Using Shelly WiFi Relay with EG4 6500 to Start a Honda Via Two Wire?

[Adirondack]

It drives me crazy that when I am far away from my off grid home in Northern NY that I can monitor my system via starlink and solar assistant and just watch the battery power slowly vanish after a week of gloom.
My idea is to remotely fire up my seldom used Honda 3000 generator via a Shelly relay to bring the batteries back up to a sustainable charge.
The generator is equipped with an external 10 gallon tank and a two wire system that was used with a magnum ags that charged creaky old lead acid batteries. I now have 6 EG4 server racks and the magnum seems to be not compatible with lithium EG4 setup.
Anybody on the forum tried setting anything like this up with the Shelly or something similar?

 

[n2aws]

It drives me crazy that when I am far away from my off grid home in Northern NY that I can monitor my system via starlink and solar assistant and just watch the battery power slowly vanish after a week of gloom.
My idea is to remotely fire up my seldom used Honda 3000 generator via a Shelly relay to bring the batteries back up to a sustainable charge.
The generator is equipped with an external 10 gallon tank and a two wire system that was used with a magnum ags that charged creaky old lead acid batteries. I now have 6 EG4 server racks and the magnum seems to be not compatible with lithium EG4 setup.
Anybody on the forum tried setting anything like this up with the Shelly or something similar?

Depending on your inverter or charge controllers, it may be even easier than a shelly. Many of them have dry contact switches that can be used to trigger a 2wire start on a generator so that it automatically starts when SOC or voltage meets a threshold you set.

What inverters/charge controllers are you currently using?

 

[Adirondack]

Depending on your inverter or charge controllers, it may be even easier than a shelly. Many of them have dry contact switches that can be used to trigger a 2wire start on a generator so that it automatically starts when SOC or voltage meets a threshold you set.

What inverters/charge controllers are you currently using?

Using one EG4 6500.
I have seen the dry contact option on the inverter but it most likely will not allow me to control generator from afar. I would like to fire the generator up when the batteries get down to 30% and let the Honda do its thing for a while (then shut it down after 5 or so hours) or until that fireball in the sky comes back into view of my panels.
Usually, I am good for a while but damn December is good and dark-sometimes for a week or more.
In floor radiant heat is my major power draw when out of town and it keeps the pipes from freezing until I can get back home to fire up trusty wood stove.

 

[n2aws]

Using one EG4 6500.
I have seen the dry contact option on the inverter but it most likely will not allow me to control generator from afar. I would like to fire the generator up when the batteries get down to 30% and let the Honda do its thing for a while (then shut it down after 5 or so hours) or until that fireball in the sky comes back into view of my panels.
Usually, I am good for a while but damn December is good and dark-sometimes for a week or more.
In floor radiant heat is my major power draw when out of town and it keeps the pipes from freezing until I can get back home to fire up trusty wood stove.

So normally what you'd do is setup the dry contact to start the generator at say 30%, and stop the generator at say 50%, that way it's done even if you aren't watching it, or if the starlink were down, or whatever else.

Again, the shelley is an option if you want to go that route, but IMO it adds complexity and at least 1 additional point of failure (internet) when.. you probably don't want a temporary internet outage to prevent you from starting the generator (and thus, potentially turning a temporary internet outage into a semi-permanent power outage because you couldn't tell the generator to start.) just my opinion, do with it what you will.

 

[jeremyee]

you can DIY something in a Pi or Arduino if you have a electric start generator. I am building one in my off time and writing some code but I am also looking at the below device.

V6 AutoGen Smart Controller| Auto Start Generator Controller

Amazing V6 AutoGen Auto start generator controller with WiFi and LoRa from our online store. Buy now the best available online remote Auto start generator controllers!

dcautogen.com

 

[Adirondack]

So normally what you'd do is setup the dry contact to start the generator at say 30%, and stop the generator at say 50%, that way it's done even if you aren't watching it, or if the starlink were down, or whatever else.

Again, the shelley is an option if you want to go that route, but IMO it adds complexity and at least 1 additional point of failure (internet) when.. you probably don't want a temporary internet outage to prevent you from starting the generator (and thus, potentially turning a temporary internet outage into a semi-permanent power outage because you couldn't tell the generator to start.) just my opinion, do with it what you will.

So there is a soc option for the contacts in the EG4 6500 that I missed? What number in the settings is that? What you propose would definitely be a good option.

 

[n2aws]

So there is a soc option for the contacts in the EG4 6500 that I missed? What number in the settings is that? What you propose would definitely be a good option.

I don't know that inverter specifically, which is why I said "normally" . I'd look to see what options are available to you directly in the inverter.. but usually SOC or voltage (high/low) are some of the available criteria.

 

[Adirondack]

So normally what you'd do is setup the dry contact to start the generator at say 30%, and stop the generator at say 50%, that way it's done even if you aren't watching it, or if the starlink were down, or whatever else.

Again, the shelley is an option if you want to go that route, but IMO it adds complexity and at least 1 additional point of failure (internet) when.. you probably don't want a temporary internet outage to prevent you from starting the generator (and thus, potentially turning a temporary internet outage into a semi-permanent power outage because you couldn't tell the generator to start.) just my opinion, do with it what you will.

I appreciate the responses. They are helpful.

I'm thinking also that one issue with using just the EG4 is that it only gives the generator one chance to start. I do have an auto choke but two cranks is sometimes needed. I am not sure the contacts on the EG4 would give me the option try and restart the generator if the first try fails.

 

[Adirondack]

you can DIY something in a Pi or Arduino if you have a electric start generator. I am building one in my off time and writing some code but I am also looking at the below device.

V6 AutoGen Smart Controller| Auto Start Generator Controller

Amazing V6 AutoGen Auto start generator controller with WiFi and LoRa from our online store. Buy now the best available online remote Auto start generator controllers!

dcautogen.com

Seems a little pricey. The Shelly seems to do the same thing for about $25.00.

 

[Adirondack]

So I did this and it worked well, I even integrated the Shelly 1 with Google Home to turn the generator on and off.
The generator relies on a auto choke, 2 wire start system and an external 10 gallon tank.
I use Solar Assistant to measure the input (and to see that it starts) when I am away. It's also nice that if I am home I can shut the generator off or turn it on from inside my house.
The Shelly will also allow you to start the generator on a schedule to maintain the battery but I haven't set that up yet.

 

[n2aws]

Nice stuff. Would be cool if you write a bit of a guide on how you set it up for others to get ideas

 

[ElectricIslander]

How did you get an auto choke onto a Honda 3000 that doesn’t come with one?

 

[Adirondack]

How did you get an auto choke onto a Honda 3000 that doesn’t come with one?

There are a couple different companies that make auto chokes, remote controls etc. I bought my 2 wire set up from gen line and external tank from Pinellas. There is some work involved and a willingness to dig into and modify a perfectly good (and expensive) generator-that may not be something most folks want to dive into.

 

[Adirondack]

Nice stuff. Would be cool if you write a bit of a guide on how you set it up for others to get ideas

Sure, when I get a few spare moments I will post a outline/breakdown of how I did the modifications.

 

[ElectricIslander]

Sure, when I get a few spare moments I will post an outline/breakdown of how I did the modifications.

That would be great ?!