Running stove on generator?

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home heater

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Nov 13, 2013
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michigan
We have power issues with snow on trees has any one used a generator to run their stove? I was told to use a power filter and it would be ok, but what kind of power filter?
 
Do a search for generators. Get hashed over regularly. I use a UPS to condition power for minor power irregularities. Power company trimmed the problem trees a month ago for us.:) No blinks or brown outs since.
 
Yes, I have run my stove on a 20something year old Homelite 4000w??? Generator following Sandy last year for about a week with no issues during or after the power outage. Kept us warm with the fridge and oil burner running also.
I do not use any type of power filter nor do I know what it is!

Bill
 
Whatever makes you happy buddy. Do a search and you'll find more than you ever cared to know. Some swear that "pure sine wave" is essential and others run cheap chinese gennys. If it was made in the last 10 years it's probably not a square wave so it'll probably work. I haven't seen anybody who fried their board from a genny, but I wouldn't want to be the first one. Again, search it out and make the decision based on budget and size of cashews. When the power is out I run the dino burner with the generator. Just makes life easier since it does my dhw too.
 
I should be running a UPS along with the generator to avoid a sudden dead stove due to not checking the fuel level!

Bill
 
Or get a hamster that's afraid of the dark and hook him up to a crank wheel...just a thought.

I wonder if my Turtle will do that? Just a thought...
 
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With the money invested in a pellet stove, get a "good" Sine Wave Generator , IMO......Again use the search, plenty of info on that subject..
 
I wonder if my Turtle will do that? Just a thought...
Probably, but only on low. If he stops and starts you forget pure sine wave...

Okay, I'm done. lol. I've been amusing myself and not adding anything useful to this thread and for that I apologize. It's been a slow week.
 
Okay, I'm done. lol. I've been amusing myself and not adding anything useful to this thread and for that I apologize. It's been a slow week.
And you dragged me right down without any effort! And for that, you need to apologize again!
 
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Ive run mine for some time on my 3500w Champion generator. No problems I have no concern about doing it again. People in my opinion make way to much fuss over UPS and their pure sine wave. A UPS is not going to do anything for you except give you a warm lump in your pants thinking its protecting you.

Dont let it run out of gas and make sure its warm when you put a load on it. That will eliminate 99% of your problems.

The inverters are nice I have one but I feel no more confident that its putting our 60 hz then the next generator. I like it cause its quiet and it will run all night.
 
Ive run mine for some time on my 3500w Champion generator. No problems I have no concern about doing it again. People in my opinion make way to much fuss over UPS and their pure sine wave. A UPS is not going to do anything for you except give you a warm lump in your pants thinking its protecting you.

Dont let it run out of gas and make sure its warm when you put a load on it. That will eliminate 99% of your problems.

The inverters are nice I have one but I feel no more confident that its putting our 60 hz then the next generator. I like it cause its quiet and it will run all night.

I agree with you....I have the same generator and I am not scared to use it....I have a ups mostly for giving me time to get the genny going and second in case it runs out of gas.

I have a cheap pure sine wave inverter genny as well and according to my UPS it is dead on 60 hertz.....the champion under small load was 60.3.......unless you care about the exact time of your clocks i think that is more than acceptable
 
The problem with asking this type of question on a board is that we don't know the specifics of YOUR stove, nor YOUR generator. I have an old Whitfield that would likely run fine on a generator because it's not a very sophisticated machine. But would I run the Quad MVAE on it, w/o a sine wave UPS? Nooo...

All any of us really have unless we have your exact stove and generator are opinions (and even then there are other factors). So it really boils down to how brave / lucky you feel... Personally, I'm for the sine wave UPS unless you have a sine wave gennie.
 
I have a wp 5 Whitfield stove and a Steele 1200 watt generator. Thanks for replies I will try the search, new to site. When I got this generator I did't have the stove I got it for camping, was just wondering if I can safely use it for stove. For me it would be ok to get a kerosene heater ready, and use the generator for a few lights.
 
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A UPS is not going to do anything for you except give you a warm lump in your pants thinking its protecting you.

I think they come in handy for folks with direct-vent. My stoves vent pipe is a horizontal run. I got an UPS to keep the stove running long enough for me to start the generator.
 
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I installed a propain stove that needs no electricity and the thermostat is battery powered. Bought the stove off Craigslist for $100 and got the piping at the fleamarket. Only thing purchased retail was the tile and the venting stand off. Less than $300 total. Our UPS is for more for power conditioning and short outages. Have a thirty year old Honda generator for freezers if power out for more than three days.
 

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I think they come in handy for folks with direct-vent. My stoves vent pipe is a horizontal run. I got an UPS to keep the stove running long enough for me to start the generator.

I agree but what happens when your not home?
 
But would I run the Quad MVAE on it, w/o a sine wave UPS? Nooo...
I get your point, but the stove you chose as a model is an exception. The MVAE will run on a 12V battery no generator, UPS, or inverter needed.
I think that the whole pure sine issue is over blown. The worst I have ever seen when digital electronics was run on dirty power is momentary mis-operation. Typically it reset or declared a fault, but I haven't seen anything fried by dirty power.
Running on a generator during the generator startup or during generator shut down (out of gas) is another story and should be avoided.
 
I agree but what happens when your not home?

That's the downside. To answer your question - the stove will run for about 1 hour then go out. How likely is this though for me? Not very. In the years we've been here, just about every time we've lost power has been during severe weather and we've been home, though things happen and its not perfect. However, the UPS greatly minimizes the chance of a smokey house and pissed off wife.
 
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We have power issues with snow on trees has any one used a generator to run their stove? I was told to use a power filter and it would be ok, but what kind of power filter?
A UPS (uninteruptable power supply) works. Plug stove into UPS (battery side) and the UPS plugs into the wall outlet.
 
Pure sine wave. Square sine wave. It depends. I have a 1980 buck stove that won't run on a square wave inverter. So age doesn't 'necessarily mean much.
 
wow 1980 . i've always wondered when pellet stoves came into being , but i believe it was even earlier because i remember on a stay at an a hostel in the mid 70's a stove where wood pellets came down a tube/slide from the side .
 
There is a Heatalator fireplace with a pellet feed on the side for sale on CL in Grand Rapids, MN. That has to be before stand alone stoves started in the early 80s
 
Been reading through this thread and many others discussing the issue/s of running a pellet stove on a generator. Wanted to share my experience and concern.

I have a QuadraFire Castile purchased in 2013. Just purchased a Champion 7500 Watt Generator for the house. I have the pellet stove on a UPS, the CyberPower CP1000AVRLCD (600 Watt).

I tested out my setup by starting up the generator and connecting the line to the UPS while the stove was running. UPS did its job and kept the stove running, however, there was a slight change in sound from the fans when running off the UPS and after connecting the UPS to the generator.

The UPS was putting out 120/60Hz while on battery, after connecting to the generator it changed to 62Hz. The UPS also cycled to the battery a few times while connected to the generator, but seemed to stop that after a few minutes.

How concerned should I be about the change in sound from the fans? I’m assuming this indicates they’re not running quite the same as when its on outlet AC.

Also, how concerning should the change in Hz be?

Any info greatly appreciated!
 
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