[RE-wrenches] Gen start

penobscotsolar at midmaine.com penobscotsolar at midmaine.com
Mon Feb 27 11:48:29 PST 2012


I appreciate that William. The problem is that the system is in Culebra,
an island off Puerto Rico. The homeowner is only there for a week at a
time about four or five times a year. It gets regular and complete
charging from the 5 kw array. The problem is that his AGS is starting the
generator all the time, resulting in high propane bills. I have defaulted
and reprogrammed (we have many Outback systems out there with AGS
programmed that work fine with the settings I am using) several times and
still the genny starts at unusual and unnecessary times.
I didn't install this system, but I did check the connections on the relay
for shorts that might inadvertently start the gennie as well as give the
system a good going-over in general. This is a perfect situation for a
simple, analog type gen start module that can simply start the genny when
the batteries truly get low (rarely) and run for four or five hours until
the sun rises again.
These island installations, where homeowners are absent for extended
periods of time,  benefit from a simple AGS like what it seems the Magnum
is. I do understand your logic with systems that rely much more often on
the generator for charging, this particular system just isn't one of them.
It's an uncommon situation in the US, but one I'm seeing more and more of
in the Caribbean, where sun is long and owners are often absent for long
periods of time......

Thanks,
Daryl



> Daryl:
>
> Every time I blame the Outback AGS for generator start problems, further
> research has proven that the problem was with other equipment.  I have
> come
> to trust the Outback AGS. I suggest you investigate if the battery voltage
> is unstable due to defective battery or connections or if the generator
> can
> not sustain a long enough run cycle to complete a full charge
> cycle.  Update your Mate before you do anything else. I carry spares in my
> truck so I can always leave a unit with the current F/W.
>
> Using an AGS unit that does not communicate with the charging system robs
> you of that valuable integration with the charging cycle.  An outboard AGS
> will never know when a charge cycle is complete.
>
> William
>
>
>
>
> At 10:39 AM 2/27/2012, you wrote:
>>I'm going to try the Magnum ME-AGS-S. Thanks for the recommendations,
>> guys!
>>
>>Daryl
>
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