[RE-wrenches] Remote generator start

Chris Schaefer chris at solarandwindfx.com
Wed Sep 3 18:29:02 PDT 2008


Jeff said; "I have also found that in order to meet the new Federal
Pollution Regulations, all generator manufacturers have stopped making the
more reliable 1800 RPM models as they could not get the slower speed heavy
cast iron engines to meet these new regulations."

Jeff this is somewhat BS.  It's true that you won’t find a small kW
generator in 1800 RPM.  Anything that runs 1800 RPM will be of a
liquid-cooled design, these usually start around 18-20kW for most mfgs.  In
the past, some mfgs. Have attempted to run air-cooled engines at 1800 RPM
without much success; they don’t burn efficiently, and do not produce enough
power/torque at the slower speeds to have any efficiency gain.   

As a rule of thumb, it takes 2HP to produce 1kW.  The smallest liquid-cooled
engine that you’ll find used in most generators running at 1800RPM is a 1.6
liter engine capable of producing about 40-50HP at 1800RPM.  Liquid cooleds
can be fine-tuned a bit more to produce greater power at lower speeds
whereas most air-cooled generators use engines that were designed to run at
3600RPM and are economical to produce.

Because the majority of my projects are Off-grid and we use the nice big
Surrette series 5000 (4ks25ps) I don't spec anything smaller than a 20kw
genny (otherwise equalizing takes forever). Keep in mind that you only want
to use about 30% of the genny when charging in order to get the long life
out of the unit. I'm sure there are many out there that will disagree with
this. Also by only using 30% of the genny's capacity your propane
consumption is lower.

Stay liquid and stay 1800 rpm. Hope this helps.


Chris Schaefer
Solar and Wind FX Inc.
5115 South Hill Road
Canandaigua(Bristol Center) New York 14424
585.229.2083
Cell 748.1870
chris at solarandwindfx.com
http://www.solarandwindfx.com/
Where Knowledge Equals Power Independence


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________________________________________
From: re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org
[mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of Jeff Yago
Sent: 03 September, 2008 11:43
To: RE-wrenches
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Remote generator start

I know this subject has come up from time to time in small pieces, but would
like a collective set of answers.  As you know, some generators are very
easy to remote start from an inverter using only a simple relay and 2-wire
connection.  Make the contact and the generator starts and runs, break the
contact and it stops.  The Kohler line of generators have this start and
stop control and was easy to connect to the spare relay in the old Trace
SW40 inverter and the newer Outback inverters.
 
I have heard some other generator brands are next to impossible to remote
start, or require a sophiscated multi-relay programmed controller and a
bundle of wires to the generator.
 
What generators in the 8 to 15 kW range have you found easy to remote start
from an inverter, and which models or brands were a nightmare?  
 
What other hardware or controls were required to get it to work?   
 
How many control wires were required out to the generator?
 
I have also found that in order to meet the new Federal Pollution
Regulations, all generator manufacturers have stopped making the more
reliable 1800 RPM models as they could not get the slower speed heavy cast
iron engines to meet these new regulations.  
 
Their solution was to just stop making them and now all residential size
generators are 3600 RPM.  This of course means higher noise level and
shorter engine life.   We recently replaced an aging 1800 RPM generator that
worked great with a 4 kW inverter system, with the same model and size
generator now made with a 3600 RPM engine and had nothing but problems with
the inverter battery charging after the switch.  It appears the higher speed
engine just did not have the torque to handle the heavy start loads that the
1800 RPM engine easily handled.
 
Any other generator issues we should watch out for?  I ask because many new
clients that call us now already have a stand-by generator and many are
models and brands I have never seen before.
 
Which are easy and which are hard to remote control?
 
Thanks,
 
Jeff Yago

 
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