Generators

Generators

Petrol generators here split into two designs built for different loads. A conventional open-frame generator produces raw power straight off the alternator, which is fine for tools, site equipment and general backup but can carry small fluctuations that laptops, TVs and other sensitive electronics don't tolerate well. An inverter generator conditions that output into a clean, stable waveform safe for that same sensitive electronics, and it typically runs quieter as well, at some cost to maximum output compared with an open-frame unit of similar size. Sizing runs on kVA, and the number to check is the combined starting load of everything you intend to run at once, since a generator sized only for running load will stall when a fridge or a power tool's motor first kicks in.

Victor covers open-frame petrol generators from 3.7kVA up to 10KVA plus a 7.5KW inverter model. FF Group supplies open-frame models from 6.0KVA up to a 10.6KVA heavy duty 3-phase unit. AC Brooklyn covers 7.0 and 8.1kVA key-start models. For portable battery power stations see Power Stations.

In a power cut a generator covers the loads a battery cannot, which in practice means the big motors: a well pump, a slurry or milking system, a workshop, or a whole house rather than a single room. Two things decide whether it does the job. Size it on starting load rather than running load, because a pump or a compressor draws several times its rated figure in the first second. And run it outdoors, well clear of doors, windows and vents, never in a garage, a shed or a porch, because the exhaust carries carbon monoxide and a running generator has killed people sheltering from a storm. Pick an inverter model if the same set will also run a router, a laptop or a television. A carbon monoxide alarm is worth having in the house whichever model you choose, and see Power Cut & Emergency Essentials for the rest of the kit.