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portable generator low voltage
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Hello. I recently bought a new generac 3300i generator to hook up to my shore power cord. When I check the on board voltage meter coming in it is below 70 volts.The purpose of generator was to use the onboard battery charger to keep the batteries charged through out the year. I tried two different cords, and tried the 30 amp receptacle and 20 amp receptacle.
Thanks for looking.
I hope you had a Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year
Thanks for looking.
I hope you had a Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year
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The issue is faulty inverter. This inverter controls the rpms as well as voltage output. If it's not under warranty the inverter costs as much as the generato(I'm taking dealer pricing)
I can buy/sell generac generators at dealer costs but to become a "dealer" for warranty I must pay nearly 800 bucks. The closest supposed warranty repair center to me is northern tool. Good luck having warranty done there.
I don't think any of their ohv engines are built in the USA. I highly doubt any of their electronics, especially the inverter, are made in the USA as most of these components are sourced from China. This is the case for most portable generators.
I suck at anything AC power wise so my test was to compare performance of my 3000i and my 3300i side by side. I have the ability to stick probes of my multimeter into the outlet to verify 110v. This, however doesn't test amps. There is a load tester specifically for generator for amps but not something I've found a reason to invest in.
I also have a Honda inverter and this is NOT how operates. An inverter generator should always supply steady 120 regardless of load. So if this is an inverter gen and is still behaving this way under very small loads, then it is defective.
Update on the genny im running. I gave the wen to my dad, it was too heavy to pick up and over the transom solo. I could do it but I'd get yelled at by the admiral for it. It also took up too much space on the transom making the ladder useless
I'm running the genkins 3800 with remote electric start.
It's almost as nice as having an in board genny. I hit a little button and it fires right up. 669 plus tax and free shipping on eBay, I've seen it as low as 549.
I ran a generac 3300i, my genkins 3800 and Honda eu2200 all side by side.
At idle the eu2200 was most quiet by a very flawed ear test between 3 small engine mechanics.
With a 7000 btu portable ac running the genkins was most quiet, it was also the highest rated so it didn't have to run full rpm to produce the power needed for the AC amp draw
In any AC system, the safety ground must be connected to the neutral wire, and that connection must be made only at the AC source -- wherever the source is.
When a smart charger-inverter is generating AC current, it makes the ground/neutral connection at the inverter. However, it automatically breaks the connection when you hook up shore power. That's because shore power connects ground to neutral on land, at the source.
If you try to run a smart charger-inverter from a floating neutral generator, the safety ground would not be connected to anything at all, so the charger-inverter will not operate. But a bonding plug makes the ground/neutral connection at the genny, and then the charger-inverter will operate.
I've ran the portable generators on two boats now. Generac gp2300i, gp3000i, gp3300i (all generac models) wen and now the genkens. The 3300i is the only one I had issues with.
The only issue I've found thus far on my other portable generators has been running the reverse cycle heat. It runs perfectly for one cycle. Then when the compressor kicks on the second time it trips the breaker. It apparently demands more than 20 amps to kick off a second time in reverse. Ac has worked flawlessly all night thermostat set 70 degrees 12 hrs a night in our south Carolina summer heat.
Now I run the reverse cycle heat to get to desired temp then cut on a small portable electric space heater. I don't boat past mid October.