Gas generator: how to choose? Inverter gas generators. Instruction, price

The life of a modern person without electricity has become simply unthinkable, because electricity is available in every home, and its disconnection often causes a lot of trouble. For this purpose, devices such as gasoline generators were invented, the prices for which vary from 15,000 rubles. How to choose them and what points to pay attention to, will be discussed further. This device is an autonomous source of electricity. You can even take it with you to nature, which will allow you to spend time with comfort even in conditions of strong remoteness from home. And all this makes it possible to make a gasoline generator. How to choose it, it will be clear if you consider all the parameters that are important to him.

general description

It is much easier to answer this question if you decide for what purposes it will be used. In those cases, if he is to work at low temperatures, the optimal solution may be to purchase a device that works exactly on gasoline, because diesel launch at low temperatures is much more difficult. In addition, such devices are much more compact, environmentally friendly and cheaper than diesel ones.

Power, as the main factor of choice

So, if you buy a gasoline generator (how to choose it, it's told here), then first you should decide for what purposes you need it? The power of the device depends on your needs. For example, the gas generator "Honda EU10i" will be sufficient if you need lighting in a trip to nature, and when there is a need to electrify the entire house, you should consider more powerful models. The device should have some power reserve, because you can at any time to supply from it something new, and some household appliances differ in the presence of a difference between the power consumption and the starting capacity. For example, the current capacity of a modern refrigerator is about 150 watts, and the starting capacity is four times more, that is, 600. So, if we consider a gasoline generator, how to choose which one, we understand, then we can face another problem. On the device itself, power is usually indicated in volts-amperes, and the power consumption of each connected device is indicated in watts, which often confounds in the calculations of the required level. Here everything is quite simple: 1VA = 0.8W, which means that a 1000VA device provides the work of a consumer who needs 800W.

Differences by current type

The choice of gasoline generator depends on the type of devices that you are going to connect to it. All consumers of electrical energy are divided into three-phase and single-phase. The first have a plug, different from the traditional one, which we connect to 220V outlets. All household appliances, as well as low-power equipment, are all representatives of single-phase devices. Three-phase compressors, concrete mixers, electric boilers, as well as other appliances based on powerful electric motors are usually included. For household use, a 5 kW gasoline generator is quite suitable, the capacity of which will be sufficient to meet the current needs of the family during the disconnection of the central power supply. If we take a more powerful device, then it will cope well with electricity supply of the whole house, and also will allow to connect the devices necessary for construction work.

Voltage Regulators

Among the voltage regulators it is customary to isolate transformers, capacitors, AVRs and inverters. Condensers and transformers function on the basis of the phenomenon of electromagnetic induction, so they can not give a stable voltage without jumps at all. Automatic regulators, unlike them, cope with this task much better, and their cost is much smaller than that of inverter devices. The high price of the latter is due to the quality of the conversion of the electric current, which satisfy very stringent requirements for the level of harmonics and sinusoidality required in working with equipment sensitive to slightest voltage drops. Inverter gasoline generators allow using them to provide operation of different types of expensive equipment without fear for its safety. Even fairly simple devices that have a power of up to 3000 watts are able to ensure uninterrupted and high-quality work of a personal computer, refrigerator, TV and VCR simultaneously.

Where is the gasoline generator used?

How to choose this rather complicated device, you already understand, now you need to determine the areas of its application. So, it should be remembered that the generator for the house should work with a minimum noise level, be environmentally friendly and reliable, and also be equipped with a voltage regulator or an inverter. If we talk about a device designed for recreation, then it should be economical, compact and easy. If you are a fan of fishing or hunting, and you do not like to sit in the dark with candles or kerosene lamps, you can take a compact gasoline generator with you. The battery life of the smallest models is 4-8 hours, which is quite enough for "field" conditions. These inverter gasoline generators are quite capable of ensuring the operation of the freezer, tape recorder and laptop simultaneously.

Types of control of the device

Quite an important question in choosing is the following: to take a model with automatic or manual control? Naturally, in this case the solution depends solely on the buyer. Manual mode requires the presence of maintenance personnel, which usually becomes the owner of the device, if it is a generator for home use. In the presence of the "automatic plus manual" mode, it is a question of control and monitoring in an automatic mode, where personnel are required exclusively for maintenance.

When using manual mode plus remote control, the first is supplemented by the possibility of monitoring at a distance of up to 25 meters. This is quite convenient when the generator is located in a specially designated place, and the owner is in the cottage at the same time. Completely remote control is required in the case of networks or groups of objects with strong branching. Measurement and control of necessary parameters is performed by the operator through a computer. This mode is completely unsuitable for the house or for giving, but it's worth knowing about it.

Types of loads

The load, that is, the electrical device connected to the generator, has a pair of components - active and reactive. The first works like this: all the energy that is consumed by the device turns into heat, that is, it is about incandescent lamps, kettles, irons, heaters, electric stoves and the like. The reactive component is available for all other devices, in the construction of which there are inductors or capacitors. Examples of such loads include microwave ovens, refrigerators, air conditioners, drills, and so on. In such devices, a part of the energy is converted into heat, and some are spent to form electromagnetic fields, and this is the same reactive component.

Starting current

This phenomenon occurs quite often. Starting currents occur briefly when the engine starts. They appear for a fairly short period of time, literally for a fraction of a second, however often they exceed the nominal value at times. Starting currents in different devices are 2-9 times higher than the rated currents. The most severe start-up is observed in submersible pumps. They do not have an idling phase and their starting current is 7-9 times higher than the one specified in the technical passport. Conventional household appliances are incapable of measuring starting currents, since they are too inert, so they simply do not have time to respond to such a short burst. This parameter is not specified by many manufacturers in the specifications, so you often have to rely on the estimated values. Therefore, when buying the device, it will be more accurate to specify this parameter from the manufacturer or dealer.

Generator selection

These devices can be synchronous and asynchronous. The former are characterized by a higher quality of electrical energy, as well as the ability to withstand three-time transient overloads. They should be used for feeding reactive loads, characterized by high starting currents. Asynchronous generators do not cope with peak loads. They are resistant to short circuits. They are recommended to be used for feeding active loads, i.e. heat engineering, incandescent lamps, electric stoves and other similar devices. If the generator is overloaded, it may well be out of order. Gasoline generators inverter in terms of design are similar to asynchronous, but they are equipped with electronic voltage regulators.

Petrol generator with own hands

The first thing you need to implement such a bold idea is to get the engine from a chainsaw. It will serve as the basis of the entire design. And then it does not matter what brand the device will be, because in any case, you can get excellent gasoline generators. The assembly instruction assumes that you also have a 12 or 24 watt generator. This component of the future device can be obtained from agricultural machinery. It's worth taking care of the inverter, that is, the voltage converter. For these purposes, uninterruptible power supply units, available in computer or other office equipment, are often used, the launch of which is done by means of a battery.

The old car tire will serve in this case as an attachment for the generator. Its fixation at several points will guarantee greater rigidity of the whole future design. If you install an automatic start-up system on the device, then you no longer have to worry about the need to constantly monitor the presence of electricity. So, you now know what spare parts for gasoline generators may be required.