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I bought a used washer/dryer when I moved here and now it's time for a new set.
I'd really love to buy the front load washer dryer set, but I need to run them off of my generator. I called LG and they said people do it all the time in Florida and such.
Does anyone run their front loaders on their generator?
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During the aftermath of Hurricane Wilma in 2004 I ran my whole house off a 13.5kW portable generator, those same LG washer/dryers, electric oven, fridge, lights, 6k watt home-theater, water heater, etc etc etc... Ran it all for 20 days on gasoline. Way too much fuel...
William DeBoe
Palm Beach, FL
Moe'uhane Oihana mahi ai
Mahi 'ai 'Ulu
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It might mostly depend on the generator and the quality of the electric 'wave' output. Motors and such like power tools are pretty forgiving but some types of electrical circuts are not. A newer generator with plenty of reserve capacity should be fine. I might be a little out of date with my advice here but 20 years ago or so that was the case.
Jay
Jay
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We use a Honda EU2000i to run ours when the sun doesn't charge the batteries enough, which is often lately.
Steve Bohlert
Big Island Views
<http://www.stevebohlert.com/>
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We are totally off grid. When the diesel generator runs it powers everything. Might depend on your generator though.
David
Ninole Resident
Please visit vacation.ninolehawaii.com
Ninole Resident
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Can you still get washer/dryers without computers in them?
Pua`a
S. FL
Big Islander to be.
Pua`a
S. FL
Big Islander to be.
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I agree with those that have said you'll want to run sensitive electronics through a "pure sign wave generator". Generators and inverters that produce a "modified sign wave" are real hard on sensitive stuff like circuit boards and such. Honda does make several excellent generators!
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Honda (and other inverter technology) gensets (eu series) - very good for electronics and smaller motor loads (eu 2000 has a sustained rating of 1800 watts = one house hold outlet at 120 volts) not so robust for cycling loads (stuff like washers that on and off a lot) when buying a genset - look at the sustained not peak ratings
I run my gensets at about 80% load... especially important for diesels to keep them from "coking up" - carbon deposits clogging the exhaust internals
Diesels - Have massive flywheels to store the rotational energy - not so good for electronics or portability - great for cyclic loads as the flywheel stores the energy needed and the motor does not need to ramp up as much - its the amperage spike before voltage can come up that cooks 'em (the generator winding wires overheat and melt)
electric dryers hard on hondas (and other inverter types, diesels a must and upping the dryer to 220 volt (using both legs of the generator windings) helps.... imho
edit: good winding read....
http://www.dieselserviceandsupply.com/Ge...sions.aspx
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Sorry if it sounds like I'm preaching but it is such a significant point that it bears repeating. When you burn propane in a generator to make electricity the generator rejects somewhere between 3/4 and 4/5 of the Btus in the fuel to the surroundings, mostly to the air. The remainder comes out as electricity which is great stuff to be sure, but if all you are going to do with it is run a conventional electric water heater or electric dryer, turning the electricity right back into heat, then you have just thrown away 3/4 of the energy for the sake of convenience. There are times when this is necessary as in an emergency or of course if you live in a high rise in Waikiki but if you have the luxury to plan ahead then I think anyone running a generator should have propane water heating and a propane dryer. The washing machine may or may not have an on-board heater. I would recommend getting one without an on-board heater and accepting the compromise of not being able to guarantee a 170 degree sanitary cycle. As for coffee pots, they are so small that the convenience is worth it but even there a purist would boil the water on the (propane) stove. Using electricity to make heat is a little like paying for sex. A significant part of society does it but enlightened people generally try to minimize the behavior.
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Well, it's great to know someone is using their genny for these.
Our genny has plenty of watts, 8,500..but as I've googled it's a matter of hertz. A steady 60hz is needed. The genny has a meter on the front and I've never seen it move lower than 60hz except when it's running out of fuel. Maybe finally time to learn how to use a multimeter; hz meter.
I'm going to plug it in next weekend; found out on friday that the electric won't be hooked up for 2 more months, which really means 4.
ETA: We have the Multiquip with the Honda Motor and I love it; except it's pull-start.
