Pellet stove won’t light with generator

[Da3sail]

I have quadrafire classic bay 1200 pellet stove. I also have a 3500watt generator which is backup power.

When I connect the stove to the generator the stove’s call light comes on but the fans and the ignition sequence don’t start. The stove runs fine when connected to my home’s electrical supply.

I tried connecting the stove to a Tripp lite lc2400 power line conditioner. The stove runs off the power supplies by the line conditioner when using the home’s power. When the line conditioner was connected to the generator the line conditioner identified a line fault due to the generator using a floating neutral. This was resolved through a neutral bonding plug. With the stove connected to the line conditioner, bonding plug, and generator; the stoves call light comes on, but the fans and ignition don’t work.
(I ran a vacuum cleaner off the line conditioner while it was getting power from the generator.)

Does anyone have ideas on why the stove won’t startup when using power from the generator?

 

[begreen]

Just a guess, but it sounds like the electronics don't like the dirty AC coming from the generator? We have a UPS on our computer system that acts the same way. I switched to an inverter generator and it is now a happy camper.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Exactly and I stated that on another thread and was told I was FOS. Big difference between PSW and MSW power far as electronic controls are concerned. I would refrain from using your MSW genny as you could very well fry the board's components. Line 'conditioners. do nothing concerning AC wave form. Why PSW genny's are way more expensive than a cheaper than a cheaper MSW generator plus, PSW units will usually have automatic idle on them and built in circuit protection. Any generator can be bonded to the ground lug on the corn plug by using the ground lug on the generator and physically bonding to it btw.

 

[jackman]

I concur with begreen. The Tripp-Lite is not cleaning up the power. It's a surge suppressor is all. I would replace it with a pure sine wave UPS.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Actually they have filters in them to filter out harmonics but do nothing as far as waveform. Waveform generation is entirely up to the power source. be it mechanically generated (rotational speed of the armature) or electronically produced in the case of an inverter unit and / or sine wave UPS. A conventional gas powered genny is capable of 60HZ sine wave generation but the genny must maintain a stable rotation under load as well as a no load situation. All in the mechanical aspects and how the armature is wound.

 

[railfanron]

Have you checked the generator's output? Not just the voltage but the cycles as well. If the cycles are off then most electronics and power supplies won't accept the power.

 

[SidecarFlip]

CPS is not easily checked without an oscilloscope other than determining the armature rpm times the number of poles in the genny. Most have 2 but some units, usually diesel powered (lower input rpm) will have 4. Why maintaining constant rpm is paramount. In the case of a pto unit, the ASAE standard 6 spline is 540 rpm and the 21 spline is 1000 rpm so the pto genny will have a gearbox coupled to the head to adjust the armature rpm accordingly but input rpm is still crucial, stand alone ot pto powered.

 

[railfanron]

That's not entirely true Sidecar. Although a scope is the most accurate way there are meters that check cps. I have a Klien meter and it reads cps down to 1/10 of a cycle. The procedure to set the correct operating rpm on the governor of my stand by power unit is done with a meter and set to cps not voltage. When it's set correctly it puts out the correct voltage no load or full load. Not sure how the governors are set on portable generators but I know I wouldn't hook one up to my house without checking it's output first. When I camped I would always check the power voltage and cps before I hooked up.

 

[SidecarFlip]

That's not entirely true Sidecar. Although a scope is the most accurate way there are meters that check cps. I have a Klien meter and it reads cps down to 1/10 of a cycle. The procedure to set the correct operating rpm on the governor of my stand by power unit is done with a meter and set to cps not voltage. When it's set correctly it puts out the correct voltage no load or full load. Not sure how the governors are set on portable generators but I know I wouldn't hook one up to my house without checking it's output first. When I camped I would always check the power voltage and cps before I hooked up.

Someday I'll pony up the funds for a Fluke True RMS but for now my cheapo Chinese one does the job. Actually, a generator turning the specified rpm (2 or 4 pole) will make 60HZ at the correct armature rpm. Why I like an Inverter. My Yamaha 2400I has a 12 pole head with electronic inversion and cycle generation so rpm don't matter. BTW, the venerable Honda Inverters, the generator heads are licensed from Yamaha. it's their design.

My diesel standby has a 4 pole armature. The engine turns at 1800 rpm with an electronic throttle that is load sensing.

People that buy portable generators and jury rig them for power in an outage scare me. Guy across the road uses a double ended extension cord to power his house by plugging into a wall outlet. Not overly bright. Keep waiting for the ambulance or fire trucks to visit. Maybe he's lucky or just not overly bright.

What does it take to kill you? 5MA across your heart?

 

[Mt Bob]

LOL,had to reread this,a bit.The bottom line is, a PSW gen must be awesome,never seen one. I'v heard of them, I think even harbor freight used to sell one. BUT, any cheap inverter generator is 2 times better(mostly).It is amazing what can be done with a small controller and a few diodes.Speed is not critical,as long as the unit can slow it down,speed it up.I really do need another gen,got 2 that i have never used,even the camper one,after 1 week,dry camping,still did not need it,have 3 batteries in camper.Oh,well,I ordered and purchased one of the cheapest inverter generators,very small, to see if it would work to run one of my stoves,at my altitude.We shall see.

 

[MButkus]

Have you tried it connected to a UPS and have the UPS connected to the generator ? Make sure the generator has a ground or the UPS won't turn on. The dirty generator power should be cleaned up by a decent UPS.

 

[Da3sail]

Thanks for your responses. I’ve considered buying a ups but would prefer to save for an inverter generator.

 

[gfreek]

Reading over your original post, wondering if you can borrow an inverter generator to try on your stove, just to be sure , before you purchase one.. And be sure it will handle the load rating ( amperage), & igniter...

 

[SidecarFlip]

A small one like a Champion 2000 watt will be sufficient.