OT Generator Question

How about installing a properly sized circuit breaker near the generator whose purpose would be to protect the generator. Then you can plug in as many circuits as you want, and your only risk is that you would pop the breaker. Then you could safely discover what you can plug in and what you cannot plug in. You can buy a 3 pole surface mount circuit breaker.

Something like this could work, but you need to choose size properly:

It is also nice because it can function as a switch, although it is better to not abuse it (do not switch too often and many times under load).

I have a similar breaker on my generator

and I always keep it in the OFF position just in case.

i

I hadn't thought of that. The generator does have two 15A breakers. I would assume that each of the two 110 V outlets is protected at 15 A. Since the breakers are 15 A, it may be that the 220 V outlet is also limited to 15 A, thus producing only 3300 Watts at 220 V, yet the generator is listed as 4500 W running and 5500 W peak. I've used the

220 V outlet to feed the home / well pump. I know that I can run the well or the funace individually, but I didn't press my luck by trying to run them both simultanteously. I looked through the on-line documentation I downloaded on this generator from DeVilbiss, but there's no electrical schematic, so I don't know how the breakers are wired. Not sure if I have 15A of protection at 220 V or 30 A, although I suspect it's only 15 A.

I'm curious nevertheless. Does anybody here have any experience with what happens if you overload a brushless generator and the motor stalls out?

RWL

******* Recreate gaps in email address to reply *******

In my experience, you remove the load, restart the engine, reconnect a (hopefully) smaller load and get on with your life. That said, overloading is definitely not a good thing for either the engine or the generator head. Inexpensive generators in particular will not take much abuse before they develop "issues".

Vaughn