small generator and LED lighting

[Freebee]

I have a very small petrol generator, its output copes with a couple of tungsten bulbs, but not enough to boil a kettle. would I be right in thinking it can power quite a few LED low wattage bulbs or is there something about powering up LEDS that I have not taken into account???

 

[sarabande]

the main concern is that the voltage output should be stable within the operating parameters of the bulbs otherwise over-voltage will blow them. It would be wise to put a regulator in the circuit.

Most LEDS are 12v so will need stabilised/regulated 12v DC. Does your genny output 12v DC, or 240v AC ?

 

[GrahamM376]

If the genny is outputting 240v to the battery charger to feed lights then no problems if you are using 12v voltage regulated LEDs

 

[Freebee]

it outputs 12v and or 240 volts

 

[William_H]

The main concern from cheap generators is that the output not being sine wave can have large voltage spikes in the square wave. (really old generators running at constant 3000RPM can produce a decnt sine wave 50 hertz.) The s1quare wave can play havoc with the rectifier filter elements in the current controller. This especially so for LEDs that run off 240vac. So it is the very cheap 12v LED bulbs with resistive current limiting that will be imune from this problem. (if it is a problem). Unfortunately so many battery chargers and power packs for electronics use this same switch mode technology. So are also susceptible to the square wave (often called modified square wave) output. Unfortunately the compact flourescent bulbs on 240vac are often just as susceptible.
Your safest bet would be to run an old fashioned battery charger with an iron transformer (heavy in weight) to charge a battery to run LEDs. Or use the 12v DC output from the gen to run the lights and hopefully charge the battery. Use an amp meter to check actual charge as gen might not produce enough volts to really charge the battery fully. Though should be all right to hold the battery up to 12v or so.
Now the gen may not cause problems with the regulator electronics but some on this forum have reported failures of electronics. good luck olewill