To my limited mind, the whole 120V sunny island setup is a disaster. Why not install a DC coupled 8KW Outback Radian and solve all your problems. USe any 240V generator, although finding a 2 wire start gasoline unit may be hard. I would use a Nexus controller generac propane generator with propane tank, all mounted on the container. I would never design anything to use gasoline, it's too dangerous.
On Fri, Jun 16, 2017 at 7:19 AM, Matthew Sirum <matthewsi...@gmail.com> wrote: > Greetings August, > > Great thoughts and comments from Brian! I would also suggest speaking > with the generator manufacturers' tech/engineering folks regarding the > 120VAC configuration and to confirm 2-wire start set up once you have > a brand and model or two in mind. Generator parts and service > availability in the region of the project may also drive brand > selection. If you need to maximize the inverter's battery charging > capabilities (depending on battery system charging requirements) you > may end up needing to look at generators in the 7.5 kW to 8.0 kW > capacity range to allow for headroom in generator output loading. > > Also; I am curious how you arrived at an AC coupled design for this > project. I do not know any of the details or specific projects goals > you are working with, but I would potentially consider a DC coupled > system design... DC/DC charge controller(s) would keep the battery > system charged (and any DC loads operable) even if the Sunny Island > and/or Sunny Boy(s) have a failure or is taken offline. If most of > the AC loads are 120VAC I would consider keeping the inverter AC > output circuit 120VAC and install a dedicated transformer solely for > the 240VAC load.... Or perhaps consider a 120/240VAC inverter model. > Depending on the overall situation a DC coupled system could be more > resilient. The dedicated transformer for the 240VAC load could also > potentially help make the system more robust. Also; I have spoken > with a number of folks who have told me they wish the Sunny Island had > more/better features for generator integration. I'd like to hear more > from those who have plenty of experience designing and installing > systems with Sunny Islands and generators to learn what the current > thoughts and issues are. > > I hope some of these thoughts may be helpful. > > Best regards, > > ----MATT > > Matthew Sirum > P.O. Box 1227 > Greenfield, MA 01302-1227 USA > phone: +1.413.773.0611 > email: matthewsi...@gmail.com > > > -------- Original Message Below -------- > > [RE-wrenches] Generator choice for Sunny Island > August Goers august at luminalt.com > Thu Jun 15 09:02:41 PDT 2017 > > Hi Wrenches, especially those of you who work on off-grid projects, > > We have an upcoming off-grid project where we will be powering a storage > container with electronics in it. The loads are mostly 120 volt but there > is a 240 volt heat pump that might occasionally run. We’re AC coupling the > Sunny Island with a Sunny Boy PV inverter. So, we’ll be installing a > Outback PSX-240 autoformer to bump the Sunny Island’s output from 120 to > 240 volt. > > We need to select a generator for backup. We need a two-wire electric start > (in order to be controlled by the Sunny Island) and preferably a generator > that is okay just running 120 volt loads since the Sunny Islands input is > only 120 volt. Something in the 3 kVA -7 kVA range should be fine. > > Does anyone have experience or ideas about what kind of two-wire start > generator we might select? > > Thanks, > > August > > Luminalt > _______________________________________________ > List sponsored by Redwood Alliance > > List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org > > Change listserver email address & settings: > http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org > > List-Archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches. > org/maillist.html > > List rules & etiquette: > www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm > > Check out or update participant bios: > www.members.re-wrenches.org > > -- Chris Mason NABCEP Certified Solar PV Installer™ Solar Design Engineer Generac Generators Industrial technician www.cometsolar.com <http://www.cometenergysystems.com> 264.235.5670 869.662.5670 Skype: netconcepts
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