MTM98290
Solar Enthusiast
- Joined
- Dec 24, 2022
- Messages
- 312
Hello to the forum. I Have been reading here for over a year as I researched for the construction of our system. It is now time to ask some questions or answer those that I qualified to speak on. Thanks to all contributors who have come before as this info is very helpful for people starting out.
Our system has been in use since late Feburary of 2022. From March to October it worked flawlessly. Most days the system was able to charge up the bank before noon. At our Northern Lattitude of 48° the sun is out for 16+ hours in June and about 4 in December. This leads to the obvious issue to design around, an overabundance then a lack of PV production depending on the season.
I was hoping to have a system which never went offline despite the weather. We have had it go offline twice now. We have about 5 days of low PV production days capacity before the low voltage cutoff.
The first time it went down I cleaned the snow off the panels and used our portable generator and the standalone charger to power the cabin and charge the bank back to full. This of course works fine, but it requires that we drive there and hook it up and stay the weekend. Of course that is enjoyable, but it isn't always practical for me to take time off work or be away from family etc.
I had origially thought that I would just add a LP standby generator like a 8.5KW Champion/7.5KW Generac and use the Growatts dry contacts to start it at a set battery voltage and charge through the AC input.
Unfortunately I have read many of the forum posts on Growatt inverters and generators. It looks to me that conventional mechanical generators are not very reliable as the AC source for Growatt Inverter units.
I have seen a lot of advice about using an inverter generator to avoid this, but the issue with an inverter type is that they are either way too large and expensive for our budget or they are manual start only.
I see that Kohler makes a 6KW 48Vdc model which looks very nice but is double the cost of above mentioned units.
I have also been looking at the DC autogen V5 48Vdc generator. This unit with the Propane conversion and solenoid valve is about half the cost of the Kohler and on par with the aforementioned Generac or Champion units.
The V5 can be controlled via an ap for all parameters incluring Voltage, Amperage, start stop, quiet times etc.
It looks like a DC generator would be a covienient option that would connect directly to the battery bank and not allow the Growatt to interfere with the backup generators function.
I am hoping that somebody here has experience with the Autogen G5.
It looks to me like the AutogenV5 is the most convenient option but will require a little diy work such as an enclosure.
The V5 looks to me like the simple way to acomplish a fully remote system that should always have a charge.
The other option that I have contemplated but havent found much info on is the idea of fabricating my own dc generator unit using a high quality permanent magnet alternator such as the Missori Wind and Solar Freedom. I spoke with Sam on the phone and he sent me a quote with all of the necessary items such as a Midnite Classic 150 mppt, shunt, and rectifier to build a complete system with the exception of the Engine and controls. I am not really sure how I could control this setup remotely except for using something like the Autogen V6 wifi controller. Are there other options out there that I am missing? A good portion of the products that come up in a search are related to controlling a genset from inside the house while you are there, which does me no good.
It seems to me that using a Honda engine with the above mentioned items would probably have the best longevity out of all the options but would be in about the middle to high end of the price range by the time I piece it all together. If I build my own system at least I know how to fix it and I am not at the mercy of an OEM telling me to buy a new one because parts are no longer available.
I know this is a long rambling post but I do appreciate any insight or advice.
Our system has been in use since late Feburary of 2022. From March to October it worked flawlessly. Most days the system was able to charge up the bank before noon. At our Northern Lattitude of 48° the sun is out for 16+ hours in June and about 4 in December. This leads to the obvious issue to design around, an overabundance then a lack of PV production depending on the season.
I was hoping to have a system which never went offline despite the weather. We have had it go offline twice now. We have about 5 days of low PV production days capacity before the low voltage cutoff.
The first time it went down I cleaned the snow off the panels and used our portable generator and the standalone charger to power the cabin and charge the bank back to full. This of course works fine, but it requires that we drive there and hook it up and stay the weekend. Of course that is enjoyable, but it isn't always practical for me to take time off work or be away from family etc.
I had origially thought that I would just add a LP standby generator like a 8.5KW Champion/7.5KW Generac and use the Growatts dry contacts to start it at a set battery voltage and charge through the AC input.
Unfortunately I have read many of the forum posts on Growatt inverters and generators. It looks to me that conventional mechanical generators are not very reliable as the AC source for Growatt Inverter units.
I have seen a lot of advice about using an inverter generator to avoid this, but the issue with an inverter type is that they are either way too large and expensive for our budget or they are manual start only.
I see that Kohler makes a 6KW 48Vdc model which looks very nice but is double the cost of above mentioned units.
I have also been looking at the DC autogen V5 48Vdc generator. This unit with the Propane conversion and solenoid valve is about half the cost of the Kohler and on par with the aforementioned Generac or Champion units.
The V5 can be controlled via an ap for all parameters incluring Voltage, Amperage, start stop, quiet times etc.
It looks like a DC generator would be a covienient option that would connect directly to the battery bank and not allow the Growatt to interfere with the backup generators function.
I am hoping that somebody here has experience with the Autogen G5.
It looks to me like the AutogenV5 is the most convenient option but will require a little diy work such as an enclosure.
The V5 looks to me like the simple way to acomplish a fully remote system that should always have a charge.
The other option that I have contemplated but havent found much info on is the idea of fabricating my own dc generator unit using a high quality permanent magnet alternator such as the Missori Wind and Solar Freedom. I spoke with Sam on the phone and he sent me a quote with all of the necessary items such as a Midnite Classic 150 mppt, shunt, and rectifier to build a complete system with the exception of the Engine and controls. I am not really sure how I could control this setup remotely except for using something like the Autogen V6 wifi controller. Are there other options out there that I am missing? A good portion of the products that come up in a search are related to controlling a genset from inside the house while you are there, which does me no good.
It seems to me that using a Honda engine with the above mentioned items would probably have the best longevity out of all the options but would be in about the middle to high end of the price range by the time I piece it all together. If I build my own system at least I know how to fix it and I am not at the mercy of an OEM telling me to buy a new one because parts are no longer available.
I know this is a long rambling post but I do appreciate any insight or advice.
