Using generator. System mode settings vs "Gen Charge" settings
I am a non-technical user looking for advice on how to control the operation of my Honda EU65 generator with my Sunsynk 8kw hybrid inverter.
I have solar panels and 4 Hubble AM5 batteries which are fine for most circumstances but when there is a prolonged outage I use a generator to run the essential load and charge the batteries. The generator is connected via the Aux port.
My system mode is set to 40% for all time slots on both grid and generator (no loadshedding at the moment). When loadshedding hits I plan to just turn the timer off and keep the batteries as charged as possible.
The first time I turned off the grid and ran the generator it did not show up on the app as an icon and it did not draw any power. I did some online reading up and I changed the "Gen Start (10% - 90%)" setting to 50% (it was previously on 10%) and that caused the generator icon to show up on the phone app and the generator started to charge the batteries. However, I don't really understand what that that setting means.
Can someone explain to me in simple English what my "Gen Start" setting should be and how it interacts with the system mode percentages? When I start the generator I want it to share the load and to charge the batteries (currently set to 20A which is fine for my generator). It is currently doing that when I test it but I don't understand how the percentages in the various settings are going to affect it.
I'd also like to know how I should set my "Grid Signal" , "Gen Signal" and "Gen Force" switches and anything else that is important. I don't know what these terms mean, I just want the most logical setting.
For clarity, the generator is a manual domestic generator and it does not turn on automatically - I have to turn it on an off myself.
Thanks in advance.
Arnold
Thanks very much. It is working for me and the generator does provide power when the grid is off. It was not charging the batteries until I changed the "Gen load ON batt" settings (when it was on the default of 30%, the batteries were at 40% so they were not charging, when I changed it to 50% they started charging, I think I'll leave it on 90% because I always want the batteries to charge a bit when the generator is on) but I was guessing and I didn't really understand why. Thanks for the explanation, I know now what the settings are actually doing.