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diy solar

Backup generator won't connect

Wolfwalker

New Member
Joined
Dec 27, 2020
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My system is

OB - Outback GS8048A-01 (UL1741-SA) Inverter/Charger 8000W, 48Vdc FLEXpower
Radian, pre-wired GSLC with 120/240Vac Bypass, 175A DC breakers, PNL-GFDI-80D and
80Amp charge controller breakers, MATE3, HUB 10.3, FN-DC, RTS, plus two FLEXmax 80 charge controllers.

24 - Rolls Flooded Lead-Acid Battery. 2V 1050Ah/20hr 1450Ah/100hr for a 48volt system

24 - SMC - Phono Solar 325W panels

and an Onan 4000 watt 240 volt RV BF series generator hard wired into the ac input bus bars of the outback.

I bought the house in September with the system brand new and never used. we are totally off grid.

My problem is, that the Mate3 controller ac input light flashes yellow when the generator is running. According to the guide that means it recognizes ac power from the generator, but won't accept it.

All settings I can find are switched to generator for ac input and I still can't get the system to accept the generator output.

Being in southern Arizona, I can't find any installer or technician who will even return my phone call to set up a service call. I would gladly pay to get the system working together, but I am left with hunting down the slightest clue to try to do the work myself. Does anyone have any ideas?
 
Have you confirmed the generator is putting out acceptable power? 240VAC split phase at 60Hz - assuming that's what the Outback takes as input?

Some inverter/chargers reject dirty AC-input because they typically sync to the input wave and then match it as output. Many have adjustable limits that permit dirtier power at compromised charge currents.

Check the manual of the Outback and confirm it accepts the type of power the generator puts out.

From:


1609130464804.png

Page 18 gives instructions on troubleshooting the issue:

1609130569753.png
 
Thanks. I do have all the manuals and books for the system. My problem comes in that nothing I do to change settings works. Plus there is one setting that I can't find a place to change it.

I spent yesterday tracing wires and everything is wired correctly. When the generator is running I have power from the generator to the dedicated outlets just before the shunt to the radeon and it powers tools and tests with the volt meter as fine.

A screenshot showing that the AC State is set to DROP, not use, which according to the manual it should be. the only other thing I can think of is the hertz every now and then drops below 60. I'm at a loss on what to do because if this keeps up I could damage my batteries, this is the fourth time the batteries dropped to 50%.

20201229_075054.jpg
 
Did you press Discon to see what the errors are?

I don't know what the tolerance is on frequency, but my cheap genny is basically 60±2 Hz, and it works.

I would be looking to see why you're getting 127V. That's higher than I would expect. It's usually not high enough that I would expect a problem. My Victron accepts an absurdly wide range, but it might be outside the range your system allows or is configured for.

This is what happens when I run my genny:

1609263702674.png

Hz gets nutty, and the voltage is down as low as 113VAC. The inverter syncs with it and feeds that out while charging. If your inverter is configured with tighter requirements, it may choose to reject the AC input if it's outside those limits.
 
I did push discon and the screen brought up showed no errors. I am beginning to think that the cheapest option for me right now is just to buy a second charge controller to hook up to the battery bank just to hook up to the generator, because the one I have that does have auto start I can't get to work. I would not be so frustrated if I could get a technician or even a call back from those companies.
 
Do you just mean a 48V charger powered by the generator? That should work.

This is a 2000W-48V power supply that's adjustable. It will only accept single phase input (do not attempt to hook it to 240VAC split phase. At 120VAC, you're limited to 80% rated output, so you'd only get 1600W. You'd want to set the PS to whatever the generator cut-off voltage is.


It's not an ideal solution by any means, but it would work.

From the inverter manual, page 47:

generator input range default is 108-140VAC, but the high can be set as low as 125V. Worth checking.

Troubleshooting starting on P.35:

1609279508269.png

This seems to apply more since it's not connecting at all.

I'm also confused by things. This appears to be a 120/240VAC split phase output inverter, but it specifies 120VAC input on AC in specs?

1609279738873.png
 
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