Generator LOad advice

[piroska]

The new generator is 2.8HP, 1.1kva so it says.
Now I have a fridge/freezer 152w defrost it says, and 0.63a.
Means nothing to me.

And an old Kelvinator freezer, ancient.

Google tells me I can't run either off it, too much load. But, would I damage it? Or would it just not work? Or pop the breaker or something? There was scary info about damaging motor and/or alternator etc on the net.
And a lady with a similar one said she killed hers by trying to run kettle/toaster.

Well I get that, they're too much watts...2000 for instance.

But the fridge or freezer? I understand they have more load on starting than running.

Someone else said they ran 2 old freezers off their same size as mine one without issue.

So I don't know what to think now.
Just don't want to blow it up on it's first use.

[king1]

pretty sure KVA is just another way of saying 1000 WATTS

eg
watts = volts * amps
2400W = 240V * 10A

similar to a heater...

so I would read your 1.1kva as 1100 watts

the only thing i might question is the initial startup current on the appliance

[Praktica]

It is possible for an AC motor to draw a higher current than its power rating would suggest, if it has a capacitive starter - this is because voltage and current are out of phase.

[pheonix]

The VA is used instead of kW as mentioned above, a thing called power factor. A basic rule of thumb to be safe is 3/4 of the VA would be the kW rating. So in your case, the maximum load should be a total of 825W (0.825kW). So it would handle both domestic fridge and Freezer OK. High draw items such as jugs,heaters,hotwater, heatpumps and dryers are out. Add the Watts together and as long as they are under your  825Watts, you should be good to go.
The in-rush of current would not be a problem on domestic appliances. If you are worried about that, just plug fridge first, 10mins later plug in the freezer.
Hope that explanation is helpful and us efull.

[R2x1]

It is common for a small generator to deliver less current than it is advertised to be able to.  Brochure units are frequently different to engineering units, especially at the low $$ end of the product line up.  Many/most generators are advertised as XX.xx KW. This is it's surge rating, and the lower the price the further this rating gets ahead of actual usable watts.  Rather like the advertising amplifier power in economy audio products.  In extremes, the amplifier can only deliver that power level (on a cold day) for one forward stroke of the speaker and one backward stroke. Then it must rest or perish. Not much music in music power. 
Much as a car must accelerate through the gear range, a refrigerator has a fairly 'reluctant to accelerate' rotating mass. Older fridges are more current hungry on start-up. When the fridge starts, everything in it is stationary, and the generator is spinning. The motor represents a short circuit and will swallow a great deal of power from the generator. IF the generator is built with good materials in adequate quantities and with efficient magnetic as well as electrical circuits it will attempt to deliver a great deal of current, this makes the generator slow down. An economy generator will be a bit short of current carrying capacity, so its ability to deliver current into a load is limited as is the motor's ability to maintain the rated speed.  this limits the voltage out, restricting the ability of the fridge to accelerate. The generator keeps slowing down, making its ability to spin up the refrigerator dubious, more heat than work at this stage and something has to give. Hopefully, a circuit breaker will do it's job and save the windings from dying.  All these effects make it unlikely that an economy generator can do what it claims unless you have a bit of luck. 
Just BTW, the 2.5 brochure horsepower in theory represents 3.35 KW. Even in the brochure, that only delivers 1.1 KW (For a VERY limited time.)  Not a sparkling model of efficiency even using their own optimistic figures.
A kitten is cheaper than a horse, but it doesn't pull a plough too well.  Generators, especially of toaster shop brands, are a minefield for the unwary.  Price is no indicator, some real junk has a very flash exterior and expertly crafted sales materials.. As far as I know, even if it fell off a truck, their are no cheap generators that offer value for their rated load performance. Some may last several hours if you keep fresh fuel in them, avoid bargain oil, change the oil  earlier than the manufacturers state. (Manufacturers oil change intervals are dictated by the EPA, nothing to do with optimised equipment life.

At least generator lessons can prepare you for adventures with off grid power in general.  Caveat Emptor is more relevant for us than it was for Caesar.

[piroska]

The VA is used instead of kW as mentioned above, a thing called power factor. A basic rule of thumb to be safe is 3/4 of the VA would be the kW rating. So in your case, the maximum load should be a total of 825W (0.825kW). So it would handle both domestic fridge and Freezer OK. High draw items such as jugs,heaters,hotwater, heatpumps and dryers are out. Add the Watts together and as long as they are under your  825Watts, you should be good to go.
The in-rush of current would not be a problem on domestic appliances. If you are worried about that, just plug fridge first, 10mins later plug in the freezer.
Hope that explanation is helpful and us efull.

Yes thanks.

I realise about toasters and kettles. Not what I wanted it for anyway.
Mainly I wanted to prevent the freezer defrosting like it did, losing me our meat. And yes we claimed but there is still the excess.

Fridge (newer) is secondary.  Nice but if not, well, we have milk powder etc.

And yes R2x1 I know, cheap junk vs quality. Hopefully I was somewhere in the middle, I read user reviews of it first. Alas budget does matter here. Wasn't even me that paid for it, mum did.

[allblack]

The new generator is 2.8HP, 1.1kva so it says.
Now I have a fridge/freezer 152w defrost it says, and 0.63a.
Means nothing to me.

Yeah...I'm always amazed/impressed with people that understand this stuff.

[R2x1]

With middle of the road generators, it is probably not a good idea to run two refrigeration units. The chance of both units attempting to start together may be small, but like lotto, somebody's number will come up. The odds go a bit unfavourable if the generator cease to power the fridges like running out of fuel; or (worse still) having the lead disconnected or the breaker popping. Then the generator continues to make reassuringly charging type sounds, but fridges are silently warming up. That ruins your odds of two starting together. A safer way is to chill the freezer right down with at least one hour of solo power, then unplug the freezer and plug in the fridge while the generator continues to run. Unplug the fridge and reconnect the freezer two or three times a day for at least an hour, or until the freezer shuts off itself. If the generator runs out of gas, or a neighbour drops a load of soil on it in the middle of the night, disconnect the load before restarting the generator. If the generator has spinning inertia, it helps in starting a fridge that is close to overloading the generator. Obviously, any fridge type load should be disconnected while using high current loads like boiling a jug. Most electric jugs are way over your generator capabilities. ?. The little gas canister camping stoves are much better for maintaining a healthy rate of coffee supply, and they are much cheaper to run than electricity fired jugs on generators.
Remember, Murphy is a busy chap, and if he sees you're prepared, he'll cut somebody else's power off instead. ?

[piroska]

With middle of the road generators, it is probably not a good idea to run two refrigeration units.  A safer way is to chill the freezer right down with at least one hour of solo power, then unplug the freezer and plug in the fridge while the generator continues to run. Unplug the fridge and reconnect the freezer two or three times a day for at least an hour, or until the freezer shuts off itself. If the generator runs out of gas, or a neighbour drops a load of soil on it in the middle of the night, disconnect the load before restarting the generator

The little gas canister camping stoves are much better for maintaining a healthy rate of coffee supply, and they are much cheaper to run than electricity fired jugs on generators.

LOL, neighbours more likely to pinch it. If they could hear it...the parties and burnouts...

Yes I saw stuff about run for an hour, then again 4 hrs later sort of thing.
Of course running continuously would chew through the petrol too.  And overlaod it.

We have a wee cooker thing and butane. That was fine for boiling water etc, not much help with freezere though.