Emergency Generator Rating

Generator specs can be confusing to the casual observer. For example a 5000W 3600 RPM generator might be advertised to supply 40A at 120V and 20A at 240V. The schematic below shows how this works. The generator winding is rated at 20A . The 120V receptacles are wired in groups of 2 and each group can provide up to 20A. The 240V receptacle uses the total winding and can provide up to 20A. The 240V and the 120V receptacles cannot be maxed at the same time as they are using the same windings...

Emergency Generator Rating