Re: [RE-wrenches] Generator automatic disconnect

[Allan Sindelar]

Larry, one other consideration: My own Ecogen appears to be able to produce well over its rating. I have never had an amp-clamp with me when I have observed this, but it appears to be quite able to do so. My Magnum 4024 will charge at 114A (as measured on a TriMetric 2025) at 28V DC, or 3,200 watts after efficiency losses, while at the same time passing through both microwave and toaster, which are both being run directly off of the gennie as pass-through loads, as the TM's amps in doesn't diminish significantly. Note that this is at 6,700' elevation, which would suggest about a 23% derating, or about 4,600 watts available. I'm sorry to not be more precise - I really should test it. But the point is that you may have more headroom than you think. My output breaker is 50A 1P, so I assume the 240V option would be 25A 2P. You might consider increasing this to 30A if your concern is nuisance tripping. Also, the QO breakers have a trip curve to allow minor surges. Allan Allan Sindelar al...@positiveenergysolar.com NABCEP Certified PV Installation Professional NABCEP Certified Technical Sales Professional New Mexico EE98J Journeyman Electrician Founder, Positive Energy, Inc. A Certified B CorporationTM 3209 Richards Lane Santa Fe, New Mexico 87507 505 424-1112 office 780-2738 cell www.positiveenergysolar.com   On 9/30/2013 5:38 PM, Ray Walters wrote: 3rd option would be to have a separate charger (IOTA) that just runs from the generator.   No pass through loads to the generator. 4th option would be to use a larger Kohler for backup.  My experience is that even if they don't think they'll need it, they eventually will actually use it.  Large off grid systems tend to creep ever larger. I'd look at all the scenarios with pricing, and pros and cons. You'll see what makes sense. R.Ray Walters CTO, Solarray, Inc Nabcep Certified PV Installer, Licensed Master Electrician Solar Design Engineer 303 505-8760 On 9/30/2013 5:14 PM, William Miller wrote: Larry: Maybe a better approach might be to use an inverter with "Gen-support." That is unless a system already exists that does not have this feature. Plan B:  use the gen start signal to disable one or more of the larger loads. I know this is not what you asked for, just trying inject some different ideas. William -----Original Message----- From: re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org [mailto:re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of Larry Crutcher, Starlight Solar Power Systems Sent: Monday, September 30, 2013 1:02 PM To: RE-wrenches Subject: [RE-wrenches] Generator automatic disconnect Wrenches, I want to use the Ecogen 6kW generator on a large off grid system. The location has very few overcast or rainy days and the generator will rarely be needed. My concerns is nuisance tripping the generator output breakers if the household load exceeds 6kW. The power system control has a feature for reducing the AC current used to charge the batteries but does not have a feature for disconnecting the AC input based on input load. Does anyone have a solution for monitoring AC load from the generator and disconnect it if overloaded? It must automatically reconnect after a short timeout. Thank you, Larry Crutcher _____________ _______________________________________________ List sponsored by Home Power magazine List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org Change email address & settings: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List-Archive: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List rules & etiquette: www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm Check out participant bios: www.members.re-wrenches.org _______________________________________________ List sponsored by Home Power magazine List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org Change email address & settings: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List-Archive: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List rules & etiquette: www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm Check out participant bios: www.members.re-wrenches.org

_______________________________________________
List sponsored by Home Power magazine

List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org

Change email address & settings:
http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org

List-Archive: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org

List rules & etiquette:
www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm

Check out participant bios:
www.members.re-wrenches.org