Generator question

[Smurf]

One more question: what sort of tolerance is allowable, is it say between 48 and 52 Hz?

Depends on what you're running from it. A light bulb won't care at all (though you'll see visible flicker if you run too slow) whereas it's an important issue for motors etc.

The standard for the grid under "normal" conditions is 49.85 to 50.15. It will vary if something goes wrong such as a power station breakdown, failure of a major transmission line etc. Worst case when lots of things go wrong it's supposed to remain between 47 and 52 Hz - outside those tolerances things (eg suburbs, cities, large factories) get switched off to avoid equipment damage and assist in stabilising the grid.

If it gets much outside that range then all sorts of nasty things happen and we all end up in the dark. That can happen rather quickly (minutes, seconds) if enough goes wrong all at once.

I'd be trying to keep your generator between 47 - 52 Hz unless you're not running anything sensitive to frequency. As I said, light bulbs don't mind even 100 Hz but you'll cook the bearings in your tools pretty fast running them at that rate. Too low and you'll overheat motors etc and burn them out.

[Rossluck]

Thanks Smurf.