Good rant.
Can't this be solved with an extra battery or two and some meditation?
- At some point the infrastructure needs to serve the people, not the other way around.
- At some point I found it helpful to recognize and enjoy (or at least not be annoyed by) the embedded traits in my family...
More in favor of Victron:
- The manuals and documentation include a ton of helpful information and are well written in English to promote understanding. It's a pleasure to read their manuals.
- Their Wiring Unlimited document is a perfect example and reflects a company that is focused on...
Rebuilding the diesel for my old John Deere tractor. I dropped the block, head, crank, etc. at the machinist yesterday so this is a slow period of the project. Hopefully it will be running by the end of April.
It might be powerful enough to operate an air compressor for Dozier...might.
That'd be no fun. It's interesting how sometimes things fall and avoid harm or are easily found and other times they screw something up or disappear into the abyss.
Food for thought...
I've had a 20 lb propane tank freeze up running a 7.25kW generator at about 32*F, that's why I plumbed it to the 500 gallon tank. I'm sure there are a number of variables at play.
Regardless, the OP will need to discover what works for their temps and fuel draw.
BAM! It finally clicked for me. I already have a 30/50 switch like this in my system and all I need to do is replace it with one with the low pressure cutoff. My brain was trying to think of how I'd add the switch to the system. $30 and a proven decades old tech. Win-win. Thanks...
I top balanced my first battery but when it came time to build my second I figured I was smarter than conventional wisdom and didn't top-balance. That's when I discovered how annoying runners can be.
AGS - Auto Generator Start Information Thread
The intent of this thread is to collect and share information to improve understanding of AGS systems, capabilities and limitations. This post will provide a starting point with the hope that others add, improve and correct any posted information...
@Vigo, No temp gauge native to the charger. There may be some sort of overtemp shutoff but I didn't read about it in the manual.
@Will Prowse, This was after after about 45 minutes of operation. My duty cycle will rarely exceed 60-90 minutes. It may get heat soaked with higher temps during...
There's something to this. Sangoma34 has been a member for something like 30 minutes and probably has 50 spam posts up so far. Make them wait 24 hours and they'll probably be on to some other way of annoying people.
Dang. Thanks for sharing. I'm finally getting to the point of always using ppe and feel fortunate that I didn't disable myself when not using the gear.
Here's a follow-up after using the chargeverter battery charger at 100 amps for for a couple of cycles.
Summary: The operating temps for my use (approx. 1 hour per day in a 65 degree utility room) don't seem excessively hot and I'll keep running it at 100 amps until something changes.
Notes
-...
That's correct. This is easily solves the problem of broken pipe, etc. which is my biggest concern. I'll continue looking at other monitoring solutions suggested for lesser leaks.
I don't know. I was making an assumption. Thanks for calling it out.
Pages 14-16 of the manual mentions generator power "pass through" but I haven't taken the time to determine if passing through the generator power directly is what is meant or if it's being passed through the inverter.
1 - As fancy as the Onan AGS appears to be it would be hard to believe that it wouldn't take an input from the inverter's dry contact to start the generator. I'm not familiar with the EG4 inverter's dry contact on off conditions but I'm assuming it would trigger the relay based on different...
It's absolutely doable. Begin removing parts and pieces, tag or bag them so you recall where they go during reassembly, get down to the engine, remove it and disassemble it. Something like that. Patience and technique is needed for the parts that don't want to come apart. Some special tools are...
Yes, you can.
Apparently, Will does it all the time and rolls a generator over them. It'd be nice to secure them in some way. Also, does Indianapolis get snow anymore? That'll cut down on production on snow days. What's the lifespan of this installation: 20 yrs or six months? It seems you'd...
Sheesh. I've been around the block a few times but apparently not the right block. I dug a hole under my generator to put a catch bucket under the drain plug and I still spilled oil. These oil extractors look like they make this routine maintenance even easier. My small engines and I thank you.
Thanks for the example of a solution. I have no functional knowledge of the Rasp Pi but it's interesting to me and something that I could get my arms around. I imagine that it could also log pump run time for general water consumption and also to flag increases that might indicate a slow leak or...
When the generator is running the inverter uses generator power to charge the batteries AND passes through generator power to meet AC needs (the inverter stops inverting battery to AC during this time).
If your AC loads are often at peak inverter capacity then that won't leave much for battery...
Good point on ensuring that you're covered with back-up solutions needed for a given situation and needs and that the inverter/generator will provide clean power. Likewise, if the inverter/generator fails a backup will be needed to solve for that problem. Back in the olden days I'd have backup...
I agree that multiple systems provide redundancy (see my sig) that allow for downtime if one of the systems fails. My primary and secondary systems are arranged much like yours. They're not super-powered but they support off-grid living 24/7/365 with some level of confidence. Lightning strikes...
Yep, I had a similar experience where I was baffled by a voltage variance displayed on the BMS. The diagnostic I used was to measure each cell with a meter, determine that the BMS and the DVM disagreed on a cell, wiggled wires and the the balance lead on that cell broke off from the ring...
Thanks. I'm not concerned about the pump. My issue is that if the pump runs continuously it will drain the batteries creating a low voltage condition that will shut off power to the fridge, freezer, wifi network, etc. The loss of food is the biggest issue. Loss of communication is a moderate...
I appreciate your point on the warranty coverage. Thanks.
Who's bending words? The manual DOES say: "Recommended...85 amp total charging rate to reduce the heat of the unit". It's great that EG4 put this in the manual so manual readers like me can make an informed decision before buying.
The...
Everything is heavier nowadays (to me). I usually don't think of moving something w/out thinking how I can get wheels under it or how it can be lifted with a mechanical device of some kind. A dedicated two wheel dolly or wagon can help.
My experience is that Victron inverters can get grumpy with dirty power from an open frame generator. I had to deploy software settings Victron describes in their generator FAQs which resulted in slower charging and potentially passing through power that's not ideal for sensitive electronics...
This document from Victron describes the options well and makes a revommendation:
https://www.victronenergy.com/upload/documents/Automatic_Generator_start-stop/Automatic_Generator_start_stop-en.pdf