Cheapest 8kw load bank or appliance?

[HamAndEggs]

I have a natural gas kit for my generator, and I need to tune the gas flow. But, I don't have any single thing that pulls 8kw...

Any good ideas other than trying to plug in space heaters, hair dryers etc and attempting to get them all controlled?

 

[Bert_]

Electric stove

 

[wyliesdiesels]

Why does it need to be a single piece of equipment?

 

[Walkers]

I made a load bank with a handful of water heater elements I mounted on the lid of a 55gallon drum then inserted them in the drum filled with water.

 

[HamAndEggs]

Pretty clever!

 

[HamAndEggs]

Why does it need to be a single piece of equipment?

It doesn't need to be, but they at least need to be large. I don't want to have to gather all sorts of stuff together and try and control it all

 

[u2slow]

Two 4-5kw box heaters aren't a big deal. Or gang up as many free baseboard heaters as you can find.

 

[TractorJeff]

Long time ago a fellow needed a "Load Bank", I suggested Hot Water Heater Elements in a Barrel also. I think he figured out the cost and hassle to put it together, then bought a Fan cooled Commercial Jobsite Heater at a reasonable price. He calls it his "Summer Heater"!

 

[HamAndEggs]

Damn, I wonder if I could throw the elements in my pool...

 

[MAD]

You could rent some stage lighting. There is a glut of 1kw Par64 cans out there now that LED fixtures are becoming the new norm. It should be pretty cheap to rent eight lights. Any real stage lighting place could set you up with what you needed to power/control them.

 

[larry4406]

I think the electric oven idea is spot on.

 

[nadogail]

I see free electric stoves on Craig's List all the time.

 

[HamAndEggs]

Electric stove wins, thanks guys!

 

[83VillageRepair]

Electric stove wins, thanks guys!

I would be much cooler if you built a Tesla Coil or Jacobs Ladder but stove elements would be easier.

 

[nh_yota]

Electric stove wins, thanks guys!

Plus you can use it to cook lunch.

 

[HamAndEggs]

I ended up finding an old Mitre saw I got for free in my closet, that paired with a space heater, old shopvac and my Skilsaw would get it to light the overlight light. I guess they have high inrush

I'm calling it good for NG tuning, what do you think? I think if it can run this without bogging down, I should be fine

 

[dave*99]

What model/brand natural gas conversion kit did you use? Can the generator still run on Gasoline?
Thanks
Dave

 

[HamAndEggs]

Yes it can still run on gas, just don't hook it up to NG and then just turn the valve for gasoline on like you would normally do

This is what I got

Pardon Our Interruption...

www.ebay.com

 

[PCustoms]

I find it hard to believe that combo is even close to loading the generator.

What is the tuning process? Any voltage or frequency verification?

 

[HamAndEggs]

I figure if its lighting the overload, that inrush must be pretty high

Just adjust the gas so it idles well, and is good under load. Its an inverter generator so the frequency and voltage is correct. I also used a tachometer to make sure the engine was at 3600rpm

 

[mike93lx]

I figure if its lighting the overload, that inrush must be pretty high

Just adjust the gas so it idles well, and is good under load. Its an inverter generator so the frequency and voltage is correct. I also used a tachometer to make sure the engine was at 3600rpm

Why does in rush matter? The tuning is for operation, right?

 

[HamAndEggs]

During that inrush the generator ramps up but doesn't seem starved for fuel from what I can hear. So if it can handle that inrush, I would assume it should be fairly close to being in the right range for full load

 

[mike93lx]

During that inrush the generator ramps up but doesn't seem starved for fuel from what I can hear. So if it can handle that inrush, I would assume it should be fairly close to being in the right range for full load

But will you be running it at full load normally?

 

[HamAndEggs]

If I'm using it to power my house, which would be rare, then yes it would be at or very close to full load