Outback inverter & generator problems

[Rob Beckers]

Could an Outback inverter owner please chime in here and explain a bit what the inverter limits are for working with a generator/genset. I have heard Outback is fussy about generators, what I'm trying to find out is how fussy.

A customer of mine just purchased a Honda 5000 generator, and the inverter refuses to charge from it. He gets a red error light and the inverter disconnects from the generator. What are the tolerances Outback accepts?

A search on the Outback forums doesn't bring up anything useful.

In this case, the generator measures in at 125V unloaded, and 58 Hz. For a (mechanical) generator that's reasonably close to what it needs to be.

Thanks!

-RoB-

[Ralph Day]

Hi Rob
Not an Outback inverter guy, but do you have a Mate to program the inverter parameters? It might be working on factory defaults which might be really tight. That's assuming it's a VFX not a grid tied GFX (or whatever the designations are).

Ralph

[Rob Beckers]

The customer is very familiar with the Outback settings, still couldn't get it to work. Running out of options, he has returned the Honda, and bought an el-cheapo Briggs & Stratton from his local Lowe's (where you can return items like this, no questions asked). The Briggs works like a charm.

Seems Honda is no longer the brand it once was...

-RoB-