Kinda OT.. Generators and voltage spikes

[Dallas]

(Yeah, I know it's not "repair" but my favorite techie types are here.)

I'll be floating down a French river on a small barge in several weeks.
They'll provide 220v from a Hawker Siddely Generator.

I'll have a couple of expensive 110v devices that I intend to connect
through a step down transformer (not purchased yet). They implied that
the power might not be all that clean and they won't be responsible for
voltage fluctuations.

Would a surge protector and an appropriate transformer protect things
or should I be looking at a voltage regulator.. or maybe voltage
regulator/transformer combo?

I really don't want the "magic smoke" to escape from my stuff.

--
Dallas

 

[Baron]

Dallas Inscribed thus:

(Yeah, I know it's not "repair" but my favorite techie types are
here.)

I'll be floating down a French river on a small barge in several
weeks. They'll provide 220v from a Hawker Siddely Generator.

I'm guessing "Canal Du Midi".

I'll have a couple of expensive 110v devices that I intend to connect
through a step down transformer (not purchased yet). They implied
that the power might not be all that clean and they won't be
responsible for voltage fluctuations.

My very limited experience of a canal boat (4 - 6 Berth) was that the
generator was driven from the engine and charged the big 12 volt
batteries which ran an inverter for the 220/230 supply. I ran the
laptop without any problems but did notice that the lights dimmed when
the microwave was used. All the lighting was on the battery. I think
the electric heater and microwave were the only things that ran on 220
AC.

Would a surge protector and an appropriate transformer protect things
or should I be looking at a voltage regulator.. or maybe voltage
regulator/transformer combo?

If its a real generator and not an inverter, a transformer would be fine
with the added advantage of spike and noise suppression. I wouldn't
think a transformer would be too happy fed from an inverter.

I really don't want the "magic smoke" to escape from my stuff.

Enjoy your vacation.

--
Best Regards:
Baron.

 

[Dallas]

Baron wrote:

I'm guessing "Canal Du Midi".

Nope.. the Cher.

If its a real generator and not an inverter, a transformer would be
fine with the added advantage of spike and noise suppression.

Gotta be a real generator. The boat's engine is listed as something
else.

Enjoy your vacation.

Merci

--
Dallas

 

[Dave M]

Dallas wrote:

(Yeah, I know it's not "repair" but my favorite techie types are
here.)

I'll be floating down a French river on a small barge in several
weeks. They'll provide 220v from a Hawker Siddely Generator.

I'll have a couple of expensive 110v devices that I intend to connect
through a step down transformer (not purchased yet). They implied
that the power might not be all that clean and they won't be
responsible for voltage fluctuations.

Would a surge protector and an appropriate transformer protect things
or should I be looking at a voltage regulator.. or maybe voltage
regulator/transformer combo?

I really don't want the "magic smoke" to escape from my stuff.

My suggestion would be to use a power line conditioner between your
transformer and your expensive devices. Search the auction site for "line
conditioner" in the Business & Industrial category. The line conditioner
provides significant surge and spike protection to your devices. ONEAC is a
good brand; I've used them in my shops over the years without any failures
in either the conditioners or connected equipment (that I could attribute to
line faults).
Just be sure to match line frequency, voltage and current requirements to
your equipment requirements.
--
David
dgminala at mediacombb dot net

 

[Arfa Daily]

"Dallas" <Cybnorm@spam_me_not.Hotmail.Com> wrote in message
news:3cmdnX2Ns9rpAbnTnZ2dnUVZ_tudnZ2d@earthlink.com...

(Yeah, I know it's not "repair" but my favorite techie types are here.)

I'll be floating down a French river on a small barge in several weeks.
They'll provide 220v from a Hawker Siddely Generator.

I'll have a couple of expensive 110v devices that I intend to connect
through a step down transformer (not purchased yet). They implied that
the power might not be all that clean and they won't be responsible for
voltage fluctuations.

Would a surge protector and an appropriate transformer protect things
or should I be looking at a voltage regulator.. or maybe voltage
regulator/transformer combo?

I really don't want the "magic smoke" to escape from my stuff.

--
Dallas

What about sticking a constant voltage transformer between the genny and
your step down tranny. Loads of 'em dirt cheap on FleaBay. All surges and
sags taken care of, as well as the inherent crap cleaning that you get from
these devices, so you would then be getting a nice clean constant 230v or
whatever into your 230v - 110v tranny.

In fact this one

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SOLA-CONSTANT-VOLTAGE-TRANSFORMER-MINI-63-23-112-4-/330553526571?pt=BI_Circuit_Breakers_Transformers&hash=item4cf686892b

does the stepping down to 120v as well, saving you having to buy that tranny
....

Arfa

 

[N_Cook]

Dallas <Cybnorm@spam_me_not.Hotmail.Com> wrote in message
news:3cmdnX2Ns9rpAbnTnZ2dnUVZ_tudnZ2d@earthlink.com...

(Yeah, I know it's not "repair" but my favorite techie types are here.)

I'll be floating down a French river on a small barge in several weeks.
They'll provide 220v from a Hawker Siddely Generator.

I'll have a couple of expensive 110v devices that I intend to connect
through a step down transformer (not purchased yet). They implied that
the power might not be all that clean and they won't be responsible for
voltage fluctuations.

Would a surge protector and an appropriate transformer protect things
or should I be looking at a voltage regulator.. or maybe voltage
regulator/transformer combo?

I really don't want the "magic smoke" to escape from my stuff.

--
Dallas

Trouble with generators is very light loads and very heavy loads. I would
suggest you permanently wire a 60 watt bulb in for a constant base load.

 

[Jeff Liebermann]

On Tue, 19 Jul 2011 02:00:26 +0100, "Arfa Daily"
<arfa.daily@ntlworld.com> wrote:

What about sticking a constant voltage transformer between the genny and
your step down tranny. Loads of 'em dirt cheap on FleaBay. All surges and
sags taken care of, as well as the inherent crap cleaning that you get from
these devices, so you would then be getting a nice clean constant 230v or
whatever into your 230v - 110v tranny.

Potentially a bad idea. Such CVT devices are ferro-resonant
transformers, which are tuned to 50 or 60Hz. If you feed it with any
other frequency, the output voltage will change. How much change
varies radically with the design and manufacture. I had one (Sola)
that could tolerate a +/-5% change in frequency without much change in
output voltage. Another would produce huge changes in voltage for the
same change in frequency. They are absolutely fabulous for
controlling spikes, sags, surges, and glitches, but only from the
frequency regulated mains. During a lightning storm, I was working on
a computer that had a large CVT attached. I was watching the lights
flicker, but the computer never missed a beat.

If you think your generator is fairly well speed regulated (i.e.
inverter-generator), then it MIGHT work. If you do something stupid,
like start the generator with the CVT attached, you're going to blow
up something. (Ham radio Field Day horror stories omitted).

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voltage_regulator#Constant-voltage_transformer>
Output voltage varies about 1.2% for every 1% change in supply
frequency. For example, a 2-Hz change in generator frequency,
which is very large, results in an output voltage change of only
4%, which has little effect for most loads.

--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

 

[Dallas]

N_Cook wrote:

Trouble with generators is very light loads and very heavy loads. I
would suggest you permanently wire a 60 watt bulb in for a constant
base load.

Won't that make it hard to sleep?

<grin>

--
Dallas

 

[Arfa Daily]

"Dallas" <Cybnorm@spam_me_not.Hotmail.Com> wrote in message
newsNudnY3eLNhKvrvTnZ2dnUVZ_hmdnZ2d@earthlink.com...

N_Cook wrote:

Trouble with generators is very light loads and very heavy loads. I
would suggest you permanently wire a 60 watt bulb in for a constant
base load.

Won't that make it hard to sleep?

grin

--
Dallas

Nah. Just dangle it over the side in the water ...

Arfa

 

[Baron]

Arfa Daily Inscribed thus:

"Dallas" <Cybnorm@spam_me_not.Hotmail.Com> wrote in message
newsNudnY3eLNhKvrvTnZ2dnUVZ_hmdnZ2d@earthlink.com...
N_Cook wrote:

Trouble with generators is very light loads and very heavy loads. I
would suggest you permanently wire a 60 watt bulb in for a constant
base load.

Won't that make it hard to sleep?

grin

--
Dallas

Nah. Just dangle it over the side in the water ...

Arfa

If he likes fishing, it might attract some !

--
Best Regards:
Baron.