EG4 18KPV Generator Size & Variable Charging

[Dasos]

Hey all,

I'm looking at the EG4 18KPVs for my father in law who will be completely off grid. We are trying to figure out different ways around the generator sizing dilemma of oversizing a generator to allow for fluctuations in load with a constant battery charge setting (Gen Size = House Concurrent Loads + Max In Rush + Battery Charging Power)
I'm getting around this by using ChargeVerters and simply not using the generator to directly power the AC loads and instead letting my inverters always draw from the batteries.

However, looking at the 18KPV's manual for Generator Charge Settings (link here: EG4-18KPV-12LV-Manual-2.0.2.pdf (eg4electronics.com))
It states "Gen Rated Power (kW): You can limit the battery charge power based on the detected LOAD consumption and Generator input power limitations"

Does anyone have any experience using this setting? Can you confirm that it will simply pull 100% of your specified generator capacity and dynamically vary the battery charging power based on the loads being drawn?

Thanks!

 

[Wes975]

Hey all,

I'm looking at the EG4 18KPVs for my father in law who will be completely off grid. We are trying to figure out different ways around the generator sizing dilemma of oversizing a generator to allow for fluctuations in load with a constant battery charge setting (Gen Size = House Concurrent Loads + Max In Rush + Battery Charging Power)
I'm getting around this by using ChargeVerters and simply not using the generator to directly power the AC loads and instead letting my inverters always draw from the batteries.

However, looking at the 18KPV's manual for Generator Charge Settings (link here: EG4-18KPV-12LV-Manual-2.0.2.pdf (eg4electronics.com)) View attachment 186882
It states "Gen Rated Power (kW): You can limit the battery charge power based on the detected LOAD consumption and Generator input power limitations"

Does anyone have any experience using this setting? Can you confirm that it will simply pull 100% of your specified generator capacity and dynamically vary the battery charging power based on the loads being drawn?

Thanks!

I was able to get my generator set up this week and did some testing (thanks to @Travis_signaturesolar ) - not enough to answer all your questions.
I was able to control the DC amps charging the battery from the "Batt Charge Current Limit Adc". I set it to 60 amps (aprox. 3100 watts) this left me with 4000 watts to supply my home. I set the "Gen Rated Power (kW) to 7.2, the max my generator will produce with out hitting the surge capacity. I need to do some more testing as I too would like to see if it dynamically manages the loads and charging.

Hope this was of some help.

 

[Wes975]

After some additional testing, no - the inverter will not dynamically balance the loads between charging the battery and suppling the house loads using the generator terminals. It will maintain the "Batt Charge Current Limit Adc" value. If you house loads exceed the remaining generator power in combination with the fixed battery load, it will trip the generator breaker.

 

[eod1991]

So this is exactly how my system is set up Dasos. Currently I have a 15kw generator going to 2 18k’s fully off grid. The way it currently works: Say you have a 10kw generator and you have it set to charge at 8kw (80%). The inverter will try and maintain that load. If your house is pulling 4kw a it will charge at 4kw and power your loads at 4kw.

The problem comes when you have a big load turn on and you are already pulling 80% load on the generator. It will usually trip the generator breaker.

I believe they are working to address this, from what I have read in the manual the inverter is supposed to supplement the generator when needed from the batteries.

You could get around this whole problem by and use a much cheaper (dirty generator) and charge verters. The inverter sends a signal to start your generator, generator is wired to a small load center with 2 30 amp circuits powering 2 charge verters. When they receive power they will turn on and start charging. The inverter maintains all the a/c circuits and the generator can just focus on charging. You will still need a 2 wire start generator for this to work fyi.

 

[DIYrich]

Sol-ark has a Gen Limit setting. It will not take more watts than the setting. It will slow battery charging if needed to support loads.

 

[eod1991]

Sol-ark has a Gen Limit setting. It will not take more watts than the setting. It will slow battery charging if needed to support loads.

The 18k does the same thing, but if more load is requested then the setting it will go over it. I believe they are working on a update to allow the inverter to supplement the generator in a similar overload situation.

 

[Gubman]

I've attached to the GEN an existing AC battery bank and was able to control the amps going in, just like a chargeverter does. Very simple, as expected, quite nice. This was while the 18K was solo with no loads off-grid. After I connected the LOAD port, it started to back-feed on the GEN. Just posted at https://diysolarforum.com/threads/eg4-18k-pv-back-feeding-on-gen-port.81139/

 

[millsan1]

I just got a chargeverter and hook Genny up to it. Exact load the whole time