question

dhoodhat avatar image
dhoodhat asked

Can a generator be connected to charge batteries

Multiplus48I 5000 I70

4 batteries agm 12-230 supercycle

MPPT 250 i 100 - tr

20 solar panels @300w each

bmv 700 battery monitor

Can a generator be set up on this system to charge the batteries during load shedding when solar yield is poor? This system i have charges the battery by solar and if insufficient grid supplies difference.

Generator
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2 Answers
Alexandra avatar image
Alexandra answered ·

Yes it can, we usually have a change over switch in at the AC/Grid feed side so we can select between Grid or Generator. Since I do not know how your multi is set up, just one note, generators are a little more unstable frequency wise and some, if undersized, cannot take the load of the multi so some settings in the multi's config may need to change.

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dhoodhat avatar image
dhoodhat answered ·

My installer says that I would need the Quattro, and that connecting a generator would invalidate the warranty on the batteries and multiplus.Is this correct?

My system is set up so that the solar charges my 4 batteries (batteries are 100% all the time) and only used during load shedding or when no grid power. So if solar is insufficient to charge batteries to 100% then grid power will keep them charged fully.

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Alexandra avatar image Alexandra ♦ commented ·

I cannot answer for your installer, I can say our warranty is still valid, we have a good relationship with our local distributor and had discussed the set up with them. The Multi is set to control how batteries are charged and for how long so batteries being destroyed by bad charging should not be an issue from the generator.

The Multi treats the Generator as if it was grid through the changeover switch. Maybe your installer is concerned about the power quality from the Genset you are considering?

A Quattro is easier to set up in terms of inputs and allows each input to be programmed differently, this does reduce user related mistakes/ issues. We usually just use the colour control to drop the current draw from the generator (as we have a small one) and use a changeover switch when we want to chrage up or aid the solar for loads.

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