word to the generator

t00ls · March 2018

just some rambling about generators....having bad luck with them and all.

bought a used one 3050 rated watts 3 years ago, chicago electric...still runs great after cleaning the carb....had some dirt in the little holes , still use it as backup

bought a new durostar ds4400e they sell them as 4000 watt but are rated at 3200, thought I was getting a deal
got it because it was electric start to use with the AGS I bought and also got a propane adapter to go on it
this worked great for about 3 months then the exhaust valve kept getting out of adjustment and it was blowing a lot of oil into the carb filter
also, the low wattage wouldnt let me do the gen support...whenever the refrigerator would come on it would kick the generator off and have to re-qualify the input

soooooo

I bought a used 7000 watt generator made by Reddy of desa international..had a honda 13hp motor that I adapted for propane....needed a little TLC but after I got it going it ran great and it didnt get kicked off the inverter when the fridge came on

I screwed up thinking I hooked the AGS up right.....somehow I managed to by-pass the low oil shutoff...possibly because how the electric start key switch works on hondas...anyways, I got new parts and rebuilt the motor, ,an it was running good
somehow.....the crankcase vibrated all the cover bolts loose.....lost its oil....and I still didnt get the low oil shutoff hooked up right...almost ruined the motor, but I caught it in time

tightened all the bolts, put oil in it.....running great again.......oil on the floor again, ...checked all the bolts, all of them tight.....look for a hole in the case...nothing
only thing I can figure is one of the crankshaft seals popped out ( havent torn back into it yet )

meanwhile, I needed a generator to charge the batteries on cloudy days....so I put the DS4400e back into service until I got another generator or rebuilt the Reddy honda motor again...which I will do eventually for a good backup to the one I have now.....

so yesterday march 30 2018 I bought a used generator from a pawn shop for $500, guy let me hear it run and test the voltage....great generator

it's a tsurumi TPG-7000H DXE....I never even heard of them....still has a 13hp honda, which I havent adapted to propane yet, but will soon

so, ...filled it up with gas as I was headed home with it in the back of the truck got it in the shed and hooked up, ran for several hours last night to cover heating my water with the hot water heater...got up this morning and went to do some high load stuff before the sun was up.....ran great
all of the sudden I hear it sputtering.....first thing I thought , low oil...scared me.....but I dont have it hooked up to the AGS yet.....so , I checked the oil...it's full, checked the gas, it's full ( still ) , so I sprayed starting fluid into the carb while cranking......started right up, then died again

by this time I am frustrated, so I take the carb off and clean it...thought maybe the little holes were clogged on this one...nope

last thing to do was to drain the carb again...this time I used a clear bowl.....water was in the gas.....so I drain it for a bit...still not clearing up ... so I take the fuel line off....I drained half a gallon of gas out...well gas and water
1 quart of water and 1 quart of gas.....put the fuel line back on and it started up fine still running as I write this

heres what has me puzzled........how did the thing run so good for several hours after I filled up at the gas station and then today just suddenly have water in it
did the water come from the gas station or was it already in the tank.........if it was already in the tank...why did it run so good for several hours??????

which brings me to another issue of off grid power......security.........need to make sure your equipment is secure......maybe...just maybe someone poured water in my tank........remember, the tank was still full this morning after it ran for a while last night, and I do have some people that dont like me......and I was gone from home for several hours last night after I shut the generator off

either way...it is a mystery .....guess I will have to upgrade my security cameras to include a camera where my inverter and generator are so I will have facts and not assume someone is out to get me

hope you have enjoyed this segment of off grid life...stay tuned for the next adventure, as I'm sure something else will happen....I'm just lucky like that

t00ls · March 2018

pinging dave angelini

I have a question for you or anyone else...also to do with bad luck

my xw4548 has been giving me F63 and kicks the battery breaker off
when it does this, the only way I can get the inverter to stay on is to start the generator ....let it qualify and then clear the code

after I clear the code, the system control panel reports that it is putting in 290 amps....not a typo.....290 amps

it will do this for a while , then all of the sudden it will go back to normal and report the real amps

do you have any idea what would cause this

F63 is ac overload.....but when it happens, I'm not using any anything sometimes

thoughts anyone

Estragon · March 2018

I don't know much about that inverter, but absent evidence to the contrary, I'd assume an AC short somewhere.

Estragon · March 2018

That it apparently works with genny power, maybe a transfer switch problem? AGS wiring?

t00ls · March 2018

Estragon said:

I don't know much about that inverter, but absent evidence to the contrary, I'd assume an AC short somewhere.

nope...I can shut off the breaker that is right out of the inverter and it still does it ...even if the wires are unhooked from the inverter, it still does it

if I disable the inverter right after I turn it back on...it doesnt give the fault, re-enable and it does it again

I have tried all manner of shutting it down, while in standby....while holding the power button...you name it, I tried it

I have disassembled the entire inverter and clean it out with air...put it back together...does the same thing

tried re-flashing the firmware 3 times....didnt help....using new and old firmware, neither makes a difference

t00ls · March 2018

did it again a few minutes ago before I started writing these last 2 comments

kept working with it....finally got it to stay on with no fault and without having to start the generator

I will see how long this last

Estragon · March 2018

If it's doing it with no external ac wiring attached, that kind of suggests an internal ac short, such as the transfer switch?

Dave Angelini · April 2018

Estragon said:

If it's doing it with no external ac wiring attached, that kind of suggests an internal ac short, such as the transfer switch?

Yes and a few other things...

mcgivor · April 2018

t00ls said:

pinging dave angelini

I have a question for you or anyone else...also to do with bad luck

my xw4548 has been giving me F63 and kicks the battery breaker off
when it does this, the only way I can get the inverter to stay on is to start the generator ....let it qualify and then clear the code

after I clear the code, the system control panel reports that it is putting in 290 amps....not a typo.....290 amps

it will do this for a while , then all of the sudden it will go back to normal and report the real amps

do you have any idea what would cause this

F63 is ac overload.....but when it happens, I'm not using any anything sometimes

thoughts anyone

What settings do you have for AC input breaker size, charging % and battery capacity? Out of curiosity.

t00ls · April 2018

well as far as settings, it really doesnt matter.....it does it with default settings or custom settings

anyways, I just got back home, 1:30 am....power was out again so I decided after I got the power back on to look at the logs

the logs show the MPPT charger having a battery over current then right after the inverter has the ac voltage over current

could the batteries be causing this problem

mcgivor · April 2018

There may be a sensor with an intermittent fault, the maximum charging current is 100A, so unlikely to be actual current if 290A is what's displayed, do you have a clamp on DC ammeter with max/min recording to confirm what actual values are?

Estragon · April 2018

Are the batteries charged? It couldn't hurt to check individual battery and string voltages with a multimeter.

Dave Angelini · April 2018

I seem to remember that you are offgrid right?
There are a few types of battery failure that can do some very weird things. I would think if you have spent the time take the XW apart that the battery would be off the list. If you have 2V cells it is easier to do certain troubleshooting. There are faults and warnings and escalating faults that should show up in the combox. I attached a normal boot that happens every night at 3:05 am. If you see other things here it is telling you clues.

The internal transfer relays and its logic are prime suspects especially with lots of generator use.
The Power bridge could also be letting go.
The control and monitoring board could be intermittent.
There are 2 AC filter pcbs and a DC filter that if not working might be causing issues.

Honestly if you are offgrid you can't take this kind of failure with an inverter.
When I cross this bridge with a client, they pay me to bring my PCB's and pay time, travel and materials.
The system is repairable in blocks.

Back to honesty... I tell people that are offgrid it is most cost effective to buy a new unit and pay to have the old one repaired and either keep it as a spare or sell it. I also tell folks to never buy a used inverter. Good Luck!

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6024911/uploads/editor/4o/q8a587cotpwd.png

Estragon · April 2018

Does the xw do parallel master/slave stacking? If so, there's a lot to be said for Dave's suggestion of getting a new one and having the problem one repaired.

With my stack, there's no worries if multiple big loads happen at the same time, and in the event one inverter fails, it's just a question of switching the master designation to get the lights back on. FWIW.

Dave Angelini · April 2018

XW is split phase NA, but multiple units can be stacked.

t00ls · April 2018

Dave Angelini o have the old one repaired and either keep it as a spare or sell it. I also tell folks to never buy a used inverter. Good Luck!

LOL at never buy a used inverter.....keep the old unit or SELL it
ya killin me

Dave Angelini · April 2018

Bette Midler line from the Rose, "wake me when the killin starts"

word to the generator

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