Is that 3KVA at peak power? As that would only be about 1.5KVA at normal sustained level.You can buy an uprated AVR for most generators but it might burn out the alternator over time. Much better to bite the bullet and get a larger generator.A mate of mine has no mains electric and generates his own power. One day he came round to ask what I knew about generators as both of his weren't giving any output. After a brief reply of "Nothing" I went round to look. Luckily one of the gennies had worn the brushes out while the other had blown the AVR - I managed to swap the brushes over and got one working.Looking on ebay I found replacement brushes for a couple of quid a set so I bought 3 sets. The AVR was about £45. There are many cheaper AVR's on ebay but when you investigate further they are not pure sine wave and are you going to trust an AVR that's only a fiver?I've learnt a fair bit about generators which is a good job because he brought another one round the other day that needs fixing.
Hugh, I knew what you meant and yes it is 3KVA peak and you are correct the only way to go really is larger. There is a reason for a 60Amp main fuse in the house A 7 to 10 kva with AVR will do me fine. I did a lot of work with UPs systems and Generators when I worked with the telephone company and was working in IT for the local council some years ago. Got a call from a neighbour 2 days ago to say his 6KVA genny had packed in and on investigation I found the voltage was down to 20V and the 40uF capacitor had decided to say "foc u I'm outa here" Everything else checked out and he bought a new capacitor the following day and we fitted it,which sorted itI then asked him how he was using it, telling him that some of the reasons these capacitor blow is from, Overloading , stored in very damp conditions or a fault in the generator itself.Overloading was his problem, he was trying to run his Submersibile Pump, the Fridge, the freezer, the lights tv and boil a kettle all at the same time on a 6KVA genny. He was also complaining that it was a pain to start and he had to override the governor to get it to start he was trying to start it with the changeover switch on generator and everything on in the house. After a few lessons on how to start it and what not to do he was on his merry way.
I am looking into the viability of solar.Just getting my head around the figures needed to run a house is kind of mind blowing.My mate runs a 2.8 Kva Honda now as it's a lot quieter than the larger one - how he lives with that set-up I'll never know, far too basic for me.I know a bit about electrics (just enough to know when to stop) and I learn new bits every now and then. I should have learned properly when I was younger as just about everyone brings their dodgy electrics to me to fix.
Quote from: Hugh Mungus on 21 October 2017, 01:01:49 pmI am looking into the viability of solar.Just getting my head around the figures needed to run a house is kind of mind blowing.My mate runs a 2.8 Kva Honda now as it's a lot quieter than the larger one - how he lives with that set-up I'll never know, far too basic for me.I know a bit about electrics (just enough to know when to stop) and I learn new bits every now and then. I should have learned properly when I was younger as just about everyone brings their dodgy electrics to me to fix.The more you fix the more you learn My moto is simple, "If it's already broken you can't break it, the worst you can do is fix it"