Advice on generator

[matt62950]

Hello, so I posted a few hours ago and got varying reply’s so am posting again to be more clear, I’m wondering if a 13,000 watt portable generator would be good for me to run 11 tanks(mainly just the heaters and the filters, I can turn the heaters off intermittently during the day depending on what temp it is outside n just keep the filters) so any advice? It would be around 3000 watts I need for all the tanks

 

[Subsea]

Matt,
13KW is a big portable generator. If your aquarium power load is 3KW, you have more than enough.

In a previous home I installed a 14KW GENERATOR. It was sufficient to operate a 3000 sq ft house.

 

[BeanAnimal]

Hello, so I posted a few hours ago and got varying reply’s so am posting again to be more clear, I’m wondering if a 13,000 watt portable generator would be good for me to run 11 tanks(mainly just the heaters and the filters, I can turn the heaters off intermittently during the day depending on what temp it is outside n just keep the filters) so any advice? It would be around 3000 watts I need for all the tanks

I am not sure why you started a new thread. You had answers in the other thread.

Why would you buy a 13kW generator when you load is only 3kW?

There are two basic types of generators.
Standard (AVR) and Inverter.

A standard generator spins at a fixed RPM to deliver a 60 Hz output frequency. It does not speed or or slow down, regardless of the load... sort of. Fuel consumption is somewhat constant, loaded or not.

An inverter generator derives the output digitally through an inverter. The RPMS are set automatically base don the load. The generator (in general terms) only uses enough power to operate the load that is attached.

13kW is not a "portable" generator by most standards. Also most inexpensive "portable" generators labeled as 13kW don't come close to that output -- if the engine is not over ~22 horsepower, it is not a 13kW generator.

Example - the "Predator" 13kW generator has a 15 horsepower engine. Ignoring losses in the generator head itself, 15 horsepower is 11kW. Add in real word losses, and that generator may be able to do 8.5 kW continuous. And 10 kW or so surge.

On the other hand take the Honda EU7000iS
11.7 Horsepower engine (8.75 kW)
Generator output 5.5 kW continuous and up to 7kW surge.

The kicker here... if you do the math, running both at 5kW load, you get about 30% less fuel usage from the Honda. That adds up fast in an outage.

 

[matt62950]

Matt,
13KW is a big portable generator. If your aquarium power load is 3KW, you have more than enough.

In a previous home I installed a 14KW GENERATOR. It was sufficient to operate a 3000 sq ft house.

Thank you so much

 

[Ryan - Serious Reefs]

One consideration with generators is maintain them or they won’t work when you need them. Start and run it a few times a year even if you don’t need it.

 

[Maize & Blue]

Hello, so I posted a few hours ago and got varying reply’s so am posting again to be more clear, I’m wondering if a 13,000 watt portable generator would be good for me to run 11 tanks(mainly just the heaters and the filters, I can turn the heaters off intermittently during the day depending on what temp it is outside n just keep the filters) so any advice? It would be around 3000 watts I need for all the tanks

Works awesome!