Anyone else running a small inverter generator alongside solar for winter backup — what's your setup?

So I've finally caved and picked up a Honda EU22i after two winters of being caught out with flat batteries when we get those long grey weeks in November and December. Living in the Scottish Borders, the panels just don't cut it on their own from about October onwards — we're talking 200–400Wh on a good day from a 600W array, which barely keeps the fridge and a bit of lighting going, never mind topping up the LiFePO4 bank.

The plan is to run the Honda for a couple of hours in the morning if the battery drops below 30%, using a Victron Multiplus 24/3000 in charge-only mode to push maybe 40–50A back in at 24V. I've got a 200Ah (usable) LiFePO4 bank, so that's roughly 80Ah to recover — should be doable in under two hours at that rate. What I'm not sure about is whether it's worth fitting an automatic generator start relay, or just doing it manually. Feels like overkill for occasional use but I don't want to be dragging myself out of bed at 6am either.

Has anyone integrated a small inverter genny into a Victron setup and got the auto-start working reliably? And do you just leave yours outside under a cover or have you built some kind of ventilated enclosure? Noise is a concern too — I've got neighbours about 300 metres away and ideally want to keep it below 60dB at the boundary.

Rodney3 | 847 posts

@CliffSpirit good shout on the EU22i — rock solid bit of kit. I'm in similar latitude territory (North Wales) and run an Ecoflow Delta Pro as my main buffer with a Yamaha EF2000iS as backup when the panels just aren't cutting it during those grim December anticyclones.

One thing worth doing is getting a decent quality extension lead rated properly for the continuous draw — I learned that the hard way. Also consider running it during the afternoon even on overcast days rather than waiting until batteries are critically low. Easier on the generator and your battery chemistry.

The EU22i's eco-throttle feature is brilliant for topping up rather than bulk charging — keeps fuel consumption surprisingly low. What capacity battery bank are you working with? That'll determine how long each run needs to be.