×
INTELLIGENT WORK FORUMS
FOR ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS

Log In

Come Join Us!

Are you an
Engineering professional?
Join Eng-Tips Forums!
  • Talk With Other Members
  • Be Notified Of Responses
    To Your Posts
  • Keyword Search
  • One-Click Access To Your
    Favorite Forums
  • Automated Signatures
    On Your Posts
  • Best Of All, It's Free!
  • Students Click Here

*Eng-Tips's functionality depends on members receiving e-mail. By joining you are opting in to receive e-mail.

Posting Guidelines

Promoting, selling, recruiting, coursework and thesis posting is forbidden.

Students Click Here

Jobs

Convert 50hz to 60Hz
2

Convert 50hz to 60Hz

Convert 50hz to 60Hz

(OP)
I need to test a genset that is destined for the USA 60Hz market. I need to do a parallel and load acceptance test but I only have 50Hz here in the UK. I have tried to get hold of some diesel rental sets at 60Hz but the market seems to have swallowed them all up.

Does anyone know of a way to convert our 50Hz supply to 60Hz. The set under test is a 2MW gas set.

RE: Convert 50hz to 60Hz

Mikhe:

One suggestion would be to look for a 50Hz rental genset and have the supplier speed it up.

RE: Convert 50hz to 60Hz

(OP)
Thanks for your suggestions,

Rotary frequency converter is too expensive. Only solution is 50/60 Hz machine. I'll keep looking. The issue is it must have appropriate performance for load sharing and block load acceptance. If we speed up a machine that is not properly calibrated for 1800 rpm we wont get a true test result.

However there are (I have discovered) rental sets that are designed to be switchable form 50 to 60 Hz.

RE: Convert 50hz to 60Hz

A 60Hz genset allows you to do the paralleling test, but where are you going to put 2MW+ of 60Hz power?

----------------------------------

If we learn from our mistakes,
I'm getting a great education!

RE: Convert 50hz to 60Hz

(OP)
Load banks.

RE: Convert 50hz to 60Hz

2
mikhe, we have a 2.5MVA 60hz MGset available in the UK, its at a fixed location unfortunately so you would have to bring your genset to us.

If you are interested i will try and send you contact details

RE: Convert 50hz to 60Hz

(OP)
Its worth a look motorspert, how do we get in touch, not sure if I'm can put contact details on the thread.

RE: Convert 50hz to 60Hz

If this is a piston engine genset then you can get 50 Hz out of it just by lowering the speed and tweaking the voltage regulator. A lot of alternators are designed to produce 50 Hertz just as easily but at reduced voltage and power. The power level of the engine will also go down.

The disadvatage of this method is that ALL of the power will now be 50 Hertz. This will at least allow you to get rid of some bugs while looking for a 2 MW load bank to do the 60 Hertz testing. Once you get the 2 MW load bank you would then return the governor and voltage regulator to 60 Hertz operation and do the final load acceptance test.

In other words, there is a way for you to do about 3/4 of your testing by running it as a 50 Hertz genset. I know it sounds queer but checking for oil leaks after a few hundred hours of operation can be done this way.

RE: Convert 50hz to 60Hz

I agree with mc5w, this is always the alternative way of checking the genset performance , however you need to check the generator nameplate if it is operable with reduced voltage you desired,some generator winding design is not applicable for reduced voltage and there is a corresponding percentage derating of generator thermal capacity in such case.

Regards,

Serb
 

Red Flag This Post

Please let us know here why this post is inappropriate. Reasons such as off-topic, duplicates, flames, illegal, vulgar, or students posting their homework.

Red Flag Submitted

Thank you for helping keep Eng-Tips Forums free from inappropriate posts.
The Eng-Tips staff will check this out and take appropriate action.

Reply To This Thread

Posting in the Eng-Tips forums is a member-only feature.

Click Here to join Eng-Tips and talk with other members!


Resources