant current (Bulk Charge) until the battery voltage reaches a slightly elevated level . The battery is maintained at this voltage while the charging current diminishes to a low value (Absorption phase/charge), and then the battery is switched to the float voltage where it can be maintained indefinitely. These are much more precise than the generic trickle chargers and adapt to changing battery conditions. Generally the 3 stage chargers contain a microprocessor for control functions.

The type I have clipped to all my batteries also senses a DEAD battery and pulses it with high intensity current until such time as the voltage rises to the point where it is safe to continue "normal" charging. This is sometimes called "4-stage".

 

[B_Turner]

A trickle charger (one stage) is usually a crude device just has a voltage output that is matched to the approximate fully charged voltage of the battery (say 13.2-14.5v for a 12 volt lead acid battery). This leads to slow charge times, over-charging as a battery ages, and sulphation of the plates.

For long battery life, and particularly in cases where the device is unused for long periods, trickle charging alone will dramatically shorten battery life. Boats, generators etc are examples.

A three-stage charger charges the battery at a constant current (Bulk Charge) until the battery voltage reaches a slightly elevated level . The battery is maintained at this voltage while the charging current diminishes to a low value (Absorption phase/charge), and then the battery is switched to the float voltage where it can be maintained indefinitely. These are much more precise than the generic trickle chargers and adapt to changing battery conditions. Generally the 3 stage chargers contain a microprocessor for control functions.

The type I have clipped to all my batteries also senses a DEAD battery and pulses it with high intensity current until such time as the voltage rises to the point where it is safe to continue "normal" charging. This is sometimes called "4-stage".

And many pretty expensive motorcycle batteries used to get ruined by trickled chargers by forgetting about them for a whole winter and having the fluid level drop too low from the constant nagging charge. DAMHIK

 

[RaisedByWolves]

Lake, What does a 3-4 stage charger usually cost?

 

[Lakeside53]

Mine are pretty nice and cost about $40. I've seen lower power units for a about $25.


I got tired of replacing batteries every few years...

I turned my car collector buddies on these also - they now wire them into all their cars, but one forgot to put a notice on the dash saying to unplug before driving away... luckily it was the wife...