Generator Question

Try this calculator from Cummins and pick/choose what's important to you.

Gas vs electric appliances will make a decent difference too

Thanks bud. Found everything I needed there

I would go natural gas

Ok, thanks all . I also thought natural gas was best. We lose electric when somebody coughs.

Two fridges 1,900 sq feet all electric all I need is 10 kw? I def want to make sure we don’t have any issues.

I run everything in my 1200sqft house except the central A/C off of a portable 5500 on nat gas. That's including two full-sized refrigerators (one new and one 20 years old) and two window units. I can run the microwave, all TVs, and lights with no problem

Most of the time, people don't need as much as they buy

This is what I remember from researching it a few years ago, so don't quote me:

Your A/C needs a certain amount of amperage to start, and a lesser amount to run. A soft start basically steps up the motor voltage in stages to get it running, where it normally just jumps up to the full starting voltage all at once, which also means the full amperage, and it'll kill your generator.

For example, my compressor'starting amperage is something like 160, and running is 30. I can start up 30A of random equipment at once on my generators, but not 160A. The engine can't handle that much load, and it dies.


I think the whole setup was supposed to be like $600 if I bought and installed everything.

quote:

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This is what I remember from researching it a few years ago, so don't quote me:

Your A/C needs a certain amount of amperage to start, and a lesser amount to run. A soft start basically steps up the motor voltage in stages to get it running, where it normally just jumps up to the full starting voltage all at once, which also means the full amperage, and it'll kill your generator.

For example, my compressor'starting amperage is something like 160, and running is 30. I can start up 30A of random equipment at once on my generators, but not 160A. The engine can't handle that much load, and it dies.


I think the whole setup was supposed to be like $600 if I bought and installed everything.

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I have a micro air easy start on my camper, so I can run the A/C on a 2k inverter. They do make one for home use.

Micro - Air

Do not install anything smaller than a 20kW. Your not saving that much money with a smaller unit. Cummins QuietConnect 20kW with 200 Amp Auto Transfer Switch (ATS) is a solid choice. Natural Gas is best fuel source.