# "additional load"



## johoo (Dec 24, 2019)

The following warning/restriction on the recently purchased Ryobi 4000W led me to check out user manuals on other inverter generators, and it appears to be common to many, if not all.

_"To avoid damage, always have an additional load plugged into the generator if solid state equipment (such as a television set) is used."_

The lack of precision bothers me, 'additional' provides no clue on size, 5W or 500W? 

The easiest load to provide is a light, but LEDs pull little power and are solid state. 

The most likely powered device is the refrigerator, and it is not always pulling a load. 

What are other owners using to provide a sufficient and constant load to meet the manufacturer's criteria?


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## Melson (Dec 8, 2019)

I see no mention of such restrictions or cautions in the honda eu3000is owners manual.

Several decades ago, when digital controllers and scr's were new to the power world there were issues similar to what you refer to.
But those were long ago addressed, and any modern, well designed inverter circuit should be compatible with all devices including switching power supply, electronic dimmers, led' s, etc.


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## tabora (Sep 6, 2018)

johoo said:


> What are other owners using to provide a sufficient and constant load to meet the manufacturer's criteria?


I always have either a cooling fan or a halogen/incandescent lamp plugged in to the generators to provide a minimal load.


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## johoo (Dec 24, 2019)

"Several decades ago, when digital controllers and scr's were new to the power world there were issues similar to what you refer to.
But those were long ago addressed, and any modern, well designed inverter circuit should be compatible with all devices including switching power supply, electronic dimmers, led' s, etc."

I quoted the Ryobi, but googled user manuals for many models to find out if it was unique to Ryobi and several models other than Honda had the same warning, so whether it is a decades-old issue or not, the warning is still current. In fact, one of the more popular 3-4,000W models even warned that unexpected shutdown could cause spikes and voltage surges, so no way would that be a consideration.


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## speedy2019 (Jan 29, 2019)

johoo said:


> "Several decades ago, when digital controllers and scr's were new to the power world there were issues similar to what you refer to.
> But those were long ago addressed, and any modern, well designed inverter circuit should be compatible with all devices including switching power supply, electronic dimmers, led' s, etc."
> 
> I quoted the Ryobi, but googled user manuals for many models to find out if it was unique to Ryobi and several models other than Honda had the same warning, so whether it is a decades-old issue or not, the warning is still current. In fact, one of the more popular 3-4,000W models even warned that unexpected shutdown could cause spikes and voltage surges, so no way would that be a consideration.


I always plug somekind of a load in to my generator after the first few mins of it warming up and make sure everything is disconnected before killing the engine


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