Genmon setup and working with Briggs 18KW generator and PI Zero

[stuckless]

I set this up using a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W with an RS-485 CAN HAT. The CANHAT only has A/B connections, but I went with it because it was inexpensive. The Pi is about 100 feet from the generator, connected with a run of Cat6 cable into my server room. I know the wiki here says that if you only have A/B you have to run it from the generator battery, but the wiki for the CANHAT says that ground is optional (but should be used).

So far, it’s working well. I haven’t experienced a power outage yet to fully test the setup, but communication is definitely happening. There are a few discarded bytes, though no actual errors. I’ll probably 3D-print a case for the unit next week.

Linux is my primary OS, so configuration was straightforward. The main hiccup was that the Pi Zero’s Wi-Fi would periodically go to sleep, which I had to disable. Other than that, the process went smoothly.

Many thanks to @jgyates for creating this software. My next project will be to hook this into Home Assistant!

[jgyates]

Hi @stuckless

thanks for the pics and setup detail. This really helps others out too. Thanks for the kind words and donation!

[ClintS58]

Thanks for the pics and setup details, I've got the Briggs 22KW equivalent to yours, I've got my Pi3B+ setup just need to connect it to the
gen, I'm using the USB to RS485 converter, I had a controller issue that took forever to get resolved, finally fixed~~!!

I'll be posting an update soon