Much cheaper in the medium term than a larger battery bank.
Before I go back to 32 cells, I would seriously consider a generator.
Diesel one as Suzi is also diesel. Maybe I come across one one day and pick it up for " 'n appel en 'n ui " as they say.
If you do, get the smallest one you need. If I had to do it again I would rather spend the same cash on a 2kW inverter gennie that sips fuel then a 6kW horrible wave output that drinks fuel. If you got solar don’t need much generator power to take up the slack
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As far as I know the small inverter types don’t play nicely with a MultiPlus, and definitely not with ESS, so you’re in for a reconfigure every time you want to use it.
Anyone have a different experience?
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I second this question.
Whilst I agree that a smaller generator is suitable. I’d also like to know if there is a “go-to” generator model out there that always plays nicely. ( Not a V-0-V model)
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And therein the crux to get that diesel gennie that is “plug and play”.
My generator took a few setting changes to get it to work with the multi because its frequency and voltage regulating is terrible, it would kick out a lot or wouldn’t connect. Another thing is that it doesn’t supply even close to its rated power. I would think a inverter gennie would be a much cleaner supply and connect easier to the multi.
I can’t answer the ESS question as I removed that setting when changing to off grid, so i just put gen power straight into the input and have set it on the multi that way.
Is there a way to disable ESS while generator is on. Maybe with the multis built in aux relay???
https://community.victronenergy.com/questions/35966/ess-and-generator-setup.html
looks like if you want grid and gen buy a quattro
edit: where are the mods i think we need a separate thread
Builders sells a 3.5kVA Diesel generator that I would imagine should work fine, but it’s a cool 20k.
Edit: The one thing I cannot see on the spec sheet is the operating RPM. What you want is an engine running at 1500RPM, with a 4-pole alternator (that gets you 50Hz), rather than the more typical petrol generator running at 3000rpm.
Hence the " appel en 'n ui " … 
Sometimes I sit and wonder … diesel-electric … I have a 280TD diesel engine in the garage, has “electric start” too.
… then I stop wondering and drink some coffee before it gets cold.
Apologies for editing those posts… but my OCD finally triggered too hard 
This is the generator. It has electric start, and with a Lithium battery nogal.
Also, BusinessInsider had an article about this some days ago.
It starts as low as R2000, for a little 2-stroke thing that I frankly think is Rubbish, up to 20k for the Diesel unit listed. There isn’t much below 10k though, and a lot of the stock would have sold out by now too.
My friend bought one of those 2-stroke cheapies at Builders and connected double conversion APC UPS to it to run their servers longer. Gennie is cheaper than the batt as you mentioned before too.
A few days later the APC’s died one by one. Batteries flat. The gennie killed their chargers, the chargers being uneconomical to repair too.
I have seen them, eyed them, and then saw their price. I like them … but Eskom really has to tick me off, the weather really has to be bad before I even consider talking to the wife about them.
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Hey! It is an “ei”, not “ui”. Though “ui” does make sense, it was originally an “ei” because I believe it is Dutch for “egg”. 
I’d only get a generator if I can safely install it. I.e., but just standing in my garage. Carbon monoxide poisoning is a real thing. So preferably an outbuilding with excellent ventilation.
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Apple and an Onion … Appel en 'n ui.
Haha I get that it means an apple and an onion, but the correct Afrikaans saying is " 'n appel en 'n ei", not " 'n appel en 'n ui" since it came from Dutch.
Unfortunately, I think a genny with sockets is highly likely to be V-0-V.
Why would V-0-V be a problem?
That’s actually right! I forgot. It is indeed “appel en 'n ei” in Afrikaans, and we inherited that from the Dutch. The Dutch also has “voor een scheet en drie knikkers” (for a fart and three marbles).
You can’t TN bond them, and then the Multi will not accept it as input. Technically you also cannot legally connect them to a house in South Africa, code requires that the supply must be bonded.
The reason you cannot bond them is that the 0 (in the middle) is sometimes already bonded to the chassis of the generator. If you bond one of the V-legs (which you could), then there will be a 115V difference between earth and the chassis of the generator.
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But if the chassis is only at 115V it is not that bad, it’s like ¼ the shock you get from 230V. 