as far as I know all Victron Inverters have a power factor of 0.8
So a 5kVA is rated at 4kW continuous @ 25 degrees.
Yes they have ac transfer capabilities but as per specsheet Victron has a power factor of 0.8
Power factor is determined by the load(s).
Power factor plays no role in the rating of the inverter. The truth is a lot simpler. When you install an inverter in your house, you size it for the peak load. But you usually don’t run the peak loads continuously, the inverter only needs to have the ability to handle the peak for a limited amount of time. This allows marketing to slap a slightly bigger number on it, but also keep in mind that your competitors do the same thing (Cheap Chinese models exaggerate even more), so it’s also necessary to do so.
If you run the inverter at 100% power it will overheat after some time, where that time will depend on the ambient temperature.
I think the reason why people often think of power factor is because that is indeed used by our brethren in the generator sales department. The limiting factor in such a rig is (usually) the internal combustion engine. That is the safe thing to do as well… rather let the engine overload and die then burn the alternator windings. The engine is rated in real power (Watts). But again, marketing can slap a bigger number on it by assuming a power factor. They can say, but Jim, the average house has a lot of inductive loads, so you got to remember 4000W is really like 5000VA… and Jim believes it and buys the “bigger” one 
The limiting part in an inverter is the switching electronics and they care about the peak current (not the peak power) and hence the limited number is already the higher VA one. Trying to mess with power factor only yields lower numbers…
While on this topic! Car engines easily exceed 100kW in power. But a 100kW generator would be massive! Is the conversion of the car’s power to electricity to ineffective?
Interesting question. I don’t know… I’d have to speculate.
I think one aspect of it is RPM. Power = torque times RPM (times some constant which is not material to the discussion).
What is required for a generator is that the RPM must be either 3000RPM or 1500RPM (to make a 50Hz sine wave). If the generator has 4 poles, then the engine can run at half the RPM (4 poles make two cycles for each rotation), but the overall math stays the same, the engine has to run at a fixed RPM.
Car petrol engines generally make peak power around twice that speed (6000RPM), and peak torque around 4000 to 4500 RPM. So I’m guessing this is one thing that plays a role.
It’s typical for such large generators to have a 4-pole alternator driven by a large Diesel engine running at 1500RPM. The engine is then optimised to have peak torque and peak fuel efficiency (again, cause power = torque times RPM and RPM is constant) at 1500RPM.
What strikes me as interesting about 1500RPM… that is also the engine speed you typically target when working with a tractor. That’s where they run best, that’s the sweet spot. The red line is typically at 2500RPM.
The same is true for truck engines. They have between 8 and 16 gears so they can run at 1500RPM all day long… I’m sure @TheTerribleTriplet will be able to tell us more here.
Oooo yesssss … don’t let me derail this thread … but those truck engines purr quite happily along at 900-1800 rpms all…day…long.
Some of the ones I have driven reach red at ±2000rpm, beeping and warnings and all that … just relax, change gears, foot off the accelerator, that combined weight of 38 500 kg’s up that mountain pass, that pass aint going anywhere and you aint getting up the any faster bro … relax!
And when you don’t have a load, o boy, same revs, higher gears, you overtake cars going up that same mountain pass … have to use the exhaust brake going UP and around them corners. 
The power is just … indescribable …
Drive the gears, never the revs.
And leave them brakes alone unless you want to stop at a traffic sign.
Titbit:
Going up a mountain pass the computer says: You are now doing good up this hill at 385l per 100km.
And on the straights, feathering the accelarator, you may get 38.5l per 100km - and THAT is good!
Ai, blissful the memories when I drove trucks that one time as a hobby … anybody needing a driver to help out? 
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So an inverter generator is really just much more efficient?
I guess I also need to keep in mind that the “engine” of a generator is much smaller than the “generator”. That generator includes the fuel tank and the alternator.
Haha please don’t stop on our behalf. It sounds like there’s something you really need to get off your chest…
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Now check out the old Caterpillar RD6s. Those run at max 850RPM… that’s where your car engine idles! Max torque is at 600RPM.
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Yes. They run the engine at the required power level (more fuel efficient, or to make less noise). This is coupled to an alternator, usually it would be a three phase alternator similar to what is used in cars or even small wind turbines (but making a higher voltage). The “wild AC” that is generated by this alternator (it is called wild AC cause the frequency is whatever the engine speed is) is immediately rectified into DC, and then boosted to 350VDC and chopped into 50Hz AC.
It’s a bit like these new-fangled CVT gearboxes. So if I can take a diversion here… though I still prefer a manual gearbox (simply for reliability and service cost), I would take a CVT over an automatic any day. I hate automatic transmissions…
I really like the theory behind it. Right about the time I learned that engines have an efficiency curve I was stumped as to why they don’t have gearboxes with “infinite” ratios, in order to always maintain the optimal efficiency. Turns out it already existed.
Also turns out people don’t seem to like it. Maybe it is just how cars almost became part of us in a way, and we feel like we need that revving up, shifting thing, happening in order to feel like we are driving.
I’ve never owned an automatic (neither have I owned many cars), but we did test drive a few recently when my wife was expecting. Before that, my only experience with automatic cars were my mom’s old Sentra. I hated it (the box, not the car).
These new ones, however, are really smooth. A pleasure driving, especially in traffic. Tried the “old” conventional type in a few cars, which I like for its “reliability” and ability to work harder, as well as the “DSG” type they are more inclined to use in the German brands.
I’m not sold on the long term reliability of either yet, but if I have to go with one, I’d go for the old conventional type. The dual clutch felt more sporty, but I haven’t hear much praises for its reliability. Didn’t get to try a CVT type due to it not being implemented in any car that we considered at the time.
At the end of the day though, we didn’t end up purchasing any car. Feels like a waste of money as we have two perfectly fine cars, and while the one is a little small, we can cope for now.
Long story short, I also like the idea of CVTs, but the uptake doesn’t seem great.
The first time I drove an automatic it was an old Chevrolet Record (the one that was also sold as an Opel sometimes). The box was somewhat worn and there was a massive delay between putting your foot down and the car actually reacting. It was so bad that I managed to stall the car once: I put my foot down, and not getting the reaction I was expecting, I picked up my foot just as the box decided to get going… and stalled the engine.
Second one was not too bad. It was a big old straight 6 Ford Fairmont with an autobox, drove it from Cape Town to Windhoek for a dealer. Long distance on that road (not much traffic) there isn’t too much difference between an auto and a manual.
Then I spent my “youth” driving cheaper cars, cause that is what you do. A an automatic never even came up. The first time it came up again was last year when I replaced my aging Diesel Corolla (I still miss that car, man it was such a smooth economical and even fast vehicle despite its refrigerator white family-man look) with an SUV.
The choice was pretty much between a Toyota RAV4 and a Subaru Forester. I was really keen for the Forester. The Forester comes in a manual, but not if you want the more desirable 2.5 liter powerplant. Then you have to take it in a CVT. After the test drive, I was actually pleasantly surprised with the smoothness of the transmission, but I had concerns about reliability. There is nothing on the internet about how reliable these are. Well, there is… but those reports are from America, and apparently the American market has a different gearbox supplier. The American reports say they are okay up to about 120 000km, then the expensive repairs starts.
So I test-drove both an automatic and a manual RAV4 (previous model). I still didn’t like the auto, but I was willing to compromise on that for other features, such as a moonroof, cruise control, etc etc (things you get in the VX model). Then I found out the VX model comes with a space-saver spare wheel. It is funny how small things can tip the scale. Discovering that the VX doesn’t have a “proper” spare wheel, and the GX model I test-drove already came with the extra option of beautiful leather seats… well… a week later I had bought the “lesser” GX with a manual transmission.
Will revisit this debate in about a decade when I swap cars again 
in a decade no car will have a transmission (at least not with more than one gear) anymore. They will all be electric :vb-lol:
Not if the South African government has a say…
I actually don’t think a change-over is coming soon. What will likely happen is a gradual shift. For one, I don’t see the N7/B1 route up to Windhoek growing charging stations in the next 10 years. I don’t even see the entire N1 gaining that sort of infrastructure (nevermind Eskom to supply it) in that time frame. ICE vehicles will continue to be a mainstay for quite some time.
What will happen is electric vehicles will become more common place in cities, in the short-to-middle distance range.
I’m actually of the opinion that electric cars are chasing entirely the wrong target at the moment. Everyone has range anxiety, so everyone tries to extend the range. That makes the car too expensive for short-distance use (school/shops/church runs), but it is still insufficient for the really long distances Africans travel…
Make an electric car with a 50km range for all I care… and make it affordable. I would buy that…
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i agree. But i think the shift will be faster than anticipated. As soon as E vehicles are cheaper to buy and operate than ICE vehicles the market will dictate the speed of transition and not the government.
Actually very appealing to me to, maybe 100km because I travel roughly 50km to work and back, so a little “on the edge” for a prudent guy like myself.
Electricity storage just really isn’t that energy dense yet, at least the batteries we use at the moment. Imagine how much energy you get out of 100kg of petrol vs. 100kg of batteries… The EV would always have an uphill battle. The “tank” of an EV (the weight of the empty battery) is just so much heavier than the petrol tank of a conventional car.
That aside, an EV is much cheaper to run, after you have bought it. How often does one really drive 100km+ on a single day? What we really need in this field is a “Steve Jobs” type personality that comes and tell the public what it needs, rather than ask it what it wants. Sometimes there really isn’t much wisdom in the crowds.
That was my first car. Chevrolet Record GL, 2.3L Petrol. Good old days…
Yes, but one should look at TCO (total cost of ownership). All cars depreciate, all cars have an opportunity cost (because the money is tied up in a depreciating asset rather than making money in an investment somewhere), and all cars have insurance costs. These costs remain the same regardless of how the car is propelled. On a 500k car, these costs are significantly more than they are on a 250k car, or a 100k car.
If you’re the kind of person who has a 500k car for a SECOND vehicle… an EV will work for you. For me, my FIRST vehicle isn’t even a 500k vehicle…
I was also a manual person for a very long time. I did test drive a CSV Jazz when they came out, but never got to buy one, although I liked the way it drive. Made me think on when 4 wheeler first came to the show grounds when I was young
I guess adults did not like CSV as they did not drive enough 4 wheelers in your youth.
Then I upgraded to a auto car a few years back and that was (is) a great experience. Autos have come a huge distance since they were all 3 speed boxes. The new one is using a 6 speed gearbox. Very smooth.
Nothing beats a Isuzu 280TD Granny Wagon exhaust fumes early mornings. 
It is in it’s early twenties now, one of these years to become a vintage vehcile.
Just hate it when they don’t manufacture things like they use to like the bloody alternator went after 18 years, geez, you know, where has pride gone in ones work! 
Plonkster could this become a reality, “Keep Charged Using Solar Only”?