[P @ F]

as question , what size do you use and whats the wattage of your gutter vac , as many answers as poss would be helpful so i can make an informed decision.
Im using 1500 watt motor with a startup surge of 2900watt

Cheers Rich

[TomCrowther]

I use a 6.5 KVA Honda generator which is good for the job {noisy though}.

[P @ F]

This is where i am falling over , what is kva in regard to watts obtainable from the geny ?

Rich

[Spruce]

This is where i am falling over , what is kva in regard to watts obtainable from the geny ?

Rich

Rich,
Years ago when we sold construction equipment we took 1kva as a 1000 watts but reduced it by about 10%.
So we sold 3KVA single phase generators to run a 2200 watt angle grinder, which worked fine. I find the initial startup surge on your vacuum cleaner motor interesting as the 3kv genny could quite easily start this size angle grinder and they kick like a mule on startup.
My suggestion would be to phone a hire shop and tell them that you want a genny to run your vacuum cleaner and see what they come up with from experience.
Spruce

[P @ F]

Spruce , you know your onions mate , i did that yesterday , hire shop said best bet is 3 or 3.5 kva .

Want to try a lower kva though , out of interest , , when you get to 3 kva the gennys get heavy and pricey !

Rich

[Spruce]

Spruce , you know your onions mate , i did that yesterday , hire shop said best bet is 3 or 3.5 kva .

Want to try a lower kva though , out of interest , , when you get to 3 kva the gennys get heavy and pricey !

Rich

You're right, they are expensive. Truthfully, go with what will work rather than the cheapest option. Mess around with a 2kva which will work for a bit and then probably fail prematurely. Mechanically, as a supplier faced with a warranty claim, you can always tell if something has failed through overloading by the results of the failure. So you could end up with nothing at the end of it.

If your Vacuum Cleaner is not getting the current it requires to run it efficiently then the motor will labour and start to overheat. This increases resistance in the windings which in turn creates more heat in an ever increasing spiral and can lead to the motors burning out. That leaves you with no Vacuum Cleaner and a used genny that's worthless to you at this point.

If you are struggling to find the extra bucks to finance it immediately, then hire the correct size genny for the job for a while if its occasional. You can then put the job money less the hire towards the right size kit.

Sometimes, the Hire shops sell off used equipment, which is coming to the end of it's hiring life cycle (reliability is key for hiring equipment) but will still have a good service life for you - but I would rather go new and get the decent warranty.

Spruce

[Ian Rochester]

Stick to something like a Honda or other similar branded genny, keep away from imports that are splattered all over ebay.

Remember you get what you pay for.

I would go for something like the Honda GX200, I've got a GX390 and it's a beast of a machine.

[clarkson]

 please note my thread fake. there are a lot of cheap chinese knock offs that have honda logos.

 i would go for at leat 5.5kva it will run most equipment then. including the three motor gutter vacs.

 i would also get honda gsx as well

 cheers

 john