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Generater overload

Started by Shredder, Oct 14, 2007, 03:32 PM

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Shredder

We have and use a yamaha 1000watt generater. This summer my wife used it to power her travel blow drier and her travel curling iron. (to my surprise)This weekend the drier tripped the overload feature of the gen. I have not found a power rating on either appliance, but they did work in the pup, now the drier does not, and I do not know why. When I took the drier outside it did work all right when directly plugged into the the gen. I do not think there was any other thing drawing 110V AC in the trailer, and doubt the extra wiring length caused by going threw the pup would make much difference. Anyone have a theory? Would the battery not being fully charged, and then plugging into the gen, with the controller trying to charge the battery be the difference? Shredder :confused:

wavery

Quote from: ShredderWe have and use a yamaha 1000watt generater. This summer my wife used it to power her travel blow drier and her travel curling iron. (to my surprise)This weekend the drier tripped the overload feature of the gen. I have not found a power rating on either appliance, but they did work in the pup, now the drier does not, and I do not know why. When I took the drier outside it did work all right when directly plugged into the the gen. I do not think there was any other thing drawing 110V AC in the trailer, and doubt the extra wiring length caused by going threw the pup would make much difference. Anyone have a theory? Would the battery not being fully charged, and then plugging into the gen, with the controller trying to charge the battery be the difference? Shredder :confused:
The operating wattage on a 1000w generator is about 750w (typically about 75% of rated wattage). That would be barely enough to run a travel hair dryer on it's own.

Yes, being plugged through the camper's wiring and converter could be enough to make a substantial difference when you are running borderline in the 1st place.

You may want to consider buying a 12g extension cord and by-passing the camper's wiring. :D

Shredder

Quote from: waveryThe operating wattage on a 1000w generator is about 750w (typically about 75% of rated wattage). That would be barely enough to run a travel hair dryer on it's own.

Yes, being plugged through the camper's wiring and converter could be enough to make a substantial difference when you are running borderline in the 1st place.

You may want to consider buying a 12g extension cord and by-passing the camper's wiring. :D

The part that bothers me is that it did work earlier this summer. I actually was surprised it did work at all. I wonder if I pulled the 12V fuse at the battery and tried it again if it would work. That way the controler would not be trying to charge the battery. The controler charging the battery and the gas detecter are the only things I can think of running while she was trying to dry her hair, and that gas detecter can't draw much.......Shredder

cojake

I had the same issue with my Yamaha 1000 watt trying to power a small microwave.  When I plugged the micro into my trailers 110 outlet and the the trailers shore power cord into the generator the overload breaker would trip.  When I plugged the microwave directly into the generator it would work for a bit and then shut down.  I loved the size and the quietness of the Yamaha, but I ended up selling mine on Craigslist for $75.00 less than I paid for it and bought the 2000 watt Honda.  It cost me 220.00 more than the Yamaha but will power everything in my trailer while running it through the shore power cord.

zamboni

Not sure what trailer you have... but the culprit may be your Fridge.

My fridge has "Auto" and "Gas".  We leave it on Auto all the time, but I must remember when dry camping to change it to "Gas" -- otherwise, when the generator fires up, the fridge goes YIPPEE! and switches to electricity.  Then, I wonder why the microwave has issues... until I remember to switch the fridge to gas only!

Shredder

Quote from: zamboniNot sure what trailer you have... but the culprit may be your Fridge.

My fridge has "Auto" and "Gas".  We leave it on Auto all the time, but I must remember when dry camping to change it to "Gas" -- otherwise, when the generator fires up, the fridge goes YIPPEE! and switches to electricity.  Then, I wonder why the microwave has issues... until I remember to switch the fridge to gas only!

We have a 2005 jayco model 1006. I don't think there is an auto setting. I believe it is 110V AC,  12V DC,  gas, or off. It was on gas while we were camping. Since we got home I have tried the hair drier again and the gen overloaded, then pulled the 12V fuse at the battery and tried it and it worked. I suspect the gen is just marginal as far as the hair drier is concerned. Like I said before I was surprised it worked at all, after all the gen is only rated at 1000 watts, and you would think a hair drier would draw major wattage. The major reason we have and use the gen is for charging the battery and it works fine for that. In 30 days of camping this year we have never had "hook ups" yet...Shredder

wavery

Quote from: ShredderThe major reason we have and use the gen is for charging the battery and it works fine for that. In 30 days of camping this year we have never had "hook ups" yet...Shredder
Of course, I don't know what converter that you have in your PU. If it is not one of the newer ones that have a built in 3-stage battery charger, it should not be relied on for "Charging" your batteries.

You might be much better off buying a 3-stage "Smart" charger and plugging that into your generator to charge your battery. No matter how you charge your battery, be sure to keep the battery water filled up before charging. Always use "Distilled" water only.

It may not be a good idea to plug your PUs power cord directly into a small gen-set like that. You may be better off using a HD (12g) extension cord and plug strip with a built-in circuit breaker. I even do that with my 2000w gen-set.

Your power cord and converter are really designed for use with "Shore power", so that you have 110v to your PUs outlets and 12v (for lights and w/pump) without using your PUs battery.

Shredder

Quote from: waveryOf course, I don't know what converter that you have in your PU. If it is not one of the newer ones that have a built in 3-stage battery charger, it should not be relied on for "Charging" your batteries.

You might be much better off buying a 3-stage "Smart" charger and plugging that into your generator to charge your battery. No matter how you charge your battery, be sure to keep the battery water filled up before charging. Always use "Distilled" water only.

.

All good advice, but I think we are all set. I charge the battery with a schumacker(sp?) smart three stage charger. I use it at home before we go and every day camping unless we did not use much juice the night before, and after we get home. The built in controler as a charger did not work well. We also have a new this year group 29 battery that I check on every couple of weeks. I learned all this the hard way, the furnace would not light one trip. The auto ignition did not have enough power to light it up, there was plenty of power for the lights and water pump though. With in a couple of weeks, we bought a new battery, the smart charger, and the Yamaha gen..........shredder

Used 2B PopUPTimes

What's the wattage of the hair drier?

Shredder

Quote from: PopUPTimesWhat's the wattage of the hair drier?


I think in my first post I mentioned that I do not know, it's an old model and there is no power rating on it that I can find.....Shredder