I have a chance to get a non inverter Honda EG5000X generator practically for free from a friend to use for occasional blackouts. Seeing that even fridges have circuit boards these days, has anyone found they were able to damage their fridge with a non inverter type generator.? Thanks.
Non inverter generators for home use.
- Thread starter Snagglefoot
- Start date
If it is a Honda manufactured generator I would not be concerned. I just used my Mitsubishi generator to run my Samsung fridge after Hurricane Sally with no problems. Some of the electricians on this board could probably tell you how to test the output on the generator and what to look for but I would trust Honda to make a quality product.
Circuit boards do not run on AC current, it is rectified to DC. All board have large bypass capacitors that shunt AC to ground. That includes refrigerators. I would not worry about it. If you are worried about ripple affecting a computer you could use a UPS in front of it.
Here in South Africa load shedding is a feature of just about every day - it includes all sorts of funky ways of power returning .
For the last 13 years already have a 6.5KVA non-inverter cheap Honda clone gennie doing duty when required .................... one large 1.5KW fridge compressor and 2 smaller 1/4HP compressors in freezers rely on this guy to stay cool .................... no issues so far and they do start up together more often than not
For the last 13 years already have a 6.5KVA non-inverter cheap Honda clone gennie doing duty when required .................... one large 1.5KW fridge compressor and 2 smaller 1/4HP compressors in freezers rely on this guy to stay cool .................... no issues so far and they do start up together more often than not
You will be fine
My low budget Predator non-inverter generator has run my house for 5 days twice now. None of the electronics in the house suffered from it.
Computers ?
Maybe some of the electronic/electrical guys can explain why an inverter might produce better quality electricity by electronically mimicking the waveform of an actual rotating generator. My experience with inverters is that they produce a square wave rather than a sine wave. Do the inverter generators made by companies like Honda have advanced circuitry that produces higher quality electricity?
gathermewool
Site Donor 2023
Inverter generators produce a true Sine Wave .
Any Honda non-inverter would most likely produce a very decent sine wave AC that will not cause any problems.
Modern electronics are designed to global markets and so operate in worst possible conditions of AC ripple and low voltage (Think gilligans Island stirring coconuts to power the radio). As was stated capacitive and inductive filtering techniques are used to shunt line noise that feeds the DC electronics. And shielding protects electronics from RF noise. As long as the gen out has sufficient power transfer the load will be fine.
Interesting blog about Honda generators
Found it yesterday....every topic has some interesting points... https://petepowerblog.wordpress.com/blog/
www.bobistheoilguy.com
Washing machines and generators.
Just had this enquiry come through and I thought it might be quite widely relevant so I have posted it here for your consideration. Please come back with any thoughts or personal experiences on the…
petepowerblog.wordpress.com
Computers are chill about the quality of power they get. They have switching power supplies and will take quite dirty power.
Fridges are worse because they have motors, and any distortion in the sine wave makes the motor bits want to climb sideways out of the case. This usually manifests itself as a little extra heat, maybe someone smelling the dust burning off.
OPs fridge will be fine.
A couple of things I like about my Inverter generator is it doesn't need to run a full RPM regardlees of the load and because of that it is usually much quieter. It uses less fuel. Basted on comments above I guess I shouldn't be be concerned about my computers. Ed
I've run both the traditional and the inverter type. All of my computers and network gear are filtered thru UPS back up systems, so I can't comment on them specifically. OTOH, one of those UPS units would machine gun between line and battery when on that dirty generator power, and this did cause problems with both a computer and router.
As for appliances, the refrigerators, freezer, and dishwasher ran just fine. The gas hot water heater has electronic ignition and a powered vent fan. This also works flawlessly. The front loading washer and drier refused to start. The gas range seemed to work ok, but now the logic board has gone wonky. The clock will spontaneously reset which turns the oven off. I suspect that the dirty power from the generator had something to do with this.
As for appliances, the refrigerators, freezer, and dishwasher ran just fine. The gas hot water heater has electronic ignition and a powered vent fan. This also works flawlessly. The front loading washer and drier refused to start. The gas range seemed to work ok, but now the logic board has gone wonky. The clock will spontaneously reset which turns the oven off. I suspect that the dirty power from the generator had something to do with this.
So one should be concerned about non-inverter power for computers, modems etc unless you have evidence that you have a fairly clean power. Ed
I don't think that's the takeaway.
An inverter builds a sine wave out of a series of squares. Some units do better than others, but most are good. Computer UPSs have inverters that were traditionally very square-ish but have gotten better.
A 3600 RPM traditional has brushes that can hit mechanical pits and introduce distortion that way, but is theoretically perfect.
I’ve run a refrigerator with a non inverter generator without issue. That’s my only concern during Power outages.
The Honda non-inverter generator should be just fine. Many of the Hondas have a built-in Automatic Voltage Regulator (AVR) which is a step up from a basic non-inverter generator.
The way these non-inverter generators can cause harm is when you let them run out of gas while things are plugged into it. The engine will surge up and down, which causes the power output and frequency to surge and droop as well. It is best to remove the load and shutdown the generator yourself before it runs out of gas to prevent any issues. Like I said, Honda generators are pretty bullet proof. They are less likely to have an issue with power surges with an AVR, but the power will droop (brown-out) when the engine is running out of gas.
I have one of each. A little Honda EU2000i inverter for camping and an Honda EP2500CX (with an AVR). Both generators power my fridge, furnace, TV, sump pump and internet quite well during power outages. The non-inverter generator handles surge loads better (like when the furnace blower or sump pump kicks on) because it has a larger engine, so I favor it when it's cold outside. Never a problem with either one, I use them both without worry.
The way these non-inverter generators can cause harm is when you let them run out of gas while things are plugged into it. The engine will surge up and down, which causes the power output and frequency to surge and droop as well. It is best to remove the load and shutdown the generator yourself before it runs out of gas to prevent any issues. Like I said, Honda generators are pretty bullet proof. They are less likely to have an issue with power surges with an AVR, but the power will droop (brown-out) when the engine is running out of gas.
I have one of each. A little Honda EU2000i inverter for camping and an Honda EP2500CX (with an AVR). Both generators power my fridge, furnace, TV, sump pump and internet quite well during power outages. The non-inverter generator handles surge loads better (like when the furnace blower or sump pump kicks on) because it has a larger engine, so I favor it when it's cold outside. Never a problem with either one, I use them both without worry.
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