OK my installer still needs come out this week to have a look again but for one or other reason we can not get the Generator to work correctly. As soon as I switch from Grid(AC1) to Generator(AC2) power to the house from the quattro is cut and the generator power is only used for charging the battery. LOM detection is disabled. We played around with many settings like UPS function, power assist, Dynamic current limiter, weak AC etc. but no joy. It is a bit of a bummer because I sepcifically asked for the Quattro to be able to have 2 AC sources. Ohh the Quattro is the 10kva model if it is relevant at all. Generator is connected direct so no relay or self start.
Welcome Louis.
Hehehe thanks.
Hello there.
Enable Weak Ac Input on the charger tab.
Edit : Whoops, seems like you already tried this.
No sweat. I have tried it before but maybe it is a combination of settings that needs to be correct with weak AC one of them?
Yes, weak AC is the only way I have gotten some generators to hook.
You can enable LOM on the AC input that is connected to the grid, keep it disabled with the generator, and enable weak AC, that should do the trick, you can also disable the UPS function.
Have you configured the AC Inputs accordingly on the system setup page of the Venus?
Where are you based?
Hi Jaco. I am in Centurion.
I will pm you my number, i am in pretoria this week and can make turn and do a few test for you. If its okay, please whatsapp me your location.
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Wowwww it is much appreciated. Chat tomorrow.
I’m guessing your generator is an Inverter generator configured as 120V-0-120V, similar to my EU30iS. If you’ve wired it up like you would a normal grid source then you are probably shorting the N to Earth leg via the Ground Relay inside the inverter and stand a good chance of blowing up the generator eventually. Try and remove the generator earth from the Inverter earth and see what happens.
That said, it’s probably illegal to connect a 120-0-120 generator to your house due to an earth fault on the N leg that is now ‘uncaught’ by your earth-leakage but that was not your question so I will leave it there for you to ponder.
My EU20 is wired to a Quattro without any issues (None that I could pickup). The Earth and Netral of EU20 input is both connected to the db ground (else the neutral floats relative to ground). Is there a problem with this setup?
Just disconnect the generator and measure the output. If it’s 120-0-120 then you are shorting the N to E when the Ground Relay is activated.
Thanks a lot. yes the eu65is is similar to your EU30is it is just 240V instead of 120(South Africa) but probably the same issue you are pointing out. Thanks a lot for your reply and makes sense. Will try it this week and report back.
I think the earth is just floating/connected to the body and to N/E with filtering caps. The inverter in the generator is incapable of generating split phase. (From what I recall looking at the schematic for one of the EU models.)
Nope, that is surely not the case. I’ve tested it with a load and it produces 120V even on both legs - most, if not all, portable generators do this. They are designed for construction or camping in an offgrid scenario not for ‘on-grid like’ your house with a single phase GF detector. Hence the big warning sticker on it stating it’s not allowed to be used to power a house and also in the local electrical regulations but people still do it.