Generator question/line conditioner ???

DONDALINGER

I was camping with a friend and his wife this weekend. He had a 2500 watt generator and hooked it up to his camper and mine. He told the wife and I not to use our DVD player or anything electronic because his generator does not have a "line conditioner".

My question, what is a line conditioner and where can I get one (how much $$)? I am planning on getting a generator for the camper and do not want to mess up the electronics on it.

Any info much appreciated.

kristov

In simple terms it is an automatic voltage regulator which will also remove the "noise" from the AC power when you are operating an audio/video device.

bpost

Sme gen sets output a modified sinewave; on a scope you can see the tops are chopped off the wave form. Some electronics are sensitive to it. Find out the from the genset manufacturer about the output and from the electronic device about its requirements

dongizmo

What kind of dvd plaver? if it is one of the little portable ones, or a DC 12 one, it should not matter as your in house 110-12v converter should smooth out any spikes.
I would just use a regular surge protector, we sell voltage stabilizers, but for a dvd player, I doubt I would spend the money.
http://www.phase-a-matic.com/VoltageStabilizerDescription.htm
I have tried to set my old motor home up with DC appliances (or propane)
that way if I am not "plugged in" I can still have my toys, and only run my generator for a few hours to charge my batteries when needed.
Don