[RE-wrenches] EG4 GridBOSS Generator Exercise

[Jason Szumlanski]

Seriously. It shouldn't be this hard. The site I just got burned on is
grid-tied, so generator exercise is even more important since it will
likely almost never run otherwise.

On a good note, Midnite released firmware for their AIO that allows you to
put the Gen on the Grid port for off-grid and still use the AGS function,
but it is limited. At least there is an exercise cycle and run time, but no
amps start and limited voltage start options.

EG4 does have manual start/auto off (what they call exercise), and
cooldown, but otherwise it's limited to V or SOC start/stop.


Jason Szumlanski
Principal Solar Designer | Florida Solar Design Group
NABCEP Certified Solar Professional (PVIP)
Florida State Certified Solar Contractor CVC56956
Florida Certified Electrical Contractor EC13013208




On Tue, Apr 7, 2026 at 4:51 PM jay via RE-wrenches <
re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:

> I really don’t know why AGS has been so hard with all these new inverter
> companies.  It is a massive weak point for true offgrid.
> I can hear the howls now, but most people want AGS.  Regardless many of
> those features below are also useful for manual start applications.
>
> I mean Trace had all this back in 1995 and nothing has changed in terms of
> what we want generator back up to do.
>
> Is there a AIO available today that have anything close to the list below?
>
> 2 and 3 wire start
> 24 hr, 2 hr, 15 minute volt/start time
> load start/start
> quiet time
> run time
> exercise period/time
> voltage input window
> hz input window
> manual start/stop
> manual start/auto shut off
> warm up
> cool down
> pre crank
> max crank
> post crank
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Apr 7, 2026, at 1:25 PM, Jason Szumlanski via RE-wrenches <
> re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:
>
> Here we go again with a manufacturer providing poor and misleading
> documentation. The EG4 GridBOSS manual says:
>
> *The GridBOSS should use start/stop relay 1 in the normally open
> connection. Start/stop relay 1 can be controlled manually or by battery
> SOC/voltage logic within the EG4® Monitor Center. The generator can also be
> configured with warm-up, cool-down, and exercise time.*
>
> I just learned that there is, in fact, no automatic scheduled generator
> exercise feature on the GridBOSS. This is a real problem because many
> generator controls disable the onboard exercise function when
> remote-start capability is enabled.
>
> So what is "exercise time" in EG4's world? Apparently, that means you can
> set a duration for the generator to run when you MANUALLY start the
> generator from the app.
>
> Hope this saves someone else a big headache, hours of research, and
> clueless tech support.
>
> Any thoughts on a simple external relay in parallel to accomplish this
> function? I was thinking about a Shelly connected to a smart load for
> power in the GridBOSS. It just needs to be a programmable relay to close on
> a schedule. How reliable are Shelly relays for scheduled tasks?
>
>
> Jason Szumlanski
> Principal Solar Designer | Florida Solar Design Group
> NABCEP Certified Solar Professional (PVIP)
> Florida State Certified Solar Contractor CVC56956
> Florida Certified Electrical Contractor EC13013208
>
>
> _______________________________________________
>
>
>
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