Off-Grid Remote Generator Starter

[@michaelcrowley9008]

🎉 This is a project that I plan to do in the future. I have to put on the back burner for now but it's in my playlist thanks for making it.

[@kalebclark5826]

Awesome! Hope it works out for you!

[@garthhowe297]

The end product came out really well. I was wondering how you would confirm the generator was off or on...your solution to that was quite good.

[@kalebclark5826]

Thank you! I thought about that at the beginning, thinking maybe I needed a circuit on the generator side monitoring 120v. But then I realized that if the generator is running, the top 7 segment display will show generator wattage, and if that is displaying, then its on.

[@TimHayward]

It seems like checking the rpm of the motor would be worthwhile. You could use that to disengage the starter as soon as possible. It could also deal with hard starting on the generator.

[@treelife365]

Very cool thing to make! Thanks for sharing 🙏🏻

[@rufus4779]

Thank you for the video. Very interesting. I've got a Honda EM7000is, an older version of your Honda EU7000is generator. They are very similar in design and setup as far as the Remote Start feature. The EU series has electronic ignition, push button start and newer technology. Where my EM7000is uses a key starter technology. Question #1: Do you mind telling me about the Remote Start plug where you connect the relays to. One relay for start and another relay for stop. Question #2: When you press the Start button to energize the relay that closes to cause the starter to engage on the generator. Is this a momentary relay close, or does this relay have to be on during the entire time the generator is running? Question #2: When the Stop button is pressed and the relay energizes that initiates the stop run process how long should the delay be to keep the relay contacts closed. My plan is to use an ESP32C3 or ESP32C6 to do exactly what you have done. I'm going to try and use the ESP NOW protocol to accomplish this. Thank you for your video and I hope you have time to answer my questions. Thank you.

[@Defofone]

What a great idea! Just a thought- would monitoring the oil pressure switch allow you to manage the time in the start routine to prevent wear on the starter and also guarantee a start during hard start conditions?

[@kalebclark5826]

Hi, thanks! The original control panel on the generator has a start button, which is just momentary. Push it, and then it runs the starter until it has started. Its not a "hold down until started" type button. So all I needed to do with the relay was keep it closed for a short amount of time to trigger that logic inside the generator.

[@macdaddyns]

Kool!

[@RottnRobbie]

During the problem statement you showed a picture with an arrow and the number 170. My first though was that 170 metres _is_ a long walk to the generator. Then a minute or so later, I'm wondering how you plan to get reliable WiFi over that distance!? Eventually, of course, I remembered that you're in the U. S. of A., and the number was probably meant to be feet... 🙄 At first, I felt a bit silly about my assumption, but I was taught in high school physics to always label my units, so I decided it was all your fault.

[@rodbhar6522]

This is cool, but aren’t you using Victron equipment? Couldn’t you use Victron’s free Venus OS on a raspberry pi, which has all this functionality and much more?

[@kalebclark5826]

Hi, yeah I am using Victron equipment and I am using the cerboGX. It does have a relay output on it, but does not solve the problem of a low power display and remote buttons to turn off and on the generator. Also, the complete bypass of the front panel on the generator is an issue. Sure there are other ways to solve problems, but why not make exactly what you want?