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Old 21-09-2011, 10:53 AM
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Brundah1 (David)
Oh! No! More Clouds!

Brundah1 is offline
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Brisbane
Posts: 241
Quiet Inverter Generators - choosing rating & endurance - other factors

G'day Odille,

Yes Aldian's Cave has some fantastic specials at times - you have to make a personal assessment of the individual item build & functional quality.

I'm just a bit circumspect about spares support after the 12 month warranty on these Chinese generators - wherever you buy them.

These inverter generators all have very small 4 stroke engines and running them for hours at even 75% rated load will have the engine components at very high temps beyond the oil specs. This will result in premature internal engine wear = very short life in hours of operation.

Use premium oils and change oil every year, don't just top it up!

So the answer is firstly choose a generator with a normal load rating (not maximum) in Kilowatts well above your expected maximum load.
Dew heaters, Camera TECs and Laptops account for the majority of our imaging peak loads.

Secondly ensure the fuel tank holds enough fuel for the maximum endurance you will need - say 5 -6 hours imaging. These little units get very hot, so should be cooled for 20 mins before refuelling.

Another backup / protection option would be to include a small UPS in the power circuit for the mount & camera power supply/s. A laptop battery provides its own backup. here is a suitable example:
http://www.cyberpower-eu.com/product...500eavrlcd.htm

BTW I do prefer to use 13.8VDC power supplies for mounts and cameras. Another reason for choosing a quiet inverter portable generator over 12V batteries of all types.

David

Last edited by Brundah1; 21-09-2011 at 11:06 AM. Reason: Suitable UPS backup / protection
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