Who Can Figure Out the Frequency of a Generator Creatively?

[Chotu]

Say you’re at sea and your generator lost its governor setting.

You can adjust the engine RPM but you don’t have any rpm gauge.

How would you determine the frequency from the power coming out alone?

You don’t have a scope.

[AKA-None]

One of those killawatt tools is how I look at my generator output for voltage and frequency

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by AKA-None

One of those killawatt tools is how I look at my generator output for voltage and frequency

I saw that online. I don’t have one, unfortunately. :/

I was hoping there was some magic trick someone knew.

[rslifkin]

An old school plug in clock. I carry one on the boat specifically for generator tuning, as it averages frequency over time. Run a stopwatch for 60 seconds. If the clock counts 61 seconds, you're at 61 hz.

[BlackHeron]

If you had a guitar or other musical tuner you could have it play the B 2 octaves below middle C which is about a hz or two above 60hz.

Or if you are like me who has worked as a commercial electrician around transformers and other equipment for decades, all humming at 60hz, and also did a few installations for medical equipment manufacturers like GE for diagnostic/testing of equipment being sent to countries that use 50hz. so I am pretty good at knowing what each "should" sound like by ear.

Or if you had an old fashioned mechanical electric 120v plug-in clock you could do it the way old-school generator guys did it back in the day and used the sweep of the second hand matched to a battery-operated clock or wound watch side-by-side. When the second hands are in synch you are pretty damn close to 60hz. If you watched for a few minutes you could get nearly exact.

The issue is every time the electrical load changed it would change the RPM of the engine since it would bog down a bit at higher loads and run faster when lightly loaded.

[mlydon]

If you can check the docs on the generator, it most likely runs at 1800rpm (or 3600).

If you run your propulsion engine at the correct rpm you can 'tune' the gererator to the same pitch

Matt

[a64pilot]

So why not use your multimeter? My amp meter also displays it, and a Kill-A-Watt meter does as well.
Also it’s really not all that important, most anything will operate just fine off of 50ish Hz power, everything we took to Germany operated just fine off 50Hz once ran through a transformer to correct voltage.

[dfelsent]

Or old school this:


https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=L&ai=...QsEMIQw&adurl=

Vibrating reed frequency meter.

I really like the clock idea though.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by dfelsent

Or old school this:


https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=L&ai=...QsEMIQw&adurl=

Vibrating reed frequency meter.

I really like the clock idea though.

My original Honda 1000 generator about 1990 had a vibrating reed, one for 50 Hz and one for 60 hz

Not mine, a pic from the internet Honda EX 1000

[Chotu]

These are some great ideas!!!

Amazing!

I’ll try the musical tuner first, since I don’t have that sort of clock.

[IslandInfedel]

Originally Posted by rslifkin

An old school plug in clock. I carry one on the boat specifically for generator tuning, as it averages frequency over time. Run a stopwatch for 60 seconds. If the clock counts 61 seconds, you're at 61 hz.

You sir win the internet for today

[Jim Cate]

Going to or staying at sea in a mere storm is one thing, but to put to sea in the face of a cyclone/hurricane/typhoon is madness. You may loose your boat in either case, but at sea your life is at severe risk.

Jim

[Singularity]

Originally Posted by Chotu

Say you’re at sea and your generator lost its governor setting.

You can adjust the engine RPM but you don’t have any rpm gauge.

How would you determine the frequency from the power coming out alone?

You don’t have a scope.

FWIW, if not familiar, at least for RPM you can find free apps for your phone/tablet that uses the device's microphone as a spectrum analyzer.

ex:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xutm6oMTBw8

Probably not what you're looking for, but a free tool to add to the box that may offer utility elsewhere.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by Singularity

FWIW, if not familiar, at least for RPM you can find free apps for your phone/tablet that uses the device's microphone as a spectrum analyzer.

ex:

Probably not what you're looking for, but a free tool to add to the box that may offer utility elsewhere.

Absolutely another great idea!!

To set it from the auditory output is good.

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by Chotu

Say you’re at sea and your generator lost its governor setting.

You can adjust the engine RPM but you don’t have any rpm gauge.

How would you determine the frequency from the power coming out alone?

You don’t have a scope.

Just whack a LP onto your turntable and listen or look at the stroboscope on the side of the turntable. Vinyl rocks!