Bill S chunker

Al, you can zoom in on the nameplate, and plugs on the eBay listing.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/161446387546?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
There is also a big warning not to exceed 3000 rpm. My experience with inverter generators is that they don’t like large surge currents. Perhaps that electric chain saw is too much for it to handle. I know the one I have in the barn will not handle a 10 inch Miter saw which I use for cutting branches into little chunks.

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Yes, that’s the one Ray. Am I thinking right that the 210 lb flywheel will help with the surge? The electric chainsaw here is a 12 amp saw and the generator is capable of 15amps. I figure it would be a good test if I can find the sweet spot.
I confirmed a suspicion of mine this morning. I thought the belt from the engine was slipping a little, so I tightened it up. Now I am able to keep the light on. I’m friggen happy about that. Now I am taking Sean’s suggestion and going to the store to pick up a smaller pulley for the gen head to get the rpm’s up a little more. I would like to sit on that 2800 rpm if I can.

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Right. but " Inverter attached to rear of generator maintains 50 or 60 hz, as long as the rpm is enough to turn on the inverter! The current will vary depending on RPM"

To get to the full 15amps, you need to be at the very top of the range. If you have a load bigger then what it is producing it will cut out as he described.

If those are 230amp plugs and not the 30amp 115 plugs, then that actually cuts your amps in half for each of the two phases. 15amps 115v== 7.5 amps 230v with 7.5a on each leg.

Also I assume he check to make sure it is outputting at 60hz not 50hz. :slight_smile:

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only if the belts can transmit the power without slipping. A sudden load will make the small pulley want to slip on the belt.

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You are right, it might not work but looks like it is a much easier and cheaper solution then replacing the one on the pto, or adding an arbor.
Sourcing the larger sized pulleys can be harder and more expensive, and a lot of times you have to weld hubs on so you need to buy a hub too, and you can’t return it if it doesn’t work. :slight_smile:

A 14" on the pto with 4.5" on the genhead would be 3.11:1 15"pto, 4.5 =3.33:1.

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Thanks Bill, didn’t realize it was that kind, that neat you can vary the rpms.

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You could make a belt guard of some type and just hang the belt on it to keep it out of the way when you don’t need the generator.

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I’m more worried about the surge on the electronic inverter, although the flywheel should help keep the rotating machinery running smoothly. If the chainsaw is rated at 12 amps while sawing, that is 120 volts X 12 amps = 1440 watts. The generator nameplate says 1800 watts, so if the electric chainsaw does not have a surge current when you pull the trigger, it should work just fine. If the surge current is 130%, then the draw would be 1872 watts. The might still work, but what if the surge current is higher? I just did some searching, and a couple of sites state that electric chainsaws DO NOT have a starting surge. (Nice!) http://www.harborfreight.com/generators-buying-guide.html I’m following this with great interest, and I hope to see it working. Ray

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Ray is right. The surge of the saw, or the load when cutting will be a lot higher then just runing it with no resistance. That is where they get the nameplate amperage usually. (if you have one with a surge)

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I don’t think they have much if any surge. The reason why they are limited to under 15amps, is because that is the standard circuit breaker wiring for most residences. You don’t want to sell a product that trips the breaker.

As far as I can tell they use a universal motor design, which I don’t think has a startup surge. I can’t find much verification for that though.

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Sorry Folks.
That brush type universal motor WILL have a zero RPM up to operating RPM amperage surge of at least 1.5 to 2X of the motors rated running amps.
Look up the trials and tribulations of off grid folks with AC electric deep well pump motors.
Any reputable engine generator suppler will always advise generator system over sizing for electric motor starting up amp surges.
PM generators and electric motors are not a magic solution for this need.

On grid AC 115 volt circuits the reason that the circuit breakers do not instantly trip is that they are too slow to respond to this normal milliseconds surge amps.
Apply a working load to that AC drive motor before up to operating RPM amps needed amps decrease relief and it will circuit breaker pop.
Load stall that AC drive motor below it’s rated operating RPM and it will circuit breaker pop.
Each and every forced circuit breaker popping arc/vaporizes’s it’s internal metallic contacts, shortening it’s life. Why when used as manual load operating off and on’s; safety circut breakers age die quickly. Actual load on/off switches are engineered for this abuse. (Why they cost more)

Bill you are too close to the edge on your engineeering.
Remember: a just barely big enough drain pipe with any buildup, flow clogs quickly and get your feet wet.
And grossly over sized drain pipes do not flow flush clean. Building up layer laid down deposites, and eventually flow clogging again.
Think of electricty engineering in these terms too.
There is a workable center range in all fo the things we need to keep working reliably.
Unreliable: and you can always trace back to someone edge walking cutting corners some where.

REgards
Steve Unruh

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Great info Steve, thanks!
I chose this set up because it is what I already had purchased earlier this year. My thoughts are I can charge a battery bank with a smart charger and give a little extra somewhere else if needed. In my testing here at home, this chainsaw is the item to bring it to it’s edge to see if I can do it. Then I will know the pulleys and belts are what they need to be. I have no engineering skills. It’s all trial and error. My mechanical skills suck but I can’t learn if I don’t try. Yes my method can get expensive. But I can learn and it will sink in.
Once I get this set up figured out, I have two more generators. A 10k generator head, which will be last on my list because I doubt I will ever use that much and a Chinese Honda clone 5.6k 240 volt generator inverter. I don’t think I will convert that to wood gas. I may get a 5k inverter generator head soon and all my bases will be covered. I already have a wood gas Honda engine for that.
Right now making power from wood is amazing to me, even though I’m testing with gasoline. Argos showed me the system runs good with wood. I hope to have things figured out by next year.
I am grateful to receive any input on this site because it my save me time and money. I read what people say, although I may not always understand at first. Thanks everyone!

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It might be that E chain saws are starter type motors.not sure,some 110 motors like power washer motors can be run on 12 V and 24v dc allso.not the same volluem,but good psi for water fogging.

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What does one have to do with the other? Deep well pumps are normally induction motors, since they are brushless, they last a long time. Universal motors are completely different beasts.

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we have a few motors in the industry that are AC 3 phase motors however we are sending simulated sine wave DC to them with large (or small) Lenze drives. They are also all linked to a DC bus that eventually charges a capacitor bank that powers quite a few pulsing 60KW servos. The DC bus will send power when the motors obviously are coasting in generator mode. It is a very cool thing to see run. Lots of power.

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This afternoon I became a believer in full size wood chunkers. At Argos I was given 3 bags of Bill’s wood that he ran through his chunker and some of the pieces were larger that I normally use in my 10 inch firetube. I thought I would have to take a hatchet to them until I realized that I could break them apart with my hands. Those big chunkers really mutilate the chunks and create many cracks that will help in drying the chunks out.

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I agree Don, just ran some of that stuff from BillS in my unit. It crumbles away, which is great. also helps with bridging.

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Them some nice big chunker,and drive anursha pullys,Are them called new hollon square baler,primary gear box ? Thanks

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Hey Don, Joseph, Kevin thank you for directing this back to practical useable discussion.

Sean I have no interest in embarsasing you with your obviously very inexperienced beliefs. Go out and stall load, and watts starve enough of all types of electric motors to “burn-stink” learn that AC, DC, brush type, brushless type all bow to “counter electromagnetic force” realities that is engineered into properly selected and used electric motors.
Burn up a few skillsaws. Burn up a few deep well pumps. To learn this cheap.
Burn to learn on the job will loose you that job! Guaran-damn-tee you.

BillS and I have have directly corresponded for a few years now on his projects.
He knows what I use and recommend for these kinds of projects.
1600 watt AC output Redi-Line brand of 12volt DC input co- axizl wound pm motor-generator converters.
30+ years of proven usage in hard commercial all climate useages. Well able to start up real use working electric motors of all types with a 2x surge wattage.
Still available NEW for under $2K USD. $200 - $800 used USD. Craigs list and E-bay. (Ha! Some stolen so do not ask sources)
Only the long lifed brushes ever wear out. Occasionally the 40 watt load sensing electronic turn on-off electronic controller will go bad. Deep six that then for a cheap twist clock timer switch and just keep on walk away generating.
Spares? Set of brushes. A couple of constant duty solenoids.
Real Smart. A second, third complete unit like I have.

" Only one deep of anything really needed is just one step away from having no capabilty. A back-up second capability: once the first is lost and the second back-up put into primary use then you are back to square one. Double redundancy gives you time to get that first in-use, repaired, or replaced"

Past three levels (double redundancy) . . . well that is just impractical anal.
The resources squandered then means you will be without somewhere on something else needful for true Praticals living. Yes Verginia a felolw can certainly have too many guns and too much ammo when he cannot then afford to keep the lights on and the refrigerators refrigerating! His only recourse then is to become the steal it grasshopper scum.
You answered this BillS with three different ways able to potentially generate now. Willing to burn up sacrifice the least capable as a hands-on learning tool.
Much respect. Keep it up man. Talk, and Net quoting is cheap. And worth just what it costs. Cheap and not practical use-proven. Intellectualizing itch-scratch jabber.
Proven results are always expensive. And worth every thing payed to get it.
Steve Unruh

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I moved 3 posts to a new topic: Super-capacitor generator setup