Another problem is "ran an extension cord" - you should probably use a
12 ga. cord no more than 50' long. Your typical Home Depot orange cord
is probably only 16 ga. - there will be too much resistance in the line
to carry the full amperage. (Don't ask me how I discovered this.)
Mike
jblair1948@cox.net wrote:
>>Our power went out last night, so I ran an extension cord from the little
>>1000W Honda (EX, not an EU) generator off down to the sump pump, plugged
>>it in, and was dismayed to see the pump not work. Later on, power came
>>back on and the pump worked fine.
>>
>>I can't imagine that pump is anything more than a 1 hp unit, probably more
>>like 1/3 or 1/2 hp... What size generator do I need to make that puppy
>>work?
>
>
> Mark,
>
> That depends on the pump. But the conversion for HP to
> Watts is 1hp = 750Watts. Now for example, a 5hp compressor
>
> 5hp = 750watts * 5 = 3750Watts or 3.7 KiloWatts (KW).
> For a 110Volt AC line (also called 115 or 120) the current
> would be P=IE (Power[P] = Current[I] * Voltage[E])
> 3750 = I * 110 or I = 3750/110 = 34.1 A with NO safety
> factor. The max for a typical household 110 circuit is 20A.
> So you can see that for a 5HP motor, you would need 220V
> service.
>
> So to answer your question, you need to find the data
> plate on the motor for the pump, and find out how much
> current it draws, and at what voltage.
>
> Again Power[watts] = Current[Amps] * Voltage[volts].
> So now you can figure out how much power the pump needs.
> If the pump is 220 V and the generator is only 110 then
> the pump won't work.
>
> Hope this helps
>
>
> John
>
--
Mike Sloane
Allamuchy NJ
Email: (msloane@att.net)
Website: <http://www.geocities.com/mikesloane>
Tractor images: <www.fotki.com/mikesloane>
Work: none - Retired!
Distrust all in whom the impulse to punish is powerful.
-Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, philosopher (1844-1900)
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