[RE-wrenches] In search of better generator start relay for Outback system

Fri Feb 9 16:12:25 PST 2024

Jay,

This has been my go to relay for the last 21 years, no failures. In all 
sorts of environmental conditions.
Unlike the generators they are supposed to start...but I digress...

Roy Butler
Four Winds Renewable Energy, LLC

Education is when you read the fine print; experience is what you get when you don’t.

“The less people know, the more stubbornly they know it.”

Although no trees were killed in the sending of this message,
a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced.

On 2/9/2024 7:00 PM, Jay via RE-wrenches wrote:
> I would use a sealed relay.
>
> The SS one should work. Or a 12v cube relay like in cars.
> Super cheap and reliable
>
> Jay
>
> 31CBOICBnYL._SR600,315_PIWhiteStrip,BottomLeft,0,35_PIStarRatingFOURANDHALF,BottomLeft,360,-6_SR600,315_ZA892,445,290,400,400,AmazonEmberBold,12,4,0,0,5_SCLZZZZZZZ_FMpng_BG255,255,255.jpg 
>
> BOSCH 0332209150 Changeover Mini Relay - 5 Pins, 12 V, 20/30 A - 
> Single 
> <https://www.amazon.com/Bosch-0332209150-Fuel-Injection-Relay/dp/B004Z0U1IW/ref=asc_df_B004Z0U1IW/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=366288796258&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9637219655584602788&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9030399&hvtargid=pla-310538454416&psc=1&mcid=e8c1e56604c837b8a724b0ee0121156d&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=83058288464&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=366288796258&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9637219655584602788&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9030399&hvtargid=pla-310538454416>
> amazon.com 
> <https://www.amazon.com/Bosch-0332209150-Fuel-Injection-Relay/dp/B004Z0U1IW/ref=asc_df_B004Z0U1IW/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=366288796258&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9637219655584602788&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9030399&hvtargid=pla-310538454416&psc=1&mcid=e8c1e56604c837b8a724b0ee0121156d&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=83058288464&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=366288796258&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9637219655584602788&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9030399&hvtargid=pla-310538454416>
>
> <https://www.amazon.com/Bosch-0332209150-Fuel-Injection-Relay/dp/B004Z0U1IW/ref=asc_df_B004Z0U1IW/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=366288796258&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9637219655584602788&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9030399&hvtargid=pla-310538454416&psc=1&mcid=e8c1e56604c837b8a724b0ee0121156d&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=83058288464&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=366288796258&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9637219655584602788&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9030399&hvtargid=pla-310538454416>
>
>
>> On Feb 9, 2024, at 12:55 PM, William Miller via RE-wrenches 
>> <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:
>>
>> 
>>
>> Dan:
>>
>> I think a solid state relay is indicated here.  There are many out 
>> there.  Here is a link to one at Digikey:
>>
>> https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/wago-corporation/859-739/15520805
>>
>> The datasheet (attached) shows operating limits of -25 to 70 degree 
>> C.  There are other options at Digikey that work down to -40 degrees C.
>>
>> Good luck,
>>
>> William
>>
>> Miller Solar
>>
>> 17395 Oak Road, Atascadero, CA 93422
>>
>> 805-438-5600
>>
>> www.millersolar.com <http://www.millersolar.com/>
>>
>> CA Lic. 773985
>>
>> *From:*RE-wrenches [mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] 
>> *On Behalf Of *Dan Fink via RE-wrenches
>> *Sent:* Friday, February 9, 2024 9:28 AM
>> *To:* RE-wrenches
>> *Cc:* Dan Fink
>> *Subject:* [RE-wrenches] In search of better generator start relay 
>> for Outback system
>>
>> Esteemed Wrenches - Finally successfully troubleshot an intermittent 
>> AGS problem that has been nagging one of my remote-grid clients for 
>> 1.5 winters now. Of course it's a 4-hour drive from my office.
>>
>> During winter snowstorms (when they need the AGS the most of course) 
>> the generator had only about 50:50 chance of starting. So I'd travel 
>> to the site (sometimes just the client would do it and I'd guide him 
>> by phone), pull up the Gen menu on the Mate 3S, hit ON and it 
>> wouldn't start. No bueno. Walk up to the generator (propane with 
>> Honda engine) and verify it's on Auto. Start it with the main switch 
>> to ON, starts right up, so not a gen battery problem. Run it for an 
>> hour or so, stop it with the switch on the gen, put it back to Auto, 
>> and everything works perfectly from Mate 3S AGS for 1-2 
>> days, including remote start from OpticsRE. Then the problem 
>> (sometimes) comes up again when nobody is there.
>>
>> I just happened to hit the site at exactly the right time last week 
>> right as a big snowstorm was moving in, and was finally able to 
>> figure it out with really good raingear and a multimeter: The Outback 
>> Flexware remote gen start relay OBR-16-DIN was icing up internally, I 
>> had added it in the gen compartment when we upgraded the client from 
>> an old Trace SW  to an Outback (SW had a big AGS relay, Outback sent 
>> a 12VDC signal to trigger the external relay we added).
>>
>> DIAG - new Outback OBR-16-DIN relay would get frosty internally when 
>> high humidity snowstorms would move in, that's why it sometimes 
>> didn't work from the Mate 3S or OpticsRE. Run the gen for an hour, 
>> the internal gen compartment warms up, the frost melts off of the 
>> relay, then all the AGS from Mate 3S and OpticsRE works fine.
>>
>> Have any of all y'all run into this problem, and is there a more 
>> reliable relay to use that won't ice up? not outside exposed to 
>> weather, but inside the outside gen enclosure. I have zero space 
>> available in the VFX  MNDC enclosure in the house to put in the 
>> Flexware AGS relay, it would need a separate enclosure.
>>
>> The easiest solution I can see is just find a relay to fit into the 
>> gen compartment that does the same as the Outback version, but 
>> doesn't ice up.
>>
>> Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions.
>>
>> Dan Fink
>>
>> Owner, Buckville Energy Consulting LLC
>>
>> IREC Certified Instructor for PV and Small Wind Installation
>>
>> NABCEP Certified PV System Inspector
>>
>> NABCEP PV Associate
>>
>> d <mailto:dan.fink at greendustrialtraining.com>anbob88 at gmail.com
>>
>> 970-672-4342
>>
>>
>> <Wago SS Relay.pdf>
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>
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