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Author: Simon P Barlow © 2011 Published by: Caravan Talk LLP
Beginners Guides
CONTENTS
1
SAFETY
Take care!
2
INVERTERS
Understanding how they work
and the differences between
them.
3
HOW AN ALTERNATOR
WORKS
All the bits you need to know
4
INVERTER PETROL
GENERATORS
Why are they better?
4
RMS & PEAK VOLTAGE
What are the and what do they
mean?
5
GENERATOR SIZE
What does kVA mean?
6
EARTHING YOUR
GENERATOR
Some general advice
Introduction
This article is designed to give you
an insight into generators that can
be used with your caravan or
motorhome.
This guide has been written in
response to some of the questions
that are asked on the
caravantalk.co.uk forum
Before We Start!
SAFETY
Using any electrical equipment
outdoors always carries a higher
risk because of the increased
chance of moisture, accidental
damage etc. Please take extra care
wh e n u si n g A N Y e l e c t r i c a l
equipment outdoors.
I have often seen postings on
caravan and motorhome forums
asking the question “What
generators are OK to power my
caravan?” There have always been
a range of answers from “you can
use any generator” to “you can
only use your leisure battery”
Background
Modern electronic equipment is
sensitive to the quality of the
electrical supply it is connected to.
With the development of switch
mode power supplies and the
c o mp o n e n t s i n t h e m , ma ny
electrical devices now don’t use a
step down transformer and a
bridge rectifier to produce the low
voltage from the mains voltage that
they need to operate. It is now
possible to get a low voltage from
the mains using just a hand full of
components. Hence the rise in
“power cubes”.... the little black
cube that plugs into the mains
socket and has a lead that plugs
into your device to charge or
power it. If you look at the data
plate for the device, you will often
see that the operating voltage for
the supply is 110 volts to 250 volts,
50 or 60 Hertz (Hz). That means
you can plug it in anywhere in the
world.
Manufacturers make the
equipment with a wide operating
voltage so the only have to
produce one power supply for the
whole world market. In the past
the manufacturer of the equipment
would have produced different
equipment models for different
countries. Typically it was broken
up into The Americas, UK-
Australia-NZ-Japan, Europe, Asia.
The!normal way of powering these
units is via mains (utility) supplied
electricity, which is generally
stable for voltage and frequency.
In the UK, it is 240 volts RMS (more
about RMS later) at 50 hertz. On
the continent, it is usually 220 volts
at 50 hertz. As it comes out of the
socket or EHU post it is a pure sine
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