What home AC appliances are safe to run off a Conventional AC portable generator?

General Questions
#1

Looking to buy a Green Power cc2500 for recreational use & wanting to know if I can run

a typical AC battery charger & your typical AC charger adaptors found on Laptops & Phones etc.

This Generator is not an inverter pure sine wave but I read some can have a pretty clean AC wave. Looks like a grey area, so wanted to ask.

thanks

#2

I don’t see why you would have a problem. Most things today (including the things you mentioned) use SMPSs, and they don’t care what the waveform looks like.

#3

IDk but I have used plugin inverters to car power ports to power laptops and phone chargers and other small stuff, never can recall any issue.

#4

So far as I know, all you have to worry about is total power (both peak and sustained). Laptops and phones don’t use much power and they’re not very peaky, so it shouldn’t be hard to find a generator sufficient for them.

#5

Buy and use a power filter. There’s several at this link. The compact 1200 watt model is ideal for portable generators.

You should plug sensitive electronics like laptops, tv’s, and radios in it. Don’t plug your coffee pot or toaster into a power filter. No need to stress it with a high wattage appliance.

#6

I’d use a power filter to charge my smart phone on a generator.

I wouldn’t buy a filter just for a phone. But, if you have other sensitive electronics, then they are worth buying.

The charger, wall wart already filters. But it doesn’t require much power and better safe than sorry

#7

I’ve run a window A/C unit off of a generator with no issues. If I want to charge my electronic devices, I use a UPS and then charge the UPS with the generator; then again, I may be extra paranoid…If I’m already out of power, the last thing I want to do is fry my laptop or phone.

#8

I have run all of my electronic devices from my Onan 6500 watt unit. That includes TV, cable box, computer. I do have a simple power strip noise filter.

Dennis

#9

A coffee pot or a toaster doesn’t give a damn about what kind of power it receives, only how much. Waveforms? Heck, they don’t even care about AC vs. DC. They do, however, take a heck of a lot of power, enough so that if you’re in a situation where you need a generator, you probably want to consider just eating your bread untoasted.

#10

I have worked with off-grid power for years including wind, solar, and generators and have only run in to a couple of items that do not like a modified sine wave.

Off the top of my head… DeWalt 18V battery charger, AC laptop charger, variable speed fan motor, satellite receiver maybe a couple of other small electronics.

#11

Thanks for all the replys. Leaning twords the advice of crafter man and chronos.

To my knowledge the MSW is only in inverters not the conventional ac gennys. I could be wrong. But i read these gennys can be pretty clean. I guess if appliance doesnt get warm/hot all is fine.