Thread: Generator issues

When you say the Generator packs a sad, what is the specific nature of the tantrum? Does it trip its breaker but the motor continues running?, or does the motor stall? Or does the generator just shut down?.

When you first switch on a motor or a heater, there is much lower resistance in the armatures or elements than there is once its running.
Basically a cold conductor conducts much better than a hot one, so will draw more current. This is known as Inrush current. The device won't draw that extra current for long (due to high currents causing conductors to heat up and become more resistive which allows less current) but it can be long enough to make a generator stall or cut out.
Industrial electric motors often require a 'motor rated' fuse or breaker to operate. These fuses/breakers are designed to cater for the Inrush current.

Chances are your new generator cannot cope with the inrush current from your heater. You could try starting your heater on a low setting and slowly notching up the temperature.

If you can't adjust the setting, you could switch it on for less than 0.5 seconds. The generator should restart under it's own momentum if it has tried to cut out. Rinse and repeat several times to get the initial element temperature up before switching the heater on completely.
This second option has about as much chance of working as one of Macgyvers schemes but it may work. If on the off chance it does work, it should not be seen as a long term solution as it will wear out your switch contacts.

The washing machine situation is possibly due to an incompatible AC frequency from the new generator. Some electronics need the correct AC Hz to operate properly. Same with some motors.
Likely suspect is that at a certain point in the cycle there is a step that is supply frequency sensitive and the washing machine can't complete this step running from the new generator.