Anyone here have experience with generators and running our tanks off them? I was without power for 2.5 days. I had a 4000/3250 watt generator running, but it would have trouble running the three tiny pumps in my 10 gallon. Sometimes it would work and then the pumps would just stop working. Other times I would turn off the generator to refill it and the pumps wouldn't come back on. Mind you, this is the same generator I had running 2 large pumps, 2 mp40's, and MH lights on my 180 during Sandy while also powering two refrigerators, some lights, tv, and 3 neighbors. Any idea why this would happen? It ran 2 refrigerators no problem, but not the 3 pumps....wtf?
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Electricians? Can't run 3 little pumps on a generator?
- Thread starter 9supratt4
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Just making sure that the prop rotor is seared right? I know with my small maxi jets when I cut power to them the magnetic rotor moves a bit up and gets off the track of the pumps magnet so it never starts spinning unless I manually tap the needle wheel back in to the right place.
I have a guess. But it’s just a guess. You would need to test to verify. First off not all generators are the same. Nor are all electric motors. Quite often a generator will have an inconsistent “wave” signal. (Put very simply. Inconsistent voltage like 108 volts one second and 106 the next. And lots of motors can’t deal with it. As an example. I can’t run my Hobart mixer on generated power. It is externally sensitive to the quality of the power being generated. There are a couple of things you can try. 1. Ground your generator. Most finicky motors. Cheer up once the generator is grounded. You can also use a power conditioner. They flatten the power signal and make for more consistent voltage. I wouldn’t run a computer without one on a generator if it can be avoided. For the record there are higher end generators That have built in power conditioners. But most do not
Yup. I re-seated it, tapped it, etc.
This is what I was thinking. Either the power isn't consistent or maybe the age of the generator too. I had the generator kind of ground. I have to get a piece of Romex for next time. This time I just used a roughed up wire hanger and stuck it in the dirt. I will certainly look into a power conditioner. Would it be the same issue you think if I had a transfer switch installed and ran the generator into that?
As far as transfer switch. Yes and know. Transfer switch will be grounded so may help. But will still probably require a power conditioner.
I will have to look into this power conditioner. This situation was so aggravating to say the least! I told my wife that in our next house, I don't care what the price, we are putting in a whole home generator. If something like this happens again, I want my house to light up like a Christmas tree
