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louisville
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Hello folks....
I have a 1999 georgie boy pursuit and it has it's original Onan Emerald 4k gennie.... I've searched the web and can't find any info on whether or not it is a true sine wave gennie or not..... I'm a film maker and hoping to run my editing suite ( macpro computer with 30" monitor ) with it.
Anyone know for sure?
I do also have a honda 2000iu gennie as well.... but would rather be able to not have to set anything up and just hit the switch to turn on the onan.
thanks in advance.
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CJW8
Arizona
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I don't know of any generators that are not true sine wave. Just the nature of the beast. You shouldn't have any problem running your Mac and monitor.
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Wayne Dohnal
Banks, OR.
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As noted, non-inverter generators are inherently sine wave due to their rotational construction. In practice, the construction has to be very precise to generate a 'perfect' sine wave, and the lower-cost generators compromise on this. The compromised sine wave is then mangled by a voltage regulator that has low cost as a major design parameter. The end result is often not very pretty. You can see the output of a newer Onan 4k generator at http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseac........d/23276666/gotomsg/23281331.cfm#23281331 . I'd expect the computer to be perfectly happy with the Onan's output.
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Chris Bryant
DeLand, Florida, USA
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I would use a good UPS on it- one that is frequency as well as voltage sensing, but it will be fine.
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vermilye
Oswego, NY, USA
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Quote:I would use a good UPS on it- one that is frequency as well as voltage sensing, but it will be fine.
One caution using a UPS - make sure it realizes that the generator is producing good AC.
I have a 15K Guardian (Generac) automatic stand by generator & a APC ES350 UPS. When the power goes off the UPS switches over fine, but after the generator starts the UPS doesn't recognize the generator. Everything else in the house works fine running on the generator, including computers, cable boxes, cable modem & router, but the APC runs on batteries for about 1 1/2 hours until they die, then shuts down. OK for short outages, but the only solution for long ones is to unplug the modem & router from the UPS & plug them into a normal outlet which kinda defeats the purpose...
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pnichols
Santa Cruz Mountains
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"....but after the generator starts the UPS doesn't recognize the generator."
Now that is strange. I wonder if this is a grounding anamoly in a UPS with respect to where the ground pronge in a motorhome's 110V receptacle winds up with shore power versus generator power?
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SCVJeff
Santa Clarita, CA.
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pnichols wrote:"....but after the generator starts the UPS doesn't recognize the generator."
Now that is strange. I wonder if this is a grounding anamoly in a UPS with respect to where the ground pronge in a motorhome's 110V receptacle winds up with shore power versus generator power? No they don't. Often, depending on the generator and the UPS, the UPS senses funky sine wave, frequency &/or voltage variants as a problem and go into "UPS" mode. Seen this even at radio sites where the emergency generators cause issues.
Either way I would absolutely run a UPS in front of the PC. We set up an edit suite in a rental coach several years ago and every time the A/C cycled, it would crater the FCP Mac and wiped out a brand new raid striping. So you might consider not doing this without a UPS.
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gunny357
North Carolina
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Don't know about gennies but Onan generator sets are true sine wave.
Problems arise with UPS systems and lower cost gensets, especially dry fueled, mainly because they governor does not hold a 60Hz to the UPS's liking, usually drifting at least 1Hz on either side of 60. A better UPS can be programed to accept a wider frequency band, I'd think that 58.5 to 61.5 would make life a lot easier for you and the UPS.
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ejforwood
Littleton (Denver) Colorado
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A 1999 Onan 4K Gen is not an "Inverter" type. It is a standard Generator that the Hz/cycles depends on the RPM that the gen is running. An inverter gen puts out a constant Hz at any speed and only increases speed as load increases. You will note that your Onan runs at a constant rate. Just like my 99 model.
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CJW8
Arizona
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He said he wanted true sine wave. Correct me if I am wrong but I believe that the output if most $200 residential UPS's are square wave or modified sine wave. It would be a pretty expensive UPS if it produced a true sine wave. I am wondering why he needs true sine wave anyway, since these low cost UPS units are able to run any computer I have ever hooked up to them.
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