generac altenator

[(unknown)]

I have a 5000 watt Generac altenator. It has two 110 volt plugs fused at 15 amps each,,it has a 220 volt four conductor twist lock plug,,and an anolog volt meter reading 110 volts. It is rated at 41.7/20.8 amps. I assume that the 40 amp rating applies to the 220 plug (20 on each side) and the 20 amp applies to each of the 110 plugs. It also has a built in regulator and I know little of how it works. I need a 110 volt circut at 30 amps or more to run my RV. If it produces a 220 circut, it must be "dual wound" and can I parallel the two 110 leads at the 110 plugs or at the 220 plug and get a higher amp 110 circut. Also what consideration would have to be made for the regulator if any. How does the reg. work. Is it safe to assume that if it is kept at it's correct speed (3600 rpm)and not loaded beyond it's rated capacity that voltage will stay correct? Thanx in advance... Arnie

[thumbnail101]

 hey arni, if your using 115 volts they say it will

give you 41.7 amp,and if your useing 240 you only

have 20.8 amps, I presume your trailer is wired for

a 240 plug.not sure if you could take a a line off

each 115 plug, with the common and make it work

 Im sure some one will correct me if im wrong...lol

   mark

[srnoth]

Hey there,

Not absolutely positive, but I think that your generator is designed for connecting to a 120/240 volt panel, and in order to use the 40amps @ 120v, you need to balance your loads onto the two 120v legs.

Basically, how a normal house breaker panel works, is you have two lives and a neutral(ground) coming into the pannel, where between any of the two lives and the neutral, you get 120v, and between the two lives you get 240v. So, this means there is not way you can join the two lives to double the amperage @ 120v. All you will get is lots of sparks and blue smoke!!

I believe you were asking if you could parallel the two ordinary 120v plugs, by connecting the two live and the two neutrals together, but, I don't think this will work, because they are probable the two different lives, and instead of getting more amps, you will simply short out the 240v cirvuit. To check if this is the case, start the generator, take your voltmeter (AC), and check the voltage between the two lives, and the two neutrals, and the only way you can connect the two is if there is not voltage between the two lives or the two neutrals. It is very unlikely that you will be able to connect them.

The better option, I think, is to check the pannel in your RV. If it is a 120v pannel, designed only to be plugged into a 120v source, and does not support 240v devices, you should probably think of replacing it. You should get a small 120/240v house pannel, which will support the generator, allowing you to balance out your 120v loads between the two 120v legs, and will even give you the option of adding 240v devices to your rig.

Anyway,

Hope the helps,

Cheers,

Stephen.