How To Clean Up Generator Power? – Prolong The Life Of Applainces
Every user wants to intake clean power to their voltage-sensitive appliances so that their appliances could be safe from any damage and can work with full intensity.
In this article, you will get multiple proven methods to clean the unstable dirty power and its potential causes as well.
Before start cleaning your power, let’s know what exactly dirty power is?
What Is Dirty Power?
Clean power produces a nice smooth sine wave, however, dirty power produces blocky waves.
Unstable power with un-stabilized voltages that can cause flickering lights, heat the appliances, slow or low function of the motoring device is also a cause of dirty power.
The power that comes to your house from the grid is always clean with little to no total harmonic distortions unless your lines have faults. The following methods we use to identify whether our generator provides clean or dirty power.
- Flickering and blinking of lights are some of the major causes of dirty power.
- Rapid tripping of the circuit.
- Low and high voltages
- Appliances become heat.
- Reduction in the velocity of fans or other motorized appliances.
- High total harmonic distortion, usually THD is written in the specs of the generator and we always list it for our readers.
- EMI Meter of green wave could be your best friend to find out the contaminations of your electricity.
Why Do You Need To Clean Power?
Sensitive expensive appliances like mobile phones, laptops, electric smokers, etc. are more vulnerable to dirty power, they may not sustain unstable voltages for a long time. We have to test our generators or grid power to ensure that our appliances are safe.
Cleaning power will prolong the life of your appliances and also the performance of your appliances and tools will be up to the mark, you will never feel the flickering lights, low velocity of motorized appliances, etc.
How To Clean Up Generator Power
Below are some methods we are using to clean up our power supply.
Purchase An Inverter Generator To Avoid The Entire Cleaning Process:
An inverter generator may cost you more but it has an advanced mechanism that makes sure to provide pure sine waves with extremely low THD levels. An inverter generator would be a great investment if you want to avoid other costs like UPS, separate inverter, line conditioners, etc.
How To Clean Generator Power Using A UPS:
Long ago I am using UPS (Uninterruptible Power System) to safely shut down my desktop or PCs on UPS, also it helps me to save my data since it stores some power and supplies it when the lights are off, I mostly hold my data during that time. It simply consists of a small battery, a circuit, and an AVR.
You can use it for charging your battery banks or also can be used to clean up the generator’s electrical power. Furthermore, it will help you to protect your appliances if your generator doesn’t have a low oil shutoff sensor. Make sure to cross-match your generator with the inverter you are going to purchase, if they are not compatible you may face a bigger problem than voltage fluctuations.
How To Clean Generator Power By Using A Separate Inverter:
An inverter not only converts DC to AC but also provides pure sine waves by regulating the RPMs of your generator, you will get clean power for your sensitive appliances by integrating an inverter with your portable generator. You have to face some power loss and also spend some extra bucks for getting a separate inverter.
That is why we recommend you go for an inverter generator.
How To Clean Generator Power Using A Voltage Regulator:
Purchasing a separate AVR or VR could be a great investment to counter the blocky waves. It converts the blocky waves to sine waves and makes sure that voltage goes stable. Since AVR constantly monitors the RPM of your generator, input and output voltages, etc. you will constantly get fluctuations free clean power.
Due to the abundance of AVRs, you have to make some research and check out the compatibility of that particular AVR with your generator.
How To Clean Generator Power By Using A Power Line Conditioner:
A power line conditioner is the best affordable alternative to avoid voltage fluctuations; also it is pretty easy to use even a newbie can use this gadget perfectly. Besides its voltage fluctuation protection, it also provides surge protection and makes sure that your all sensitive appliances will be free from dirty power.
Please check the compatibility of your generator and the line conditioner you are going to purchase.
How To Clean Generator By Using Power Filters:
Power filters are the cheapest way to reduce the electromagnetic interference of power to equipment but they are not that effective compared to the inverter, UPS, and AVR, they may produce a small impact but are not a proper solution to produce pure sine waves.
Humble Opinion: Getting a whole house surge protector would be a great investment to save expensive voltage-sensitive appliances.
The device is mainly installed in the electrical switch and blocks the surges that come from the electrical circuit.
What Are The Leading Causes Of Dirty Power?
A cheap quality generator may produce more dirty power compared to a high-quality generator with the latest inverter technology or even with AVR so that your appliances will be safe from voltage fluctuations.
Well below are the leading causes of dirty or contaminated power.
Contaminated fuel: Contamination in fuel will surely block the flow of the fuel to the combustion chamber, due to this reason the carburetor of the generator may overflow or your generator may not work properly. You can avoid this by supplying clean fuel or doing regular maintenance of your generator’s storage tank, carburetor, and fuel lines.
Faulty electrical lines: If you found any spark in your electrical line system make sure to fix it by taking proper safety measures this will damage your all essential appliances.
Overused engine oil: Overused engine oil will be a potential cause to scrape the inner components of the engine that may be a leading cause of engine cease or voltage fluctuations due to the improper working of the engine.
Here is the step by step guide to change the engine oil.
Overused or dirty spark plug: Dirty spark plug may provide poor ignition, hence your generator will struggle to burn fuel properly.
Here is the step by step guide to clean spark plug.
Dirty inner components and filters: Dirty inner filters and components will not only block the airflow but also can cause voltage fluctuations, make sure to schedule a regular cleanup so that your gen – set can work properly.
High THD levels: You will find THD levels of every generator on the specs or user manual make sure that your generator has lower THD levels below 3% if you are going to use voltage-sensitive appliances, however, below 15% is decent for higher capacity generators.
Faulty generator: Faulty generator with especially a faulty AVR (automatic voltage regulator) is one of the leading causes of dirty power, you have to repair or replace it immediately.
Clean Vs. Dirty Power
| Clean power produces pure sine waves | Dirty power produces blocky waves |
| Clean power prolong the life of your sensitive appliances | Dirty power can damage the sensitive appliances |
| Clean power allows your appliance to operate at full intensity. | Dirty power may not allow your appliance to work properly. |
FAQs – Frequently Asked Questions
How do you clean up the voltage?
By using an AVR, UPS, a Separate inverter, a power line conditioner or even you can use power filter as well.
Do Portable Generators Produce Clean Power?
Yes, most portable generators are based on inverter technology with extremely low THD levels.
Is generator power safe for electronics?
Yes, they are pretty safe to use unless you have a pretty old high-capacity generator.
Do you use a surge protector with a generator?
Yes, if you believe the surge from your generator could destroy your appliances.
How do you test for clean power?
EMI meter could be a great option to check out the contamination of your electrical power however, you can observe some signs like flickering lights, Appliances becoming heat, etc.
Will non-inverter generators damage electronics?
Yes. If it is old and has higher THD levels, however, modern conventional generators have a pretty decent AVR system that makes sure that output power should be clean.
Josh is a highly skilled electrician with specialized expertise in the field of generators. With years of experience under his belt, he has established himself as an expert in all aspects of generators, ranging from installation and maintenance to troubleshooting and repairs. Josh’s in-depth knowledge of electrical systems and his commitment to staying updated with the latest industry advancements make him a reliable and sought-after professional.