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  • obisteve
    obisteve
    1 month
    Interesting post Dicko.
    I liked the one a while ago too that had pics of a model of the gas engine your grandfather used for his generator. A good choice of engine, running on locally sourced waste product from the sawmill, 100% renewable fuel. The big flywheels would help with frequency control, although electrical gear from then wasn't as sensitive to frequency variations as modern stuff.
  • speedzter
    speedzter
    1 month
    Obi, most electronic equipment these days use switch mode power supplies .
    They aren't overly fussy on input voltage or frequency.
    But they do prefer a relatively clean sine wave input .

  • obisteve
    obisteve
    1 month
    Thanks for that Speedzter, always happy to learn. Comment was based on experience on a new offgrid PV system with generator backup I installed on my place in 2005. The 2.5 kW inverter was my first time with a true sinewave unit, the 6.5 kW generator was a Chinese clone Honda motor and generator. Very small electronics package on the output and I was never able to get it adjusted to 50 cycles. All my electronics stuff ran perfectly on the inverter powered PV output, gear like computers and then new Bose stereo hated it. I figured it was the low frequency, but the genny output was probably full of harmonics as well.
    And I suppose what's now 25 year old gear isn't modern anymore.
    The genny and the Bose are still earning their keep.
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