question

jacko avatar image
jacko asked

Can I slowly increase generator input current

We have an off grid system that has a 20kVa generator, we’ve set maximum input current at 58amps which it can handle comfortably, but it doesn’t like going from nothing to this in such a short space of time from signal to start there is a small delay then the load comes on very quickly would be really good if you could set it to rise from a low input to your final input limit over a period of time that could be set say a minute or two? Think it would be good for the health of all components in the system? Is this possible?

Generatorvoltage
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technomadia avatar image technomadia commented ·

It is not just for startup - I'd love to have the ability to drop the input current limit to cool down the generator too.

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3 Answers
boekel avatar image
boekel answered ·

There isn't a standard function for this in the Victron systems yet (hopefully it will be implemented in the feature), so we'll have to create a work around for now, like with using the 'ignore AC input' function.

I haven't tried it myself yet...but I think this should work to warm up the generator (for 4 minutes in this case)
slowly increasing the current is something I haven't tried yet, there are assistants to adjust charging current so there might be a way to accomplish this, albeit a little courser.



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jacko avatar image jacko commented ·

Thanks @Boekel this should be an improvement for the mean time hopfully a feature will be added in, it’s a bit harsh on the generator as it is.

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boekel avatar image boekel ♦ jacko commented ·

Yes I know, another trick I use is having a switch to decrease charging power, this is a manual switch, but as this client isn't using his generator more than a couple of times per season, it's good enough for now.

By the way, many generators have start/stop units that have a drive contact for a relay to engage after a warm-up time, if you use that (or just a timer starting when the generator starts) you could use one of the inputs of the Multi to set the 'ignore AC input' (or lower charge current, but existing AC-use will than load the genny) until the timer / generator control unit kicks in.

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petajoule avatar image petajoule boekel ♦ commented ·

As we stumbled across a similar (same?) problem, and the answer here was "Dynamic current limiter" - isn't that the same answer here also?

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Daniël Boekel (Victron Energy Staff) avatar image Daniël Boekel (Victron Energy Staff) ♦♦ petajoule commented ·

Hi @PetaJoule

No, totally different, we're talking about a warm-up / cool-down period.

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marc-heide avatar image
marc-heide answered ·

Is there already a fix for this?

I would like to have an option to increase from 0 to full load over the time of 15 minutes.

So that i van apply the load slowly on the generator.

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Tamz Rod avatar image
Tamz Rod answered ·

screenshot-2023-08-27-173728.jpgIm new to Victron and playing around with node red so i have an idea to slowly adjust the input current limit after you started the generator.

Here is the code for ramp up. i shall made a code for ramp down too.

if (flow.get("ramp") >= 0 && flow.get("ramp") < 1 && flow.get("rampstate") == 1) {
    flow.set("ramp", flow.get("ramp") + 0.01);
    var ramp = flow.get("ramp");
    msg.payload = ramp * 25; // change 25 to your variable of max current draw
} else {
    flow.set("rampstate", 0);
    return null;
}

return msg;

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Related Resources

Additional resources still need to be added for this topic

MultiPlus Generator FAQ

GX - Generator auto start/stop

Automatic Generator start/stop

 Hybrid Generators

Virtual switch - Generator start/stop

Additional resources still need to be added for this topic