Apex on Generator

[jasonmartin1313]

Anyone else have issues with running their controllers off of a generator? I have a 17kw generac, it powers most of my house. But the apex went awall when running off of it. I even tried 2 different UPS power supplies on it. No luck. Outlets were on, but said off, some where uncontrollable. The screen resurrected settings from the past and displayed a DC8 that was from years ago. It was a mess. I had to re initialize everything and start over. Anyone else have similar experience? I was hoping with a good generator I would have been in the clear.

 

[ScottB]

I've run mine a couple of time on a generator, but I never had an issue. I will admit that when my power fails, I auto shut down all non-essential gear and leave it that way while on the generator.

 

[eyesolator]

I just purchased a generator and got it up and running the other day, tested it for a short while with no Apex issues. I don't think this would make a difference to the Apex but I'm back feeding the panel and not connecting the Apex directly to the generator.

John

 

[MHG]

Mine runs fine on the generator even though my ups does not....

 

[kurt_n]

I've run my Apex directly off my little Honda EcoSmart generator several times with no problems. Last time I did it, it was for 3 days straight, 24/7.

Only thing I can think of that might cause problems is what the sine wave form on the generator output is. If it's a square-wave, maybe the Apex didn't care for that?

 

[jasonmartin1313]

Luckily we got power back last night. I went old school in the interim, put the lights on mechanical timers and just ran the pumps all on, as for the heater I had a backup mechanically controlled one I threw in. It worked but it was not ideal. Its amazing how much I rely on the control/alarms of the Apex. So many people dis them, but I think it is only because they don't have an understanding of exactly how powerful they really are.

 

[RussM]

My 20 year old 5kw Generac is a reliable old workhorse, but puts out dirty power... it's noisy, and the voltage is a little high (126-132). I initially had problems with my current UPS - it would constantly go into battery mode due to overvoltage, but once I raised the internal overvoltage threshold to 134, it works fine. With my generator, I never connect anything but a motor-driven device, the UPS, and a 2400w TrippLite line conditioner I use between the generator and any electronics I care to power when needed.

 

[hunkafish]

You can by a generator with a power conditioner built in, much more expensive. You can feed the power to a seperate power conditioner and then to your more sensitive items. Some expensive UPS that produce the desired Syne wave for pumps are acting as the power conditionor, maintaining the 120V clean power. Those UPS's would be benificial with a generator or for the the occasional outage with out the generator. Im know electrical expert, here is one that will handle 1500 watts no good for a refrigerator but fine for APEX/TV/pumps/ I didn't check on this one but some are made for use with generator's. My favorite Generator is Yahmmaha very quite Come you guys on R/C that are electrical engineers chime in on this subject are brothers in the North East need the quik fix,inexpensive solution to save there tanks and equipment.

 

[AquaticFarmer]

We have 2 "Guardian 16KW generators:

The one for my Fish Building has 2 Apex units on it. We have a one-hour plus power failure about once every 2 months. i.e. 6 failures so far this year. So far the 2 Apex Systems have NOT had any problems.

=====
The second generator is for our house. Currently I have 2 Apex units in my office for testing. (One for testing, the other is ready to be moved to the Fish Building when I have time.) Anyway, no problems with the 2 Apex units in my house.

=====
BUT, I do have a problem with the Generator for our house. The last 2 or three power failures, my UPS system has had problems. When the generator comes ON, the UPS should use generator power. Well, the generator is surging some and the UPS jumps between generator power and UPS battery power. So after about an hour, the battery is used up and it shuts down my computer. == We need to have the Generator serviced to adjust the engine and stop the surging

I mention this; because, the generator surging might effect an Apex. The voltage is jumping 2 times per second with the surges. This messes up our UPS. It might mess up your Apex. So check to see if your Generator is tuned and you are getting a steady voltage.

Hope this helps.

Now to remember to schedule someone to come out and tune our Generators. I plan on watching them do it to learn where they make the adjustment. Next time I would like to do it myself. If only I had more time. Right now getting the Fish Farm ready for winter is the number one priority that is taking up all my time.

Jim

 

[jasonmartin1313]

AquaticFarmer, I noticed the same thing when using my UPS at first, it was switching on and off continuously. I did notice it was more so at night when there was very little load on the Gen. During the day when lights, tvs, etc were on the voltage is much smoother as the load is continuous on the generator. I don't know if there would be any way to make it run smoother, as it is reacting to the different loads being applied. A slower response in RPMs would yield a larger voltage drop, just my .02