Slow charging from Gas Generator

[AlexanderKristiansen]

I have a 1 Kw Honda gas generator, but when I connect it to my charger, the input is around 200 watts. I have an all-in-one inverter/charger/MPPT. I have tried different settings on my inverter, usually the bulk to 28,0 - 28,4 and float between 27,0 - 28,0. I have tried all sorts of combinations. The inverter doesn't have an absorption setting. I use a lot of gas for very low input and slow charging.

What can I do to fix this?

 

[Mattb4]

What is the AC charge amps set for? 200w at 25vDC is 8a, about what I would expect if your setting is 5a once you factor in conversion losses.

 

[50ShadesOfDirt]

What is the exact model number of all the components involved (gen, inverter, anything else)?

You'll want to run the gen at a steady rate of about 50% to 75% (typically the "sweet spot"), so theoretically about 500 to 750 watts (at 120v) to play with. Any more than that, and you might shorten the life of the gen (running it too hard for long periods).

Without model numbers, just about anything could be going on ... need the docs to uncover the facts.

 

[Steve_S]

From honda.ca/generators/EU1000i
These are great little gennies BUT it can only output 900W @ 120VAC Maximum and that is pushing it. The receptacle is also limited to 7.5A which really won't provide much charging power.

- WHAT TYPE OF BATTERY ARE YOU CHARGING ?
-- Type, Chemistry & size.
- What AIO do you have ?
- Is the AIO your only Charging Source or do you have an external charger as well ?

The more information you can provide will result in better responses.

Hope it helps, Good Luck.

 

[littleharbor2]

From honda.ca/generators/EU1000i
View attachment 150651These are great little gennies BUT it can only output 900W @ 120VAC Maximum and that is pushing it. The receptacle is also limited to 7.5A which really won't provide much charging power.

- WHAT TYPE OF BATTERY ARE YOU CHARGING ?
-- Type, Chemistry & size.
- What AIO do you have ?
- Is the AIO your only Charging Source or do you have an external charger as well ?

The more information you can provide will result in better responses.

Hope it helps, Good Luck.

7.5 amps @120ac. Wouldn't that give close to 35 amps dc at 28 volts? Granted this would need to cover any loads and then charge battery? Maybe the load on the system is consuming all the genny's input?

 

[AlexanderKristiansen]

It's at 24V 400Ah Lifepo4 battery. The inverter maximum charging current is 60A, maximum MPPT is 40A, maximum utility is 60A.

Inverter model is 1.5KVA 24V. It is not any particular brand, I think its a generic inverter, sold under different brands. See attached picture.

 

[50ShadesOfDirt]

Generator should put out (up to it's rated max) what your load (the inverter charging component) wants to take in.

So, if you are only "seeing" 200w somewhere, then perhaps a setting on the inverter is limiting it. You'll have to rummage thru the docs for the inverter and see what's up.

If you already know that the inverter can take up to 60 amps of charging capacity, and you run that through an amp/watt/volt calculator on the web, you'll see that the watts are up at 7200, which means the current generator is too underpowered. There are other calculations to see how long it would take to fill your battery, at either the low charging rate of the current generator or a different one.

Hope this helps ...

 

[hwy17]

It's at 24V 400Ah Lifepo4 battery. The inverter maximum charging current is 60A, maximum MPPT is 40A, maximum utility is 60A.

Inverter model is 1.5KVA 24V. It is not any particular brand, I think its a generic inverter, sold under different brands. See attached picture.

It must have a model number on it right? Even if it is sold as other models too.

 

[RCinFLA]

Many of the cheap HF AIO inverters have no control over AC input to AC output load current. With only 1 kW generator you could easily consume max generator power with AC output loads. You have to manually control this.

If your inverter's charging parameters are set too high for the inverter's charging, after it locks to generator phase, then closes AC input pass-through relay to AC input, it can jump on generator so hard it will overload generator causing inverter to immediately release from generator.

With only a 1 kW generator, the inverter's charger may not be able to regulate its bulk charging power draw well enough, to a low enough level, to prevent overloading such a small generator.

When using an external charger directly on generator you need to be aware of separate charger's AC input power factor. Most cheap chargers use a simple rectifier-filter capacitor to converter AC input to high voltage DC for input to the charger's DC to DC converter. This means power is drawn from AC input in short high current peaks at the AC sinewave voltage peaks.

The poor power factor (high current crest factor), with its short/high current peaks, AC load on generator can cause it to overload generator at a much lower power level than generator's rated power.

Most hybrid inverter/chargers use synchronous rectification during charging, so they have fairly good AC input power factor when charging battery.