"cleaning" generator power
So I was recommended by r/askelectricians that you guys might have more to say about this.
I have an 10kw PG generator, and expect to be without power for multiple days every couple years due to hurricanes.
I want to run my tv and ps5 off of this, as well as a sump pump, refrigerator, deep freeze, and eventually my oil boiler.
The total load for all of these should be somewhere in the ballpark of 5000W, so I have lots of overhead.
The only real problem I'm seeing is that the thd is listed as 11-14% at full load, and not listed at all at half load, which sounds like a lot more than I should be running a ps5 and led tv off of.
Given that I'm only looking at cleaning the power supply, rather than actually powering the device for lengths of time, would a ups be a good way to deal with this, and what specifically would I look for in a model to stabilize the voltage for approximately a 500W load?
Is there a better option than a ups? Cheaper is better, but better is also better.
Posted Aug 28, 2023, 1:11 AM UTC
Line conditioner is what you are looking for.
Do you have a recommendation to clean this load? Im assuming something like a basic Furman power conditioner bar isn't made for this type of conditioning.
Something like a TrippLite LC1200
Awesome. Hopefully i can get it delivered before the hurricane lands😂
APC makes a line conditioner as well, and some of the larger UPS like Tripp lite can have an "on line mode" feature which causes it to run all your load from its inverter while converting the incoming mains power to DC. It's less efficient, but offers zero switchover time and fully-controlled output sinewave... Great for shitty genset situations where normal UPS wouldn't even attempt to use the AC and run down the battery to zero.
From what u/international_end425 was saying, a power conditioner shouldn't be necessary, since the AC>DC converters in the devices should filter out the thd from the generator by themselves.
I was thinking about grabbing one anyways, just to be safe, and saw the APC LE1200 and wondered what the difference was between that and the tripp lite LC1200, besides being half the price, but there doesn't seem to be a lot of layman info to separate the two.
I'm not clueless about electronics and electrical supplies, but I'm also not an engineer, nor do I have any experience with UPS or line conditioning devices.
I understand the difference between an online and a standby ups, and their potential outputs and battery capacoty, but that's about the extent of it, especially with similiar devices like this that don't differentiate themselves clearly.