Running 2 Honda Generators in Parallel

I've been building my 48 volt system for the better part of a year, learning as I go. I learned quite a bit just lurking here before I officially joined. My system is up and running as of this past weekend, consisting of 1.6kw of panels (soon to be 3.2kw), an AIMS 6,000 watt inverter charger, 9.6kwh of hybrid gel batteries. I do have grid power on the property, but am looking to discontinue using it completely. Currently is is only used for my laundry, well pump, and RV. My cabin is completely running on the solar.
In order to feel confident ditching the grid power, I'd like to have a generator, which is far more reliable than our grid anyway. I'm looking at the Honda EU2200ITA1. It produces 1800 rated, 2200 surge watts. It is capable of being paralleled. Ok, enough rambling, here's my question:
If I get 2 of them and run them in parallel, will I get exactly double the watts? Can my inverter start both of them, or does one start the other? I need over 3000 watts going to the inverter to get it to charge the batteries, so 2 of these seems ideal. Why 2? I'll be completely off-grid, so redundancy is very important. I appreciate any answers/input/advice for my scenario. Thanks!
In order to feel confident ditching the grid power, I'd like to have a generator, which is far more reliable than our grid anyway. I'm looking at the Honda EU2200ITA1. It produces 1800 rated, 2200 surge watts. It is capable of being paralleled. Ok, enough rambling, here's my question:
If I get 2 of them and run them in parallel, will I get exactly double the watts? Can my inverter start both of them, or does one start the other? I need over 3000 watts going to the inverter to get it to charge the batteries, so 2 of these seems ideal. Why 2? I'll be completely off-grid, so redundancy is very important. I appreciate any answers/input/advice for my scenario. Thanks!
Comments
My cost without using a watt is $25/month. That does seem like a small price to pay given the considerations you mentioned, however the physical location of the power on my property (800 feet or so) from my inverter would make it expensive to get power there. Probably cheaper to buy a generator than to do that.
Another thing I didn't think about until reading your response is that our very rural area is maxed out on grid power, so no new construction on the property between mine and the county road unless I let them pull from my transformer. If I ditch it, that opens up the possibility of building where I'd rather not have it.
I looked at so many generators, I just got mixed up. I don't mind pull starting it, but would prefer remote electric start. Back to the drawing board on that. You make a good point for a manual start one.
I was under the impression that inverter generators provided much cleaner power that is necessary for input to an inverter charger. I can make as much noise as I want, nobody nearby. I often run a loud generator for power demands around the property.
My inverter manual states that it needs 25 amps (3,000 watts) to charge the batteries as long as there is no load on the inverter. So, I'd like to have at least 4,000 watts so I can use a little power while running the generator if necessary. For full power availability while charging batteries, I would need 75 amps, or 9,000 watts, but that isn't necessary. Honestly a couple grand for a generator is pretty minor compared to what I've invested in solar.
I'm not concerned about resale. Anybody living out in the boonies where I am would not be your "average" person, and solar would likely be a selling point.
My battery bank is rated to take up to 60 amps charge. 4S2P. I wont give it more than about 30. They are the new Renogy AGM GEL batteries. It is all up and running fine for the past week, so I'm not looking to upgrade yet, and I do prefer separate components. That just seems like a better idea off grid to me. I am also running 2 charge controllers, again for the redundancy.
My "grid" only consists of an RV pedestal that I had installed when I bought the property, which was vacant desert land. Now that I've finished building my cabin, I'm not using the RV.
Thank you Bill, you gave me some great things to think about.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Southwire-500-ft-4-0-4-0-4-0-Black-Stranded-AL-Monmouth-URD-Cable-55418321/202562800
And if you go with 3% maximum drop @ 800 feet, roughly:
https://www.calculator.net/voltage-drop-calculator.html?material=aluminum&wiresize=0.1608&voltage=240&phase=ac&noofconductor=1&distance=800&distanceunit=feet&eres=60&x=0&y=0
60 Amps will give around 3.1% drop (aluminum 4/0) @ 240 VAC (14 kWatt).
Of course, if you have rocky ground, that may not be an easy dig (or other environmental issues).
Ideally, it would be nice to run a higher voltage from the pole to your home and drop to 120/240 VAC with a local transformer outside--But that depends on what you need/want/$$$ spent/local codes/etc.
Inverter generators are nice--Very stable AC frequency. However they usually supply less surge current and have a bit more losses at high loading. With modern electronics these days, frequency is not usually a big issue (modern electronics generally change from AC to DC power anyway for computers, TVs, etc.).
And most AC inverter-chargers will open up the frequency to 60 +/- 5 Hz or so--Which most generic modern AC generators (non-inverter type) can support.
This is a very interesting read... It is about Movie Lighting and Equipment running on generators:
http://www.screenlightandgrip.com/html/emailnewsletter_generators.html
Keeping the RV connection at the edge of your property may be great for guest hook-up too. Possibly a shop/outbuilding/garage in the future?
-Bill
AND
If the inverter can provide 240VAC, your generator usually needs to be a 240V version.
If you need over 3kw for charging, and you can config the inverter to use relaxed input window, then may as well get a conventional 4 or 5kw generator with electric start, and maybe you want a small harbor freight inverter generator if you need something small for a pot of coffee...
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