XW6048 - Possible to Disable Generator Pass-through?

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fowlerrudi
fowlerrudi Solar Expert Posts: 37 ✭✭
Hey folks,
Does anyone know if it is possible to disable generator pass through mode on my xw? When my battery is low I fire up a 5500 watt gas genny. It first takes care of the loads in the house then charges with the rest. I want to have it not run the house, but only charge the battery. Main reason is dirty generator power. Other reason is because it can't handle big loads. I charge at the rated 5500 watts, 300 might go to the house and the rest to the battery. When the water pump kicks in it loads up genny and it might kick out for a bit but will retry and come back. If I set my max charge rate down this won't happen but then I only get the generator partially loaded for most of its run time. Of course I dont want to hear it twice as long either. Possible?

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  • Cariboocoot
    Cariboocoot Banned Posts: 17,615 ✭✭✭
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    Re: XW6048 - Possible to Disable Generator Pass-through?

    Simple: shut off the loads.

    If you need it to be automatic, install a relay activated by the generator output to disconnect loads (such as the water pump) so they can't come on when the gen is supplying power.
  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,439 admin
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    Re: XW6048 - Possible to Disable Generator Pass-through?

    It should have generator support... Basically program the inverter to the maximum rated current of the genset (or a little less), and the inverter should share power "appropriately). Basically, if the loads are less than the generator output, then the excess available energy goes to charging the battery bank. If the output load exceeds the generator rating, the inverter pulls extra power from the battery bank to support the loads.

    If your generator power is "too dirty"--Then you probably need a second AC to DC battery charger to recharge the battery bank directly. I do not think that XW can isolate the generator output from powering the loads (same circuits in the XW do both charging and inverting). If the XW thinks the generator is "too dirty" (voltage/frequency out of spec), it probably just turns of the generator input until it is stable again.

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
  • Cariboocoot
    Cariboocoot Banned Posts: 17,615 ✭✭✭
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    Re: XW6048 - Possible to Disable Generator Pass-through?

    Note that the AC2 connection on an XW is for generator input and should have broader acceptance specifications (Voltage and frequency range) than AC1 which is meant for grid connection.
  • mike95490
    mike95490 Solar Expert Posts: 9,583 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Re: XW6048 - Possible to Disable Generator Pass-through?
    fowlerrudi wrote: »
    Hey folks,
    Does anyone know if it is possible to disable generator pass through mode on my xw? When my battery is low I fire up a 5500 watt gas genny. It first takes care of the loads in the house then charges with the rest. I want to have it not run the house, but only charge the battery. Main reason is dirty generator power. Other reason is because it can't handle big loads. I charge at the rated 5500 watts, 300 might go to the house and the rest to the battery. When the water pump kicks in it loads up genny and it might kick out for a bit but will retry and come back. If I set my max charge rate down this won't happen but then I only get the generator partially loaded for most of its run time. Of course I dont want to hear it twice as long either. Possible?

    If your generator power is dirty, I doubt the XW would qualify it. What makes you think it's dirty? AC2 input is more relaxed to allow generator, AC1 is closer to grid specs.
    But you should be able to enable Gen Support via the SCP or the Combox. Xantrex has some odd limitations/assumptions, to keep you from using all your generator power, eventually, reading through the appendix of the manual, you find the AC2 breaker setting limits power to 20% of what you put in, and then gen support adds another 20%. The way I was able to power and charge with my generator (3Kw antique diesel at 1400' elevation, wants to be loaded or it carbons up). I use the following settings to get a solid 2700w load on the genset. AC2 19.5A Gen support 13.1A Battery charge 40A Any power not going into loads, is used for charging, my normal base loads limit my charging to about 35A. any loads exceeding the capacity of the generator, get assisted by the inverter, inverting. When loads drop, charging resumes. To load your generator to it's continuous rating, you will have to fiddle around with things a bit. I did it by kicking the AC2 breaker setting to 40A, loading the charger up, and ratcheting down the AC2 setting till the charge dropped off. Then the same with Gen Support setting. Now that it's dialed in, and when the diesel is warm, the wife can put the toast in the toaster, reheat coffee in the microwave, and I just watch the meters swing around + or - on the Combox monitor.
    Wintertime, I have to occasionally run the pump to refill 6,000 gallon tanks, and it's from the genset, and battery charging gets the rest.
    Powerfab top of pole PV mount | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
    || Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
    || VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A

    solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
    gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Lister ,