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How can i enhance/improve the output of my home portable generator ?

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munzir

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How can i enhance/improve the output of my home portable generator ?
 

you can improve it by buying industrial generator unit.
 

1.

If you won't use it for a few months, empty the fuel tank and run the engine till it is out of gasoline. Old gasoline can deposit varnish in places that are hard to clean. Consider mixing a fuel stabilizer with the gasoline.

2.

Become practiced at starting the engine in daylight and dark. Also in winter temperatures.

3.

If the generator has no ammeter, and you want a project, consider making some kind of AC ammeter or indicator light.

4.

Avoid overloading it. If you make the coils cook one time, it will not perform as well afterward.
 

and how he will improve output?
 

If the unit is new then I don't know how to make performance any better than new.

Nevertheless there are ways to prevent it from degrading much. That could be seen as enhancing performance, considering how easy it is to abuse a portable home generator.
 

I guess he needs more amperage.
 

by means of improving its output is that how can i make its distorted output sine wave or triangular wave into a pure sine wave ?

Because as i put on load on it or keep on putting more and more load (under its rated capacity not exceeding its rated capacity) its voltage & hence power seems to be dropping and i can see the little blinking (as if the voltage fluctuations are happening) in the fluorescent bulbs
 

Please tell us what kind of generator it is and what it's ratings are. Without knowing what you are starting with it's a bit difficult to advise on how to improve it!

Brian.
 

munzir, you probably can't improve the output in any way. It's more a case of knowing what you have...

The output should be a good sine wave already - it's made by a rotating generator. It might get a little messed up if you overload it due to slowing of the rotational speed within a single revolution, but not much.

Are you aware that the generator's KVA rating is not the same as KW? If running inductive loads, like fluorescent tube ballasts, check the power factor.

Cheap home generators will be 'optimistically' rated and probably will start to struggle even somewhat below their rated output. Mine do. The voltage will drop quite a lot under load, along with the frequency getting a little lower and more erratic.
 
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    FvM

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    munzir

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The output should be a good sine wave already - it's made by a rotating generator.
Good point. The most likely reason to get distorted output voltage from a generator is to connect a load with distorted current waveform.
 

There are motorized appliances (example, refrigerator, air conditioner) that will distort the sine wave. This is not necessarily harmful.

Also, these appliances can draw 2 or 3 times the normal current when the motor kicks in. A generator that's powering other appliances may lack sufficient capacity to get it running. Could this be happening in your case?
 

yeah a single phase 220V induction motor of 1 hp .......
 

can we implement a PID system on AC Generator , for best load stabilizing ?
 

munzir, you probably can't improve the output in any way. It's more a case of knowing what you have...

The output should be a good sine wave already - it's made by a rotating generator. It might get a little messed up if you overload it due to slowing of the rotational speed within a single revolution, but not much.

Are you aware that the generator's KVA rating is not the same as KW? If running inductive loads, like fluorescent tube ballasts, check the power factor.

Cheap home generators will be 'optimistically' rated and probably will start to struggle even somewhat below their rated output. Mine do. The voltage will drop quite a lot under load, along with the frequency getting a little lower and more erratic.

how to check and measure the power factor ?

- - - Updated - - -

Please tell us what kind of generator it is and what it's ratings are. Without knowing what you are starting with it's a bit difficult to advise on how to improve it!

Brian.

Peak Power 2800 W
Rated Power 2500 W
AC Rated Current 11.4 @ 220 V
6.5 Hp Engine
Voltage level 220V

Electric & Recoil start both starting methods

What do you mean by " What kind of generator it is " ?

thanks
 

Good point. The most likely reason to get distorted output voltage from a generator is to connect a load with distorted current waveform.

what are the loads which have distorted current waveform ?
Are you talking about inductive loads ?
 

How to calculate the mechanical power & how to calculate the electrical power ?

Are K.W & KVA the units of electrical output power ?
 

Are K.W & KVA the units of electrical output power ?

The only difference between kW and kVA is the power factor. Once again, the power factor, unless known, is an approximation. For purposes of our calculations, we use a power factor of .85. The kVA value is always higher than the value for kW.

kW to kVA kW / .85 = SAME VALUE EXPRESSED IN kVA
kVA TO kW kVA * .85 = SAME VALUE EXPRESSED IN kW

KILOWATT (kW) = VOLTS x AMPERES x POWER FACTOR / 1000

Given: We have a electrical stove that draws 6.0 amps.

220 * 6.0 = 1320 VA 1320 VA * .85 = 1122 1122 / 1000 = 1.122 kW

I'll say better to use bigger generator ..... You can sell electricity to your neighbors.
 
Last edited:

Given: We have a electrical stove that draws 6.0 amps.

220 * 6.0 = 1320 VA 1320 VA * .85 = 1122 1122 / 1000 = 1.122 kW
Actually a bad example because the power factor of an electrical stove will be rather surely 1.0, unless you have an electronical induction cooker (with much worse power factor).

In most cases, rated generator current, which translates into kVA (apparent power), is the limitation. It's rather unlikely that the available motor power sets a lower kW (real power) limit. In so far, generator rating is usually calculated in apparent power units, the same with transformers.
 

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