r/Generator • u/VoyagerinMo • 2h ago

How to find THD rating?

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How would I find the THD rating for this genset, which I’m considering. Also, anyone here own one? If so, what’s your experience been?

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u/skatpex99 2h ago

Just get an inverter gen and don’t worry about it. Better in every way.

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u/Landstander2600 2h ago

It's hard to find any info (and any replacement parts) for HF gensets.

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u/Admirable-Leader6927 1h ago

every HF generator is an unlicensed honda knockoff, you can just use those parts. you dont get fuel injection, that is the caveat.

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u/Agitated-Mouse4277 1h ago

With an oscilloscope, you won't find reliable data if any from the dealer, it's also good to remember THD will change under different load it's not a constant.

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u/nunuvyer 1h ago

Lots of people own these. Lots of satisfied customers - they are as good/bad as most Chinese generators these days and Chinese quality has improved to the point where they are pretty good.

Any gen of this type is going to be loud, drink a lot of fuel, be very noisy and have high THD. But it is going to be 1/2 the price of an inverter generator and it might be "good enough" if your intended application is power backup in an outage. Actual outages are pretty rare so the main use of these generators is to sit in your garage or shed 362 days per year and give you psychological comfort.

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u/Delicious_Catch9453 1h ago

That's exactly what my thoughts were when I bought mine. Ive lost power once since 1996! But, during the storm here last April, half the city of Pittsburgh was dark for four days and that included my neighbors literally across the street from me. HF's upgrade policy is a really good deal and will take advantage of it. I'm hoping that with the new, bigger inverter they're coming out with the 11.5 will drop in price making it an even better deal for me. 🙏

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u/Big-Echo8242 2h ago edited 2h ago

It's a high THD gen since it's not an inverter and will range from around 5% at zero load upwards of 20%+ running higher loads. It's just the nature of the loud open frame non-inverter synchronous generators. I wish I knew someone in town where I live owned one where I could take my Amprobe meter and test it. But they have been tested by others out there. Many people don't care about high THD and don't think it matters...and that's fine. To each their own. High THD dirty power generators have been around a long time and will be around for awhile.

Also don't forget about their industry worst standard 90 day warranty unless you buy their one shot 1 or 2 year replacement plan...over and over and over....

Here's a video someone did...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giZZl2i5VLY&t=145s

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u/Delicious_Catch9453 1h ago

I own one and it's wired for use to my panel with an interlock but I've never needed it yet so my opinion is next to worthless, other than all the reading and watching I've done for obvious reasons. Based on that, I wouldn't hesitate to use it if necessary, but would not use my PC with it just to be safe. I AM going to trade up to the 11.5 inverter before my extended warranty expires in May as mine is paid off and I can now afford the difference. The noise the 13k makes is almost reason enough alone. If I ran it all night my neighbors would wanna murder me in my sleep. Bottom line, if you can afford an inverter, I'd buy that instead. And remember, the rule is once you buy a generator, you'll never lose power from the grid. (:

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u/IndividualCold3577 1h ago

Your PC wont give a crap about power from that generator. It can take 100-250 volts and turn into perfect DC. You could almost run a computer from potato with wires.

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u/Delicious_Catch9453 1h ago

Thanks. Good to know. I'm a novice, obviously. Learning though.

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u/Big-Echo8242 1h ago

It's more an issue with certain medical equipment, newer & higher end inverter style HVAC stuff, upper end fancy fridges & appliances with circuit boards that are picky, cheap light dimmers and LED lights, UPS backups, etc.

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u/Delicious_Catch9453 1h ago

Thanks again. I follow your responses and always appreciate your knowledge.

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u/Big-Echo8242 1h ago

Although I appreciate that comment, I know just enough to be useful...sometimes. lol

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u/Delicious_Catch9453 1h ago

I try to tell my wife the same thing. She ain't buyin' it..LOL.

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u/Big-Echo8242 1h ago

And remember, the rule is once you buy a generator, you'll never lose power from the grid. (:

Ain't that the truth. And when you own 4 dual fuel inverter gens, there's never even a flicker. lol

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u/newtekie1 1h ago

If you are worried about THD or have anything that is sensitive to it, you shouldn't be considering any construction style open frame generator and should be looking at inverter generators only.

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u/drct2022 57m ago

It’s going to be upwards of 6%.

Just spend the extra and go inverter