Charging with suitcase generator?

[Checkthisout]

I don't know how it bypasses the low oil switch for starting. I would think that that switch opens (closes?) the circuit and wouldn't allow it to even start.

Depends on the machine. Some just close a switch that grounds the coil.

Honda uses capacitive power to keep the low oil light on for awhile so you can look and see that's the issue.

The ignition coil on the 2000/2200 is also controlled by the inverter. The inverter applies and cuts power to generate the spaek so its not as simple as just grounding it out to stop it.

 

[jimf909]

Depends on the machine. Some just close a switch that grounds the coil.

Honda uses capacitive power to keep the low oil light on for awhile so you can look and see that's the issue.

The ignition coil on the 2000/2200 is also controlled by the inverter. The inverter applies and cuts power to generate the spaek so its not as simple as just grounding it out to stop it.

Thanks. I was familiar with the low oil switch grounding the coil because it's used as a stop function in at least one AGS module.

You've also confirmed a suspicion I've had with a no-spark condition I've had on a Genmax inverter generator. I replaced the coil, checked the low oil switch, etc. but still have the no-start condition. Since the coil isn't mounted at the flywheel (although it looks just like one that is), it gets the spark signal from somewhere deep in the potted electronics either in the inverter or the front display. I received a full refund on his generator from Amazon but haven't had any luck getting a spark. The complexity of inverter generators is one of my complaints against them.

 

[Checkthisout]

Thanks. I was familiar with the low oil switch grounding the coil because it's used as a stop function in at least one AGS module.

You've also confirmed a suspicion I've had with a no-spark condition I've had on a Genmax inverter generator. I replaced the coil, checked the low oil switch, etc. but still have the no-start condition. Since the coil isn't mounted at the flywheel (although it looks just like one that is), it gets the spark signal from somewhere deep in the potted electronics either in the inverter or the front display. I received a full refund on his generator from Amazon but haven't had any luck getting a spark. The complexity of inverter generators is one of my complaints against them.

They have all gotten more sophisticated so users cannot easily bypass shutoff due to Co detection.

 

[seneysolar]

Trying out a couple new things at the cabin.
First is a champion 2500w suitcase, second is the Noco 2440. Seems to be a good combination.

I got a good deal on both and figured this saves hours on the Yamaha and using a separate charger the inverter wont disconnect when the well kicks on. Plus you can never have too many ways to charge batteries.

So this setup get me almost 40A to my 24v battery bank. The champion is decent on gas, ran almost 7 hours on a tank of gas (approx 1gal). Batteries are fully charged for $2.89

Its winter here and i haven't seen the sun in weeks...

 

[Checkthisout]

Trying out a couple new things at the cabin.
First is a champion 2500w suitcase, second is the Noco 2440. Seems to be a good combination.

I got a good deal on both and figured this saves hours on the Yamaha and using a separate charger the inverter wont disconnect when the well kicks on.View attachment 187304View attachment 187303 Plus you can never have too many ways to charge batteries.

So this setup get me almost 40A to my 24v battery bank. The champion is decent on gas, ran almost 7 hours on a tank of gas (+/-1gal). Batteries are fully charged for $2.89 ?

Its winter here and i haven't seen the sun in weeks...

Gasoline = liquid sunlight ?

Good off-season use of the canoe!

 

[Daddy Tanuki]

Good off-season use of the canoe!

this time of the year, the trout that made it to the fuji five lakes form the streams come up to the surface, 3-5 lbs are the smaller ones.... time to put that thing in the water and get some tasty fish!

 

[RussNM]

Trying out a couple new things at the cabin.

Nice generator shed.... is that an old Mad River canoe?

 

[seneysolar]

Its a We-no-nah canoe. Yes its my default generator shelter for winter ops. I dont leave the gen out there all the time but it occasionally spends the night out. We have been known to get a foot of snow overnight so under the canoe seems logical

 

[wkyongae]

Thought I'd add my two cents. I have a Yamaha generator V1 2000 watts. I've got almost 10000 hrs on it. I change oil every 100 hrs with 5w30 regular oil. It runs out refrigerator, 4 small chest freezers, heat lamp for chicks, incubator and such. Charges our batteries thru our 4000watt Samlex inverter/charger. If you can find a V1 buy it it also comes in V2 that's a Chinese cheap piece of junk. It runs but it kind of like check gas and add oil. I've had it rebuilt once just not worth it so now I use it as a parts machine.

 

[seneysolar]

Thought I'd add my two cents. I have a Yamaha generator V1 2000 watts. I've got almost 10000 hrs on it. I change oil every 100 hrs with 5w30 regular oil. It runs out refrigerator, 4 small chest freezers, heat lamp for chicks, incubator and such. Charges our batteries thru our 4000watt Samlex inverter/charger. If you can find a V1 buy it it also comes in V2 that's a Chinese cheap piece of junk. It runs but it kind of like check gas and add oil. I've had it rebuilt once just not worth it so now I use it as a parts machine.

How do you tell V1 or V2?

 

[wkyongae]

How do you tell V1 or V2?

It says on the front of the generator. Looks like a fancy V2. The V1 doesn't say anything on it.

 

[seneysolar]

Ahh i see it now online. Ive never seen this v2 before

I must have a V1.

Thanks for the heads up!

 

[wkyongae]

Ahh i see it now online. Ive never seen this v2 before

I must have a V1.

Thanks for the heads up!

It's sad theV1 engine is japanese made and the V2 is Chinese.

 

[Hank Waconda]

Anyone charging their battery bank with a small suitcase generator? (Under 2500w). I see lots of folks on here using big generators but thats alot of fuel...

I have a plug wired on my Aims 4k inv/charger and i use my yamaha 2000 for charging. I have 4 trojan L-16's in series for 24v. I realize that if i ask for a large load (well pump) from the inverter that it will disconnect the generator for a minute but it just reconnects when the pump is done. The aims inverter has the little charge rate dial you can turn to match generator capability. I just go by sound. About 35 amps is the sweet spot.

After a few days at the cabin in winter time i usually fire up the gen and leave it for the day while out snowmobiling. When we get back the batteries are full, the generator is out of gas, i only used 1 gallon of gas and im ready for another couple days.

I set up a buddies cabin in a similar way using an Iota charger. Although those are not adjustable so you gotta do the math when buying one first.

Not sure how many hours to expect outta the little generators. Any full time off grid folks doing this? Guess on how may hours these generators are good for?

I use my small dual fuel Champion on propane to power my DLS 45 on cloudy days if my D8's can't keep up on solar. I'll use the IQ-4 eq dongle on the for a couple of hours then let solar do the absorption from there works well. I change oil in generator once a year with mobile 1 as I have never get close to 100hrs of generator use during the year.

 

[Symbioquine]

If you load generators at least 40% to 80% of its rated VA you will get maximum fuel efficiency. In general, if within optimum loading range, the larger the generator the better the kWh's per gallon of gas used.

This.

Curious if folks in this thread are measuring their own kWh produced & fuel usage and doing the efficiency math... See https://diysolarforum.com/threads/how-efficient-is-your-generator.50418/

 

[seneysolar]

This.

Curious if folks in this thread are measuring their own kWh produced & fuel usage and doing the efficiency math... See https://diysolarforum.com/threads/how-efficient-is-your-generator.50418/

I imagine not. I see alot of folks blindly following the inverter mfg recommendations for sizing the generator..... which is fine if youre always going to me maxing out the inverter. Id say thats maybe 10% of off grid folks at best. The rest are typically much more energy conscious.

I think the benefits of charging with a small generator are mostly realized by lead acid battery banks. Long absorbtion time yields greater capacity than full throttle charging in short durations.

Once in absorbtion mode, its best to shut off a larger gen as the fuel consumption is just too much. Most portable gens over 8000W use a gallon or more per hour (gasoline). The larger standby gens are better but who wants to rack up the hours on a piece of equipment that expensive. Yes i have a large generator too, a 13k gasoline portable for complete outages with temporary high demands, do i use it for battery charging, heck no. I compare that to starting my truck to charge my phone

I noticed a post/thread where someone asked about a 16k generator... i had no words to answer that one, other than maybe off grid life isnt for everyone.

 

[Daddy Tanuki]

I noticed a post/thread where someone asked about a 16k generator... i had no words to answer that one, other than maybe off grid life isnt for everyone.

dayum.. I have a 10k diesel but I have it to power my three phase gear (welders, lift and compressor). for GP charging I can go either with my suitcase denyo or with my makita. the nly real difference is the time. in the end they use almost the same amount of fuel as the makita charges faster but uses more fuel. the suitcase denyo (rebadged yamaha ef2000). and it sips fuel but cannot offer the amps that the makita can.

 

[Symbioquine]

I think the benefits of charging with a small generator are mostly realized by lead acid battery banks.

This is a good point to bring up. That long tail (low) charging current for lead-acid batteries would be stupid to try and serve with a large generator under normal conditions.

Yes i have a large generator too, a 13k gasoline portable for complete outages with temporary high demands, do i use it for battery charging, heck no. I compare that to starting my truck to charge my phone

I think a fair number of folks here have large LFP battery banks which can take pretty high charge rates for long stretches without batting an eye. Mine for instance could theoretically (if I had more charging hardware) take ~16 kW with the current BMS' or ~22 kW with upgraded BMS' while staying under the 0.5C rating of the cells. The folks with large 48v LFP systems will tend to have even higher charging power limits.

I wasn't being judgmental of folks using smaller generator sizes for charging. I was asking because I've been measuring my own generator efficiency for a while and I'm interested in the confluence of the following factors;

• Fuel efficiency in kWh per unit of fuel (for each type of fuel)
• Fuel cost efficiency (obviously varies a lot by location)
• Equipment cost (both overall and per unit of useful output - either time or kWh)
• Maintenance implications (fewer total running hours usually means less scheduled maintenance)
• Noise considerations (large generators are typically noisier, but may need to run less and/or less often)

I will say that for my own charging, moving from a ~3 kW to a 9 kW (nominal) generator was the difference between 12% fuel efficiency and almost 16% efficiency on propane. That 4% (~1 kWh/gal or $0.30/kWh) difference will probably never recoup the cost of the larger generator, but it does make a pretty big difference in terms of how often we need to spend time to take propane tanks to get refilled.

Also, both were loud when loaded down, but I find the bigger generator has a more acceptable rumble compared to the higher frequency of the 3 kW one. Combine that with needing to run the generator half as long each time and it is a pretty easy decision for me.

 

[Checkthisout]

My Yamaha 3000iseb just quit so I purchased a used em5000sx to replace it.

I had recently replaced my LA bank with lithium and the inverter gen was at full RPM for 90% of the charge anyway vs yes, just as you guys said, a lot of time was spent at much lower absorption amperage on the lead acid bank.

This bigger gen will the addition of an additional charger which will help to load it down and make it more efficient