i Have a pro installed 110v to 240v inverter toroidal transformer that runs off the generator. Does anyone know why kitchen coffee espresso makers like mine heat up the water using a system that pulses the amps. It’s annoying for my generator as it’s pulsing this load onto the generator which goes through this load no load cycle about once per second. is This bad for the generator (diesel westerbeke) or inverter , is there any solution / mitigation? Thanks
Pulsing amperage from espresso
- Thread starter Pgeee
- Start date
- Jun 5, 2016
- 5,294
- Boat Info
- 410 Sundancer
2001
12" Axiom and 9" Axiom+ MFD
- Engines
- Cat 3126 V-Drives
Is the transformer rated to run that load? It could be tripping on/off or the expresso make it pulsing the power. Hard to tell without specific part numbers. Up here, thats a pretty exotic setup.
The transformer has a breaker which does not trip, it’s ok for at least 22 amps. I’m thinking this is down to the design of these coffee makers. They are small and they have to heat water rapidly. I.e the pulsing amps during the heating (or maybe it’s when it’s pressurising) is part of the design. So the question is more around what this is doing to my generator, the governor is having to work to increase and decrease fuel to manage these pulses and keep the generator engine at constant revs, and the front end is having to manage this pulsing draw on the electrical components. Maybe it’s not a problem but my poor old genny is 1600 hours and has been known to struggle if I load it up with too many draws (a/c plus water heater plus charging e.g). One mitigation I thought of would be to run the coffee maker off a lithium inverter pack. , which I recharge with the generator. Not efficient but less testing of my generator. One thing for sure I’m not giving up diy espresso.
Bill Curtis
Well-Known Member
- Mar 24, 2022
- 931
- Boat Info
- '95 220 Overnighter
454 Mag. Bravo3 w/ 2.0:1 gears and 28 pitch props
- Engines
- 454 Mag Bravo3. 2.0:1 ratio gears w/ 28 pitch props
Circuit breakers are normally designed for (or ruled to be by NEC) running load plus 20% . Old rule of thumb is don't use over 20% of the circuit capacity. ie: 20 amp circuit should normally not exceed 18 running amps.
That plulsing probably indicates the cofee maker uses an electronic circuit, such as an SCR, to maintain the current on the element to maintain a specific temperature. My ultr high e cooktop does the same thing.
That plulsing probably indicates the cofee maker uses an electronic circuit, such as an SCR, to maintain the current on the element to maintain a specific temperature. My ultr high e cooktop does the same thing.
Thanks for replies so far. It’s occurred to me that my 110v to 240v application may not be much of a factor, except a 240v coffee maker for the same watts would be less amps,than on a 110v system. However, next time you use your espresso machine on the boat , voltage aside, (anyone reading this) if you can and are interested, can I ask that you monitor your ammeter please , just to see if the same pulsing occurs .
Is everything running on 50hz 240V or is it a mixed bag?
The espresso machine should be incidental to the generator's capability.
The espresso machine should be incidental to the generator's capability.
- Jun 5, 2016
- 5,294
- Boat Info
- 410 Sundancer
2001
12" Axiom and 9" Axiom+ MFD
- Engines
- Cat 3126 V-Drives
Run it off the inverter and see what happens. If the same pulsing, its the coffee maker.
I do run a coffee maker of of my inverter system and it works just fine, but I dont have the complexity of upping the voltage to match the local appliances.
I do run a coffee maker of of my inverter system and it works just fine, but I dont have the complexity of upping the voltage to match the local appliances.
its not the generator capacity I am concerned about, just the fact it has to bear these spikes and troughs , which I've determined has to be a trait of these coffee machine designs, seems it's normal.
A diesel engine should be able to handle it easily methinks , for instance many applications like excavators would be full of ups and downs in demand .
When I run the coffee maker it's the only thing running on the 240v circuit usually. In fact I usually make sure no high draw 110v stuff is running at the same time, like the water heater. I do that on purpose to be nice to be genny. But would be interesting to get some other ammeter readings from those of us who run these things on board, regardless of voltage and inverters
Yeah i'm pretty sure it's part of the coffee maker design.
