Buying a Generator - What to go for.

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Hi guys, I've been hit hard with the load shedding the past few weeks. I looked at either going Solar but you need batteries and stuff so i am considering the easier option of going with a Gennie or an Inverter setup.

I saw these Gennie deals on www.powerplanet.co.za

http://www.powerplanet.co.za/generators/weiting-5-0kva-petrol-generator

and

http://www.powerplanet.co.za/generators/weiting-5-5kva-petrol-generator-with-wheels

Or

http://www.powerplanet.co.za/generators/weiting-6-5kva-petrol-generator

I dont know what size to take as im using 2 Computers, a 150 Litre Geyser, 1 Double door Defy Fridge, 1 Kettle, 1 Microwave 900watt and about 9 Lights - Energy saver bulbs.

Input will be appreciated.
 
As you will be running electronic equipment, you need to ensure they have AVR (automatic voltage control) to better protect the electronics.
 
Forget using the microwave/waterkettle with >500W and heating the geyser during loadshedding. If cooking is a must have get a LPG gas-bottle and burner - cheap and effective. With rising electricity costs a solar geyser gets almost a "must have" so technically possible to istall.

For the generator one with a diesel engine would be much preferred and if a diesel one which runs on kerosene/paraffine - this being half the costs of diesel. The higher costs are made up by the lower consumption and fuel price (compared to gasoline roughly a third) in no time. If in doubt - take the bigger one without much electronics, say prechamber/mechanical injection pump/crank handle for emergencies - nothing fancy, also in the elctric part remember commuter coals are easier replaced then burned out power electronics....
 
Running the geyser,kettle and microwave at the same time will most likely kill any of those generators.

Kettle is probably about 3kW with the microwave being 0.9kW and they geyser about 3-4kW so that is already 7.4kW +- just for those which is +-9kVA

I would say avoid running ANYTHING that has a element on a generator while you run electronic on it. They simply use too much electricity and the more power gets drawn the harder the generator needs to work to keep the refs up so if you run heavy stuff on it you will notice a slight flicker on the lights. That flicker means you are getting "dirty" power which is not good for electronics but also does not mean they will blow up.

We run the whole house on a 5.5kVA generator but we do not run geysers,stoves,kettles or fridges. You can run like 1 fridge but fridge draws a bit extra power when it starts up so keep that in mind.
 
Last edited:
Yup - agree with the above.
"2 Computers, a 150 Litre Geyser, 1 Double door Defy Fridge, 1 Kettle, 1 Microwave 900watt and about 9 Lights - Energy saver bulbs."

Load shedding is only 2-3 hours at most twice per day, so:
- Geyser will be fine - should stay hot for 2 hours, if not, you've got other problems
- Fridge should survive; make sure it's pretty full and if not, put some large bottles of water in there and avoid opening it lots when there's load shedding -- you'll probably kill it with a generator anyway.
- Kettle & Microwave -- have a little gas-hob on standby in case you need it. Unfortunately these are big power users, so powering by generator is seriously costly -- and again, you'll probably kill the microwave with dirty generator power

So that leaves:
- 2 computers --- gunna need more details here. If they are massive gaming PC's with 3 monitors and a huge sound system, or laptops with built in batteries --> fyi, if they are laptops, then just use the battery!
- lights = 9 x 11W (assuming they are CFLs) = 100W
- I assume you're missing out - router? Alarms?

So, if we're down to just the lights; then maybe a UPS/Battery backup is a better bet?
 
was going to buy a generator. thinking about winter. is it still a necessary buy?
 
akescpt said:
was going to buy a generator. thinking about winter. is it still a necessary buy?
Click to expand...

Ever since I got my inverter generator back in January, I have yet to been load-shedded again.

Coincidence...I think not!
 
Gennies for Winter

Be Visible said:
Hi guys, I've been hit hard with the load shedding the past few weeks. I looked at either going Solar but you need batteries and stuff so i am considering the easier option of going with a Gennie or an Inverter setup.

I saw these Gennie deals on www.powerplanet.co.za

http://www.powerplanet.co.za/generators/weiting-5-0kva-petrol-generator

and

http://www.powerplanet.co.za/generators/weiting-5-5kva-petrol-generator-with-wheels

Or

http://www.powerplanet.co.za/generators/weiting-6-5kva-petrol-generator

I dont know what size to take as im using 2 Computers, a 150 Litre Geyser, 1 Double door Defy Fridge, 1 Kettle, 1 Microwave 900watt and about 9 Lights - Energy saver bulbs.

Input will be appreciated.
Click to expand...

I would say go for the 5.5kva - enough to power all essential appliances in your house. http://www.powerplanet.co.za/generators/weiting-5-5kva-petrol-generator-with-wheels
 
Be Visible said:
Hi guys, I've been hit hard with the load shedding the past few weeks. I looked at either going Solar but you need batteries and stuff so i am considering the easier option of going with a Gennie or an Inverter setup.
Click to expand...
inverter also requires batteries.
 
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