Seabhac

Thanks AlexSolar. Thats very interesting. I bought an old 5kva wind up start Lister diesel generator and a telecom switching power supply to charge the battery directly. It was cheap as it needed rebuilding. I'm still looking for a larger generator that I will hook up as an auto 2 wire start. I'm looking specifically at old lister 1500 rpm 4 pole generators at the moment. What I have noticed is that inverter generators are recommended by Growatt as the sine wave is cleaner. Has anyone on here any experience of using old style lister startomatic generators with Growatt inverters ,(SPF5000rs)?

Interesting discussion. The generator size is something ive been pondering. I am installing a SPF 500 es. I'm looking for a diesel generator and was searching the web for info re ATS and switching the generator on when batteries are low then powering the house and switching the generator off when the batteries are adequately charged and automatically using the batteries and inverter again. I have emailed Growatt to see if I realy need a 10 KVA generator as I don't have an electric cooker/oven/grill, my heating in winter is by solid fuel range/back boiler and I'll install a small gas boiler for kitchen hot water for summer use but might put an electric power shower in. I'll have a fridge and freezer and lights. And sockets. Not connected to the grid. I'll let you know if I get a response re the need for a 10KVA generator. Is there any info around where I can learn how to wire the SPF 5000 es to a ATS to a generator and is anything required apart from a key start on the generator? Ronan