Overloading may be expected from an older unit or it may be a complete surprise to you. Being aware of your generator and its behaviors is important to the continued functioning of the generator and the overall safety of your home. One sure sign is that your generator is overheating in use. It may be running fans excessively to cool itself off, making loud noises, or giving off excess heat as it works to get the job done and cool itself down. Another way an overload might present itself is as a reduction of power output for the generator.
In addition to working too hard, the generator may be working too hard for too little of an output of power. The work it does may be cut in half by an overload resulting in poor performance by the machine. One very clear sign of a generator overload is the appearance of soot in the exhaust of the generator. While dark exhaust is normal, as a sign of carbon particles, soot left over is not so normal.
So, basically solving the generator overload problem is quite simple:. Remove unnecessary appliances or get a larger generator! Overheating, soot in the exhaust and a loss in power output are also indicators that your generator has been overloaded. After removing all electronics from the receptacles, hit the circuit protector reset button, followed by the Overload Reset button to correct the load.
In the event of a sudden generator failure due to prolonged engine overload, the overload reset button is used. If the generator overheats, after correcting the load, hit the overload reset button on the front panel.
Generators are tough machines! The best idea for fixing an overload and taking care of your generator in the future is to make sure you have enough wattage for the equipment you want to run by checking the wattage specs.
Usually, one of the biggest loads that generators face is — air conditioning. A start capacitor is a good alternative offered by certain air conditioner manufacturers. IF there is no start capacitor, the air conditioner can draw too much starting current, overloading the generator. If a short circuit or major overload of the generator happens, the circuit breaker will immediately shut the whole system down.
After that, these are the steps you can take to restart it:. There is a point with all generators, where they cannot run fast enough to keep up with the power draw. This can result in a power overload that can not only damage your portable generator but also be dangerous. Most generators will specify two main power statistics. The first is the starting watts or the peak watts, the second the running watts. Often, the highlighted number on the model name.
Peak watts are the limit at which the generator can power. Electric saws, televisions, and more so appliances with compressors such as fridges — all use a higher level of power when they are first turned on. If a generator did not this buffer, it would shut down even if the running watts were well beneath its capacity.
If the generator ran at the peak output all the time, it would either overheat or shut off when anyone device surged. Running watts is what you need to calculate when investigating which generator to buy. You may have heard of a brownout before — common during the summer. Brownouts happen when power-stations can fail to meet the demand. Demand spikes in heatwaves when everyone is using air-conditioning and fridges are running all the time. To cope, the authorities will reduce the power to the grid to prevent the generators from shutting down and causing a full blackout.
A private generator will save itself in the same way — avoiding shutting down, but not making any more power. The lights will dim, some electronics will stop working, and there is the potential for damaging sensitive electronics. See the Best Budget Generators here! A few things can happen if you overload the generator, you can overheat the engine or the stator, or you can trip the fuse. Newer generators have overheating protection. Protection such as heat sensors and fans to keep their temperatures constant in hot weather.
Older generators with try to keep up with demand and can end up overheating the engine. An air-cooled engine overheating is not as obvious as with a water-cooled engine. You may smell burning oil, and the engine will sound like it is struggling. If in doubt, turn it off, and inspect the oil in the engine. Wait for at least a half-hour and unplug all appliances before attempting to restart the engine.
If the engine starts with ease and sounds normal, plug in one appliance at a time to see if it is a loading issue.
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