Billyirons wrote:I am looking to buy a generator to run my LL Pocono with Coal-trol.
I just tried an almost new Duromax Elite MX4500 generator and it is NOT compatible
with my stove. I'll just have to find a generator that works with the Coal-trol.
Does anyone else have a good recommendation for a portable generator?
That generator has plenty of power, in not an inverter unit. However it is not brushless.
I suspect it has defective brush-slip ring contact creating fairly significant electrical noise. If a Coal-trol works on mains but not a generator and decent power cord is used, it is the generator not the Coal-trol.
It is technically impossible for any electronic device to "know the power source". Electronic devices can only react to waveform of the power supplied. Thus, your generator is not supplying reasonably clean sine wave AC at the load.
Brushes and slip rings are subject to manufacturing defect, wear, brush sticking, slip ring corrosion... Most work very well, some do not.
The only generator type that virtually always (unless it has a fried winding or flaky contacts) provides clean AC is conventional brushless. (actually they are alternators but seldom called that). Pure sine wave inverter generators also work IF they have the needed energy surge capacity measured in Watt-seconds or other energy units. I've never seen such specified. To be fair, Coal trol configurations don't specify surge energy requirements either. Surge Watts is meaningless when the load in not resistive or linear.
I do not believe Coal-trol units are as sensitive as folks suspect, rather there are a number of poor generators out there (or in poor condition). In forums such as this, folks with problems are far more likely to post than folks without problems.