Hello from Maine

I'm assuming I can just set the dc charging current to "x" to at least control that part of what comes in from the ac side... in this case 60a @~52v or so, and as my current household loads typically equal less than 300w, (unless the pump kicks on @ ~1kw, still well within the inverter specs) there shouldn't be any problems. I could also just bring the generator into a small sub panel with a 25a breaker to feed the inverter as well.   When I get these batteries in, I have to calibrate them by bringing them up to a 100% Soc, then discharge completely, then charge to 100% again, which will calibrate the amp meter and "fuel gauge" led strip on the chassis of the units. So I'm going to do that with the inverter, and just keep an eye on the voltage I guess, to determine when they are full.

By the way, my plan was to use a 250a breaker with 4/0 wiring... do you suggest using a fuse as well (400a if so?)

Correct.  Currently a "0-100%" scale, though if you have a DC clamp meter (or amperage gauge) on the battery lines, you'll easily be able to determine the current.

Everything else (i.e. input current limit / load sharing, etc.) will throttle DOWN from the "Charge Amps" setting as needed.

Breaker sounds good to me; I personally like breakers over fuses: they're re-useable!  Worth noting that some customers have reported some DC-rated breakers tripping at lower loads than expected; technically, a 250A breaker is (48v * 250A) = 12,000W so more than sufficient.  Definitely better than a 400A fuse...

Also keep in mind that for 48v you'll need to make sure any and all breakers/fuses are rated for at least 60vDC (or whatever your highest battery voltage is).  Down at 12-24v (up to 30vDC usually) you can use just about any breaker/fuse (AC or DC rated) and be just fine.  Beyond 30vDC, you need properly rated fuses/breakers...so when they trip, they don't burst into flames.  (Breaker polarity also becomes important as well.)

i use all midnite breakers, which are rated @125v and for the pv ones, 600v.  I do happen to have a 175a 125v breaker already, but I'm thinking that is a tad small. The 250a it's pretty expensive, at like $120 or so, but far less expensive than replacing an inverter I guess.

43 minutes ago, BlackWaterPark said:

I do happen to have a 175a 125v breaker already, but I'm thinking that is a tad small.

It's mathematically right in the ballpark...175A * 48v = 8,400W, give a 20% derate is 6,720W.  Battery float voltage is usually closer to (53v * 175A) = 9,275W * 80% = 7,420W

...I'd say try the breaker you have already, see if it works 😉.  Worst case it'll be too trigger happy.

45 minutes ago, BlackWaterPark said:

The 250a it's pretty expensive, at like $120 or so, but far less expensive than replacing an inverter I guess.

Have to say that the breakers are more for protecting your battery bank and/or surroundings in the event of a system failure...as well as making it easy to shut power off if you want to adjust something.

1 hour ago, Sid Genetry Solar said:

Have to say that the breakers are more for protecting your battery bank and/or surroundings in the event of a system failure

Oh, yea, definitely so... BUT, were my house to burn down from said failure, I'd also be out a shiny new inverter on top of everything else.

Btw, do you guys provide a shipping notice? Or have a guesstimate of when the unit will ship, for that matter?

SHOULD ship within a week, and I believe you should get an email indicating it's shipped.  Sean's a 1-man show trying to man the phones + build and ship inverters, etc., etc....yeah, starting up isn't fun 😉.

Hey Sid, I've gone ahead and purchased a Cummings Onan generator, specifically the 9500DF model. It's a push button start, and I've attached the manual herein.  The last couple pages (parts breakdown mostly) might contain the info you would be looking for in regards to integration with the inverters ags functions.

1 hour ago, BlackWaterPark said:

Hey Sid, I've gone ahead and purchased a Cummings Onan generator, specifically the 9500DF model. It's a push button start, and I've attached the manual herein.  The last couple pages (parts breakdown mostly) might contain the info you would be looking for in regards to integration with the inverters ags functions.

cummins-onan-4df06436a4bff9907102ad2da561c48c.pdf

OK.  They don't make it easy (surprise, surprise!)  The single button performing both start and stop functions is difficult to handle--though not impossible (i.e. use the AC input and a timed delay to determine if the generator's on or off).

Did some digging around...turns out that the Cummings genset is a rebranded Westinghouse--so in otherwords a rebadged product.  Apparently their "SmartSwitch" connector also has the same "push on / push off" button signal.  Here's a rather informative Reddit thread that also links the connector you'd need to buy to fit the port:

This is workable.  I will need to add another genstart function to GS inverters for the push-on / push-off methodology (i.e. using AC Input to determine whether the gen is on or off.)

Let's not even mention the totally ridiculous price of the official "ST Switch"...$470 for THAT???!?

Another option would be to solder wires to the buttons on the remote control...which might be attractive in its own right (i.e. generator can be located some distance and in a different environment from the inverter without having to snake a wire between the 2).  I have had one of those remotes from another customer cross my desk, and both buttons go to a common power rail on the remote--making it relatively trivial to have the Genetry inverter relays just "push" the start or stop buttons as needed (function already implemented in software.)

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Note that the connector on the end of this cable is a mini-XLR...that's for the 1st gen GS inverters.  Current GS inverters ship with a 5.08mm Phoenix connector...which is removable in case you want to take the remote somewhere else.

P.S. Had fun reading through that Reddit thread, how absolutely UNCUSTOMIZABLE the Aims and other inverters are: "So do you want genstart at 10.0v or 10.5v?" 

lol, somehow, I *knew* I had arrived at the right place here.  You the MAN!  I didn't even expect to hear much on this from you because you were presumedly writing new code and shit.  

I realized, post purchase, that this genset was a rebrand, with a chonda engine, when I (like an idiot) presumed I was getting an actual Cummings US built engine, but was ultimately reassured by my father in law (who has deep knowledge of such things) that is actually an excellent engine.  I guess we will see.  I read the whole user manual for the GS6k last night, and I've got to say, it's supremely refreshing to see such naked honesty. It was an enjoyable read, so far as manuals go, so good job.

I've got another question, as I was reading specs that i should have read before buying the generator... the thd rating is pretty abysmal, at something like 23%... so I had to wonder that, when going through the GS6 transformer, does the inverter happen to clean that up at all?

Will the inverter clean up THD...I honestly don't know.

The AC output caps are 10uF/phase, which might help quite a bit.  Otherwise it's basically just a pass-thru device when connected to AC input.  It'd probably clean it up a tad more in 120v mode than 240v mode (as the transformer has to do more work in 120v mode), but...

...you'll be able to see the input waveform from the on-board 'scope anyway 😉.

Gonna have to update that big time...that is, AFTER I finish the serious Rev. C feature updates/upgrades....

Well, that's the theory anyway.  Some days I spend more time handling forum/customer contact than getting actual work done...

...haven't gotten a whole lot done today, but I was focusing on the mode switching changes, and then digging into the necessary current sensor calibration functions--after which I have to rewrite the functions for power handling...

Hey, so in setting up this inverter to the generator input, I'm a little confused by the manual. Am I not using the neutral at all for the 240v input?

Manual was written before the Rev. C control board upgrade...so those "backfeed issues" do not apply to your inverter.  (Check the STAT page on the LCD to verify that you have a Rev. C board).

Rev. A.1 / B could only disconnect L1.  Rev. C has a 2-pole relay that disconnects BOTH L1 and L2--and as such, you can safely tie the generator neutral to the panel neutral and/or inverter output neutral.

If you don't provide the generator neutral, the inverter transformer will generate the Neutral.

Hey, so I've got the inverter hooked up finally to a Kilo vault hab battery, and when I throw the main breaker, the fan on the unit will start up for a second and die down, and then when I push the power on, the light is red, and the fan will attempt to power back on, but then the unit will shut itself off... Any ideas?

Don't rack your brain over this one, lol... The batteries had a very specific protocol for the starting up sequence, in order to do a proper precharge.  It's all working as it should now.

Ha.  Glad to hear that.

Obviously, it's real busy around this time of the year for us, so I'm not likely to get much progress on the GS inverter firmware until January.  But I do definitely hope to get the "Toggle" genstart option implemented, as well as numerous fixes/improvements, etc. with the PFC charge and more.