Not all Power Generator dealers here can provide adequately trained sales personnel to give you some proper and individual advice, hence we would like to provide here all the information you need to make a sound decision and the right choice to make sure that your power generator really runs all the appliances reliably for which it was intended in the very first place:
How to Select Your Generator
Power outages can leave a home without power for lighting, cooking, refrigeration, heating, and pumping water.
Portable generators can provide substitute power.
However, the generator must be properly sized to start and run the desired appliance(s).
The first step in selecting a generator is to determine the power requirements.
To avoid under sizing the generator, all starting loads of the equipment connected to the generator must be determined.
Be sure the generator you have selected is large enough to handle your present load and anticipated future needs.
Follow these steps when determining your generator requirements:
1.) Locate the wattage of the tool and/or appliance(s) you want to run.
This can be found either on its identification plate or in the Owner’s Manual.
If the wattage is not shown, but amps and volts are given, the following formula applies:
AMPS X VOLTS = WATTS
To determined kilowatts (kW) use the following formula:
1,000 WATTS 
= 1 KILOWATT (KW) (Example: 2,000 watts/1,000 = 2.0 kW)
2.) Motor-driven tools and appliances may be listed in Horse Power (HP), which must be converted to Watts (W).
Motors can require as much as 6 times of its rated power to start up.
For most motors found in standard households a multiplier of 3 to 4 times their rated power is a safe assumption.
If the running wattage of a motor is 400W, then the starting wattage needed will be approximately 1600.
A medium sized refrigerator for example could be rated already 500W and a larger one 600W and more.
Meaning to run one refrigerator could require easily already 2000W of generated power to make it work.
3.) Add all of the nameplate wattages including the multiplier of 4 for motor type appliances to size up your generator.
It is not a bad advice to add 10% capacity to avoid that your generator runs always at its maximum output.
If you are uncertain with some of your ratings please add another 10% allowance.
And when you want to have additional power for possible future requirements, then add another 10% to your totals.
Example:
We would like to run our medium sized refrigerator of 500W to protect our stored
and hold it fresh.
With the multiplier of 4 this takes already 2000W. Now we have our PC with a standard power supply of 500W, a few auxiliaries like monitor, modem, printer, scanner, speaker, etc, so our computer takes another 1000W to be save.
We would need of course also some lights and maybe a little electric fan, so that would be another 500W already.
The total of our appliances here are already 3500W.
Now we add a little allowance, a little excess and some future needs and we would need already the PM-4000 model
When we have other necessities like for example a water pump, a water heater, some kitchen appliances, maybe even an air conditioning unit, we want to continue the washing machine program and oh, how about the TV set?
For these special needs you need to GET also special equipment and we have them all.
Download also the complete GET-Set Selection Guide
We certainly do hope that you enjoyed again the read and that you stay with us for more upcoming technical reading pleasure.
Retrieve our GET Contact Details or send us your E-mail inquiry through the GET Contact Form.
Ralf Wabersich
Gingoog Electric Trading (G.E.T.) Now NEW: Find us also on FACEBOOK
Gingoog Electric Trading (G.E.T.) ™ 