Sine wave Inverter type back up generator for well pump.?

[CalG]

I have the Honda eu7000i inverter generator. It is 5500 watts continuous, 7000 watt peak, and has had no issue running the well pump at either of my homes. At the house in Maine, the generator was outside, less than 15 ft from the bedroom. We can't hear it running when we go to bed. We love how quiet it is. Yes it is heavy but I don't find it all that difficult to move around. We do make sure the breakers are off for the oven, dryer and the 5 ton AC unit before we fire up the generator. As generator can't handle the well pump and any of those 3 items. It handles everything else with no issues. We do have propane cook top and water heater so the generator doesn't need to handle those loads. Wife loves that it is push button start with fuel injection so no worry about pulling a cord and properly applying the choke.

How have you wired it into your home in consideration of the two power supply load balancing?

 

[bigtiller]

I have the Honda eu7000i inverter generator. It is 5500 watts continuous, 7000 watt peak, and has had no issue running the well pump at either of my homes. At the house in Maine, the generator was outside, less than 15 ft from the bedroom. We can't hear it running when we go to bed. We love how quiet it is. Yes it is heavy but I don't find it all that difficult to move around. We do make sure the breakers are off for the oven, dryer and the 5 ton AC unit before we fire up the generator. As generator can't handle the well pump and any of those 3 items. It handles everything else with no issues. We do have propane cook top and water heater so the generator doesn't need to handle those loads. Wife loves that it is push button start with fuel injection so no worry about pulling a cord and properly applying the choke.

I've still got my man card but my performance days are far behind me. Anything short of level concrete makes moving that 262 pound genny a work out.

 

[CalG]

I've still got my man card but my performance days are far behind me. Anything short of level concrete makes moving that 262 pound genny a work out.

I put down mini-ramps when bringing in a barrow full of firewood over the downstairs door threshhold. Might be a pair of two inch bumps.

But I'm getting stronger with age, I can now carry $100 worth of groceries with one hand! ;-)

 

[ponytug]

Yes

Really all I desire to do is bump up to about 6500 watts as "wife protection". ;-)

I do not want a whole house back up power station.

the 4500 watt unit has worked for the past several years under supervision.

There is a second hand winco 6000 (11 HP) offered on the local craigslist.

For $350, it will be hard to make too great an error.

The Honda "QUIET" part might have been too enticing. ;-)

I bet the Winco is loud as anything!

Every WINCO that I've been around was definitely not quiet, but at the price...

How have you wired it into your home in consideration of the two power supply load balancing?

I think that using a 240V generator on most homes is always going to be an exercise in load balancing the two 120V circuits. I have to say that as a result, I have tended to buy 240V appliances and motors when I can. (Did I mention that we lose power frequently?) My spouse delegates generator duty to me, so I have no advice to give on that one.

I have a 5kW (6.5kW surge) diesel genset that is loud and heavy, but it is mechanically and electrically simple and just runs. I like everything about it, except the noise, really dislike the noise. When I have to move it any distance on a slope, the FEL comes out. To me it is just not worth a runaway generator. I have a bigger genset that is closer to 1,200lbs, which requires careful use of the forks, but it is much, much quieter, and it will happily run our well all day.

All the best,

Peter

 

[CalG]

Every WINCO that I've been around was definitely not quiet, but at the price...



I think that using a 240V generator on most homes is always going to be an exercise in load balancing the two 120V circuits. I have to say that as a result, I have tended to buy 240V appliances and motors when I can. (Did I mention that we lose power frequently?) My spouse delegates generator duty to me, so I have no advice to give on that one.

I have a 5kW (6.5kW surge) diesel genset that is loud and heavy, but it is mechanically and electrically simple and just runs. I like everything about it, except the noise, really dislike the noise. When I have to move it any distance on a slope, the FEL comes out. To me it is just not worth a runaway generator. I have a bigger genset that is closer to 1,200lbs, which requires careful use of the forks, but it is much, much quieter, and it will happily run our well all day.

All the best,

Peter

The unit mentioned is Honda powered, so there is an expectation of sound quality just in that.
A sheet of plywood goes a long way toward sound redirection. $40 vs $4000. hmmmm

 

[CalG]

?
P=IxE

E=I^2 R

A gen does not put out power that is not consumed ;-)

 

[ponytug]

The unit mentioned is Honda powered, so there is an expectation of sound quality just in that.
A sheet of plywood goes a long way toward sound redirection. $40 vs $4000. hmmmm

In my experience, open frame Hondas are loud, though not in the WINCO league.

But I have found a sheet or three of plywood is more than a few cards short of a full deck in sound reduction. BTDT. "Silent" generators have a bunch of items to suppress the sound.

At the end of the day, it is your money.

Good luck!

All the best,

Peter

 

[CalG]

In my experience, open frame Hondas are loud, though not in the WINCO league.

But I have found a sheet or three of plywood is more than a few cards short of a full deck in sound reduction. BTDT. "Silent" generators have a bunch of items to suppress the sound.

At the end of the day, it is your money.

Good luck!

All the best,

Peter

Actually, I was just looking at that Load balancing diagram for 240V operation.

I can't see any requirement to use the single phase outlets, so all I need do is to distribute the single phase loads, like the fridge and freezer to alternate lines on the panel.

That may mean shuffling a couple of wires , breakers and labels, but that is not a problem.

I need to spend a bit of time with the amp clamp ;-)

 

[TN8Man]

Not sure what the question mark is for as the equation shows they're the same power.

One advantage of the EU7000 in 120v mode is that it gangs the two sides of the generator together so you do not need to try to balance the load between them.

The question mark is the use of a 120V mode vs 240V mode where you can get up to 30A (fused) on a single output if that's what you need. You are however limited to 45.8 amps total when using both 30A outputs at the same time. The 30 amp limit and fuse is due to the 30A connector rating itself.

In the 240V mode you are limited to 22.9A on each output.

The eu7000 is a high quality geny that is reliable and will last for a long time if you take care of it. I still have two eu2000's I bought over 20 years ago that still run great! They are quiet too which is a good thing for many reasons.

 

[IXLR8]

How have you wired it into your home in consideration of the two power supply load balancing?

I guess I don't worry about load balancing. In 8 years it hasn't been an issue that I am aware of in either house. I just have a 30 amp 2 pole breaker in the panel that that the generator is connected to. I have an interlock on the panel that prevents the MAINS breaker from being on at the same time the generator breaker is on. Both breakers can NOT be on at the same time.
EDIT: Load Balancing- The generator was not happy when my 120v Air Compressor tried to start up. It failed to start the compressor tripped the breaker on the generator. After that I made sure the compressor was off before using the generator. If the compressor was plugged directly into the generator using the 120v receptacle, the generator had no issues starting the compressor.