Champion Open Frame Inverter Generator

I have recently incorporated a Champion 7250 watt (model 201176) open frame inverter generator into my Victron off grid power system. I did this because the electronics in my Electrolux front load washer did not like the power from my normal Champion, Onan, and Duramax generators. I also wanted cleaner power when on generator.
The main breaker system in the inverter generator is electronic, no real toggle breaker as with all the rest of the generators. I am only using 120v from the gen and have had to reduce the charge rate to 30a to reduce nuisance tripping. Still having some nuisance tripping while gen is running. Also having problems with gen picking up load when first started, the electronic main breaker trips. Never had any problems with this using any of the other generators.
Anyone out there with similar problems?

Split Phase Inverter generators suffer from the same limitation as the High Frequency Inverters discussed often on the forum, their sensitivity to off balance loads across L1 & L2.

I'm using the smaller Champion 5,000W open frame inverter gen as a back up on AC2 of the Schneider. I've also noticed that even when using the full 240V output, Champion electronics are not that good at handling those initial "pick up" surges.

This may not be a direct answer to your question.

After years connecting generators to inverter/chargers to charge the batteries and supply the house with power I changed my setup to connect the generator to a dedicated battery charger (EG4 100 amp charger) to charge the batteries and bypass the inverter/charger.

Benefits
- Can use a generator with a dirty signal (the battery charger accepts far dirtier power than the inverters). This allows the use of cheap open frame generators that can be rented or borrowed should I need a backup (I already have a few backups).
- The Victrons can be picky about the generator power and shut down or need the charge rate reduced. This takes them out of the equation.
- The house never gets generator power passed through by the inverter from the generator. The only AC on my house circuits is from the Victron inverters.
- The 100 amp charging from a $450 battery charger is quite a bit more than the 35 amps x 2 I get from my Victron inverters.

It's doesn't seem as elegant as using the chargers in the inverters but after living with it for nearly a year I appreciate the flexibility and never having gen power passed to the house.

FWIW, YMMV.

Rgulack said:

I have recently incorporated a Champion 7250 watt (model 201176) open frame inverter generator into my Victron off grid power system. I did this because the electronics in my Electrolux front load washer did not like the power from my normal Champion, Onan, and Duramax generators. I also wanted cleaner power when on generator.
The main breaker system in the inverter generator is electronic, no real toggle breaker as with all the rest of the generators. I am only using 120v from the gen and have had to reduce the charge rate to 30a to reduce nuisance tripping. Still having some nuisance tripping while gen is running. Also having problems with gen picking up load when first started, the electronic main breaker trips. Never had any problems with this using any of the other generators.
Anyone out there with similar problems?

Click to expand...

You do not mention if you are using the 120V/20A plugs or the L5:30 120V/30A.
I am using a Champion 4650W Inverter Gen for backup... L5:30 goes to powerhouse & passes through a 45A Breaker before going to Inverter/Charger. The 45A Breaker is to be able to handle momentary surge pulls and no issues at all. The charger is set to output 80A (capable of 100A but leaving overhead room because of Passthrough power) and while it is doing that the Samlex is pulling 120V/22A +/- (floats a little) or say 2500W +/- 150W float.

NB: The Samlex EVO Inverter/Charger I use is Very Programmable for pretty much for everything. I can even set it to take "Filthy" power from my monster construction genset but not much is happy with that - only to be used in a crisis - but tested & run to verify it can. You Know - Murphy's Laws factor. Filthy meaning 55-65Hz and anywhere from 110V to 130V. Its old with a few thousand hours.

Just in case I need to point out, No Inverter/Charger system (AIO or StandAlone) can cleanup dirty power, they pass what they get within tolerance limits. They cannot change Mod Sine & Square Sine to Pure Sine nor can they regulate Frequency shift incoming. If either occurs & is beyond UNIT SPEC, trips & eventual failures can & will happen. (Electonic device side) Additionally, electronic devices (more sensitive they are the worse it is) cannot handle Square/Mod Sine very well - you;ll see digital displays (clocks) get out of time & flicker, TV's Computer can flicker and even make sounds. Fridge / Freezer compressor motors are also affected and may make growling sounds & warm up more than usual.

Hope it helps, Good Luck

Turn off eco mode?
Get a Chargeverter.

As annoying as it is, ive also noticed that eco mode or eco throttle affects the ability of inverter generators to take 'big hits' of load. If you are tripping the inverter on the generator you may try turning eco or quiet mode off and see if it gets better.

Ultimately something like the chargeverter is the broadest 'fix'.