How many running watts will the saw take, I am buying a small generator and need to know the size I need.

You really didn't provide much info to work with - Knowing the make & model & size (as well as its age) would be helpful. Also is it new or have you had it for a while? What test equipment do you have? In other words, what are you using to determine if it is putting out electricity? Has it ever worked? All generators have individual circuit breakers, so try resetting those. If they trip-out immediately then disconnect the generator from the load. reset the circuit breaker(s) again & recheck the output some other way, such as by connecting a table lamp to it. If that works, then consider the possibility that your generator may be too small for the load that you're trying to connect to it. For example, a 2000 watt generator is good for a working load of 1000 watts but is too small for a 2000 watt load. If this is your first experience with a generator, check out the web site www.electricgenerators.com and refer to their sizing charts. Lots of good info there.

As you have not provided me with the information I requested I'm going to have to take a few guesses here Bob. You could be overloading the generator. You can't run a 10,000 BTU air conditioner off of a 1000 watt generator. You need to look at your load, (what you are trying to power), and determine how much power it needs. Almost everything has a tag somewhere on the device. Most don't give watt requirements. But they do tell you, how many amps the device pulls, as well as the voltage the device needs. So you need to do some math here. Volts X Amps = Watts. So if we have a 120 volt device, that pulls 15 amps, we need 1800 watts to power it. But it gets a little more tricky than that. Motors are often rated at what they pull while they are running! But it can take two or three times more power to get them started. Example... A motor rated at 10 amps, using 120 volts will be 120 X 10 = 1200 watts. But it could take 2400-3600 watts to get it running. So in theory a 3000 watt generator may die before it can start that load. Heating elements are also power hungry! Let's say you have a small 800 watt generator, and your just trying to run a simple coffee pot! Well the heating element in a typical coffee pot pulls 1000-1500 watts. A hair dryer or microwave oven rated at 1000 watts, is the power they produce, not the power they consume! So a 1000 watt microwave may pull 1600 watts of power to run. Most non US generators are highly over rated as well. I certainly would not trust a Harbor Freight 3000 watt generator to actually put out 3000 watts of power. Not that they are bad units, I would expect their numbers to be under PERFECT conditions. Temperature, humidity and altitude also play a part! Your 3000 watt generator is going to put out more power at 50 degrees, at sea level, than it is at 7000 ft in the mountains at 100 degrees. So my "guess" Bob, is that your just asking more from the generator than it can produce. Picking out a generator is not as easy as it looks. "Hey that one is $1000 and this one is $300! They both make power! What's the difference". The difference is what do you need to run! "Heck I'll just get that 50,000 watt unit"! Yeah you can do that too, but you will never use that much power, and you will burn way more fuel than you need to. My other "guess" is that you have a governor issue on the engine. As load increases the gov will throw more throttle to the motor. My generator has an option to run full speed or on the gov. So it will idle and burn less fuel while I am hammering in a nail, then go to full power when I trigger a saw connected to it. Lot's of factors involved here Bob.

have the saw motor checked for internal and wiring problems
check the start/run capacitor of the electric motor
running a 1 1/2 hp motor (1075 watts) on a generator that has a running wattage of around 2250 watts means that it should start and come to speed immediately if the motor is good
the problem indicates that there is a circuit problem in the saw motor that is exceeding the available wattage (3000 watts ) on start up

Steve,

The microwave alone shouldn't cause a problem for the generator as even the most powerful models run about 1200 watts or about 10 amps. An air conditioner on the other hand, can draw considerably more power to run depending on BTU size; 15 amps and up is not uncommon (and even twice as much as that though only briefly when starting).

If these were the only things connected and on, the generator should be able to handle them - again depending on the BTU size of the AC unit. Generators state their capacity in Watts, but must of the devices we connect are in Amps. Calculating Watts in an AC circuit is complicated, but pretty close to the much easier Watts in a DC circuit for most residential settings. Here's how it's done:

Watts = volts x amps. Pretty simple stuff. Your generator is rated at 5500 watts. The microwave is say, 120 volts / 10 amps - which equals 1200 watts. The generator has 4300 capacity available now. Suppose your air conditioner is rated at 120 volts / 15 amps - which equals 1800 watts. 4300watts - 1800watts = 2400watts capacity is left. But, the starting current for the AC is as much as 25 amps for a few seconds (and once started drops back to 15 amps) - which means there's only 1200 watts capacity left. Add up the rest of the appliances you're running at the same time (TV set, Cable / Satellite box, stereo, toaster, lights, computer, etc.- you get the idea), and you can see how you might have exceeded the 5500 watts capacity of the generator for a few seconds. It's at these times that your hear / see the generator speed falter and sputter, lights dim, etc.. If this is happening a lot, you may need a larger or additional generator.

I hope this helps and good luck!

For what you are trying to run a 6000 what will work. You will need a running watt of no less than 5000 watts.
The 7000 will work just fine.

Hello Bob,
There should be absoluty no problem on that 1600 watt generator..at max when compressor just starts its drawing about 750 watts, that is the max usage when running its about 500 and on defrost its like 850 ..so on 1600 watt generator no problem

Your cutter machine may use more power than your whole house depending on the size of motor. A one horsepower motor 115v will use about 3000 watts to start and about 1000watts to run. To estimate how much power you need, add up all the watts that you will use at home and add to that estimated wattage of the cutter motor (motor will use 3x rated wattage to start plus loss of power thru the extension cord). Buy a generator that will give you needed power and still have a 25 percent reserve. If you need 2000 watts on a continued basis, the 2800 watt may be good, however I would be more comfortable with a 3500 watt if the price was right because of the cutter machine. I would consider converting the cutter to gas power and buy a smaller generator to save on gas since you will be most likely running the generator far longer to power the house. Good luck

Your generator is too small. if you have a unit that only has a duplex outlet or you can carry it with one hand, it might be time to upgrade. To find out the wattage you will need look at the data plate on the saws, there will be a number next to the word AMP once you have this from both saws add them together. With this amperage we will make a small calculation using watts law which states Watts divided by voltage equals amps. Also most generators are designed to run a constant current unlike the erradic draw that would be created by only one saw. When you figure out your load demand, add 15% to it as allowance for the surge in power. In cases of chain-binding or really hard wood, the saw requires much more amperage.

I am with you on the start capacitator. I would look at the model and make of the motor and give mgf. a call see if they have one.
You do need the amps there to start these saws. Make sure it matches what your generator is putting out.
Please let me know what you find.

a 10000 due to the startup surge. also need start kits on any ac started by a generator.