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Old 07-06-2016, 05:24 PM   #1
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Onan 4 KW overloaded possible??

Just returned from a 6 day dry camping. Battery was low. It was hot. Generator was on.
Air conditioner was on, Wife was using the convection oven.
I assume the fridge, the Air conditioner, converter charging the battery (55ADC converter spec), and the convection oven were drawing power. Generator died. I threw the breaker on the Converter and switched fridge to gas only and it worked OK.
Is this natural?? Or should I contact Cummings Onan??
Thanks
David
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Old 07-06-2016, 05:56 PM   #2
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Sounds like you just overloaded the generator with all that running.
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Old 07-06-2016, 09:05 PM   #3
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Naive

I just assumed that the generator included would be capable for all I had installed. Was that naive??
David
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Old 07-06-2016, 11:03 PM   #4
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No, not naive, just unfamiliar. Electrical systems and circuits are designed with the assumption that the devices and appliances will not all hit their max load at the same time. The load is measured and limited by current (amperes, or amps). Any electrical thing that has a motor (fans, compressors, pumps) will draw about twice as many amps when starting as when it is stable running. Other devices like your converter or convection oven will cycle from low current draw to high when in use.
When you find yourself in extraordinary times and you're using all these things at once, it's possible that your ac compressor, water pump, converter, convection oven, etc, could all cycle on within a few seconds of each other, and this coincidence would slightly exceed the capacity of the circuit.
What you're seeing is just a very small scale example of why municipal grids experience brown outs on a hot summer day when everyone has their a/c on.


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Old 07-07-2016, 09:56 AM   #5
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JFXG, has made good points regarding cycling of the loads involved.
However, when I had problems with our 4k, running the A/C and microwave at the same the genny would bog down and die within about 20-30 seconds, The other fine members of this forum pointed out that the 30 amp breaker on the genny should trip before it grinds to a halt if overloaded.
I had mine serviced and it turned out it was running too rich. The tech suspected the genny may have had varnish/debris build up behind the needle valve and the previous owner had continued to open it up the mixture valve. Then when the debris cleared it started running too rich. I adjusted it several more times and it run perfectly since.
Considering the number of loads that were in use, it is possible it overloaded. Try it under several different loads and see how it handles it. If it gets worse, have service center look it over. Good luck!
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Old 07-07-2016, 03:53 PM   #6
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And keep in mind that the 30 amp breaker on the generator limits its output to 3600 watts (120 volts x 30 amps). I agree though, you'd think that would have tripped before the generator would stall.
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Old 07-08-2016, 08:58 AM   #7
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Power vs. Altitude

I was reminded by Cummings that there is a 3.5% power decrease for every 1000 feet of altitude. I was at 7600 feet at the time. If I go from sea level, that is just over 3000 Watts.
David
PS My altitude knob on the generator was set to max. (I think 5000 feet)
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