Recent content by jimf909

@Solardaveo, I may have missed it but are you off-grid? I'm off-grid w/in 30 miles of the 49th parallel so days are short and most of the winter is cloudy. It sounds like you maybe at the 56th or north of it which means your days are maybe an hour shorter and also probably pretty cloudy. In...

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This is what I've done. I try to anticipate a few topics that may be helpful in the opening sequence and then save one or two for others. Links to awesome posts from others can go those posts too. Once I post a thread to the internet I figure the internet owns it and the mayhem can begin. By...

That gas can was so pretty when it was new. Now mine is pink from sun exposure. Red is a very hard color to keep stable, esp. w/out toxic ingredients. As for use, it works far better than the plastic cans.

A starting point is to know what your daily consumption will be. You mention max load but what is the total you'll need to replenish each day when your solar panels are at minimal production? If you charge the batteries using the inverter/charger your generator will need to be sized to a)...

Likewise.

I was clearly not talking about you and your vast stable of non-shitty generators. I was talking about a generic user and his pal Lefty who may need to get through a troublesome time some day when they don't want to run down a list of settings to charge their batteries because the Blue & Orange...

Exactly. Dirty generators happen. Why worry? Run that dirty old cheap generator through a battery charger and enjoy crystal clean Blue & Orange AC power from the inverter. What happens when that $400 crummy open frame Harbor Freight generator pukes? Maybe the user has three backups or maybe...

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...

Onan has an AGS system that may be what you need. https://www.cummins.com/generators/rv-generators/wireless-rv-auto-generator-start-system Let us know what you learn and I'll add it to the AGS Information thread.

I'm not sure if it's been mentioned, but there can't be sources of ignition w/in 10' of a permanent propane tank. It seems the same might apply to a gas meter? Does anyone know if that's true?

This may not be a direct answer to your question. After years connecting generators to inverter/chargers to charge the batteries and supply the house with power I changed my setup to connect the generator to a dedicated battery charger (EG4 100 amp charger) to charge the batteries and bypass...

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.

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...

That's what I need. If something breaks there needs to be manual intervention to start the pump and fix the problem.