Electronic – Reduce 32 amps generator output to 10 amps

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First you need to please understand that I am a truck driver, I lift heavy things and have a smaller brain pan than you good readers. Aka; not an intellectual that understands elictrickery.

While on the road 2,000 km from home for an extended period, the wife needed a generator for back-up power to our home during a particularly stormy season. She bought one that is a petroleum fuelled 12 kVA large enough to run all household and sheddy items – with the 12 kVA thingy detail. However, she is as un-smart as me and purchased a 32 A 2nd-handgenerator instead of 10 A (which is what Australian households are).

So without pointing fingies at her further, my question is:

Can a 32 A generator be converted to output 10 A somehow or do I just scrap the generator in the back of the shed and source another one?

Have a nice day, thanks for reading.

Best Answer

At a guess, you have a household trunk circuit breaker (usually about 200A) connected to municipal power lines through a transformer (often pole-mounted in a cylindrical can).

Each branch circuit in the house has a (10A ?) circuit breaker, and feeds the normal outlets. The trunk (200A) feeds all those branches.

It is possible that you are 'plugging' the 32A generator into a branch circuit, which (naturally) will blow the branch circuit breaker if the total household power use exceeds 10A. That's what branch circuit breakers do.

Instead, you want to use a transfer switch, which (1) disconnects the municipal power lines and transformer from your house, and (2) connects the 32A generator to the same wiring trunk that those power lines drove. That, too, may blow a circuit breaker (there's one in the generator), unless enough house circuits are disabled so that only a few appliances will run concurrently (presumably, including a refrigerator and a lamp and a clock).

While having a trunk power capacity of 32A is limiting, it ought not to be unlivable. The local fire safety codes will apply (probably a professional should make the connections), unless you're willing to bypass the house wiring and just plug a few appliances through extension cords into the generator.

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