Posted by Johnny B Good on July 5, 2018, 5:22 pm
On Thu, 05 Jul 2018 00:24:52 +0000, Johnny B Good wrote:
> Hi to everyone, particularly those in the UK.
>
> Aldi have started selling (as of last Thursday) a 1800/2000W Workzone
> branded inverter generator. It's almost three times the price of Lidl's
> PGI 1200B at £289.99 but it does offer almost twice the power rating.
> Equivalents elsewhere can be a hundred quid or more making it not quite
> the bargain of the decade but, nevertheless, a reasonably low price for
> what it promises.
>
> Unfortunately, the two examples I tried fell far short of the PGI
> 1200B's excellence and I gave up after returning the second unit (21.3Kg
> is a bit of a strain for me to be manhandling it in and out of my car
> boot (trunk)).
>
> I won't bore you with the details since you can find my review on
> Aldi's
> website here <https://www.aldi.co.uk/workzone-petrol-inverter-generator/
> p/096344208706700>
>
> <https://tinyurl.com/y7e8oeyf>
>
> Just scroll down towards the bottom and expand the "Customer Reviews"
> section. You can't miss it unless you're a fan of the TL:DR school of
> ignorance.
>
> TBH, I'm surprised they published it since I used my usenet nym and
> invalid email address rather than a real one. :-)
Just refreshed the web page and my 'review' has disappeared. I guess
they must have reviewed it and didn't like what they saw (or maybe it was
because of my invalid email address).
Looks like I'll have to submit another review with my real email
address. I certainly need to refresh it seeing as how I decided on trying
out a third generator which, apart from the rather pronounced bogging
down to a 900W load, seems to behave like an inverter genset should.
However, it does drop quite a bit of voltage going from no load to 900W
(235 down to 225 volts with an initial dip down to 206 volts before
recovering to 225 volts - quite shit really, compared to the Parkside
1/1.2KW unit).
I'm undecided about whether it's worth keeping hold of. I noticed three
cermet multi-turn pots poking out of the inverter module's potting
compound which may allow it to be properly fine tuned if I can find the
adjustment info on the 'net.
Incidentally, I took some SPL measurements and obtained a 65dBA SPL at
23 feet (7 metres) when driving the 900W test load. It was maybe 1dB
quieter on no load. Unfortunately, I don't have anything to make up a
full 1800W test load to hand right now so couldn't run the SPL test at max
loading. I suspect it'll only increase by a dB or two on the half load
figure.
It seemed a little quieter than the Parkside unit and I was going to
fire the Parkside genset up to collect comparative figures but SWMBI
started complaining about the noise (on behalf of, but unrequested by,
the neighbours) so that test will have to wait for another day.
--
Johnny B Good
Posted by Johnny B Good on July 6, 2018, 10:15 pm
On Thu, 05 Jul 2018 17:22:14 +0000, Johnny B Good wrote:
> On Thu, 05 Jul 2018 00:24:52 +0000, Johnny B Good wrote:
>
>> Hi to everyone, particularly those in the UK.
>>
====snip====
I'm currently testing my third Workzone inverter genset...
> I'm undecided about whether it's worth keeping hold of. I noticed three
> cermet multi-turn pots poking out of the inverter module's potting
> compound which may allow it to be properly fine tuned if I can find the
> adjustment info on the 'net.
I found a "Big Clue" in the form of workshop manual, not for this
generator but for a similar one. The example inverter genset in question
being a Powerhouse PH2700PRi. The "shop manual" shows a schematic of the
wiring which represents the inverter module as a reasonable facsimile of
its physical form (topologically speaking).
Zooming into the page reveals a total of four multiturn pots (the same
number as used in the Workzone inverter module). The trimpots' functions
are handily labelled as "voltage", "balance", "current" and "overload".
Presumably the four trimpots on the Workzone inverter module apply to the
same adjustments. The only snag is that the modules are far from
identical in layout so any further progress will be a 'suck it and see'
exercise. I've already cleaned the sealing compound from the trimpots (RTV
silicone?).
My first test will be to locate the "voltage" pot followed by the
"balance" pot which I guess relates to the shoddy response to a 50% load
increase from no load eco-idle state (compared to the Parkside unit, the
response is execrable - The Parkside unit doesn't bog down to a 90% load
from zero load before increasing the revs - it just does the right thing).
>
> Incidentally, I took some SPL measurements and obtained a 65dBA SPL at
> 23 feet (7 metres) when driving the 900W test load. It was maybe 1dB
> quieter on no load. Unfortunately, I don't have anything to make up a
> full 1800W test load to hand right now so couldn't run the SPL test at
> max loading. I suspect it'll only increase by a dB or two on the half
> load figure.
>
> It seemed a little quieter than the Parkside unit and I was going to
> fire the Parkside genset up to collect comparative figures but SWMBI
> started complaining about the noise (on behalf of, but unrequested by,
> the neighbours) so that test will have to wait for another day.
Well, I finally got my chance to run the Parkside this afternoon and log
some SPL readings. At about ten foot away, I was getting 65dBA no load
and 74dBA at 865W (86%) load. The corresponding figures for the Workzone
unit were 69 and 70 dBA (zero and 860W (48%) load).
TBH, after mulling over the SPL figures, I'm more inclined to just get
my money back... Again! However, I think it might be worth experimenting
with those presets - after all, I can hardly make it much worse than it
already is!
Well, I found the "voltage" pot ok[1] but couldn't find the "balance",
which I think must be to set the eco-idling speed, so it's going back as
"Unfit for Purpose" for a full refund tomorrow. I'm not going to try a
fourth unit. "Three strikes and you're out!" seems so appropriate in this
case. :-(
I have to say that if I didn't have the Parkside inverter generator to
demonstrate how an inverter genset is supposed to behave, I might have
convinced myself that such transient load behaviour was simply a normal
feature (downside) of an inverter genset always running in eco-throttle
mode for lack of an eco-throttle option switch.
I can well imagine how anyone new to the operation of a backup generator
might not realise just what a piece of junk this Workzone inverter genset
really is. Thankfully, that little 1KW Parkside unit just about suffices
for my essential needs so I can afford to wait for Lidl to put a larger
Parkside inverter genset on 'special offer' over the next year or so. :-)
[1] For anyone interested in adjusting the AC output voltage on their
1800/2000 watt Workzone inverter generator, the pot in question is the
topmost of the four (revealed by undoing the four screws that fix the
control panel to the case). Trust me, the engine vibrations make such
adjustments rather tricky to say the least of it.
--
Johnny B Good
Posted by seibelhouse on January 23, 2019, 6:43 pm
Aldi and Trader Joe's are separatestores with mostly different items on the shelves. They are owned by the same parent company.
Posted by Johnny B Good on January 26, 2019, 3:43 pm
On Wed, 23 Jan 2019 10:43:02 -0800, seibelhouse wrote:
> Aldi and Trader Joe's are separatestores with mostly different items on
> the shelves. They are owned by the same parent company.
Thanks... I think.
I'm guessing you're referring to the US of A located stores (that post
was made so long ago that it's now expired in my newsreader).
AFAICR, I landed up recommending that the Aldi Workzone 2KW inverter
genset was best avoided as it turned out to be a stinky piece of
excrement best not touched, not even with the proverbial 10 foot barge
pole.
--
Johnny B Good
Posted by ads on July 6, 2018, 1:45 am
On Thu, 5 Jul 2018 07:30:22 +0100 (GMT+01:00), Jim K
>> Hi to everyone, particularly those in the UK.
>>
>> Aldi have started selling (as of last Thursday) a 1800/2000W Workzone
>> branded inverter generator. It's almost three times the price of Lidl's
>> PGI 1200B at £289.99 but it does offer almost twice the power rating.
>> Equivalents elsewhere can be a hundred quid or more making it not quite
>> the bargain of the decade but, nevertheless, a reasonably low price for
>> what it promises.
>>
>> Unfortunately, the two examples I tried fell far short of the PGI
>> 1200B's excellence and I gave up after returning the second unit (21.3Kg
>> is a bit of a strain for me to be manhandling it in and out of my car
>> boot (trunk)).
>>
>> I won't bore you with the details since you can find my review on Aldi's
>> website here <https://www.aldi.co.uk/workzone-petrol-inverter-generator/
>> p/096344208706700>
>>
>> <https://tinyurl.com/y7e8oeyf>
>>
>> Just scroll down towards the bottom and expand the "Customer Reviews"
>> section. You can't miss it unless you're a fan of the TL:DR school of
>> ignorance.
>>
>> TBH, I'm surprised they published it since I used my usenet nym and
>> invalid email address rather than a real one. :-)
>>
>
>Do they have Aldi in 'murica?
>--
There's one a couple miles from me but I've never seen any power
equipment there. However, we're getting a Lidl's (alsoGerman, maybe
one step up from a direct competitor to Aldi's) so they've been closed
for a few weeks to expand the the Aldi's store. The lidl's is still
under construction and I'll guess 3 to 6 months before it opens.
---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus
>
> Aldi have started selling (as of last Thursday) a 1800/2000W Workzone
> branded inverter generator. It's almost three times the price of Lidl's
> PGI 1200B at £289.99 but it does offer almost twice the power rating.
> Equivalents elsewhere can be a hundred quid or more making it not quite
> the bargain of the decade but, nevertheless, a reasonably low price for
> what it promises.
>
> Unfortunately, the two examples I tried fell far short of the PGI
> 1200B's excellence and I gave up after returning the second unit (21.3Kg
> is a bit of a strain for me to be manhandling it in and out of my car
> boot (trunk)).
>
> I won't bore you with the details since you can find my review on
> Aldi's
> website here <https://www.aldi.co.uk/workzone-petrol-inverter-generator/
> p/096344208706700>
>
> <https://tinyurl.com/y7e8oeyf>
>
> Just scroll down towards the bottom and expand the "Customer Reviews"
> section. You can't miss it unless you're a fan of the TL:DR school of
> ignorance.
>
> TBH, I'm surprised they published it since I used my usenet nym and
> invalid email address rather than a real one. :-)