If a 700 W generator can not start a 100W refrigerator, something is wrong with one of the two. The 700W unit should have at least 50% surge capability. And a frig that runs at 100W (which is low) should have no more than a 400W surge. You don't give the voltages involved and all the wattages are rather low. And does your sentence about the 250W mean it will run the 250 so is capable or you are trying to add the frig to the 250?

If you are trying to add the frig to the 250W and your 700 is a surge rating (more likely for an inverter than a generator) so the actual rating is 500, then the problems seem much more reasonable.

Is this a generator or an inverter? The rating seems on the low side for most gasoline powered AC generators. While I've seen plenty of AC inverters rated in the 400 to 800 watt range. The starting current for any motor under load is much greater than the running current.

One time, we had a power outage for several days. We had a natural gas clothes dryer which had a 110 V plug. We had a 6000 W generator, but it wouldn't start the motor running with clothes in the dryer. I was able to dry clothes/towels/etc by starting it empty, with the door interlock switch cheated, then throwing clothes in one at a time and it would keep running.

Well 700w - 250w = 450 watt. available capacity, which may not be enough to start a 100w compressor, but I would have thought it would be.

You may need to use some form of soft start, such as VFD, (variable frequency drive) for the fridge, but obviously the fridge thermostat would need to control the VFD. and will be expensive.

You could try using a contactor to supply the other loads and controlled by the fridge thermostat to switch the contactor off, via a relay normally de-energised, when the fridge was to cut in and to switch it back on via a timer, but that could get complicated.

I assume you have a petrol or diesel driven generator, in which case I would suggest you have the engine checked out, as the problem may not be electrical, but mechanical

You could also get a larger generator.

I assume your generator and loads are single phase?

Careful reading of the refrigerator compressors label

will yield: Locked Rotor Amperes (LRA), and Running or Full

Load Amperes (RLA or FLA). In all probability a 100W refrigerator

using 120V will draw .9A RLA and 5+A LRA.

A generator rated 700W surge produces a maximum

of 5.8A in top condition.

Any excess will result in a dropped load.

Your generator is on the edge of it's capability with

the refrigerator only, and recall that the compressor

cycles frequently at the direction of the thermostat.

You are on the edge with the refrigerator only.

That's quite normal as the starting current of the fridge motor will be 5 or 6 times the steady running current.

Try this. Switch off all the other devices and start the refrigerator. Once the refrigerator reaches steady state start the others one by one.

I have a generator of 700W maximum and a refrigerator rated 100W. However it seems the portable generator cannot start this refrigerator. In the generator we have connected some other electrical equipment with a total of around 250W.

Is there a device that can supply surge power to start up this 100W refrigerator? The generator cannot automatically adjust it's current so is there any product out there that i can use for kick-starting such electric devices.

Thanks