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D29525
WATTAGE CALCULATIONS
Never exceed the rated capacity of your generator. Serious damage to the
generator or appliance could result from an overload.
1. Starting and running wattage requirements should always be calculated
when matching a generators wattage capacity to the appliance or tool.
2. There are two types of electrical appliances that can be powered by
your generator:
A. Items such as radios, light bulbs, television sets, and microwaves
have a "resistive load". Starting wattage and running wattage are
the same.
B. Items such as refrigerators, air compressors, washer, dryer, and
hand tools that use an electrical motor have an "inductive load".
Inductive load appliances and tools require approximately 2 to 4
times the listed wattage for starting
the equipment. This initial load
only lasts for a few seconds on start-up but is very important when
figuring your total wattage to be used.
C. Always start your largest electric motor first, and then plug in other
items, one at a time.
NOTE: On 120-volt loads the maximum starting wattage should NOT
exceed one half of the rated generator wattage. Example: a 5000 rated
wattage generator = 2500 maximum starting wattage.
IMPORTANT
DETERMINING WATTAGE REQUIREMENTS
Before operating this generator list all of the appliances and/or tools that are
going to operate at the same time. (Then determine the starting wattage
requirements and the running wattage requirements by following example
and/or refer to household wattage calculator.)
1. First total the running wattage of all appliances and/or tools that will be
operated at the same time.
Running W
atts Starting Watts
Example 1:
Lights = 100 Watts 0
Television = 300 Watts 0
Slow Cooker = 250 W
atts 0
TOTAL =650 Watts 0
2. Next the starting wattages of any appliances and/or tools that will start and
stop during operation.
Running W
atts Starting Watts
Example 2:
Small Refrigerator 500 Watts 2000 Watts
TOTAL =500 Watts 2000 Watts
3. The running wattage of examples 1 & 2 totals 1150 watts. The starting
wattage of the small refrigerator is 2000 watts which is 1500 watts more
than the running watts. Take this difference of 1500 starting watts from the
refrigerator and add to the total running watts of 1150.
Example 3: 1500 Starting Watts
1150 Running W
atts
TOTAL =2650 Total Watts
Generator must have a maximum capacity of at least 2650 watts.