Military Generator

[Gabriel Ige]

I recently bought a US Army Surplus Generator rated at 5000Watts. It has
3 phase and electric start. Obviously, a work-horse type machine.

My question is this: Can I use this generator with any of the commonly
available Inverters that incorporate Battery Charging capability? The
Ineverter of choice is the Trace SW series.

As I am putting an independent solar home electric system together. I
want my inverter to automatically turn on the generator when/and if
needed and also turn it off when batteries are fully charged. Is this
military generator a viable otpion or do I run the risk of damaging
anything in my system?

Also, I am looking for sources for manuals fo this old generator. The
engine is manufactired by Wisconson and the generator by Onan

Thanks
Gabriel
Global Merchants
http://www.global-merchants.com/home/solars.htm
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Home of Consumer Solar Gadgets
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Please anybody with answers will be appreciated.

[Graig Pearen]

Gabriel Ige <so...@global-merchants.com> wrote:

>I recently bought a US Army Surplus Generator rated at 5000Watts. It has
>3 phase and electric start. Obviously, a work-horse type machine.

>My question is this: Can I use this generator with any of the commonly
>available Inverters that incorporate Battery Charging capability? The
>Ineverter of choice is the Trace SW series.

You'll have to tell us more about this machine....

frequency? (some military stuff used to be 400hz)
voltge?
delta or wye?
current per phase?

(everything off the name plate on the alternator)

Graig

[Ken Finney]

Gabriel Ige wrote:
>
> I recently bought a US Army Surplus Generator rated at 5000Watts. It has
> 3 phase and electric start. Obviously, a work-horse type machine.
>
> My question is this: Can I use this generator with any of the commonly
> available Inverters that incorporate Battery Charging capability? The
> Ineverter of choice is the Trace SW series.
>

> As I am putting an independent solar home electric system together. I
> want my inverter to automatically turn on the generator when/and if
> needed and also turn it off when batteries are fully charged. Is this
> military generator a viable otpion or do I run the risk of damaging
> anything in my system?
>

Assuming the generator puts out ac that is reasonably close to grid power,
the only problem is during start-up. It takes a few seconds for the
generator to produce stable ac. During these few seconds, battery chargers
can be fried. Todd chargers are known to be sensitive to generator start-up,
Statpower says their's are not. I don't know about any of the internal
chargers within inverters. The simple fix is a time delay relay that waits
a few seconds after the generator starts before it connects to the charger.
Some of the inverter/chargers might already have a time delay relay. There
is typically already a time delay relay in inverters that switches from
grid power to battery and/or generator power when grid power goes away. This
is seperate from what you need.

[Todd W. Schifferdecker]

Harvey White <ma...@ix.netcom.com> wrote in article
<336b129b...@nntp.ix.netcom.com>...
> On Tue, 29 Apr 1997 21:46:31 -0700, Gabriel Ige
> <so...@global-merchants.com> wrote:
>

<snip>
> 3 Phase 117 volts. Delta or Y wiring? Get yourself some books on 3
> phase power and you'll understand the difference. Delta phase to
> phase is about 180 volts with no neutral, and Y phase wiring is 120 to
> neutral, about 180 phase to phase.
<snip>

I beleive Delta is 208 Volts (not 180) with no neutral, and
Y phase to phase is 208 Volts (not 180).

Much 220 volt equipment/appliances will work just fine or OK on 208 Volts.
Many industrial devices are rated at 208/220 volts, they work on both.
Most any 220 Volt heating device will work just fine on 208, with just a
little less heat output.
*Some* 220 Volt motors and compressors do NOT work well at 208, they run
too hot.
If you need 220 Volts, you can use small boost transformers to get 220
from the 208.

Cheers,

--
Todd Schifferdecker
send any direct replies to:
t...@surface.com
or remove NOSPAM from header address
#include <disclaimer.std>

[Harvey White]

On 1 May 1997 20:14:34 GMT, "Todd W. Schifferdecker"
<t...@NOSPAMsurface.com> wrote:

>Harvey White <ma...@ix.netcom.com> wrote in article
><336b129b...@nntp.ix.netcom.com>...
>> On Tue, 29 Apr 1997 21:46:31 -0700, Gabriel Ige
>> <so...@global-merchants.com> wrote:
>>
>
><snip>
>

>Much 220 volt equipment/appliances will work just fine or OK on 208 Volts.
>Many industrial devices are rated at 208/220 volts, they work on both.
>Most any 220 Volt heating device will work just fine on 208, with just a
>little less heat output.
> *Some* 220 Volt motors and compressors do NOT work well at 208, they run
>too hot.
> If you need 220 Volts, you can use small boost transformers to get 220
>from the 208.
>
>Cheers,
>
>--
>Todd Schifferdecker
>send any direct replies to:
>t...@surface.com
>or remove NOSPAM from header address
>#include <disclaimer.std>
>

Which shows my lack of information on 3 phase <g>. I don't use it.
However, the questions remain valid.

I do wonder if it's 400 hz?

Oh, and I looked up the prices of 3 phase transformers in Grangers.
You don't want to know. They all went from 208 or so to about 480,
which will not help. I didn't see any that specifically went from
delta to wye.

Now there might be some commercial/industrial devices that do just
what is needed, but where to get them is another matter.

Harvey.
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I don't explain them
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