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Average Rating: 4.0 of 5.0
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Written September 04, 2006 |
| Reliance Controls AmWatt™ Load Tester Review |
| By Ed Tobin |
| Greatest little gadget since sliced bread. Really helped in my selection of a emergency gererator. I just wanted what I needed and not a lot of extra power. With this tool, it was a sinch. Ed |
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Written August 25, 2006 |
| Reliance Controls AmWatt™ Load Tester Review |
| By PETER CASTRO |
| WORKS GREAT, EASY TO USE, JUST PLUG YOUR DEVICE ONTO IT AND THEN PLUG IT INTO THE OUTLET, AND YOU GET AN INSTANT READOUT. JUST SELECT BETWEEN AMPS OR WATTS. HELPED ME A GREAT DEAL TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WOULD BE THE BEST GENERATOR FOR MY BUDGET? HOW MUCH POWER DID I REALLY NEED IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY? |
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Written May 20, 2009 |
| Sizing A Generator Based On Square Footage |
| By Jim Baugher, Product Expert (Power Equipment Direct, IL) |
A good rule of thumb for this type of estimate is not to do it at all.
Every application is different in one way or another because of the equipment in the home, not the size of the home.
It is crucial to properly evaluate your wattage requirements.
This includes the start-up watts or amps on your air conditioner(s), refrigerator(s), sump pump/well pump, and any other appliances that have a motor to start them or an electric coil.
Everyone has a different size air conditioner in their home, so the correct way to calculate the wattage required to start the air conditioner would be:
1. Find out what the LRA (Locked Rotor Amps) number is on the unit (found in the manual or on the name plate);
2. Multiply the LRA number and the Voltage the air conditioner is wired to (230 Volts is the most common);
3. The total will equal the wattage required to start it. (A x V = W).
For example: a small AC unit can have 48 LRA and is connected to 230 Volts, which gives you 11,040 start-up Watts to start the AC unit.
The best way to size a generator is to take a close look at the equipment in your home and try to calculate the required starting amps or watts for your major items.
Or, you can use a load meter to measure the exact wattage consumed by the appliance.
You will save yourself some headaches in the long run, as well as save yourself some money by sizing your generator correctly. |
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Written July 27, 2008 |
| Nice Unit |
| By Dave Whitney (Nevada, IA) |
After searching eBay and online, I purchased this unit for the price and the corded feature.
Most other units are plugged directly into the wall and then you plug the powered source into the unit.
Well, as you can imagine, behind stereos, TVs, refrigerators, etc...this corded unit makes it MUCH easier and faster to rate your electronics.
Tip: If you have a TV, dish, cable, speakers, etc. all plugged into a powerstrip...just rate the lot of them via the powerstrip. After all...in an outage, to have the TV working...the cable and or dish needs power too! |
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Written June 18, 2008 |
| ProForce = GREAT value! |
| By Harold Miller (Houston, TX) |
Living in Houston, hurricane seasons can vary from a few storms to a full blown Category 4 headed straight for the city.
When Rita came close to hitting Houston a couple of years ago, it became apparent that we needed to be ready to stay and tough out the storm if we could not get out of the city.
I made the decision to start shopping for generators.
There were quite a few things that I found important: 1 - quality, 2 - load watts, 3 - fuel consumption. With a limited budget, I couldn't pick up a nice quiet unit like my buddy's Honda.
Man, that was an awesome generator but for close to $1k, it was too far out of reach. I wanted to spend around $3-400 on something in the 2500-3000 watt range.
After more research, I found what I originally thought was an off-brand but turned out to be quite popular. Going through the Coleman site, I found ProForce generators. As I dug deeper, these ProForce generators were simply just another brand line for Coleman.
After searching through the different sizes, I found it: The ProForce 3000. It was perfect. With a whopping 10 hours of run time on just 3 gallons of gas (@ 50% load), it was one of the most fuel efficient generators on the market for it's size. I pulled the trigger and bought it.
Since then, I've used it for all types of projects. From powering a camp site to helping provide electricity for construction areas, it's never let me down. It's so compact and much more quiet than other generators I've seen used.
It's one that I would highly recommend to anyone looking to purchase a generator in this size. Hurricane season for 2008 has just started here in Houston. With the news stations buzzing about being prepared this season, I know that I'll be safe with my ProForce generator on standby.
Some recommendations that I would have for this unit would be to purchase an hour meter to keep track of maintenance. EG Direct has a nice little Yamaha unit for only $39.
Additionally, it wouldn't be a bad idea to purchase the AmWatt power meter to keep track of how much load is on your generator. This will also help to balance the load between both 120v outlets. I've purchased both for my generator.
EGD RESPONSE: Harold, the ProForce is a very nice generator. You made a wise choice. Unfortunately, Coleman Powermate went bankrupt a few months ago. If you're looking for a similar machine, consider the Briggs & Stratton 3500 Watt Portable Generator. Very similar. Very nice generator. |
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Owners Manual
