Genmon Box and Setup Pictures

[cmanion1983]

Hey all, figured I'd post a few photos of my setup. Came out really well, thanks for all the help from you guys!

[skipfire]

Where does the serial wire exit the generator enclosure? My case is so tight I did not see a weather tight way of bringing the wire out.

[cmanion1983]

I brought mine out right through the natural gas pipe exit point and the zip tied it up the electrical conduit.

[hokie21]

POE powered. Nice!

[ravedoglv]

I noticed you have an LED indicator on the outside. What is it reflecting and what did you do in software to light it up? Would you share the process? Thanks!

[jgyates]

There are two add on programs that will blink the LED

https://github.com/jgyates/genmon/wiki/1----Software-Overview#gengpioledblinkpy-optional

https://github.com/jgyates/genmon/wiki/1----Software-Overview#gengpiopy-optional

Both can be enabled on the Add On page. I am guessing he is using the first one as this is the one that supports one led. the second one supports multiple LEDs.

[cmanion1983]

I noticed you have an LED indicator on the outside. What is it reflecting and what did you do in software to light it up? Would you share the process? Thanks!

Mine doesn't blink, I just wanted to be able to look out in the garage and see if it was on. I believe I used a 10k ohm resistor and a standard LED bulb. Then, I connected it to the 3.3v pin, or you can connect to the 5v pin if you want it brighter.

[ravedoglv]

Thank you both!

[ravedoglv]

Question:on gengpioledblink.py it says to issue the command

python gengpioledblink.py

Is that a one time command or if not, how does the system know to run the command at startup? Or does activating it on the add on page do all that for me?

[jgyates]

just enable it on the add on page. This is all you need to do. The other info is if you want to run it outside of the loader.

[jgyates]

I updated the wiki to make this more clear for each add on program.

[ravedoglv]

Thanks again!

[sarahmva]

Fairly small box. Lab hat to connect a temperature sensor and using a prolific USB to RS232. Unfortunately, the 12V to USB Power device did not deliver enough power to keep the Raspi running.

[Clarke219]

Nice looking job. Could you tell me where your enclosure label came from? It differs from the one here. Thank you.

[cmanion1983]

Nice looking job. Could you tell me where your enclosure label came from? It differs from the one here. Thank you.

Sorry it took so long. I had it custom made at an online sticker company. Might have been vinyl disorder? I attached the PDF I sent them. I mocked everything up in powerpoint, but I'm having trouble attaching that file

Genmon Enclosure label.pdf . Genmon Enclosure label 2.pdf

[jgyates]

I added these 2 labels to the repository Diagrams folder. Thanks!

[mikewesner]

I am adding some photos of the location I put mine because I was pretty unclear as to if this box that I found on the docs would even fit, (22kw generac) or if the little cable would work. I think a longer cable would give better reach with a hole near the bottom rather than up top like I had to mount it. I bought the hi pi version of the HAT and a case, I bought a Ras pi 3b+ because i didn't want to deal with fans, just little heat sync and lower power. I ran an ethernet cable but did not use POE because I figured the shared ground would be more stable if I used the battery based connection. (especially with power outage, loads coming on/off messing with line voltages and things)

[TopBanana123]

Here's my install with an RG027, I ran 1/2 Liquid tight conduit in the trench and used the spare knockout on the front

[sambeetm]

Thanks @jgyates for this great project and continuing support. Here is my setup. Everything is up and running since last sept flawlessly.

Some of the highlights of my setup.

1. Both mobile link and Genmon are working simultaneously.
2. Completely inside setup. Ran a shielded cable(with ground) from the generator to inside electrical panel. Around 12 feet.
3. External 5v, 3Amp power using wall adapter for PI 3B+. The power adapter is connected to a small a UPS along with bunch of other things. Common grounds.
4. Using GPIO Input and Otput add-ons. Works great.
5. A fan inside the box which kicks-off at 65F and stays on till 55F.
6. Integrated with Home Assistant using MQTT(just read only)
7. SSL does not work more than a day. I have to kill and restart the genserv every night at 2AM using cron job. Now, genserv stays up. If anybody needs the template, parts list or more pictures etc, please let me know. I will add here.

[davisgoodman]

Thanks @jgyates for this great project and continuing support. Here is my setup. Everything is up and running since last sept flawlessly.

Some of the highlights of my setup.

1. Both mobile link and Genmon are working simultaneously.
2. Completely inside setup. Ran a shielded cable(with ground) from the generator to inside electrical panel. Around 12 feet.
3. External 5v, 3Amp power using wall adapter for PI 3B+. The power adapter is connected to a small a UPS along with bunch of other things. Common grounds.
4. Using GPIO Input and Otput add-ons. Works great.
5. A fan inside the box which kicks-off at 65F and stays on till 55F.
6. Integrated with Home Assistant using MQTT(just read only)
7. SSL does not work more than a day. I have to kill and restart the genserv every night at 2AM using cron job. Now, genserv stays up. If anybody needs the template, parts list or more pictures etc, please let me know. I will add here.

I would definitely be interested in getting your front panel template. I will also have an inside install having my generator right againt the back of my garage.

[sambeetm]

@davisgoodman Here are some info. Box......https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N8SLCUM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Box Label - Final.pptx

[davisgoodman]

@sambeetm Thanks so much. I already have the box but I'll definitely use the label. Looks great!

[gregmac]

I decided to try a different approach using an ESP32 as an RS232-Wifi bridge, with Genmon running on a VM inside the house.

Benefits: Small, should be more resilient to outside temperatures and EMI compared to a Pi, and is powered by the 5V from the generator's AUX port.

Details are at https://github.com/gregmac/Genmon-ESP32-Serial-Bridge

[jgyates]

@gregmac, this is great! I added this to the wiki:

 https://github.com/jgyates/genmon/wiki/Appendix-F----Serial-over-IP#diy-serial-over-ip-using-and-esp32

[eloebl]

Didn't want to drill a hole in the generator, and we're lucky where we are we don't need to lock it, so created a simple SMA antenna mount to replace the lock cylinder:

Link to design: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5444949

[cmacnichol]

@sambeetm Can you share a Parts List? I really like the look of what you did. I am using a Pi-Zero W2 Knockoff and a phat, but I think it should work with this if I solder the wires to it directly.

[sambeetm]

@sambeetm Can you share a Parts List? I really like the look of what you did. I am using a Pi-Zero W2 Knockoff and a phat, but I think it should work with this if I solder the wires to it directly.

Here are some parts ordered from Amazon. Attached are the template/label and LED resister values.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N8SLCUM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07J4ZCWNX/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QXR5MZB/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08CVH8PVC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Box Label - Final.pptx LED Resistors.xlsx

For a fan for the box, I followed the following instructions. https://howchoo.com/g/ote2mjkzzta/control-raspberry-pi-fan-temperature-python

[STiFTW]

A bit late to the party but happy to be here!

Just got everything setup on my 17KW Generac. Got a outdoor enclosure, but the cable glands would not fit the Molex connector. I frustrated myself trying to de-pin the connector, then eventually decided to just cut it. I was originally going to solder the connections, but decided to put Anderson Power Pole connectors on wires that I needed do that I could remove or service the wire in the future. I ended up having to take it apart a few times during testing and installation, so very happy I left myself the option to disconnect easily. I will watch for any errors.

Mounted the weather resistant box just below where the lid hits when open. Checked a few times to make sure there wasn't anything I was going to hit before putting in some self tappers to secure the box to the enclosure. I ended up really tight on cable length, but I was able to make it work.

Box I used: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B09BJCLKPK?

[TopBanana123]

Might want a drip leg on that gas supply, unless its just out of shot

[STiFTW]

Might want a drip leg on that gas supply, unless its just out of shot That's a really good point. I put a zip tie and left the tail near the grommet, will have to check next time it is raining. Been installed 5 years like this, and I never considered that.

[waynewarburton]

I unplugged the WIFI generac unit that was inside the enclosure and cut the molex connector 2 communication wires to tie in the Raspi. I noticed the comment about having both Generac's wifi and their Pi both working at the same time. I did the install a few years ago now and might revisit this to get both systems going. How did you wire it in to the communication signal?