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GenDash
GenDash

Quick Start Guide

·1215 words·6 mins
Table of Contents

Table of Contents
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  1. Welcome
  2. App Permissions (Location & Notifications)
  3. Add Your First Generator
  4. Home Assistant Setup (Inline & Optional)
  5. Planning Your Load (Appliances)
  6. Launch the Wizard
  7. Live Status
  8. Launching the Run
  9. Monitoring in Real-Time
  10. Stopping the Run

The Onboarding Wizard (First Launch Setup)
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When you open GenDash for the first time, a setup wizard walks you through five steps. You can configure them immediately or skip them and adjust later from the Settings or Garage tabs.

1 Welcome
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  • Why it matters: A quick introduction to GenDash. You can start fresh or restore an existing backup file if recovering from a previous device.

2 App Permissions (Location & Notifications)
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  • Location: Altitude and temperature drastically affect engine performance. Grant Location Access so GenDash can automatically fetch your elevation and current local temperature (completely privately; your location is never saved or shared). (Note: Elevation/temperature penalties do not apply to battery-powered stations).
  • Notifications: Outages are unpredictable. Authorize standard notifications and enable Time Sensitive notifications so high-priority engine stalls or low-fuel warnings bypass Focus and Do Not Disturb modes.

3 Add Your First Generator
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Access this step during onboarding, or anytime via the Garage tab -> + button, which launches the new standalone Generator Setup Wizard.

3.1 Choose from Library (Recommended) #

Browse over 60 pre-configured models (Honda, Yamaha, Generac, Champion, Predator, EcoFlow, Jackery, etc.) to instantly load accurate engine curves and specifications.

3.2 Enter Custom Specs
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Fill in critical details for custom or unlisted models:

  • Technology Type: Inverter (variable speed/Eco Mode), Traditional (constant 3600 RPM), or Battery/Power Station.
  • Tank/Battery Capacity: Litres (for combustion engines) or Watt-hours (Wh) for power stations.
  • Watts: Continuous rated capacity and maximum peak surge capacity.

4 Home Assistant Setup (Inline & Optional)
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  • Why it matters: If you use Home Assistant (HA), GenDash can automatically pull real-time energy sensor readings from your home network to calculate live fuel burn.
  • Setup:
    1. Enter your Local URL (e.g., http://192.168.1.100:8123) and optionally a Remote URL for cellular data fallback.
    2. Paste a Long-Lived Access Token (generated from the very bottom of your Home Assistant Profile page).
    3. At the Validation/Recap step, you can tap the orange edit (pencil) buttons to instantly jump back and correct any targeted fields before finalizing.
  • Manual Fallback: Skip this step if you prefer manual entry using tactile sliders.

5 Planning Your Load (Appliances)
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  • Why it matters: Telling GenDash what you plan to run allows the engine to pre-calculate your load and provide an accurate initial Time to Empty (TTE) countdown from the second you start.
  • Setup: Select common household appliances from the templates (e.g., Kitchen Fridge, Chest Freezer, Sump Pump, CPAP, lighting). These loads are pre-filled with standard running wattages which you can edit at any time.

Adding Home Assistant Servers (via Settings)
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If you skipped Home Assistant during onboarding, or need to add/manage integrations later:

1 Launch the Wizard
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Go to the Settings tab and tap Add Home Assistant Server. This launches a dedicated 7-step interactive wizard:

  1. Name: Provide a nickname for this connection.
  2. Endpoints: Configure your Local LAN URL and Remote WAN URL fallback.
  3. Token: Paste your Long-Lived Access Token.
  4. Validation & Recap: The app verifies credentials and establishes a test handshake. You can tap the inline edit (pencil) buttons to correct any parameters before finalizing.
  5. Generator Linking: Choose which active generator profiles should pull data from this server (already-linked generators will be greyed out; archived units are hidden).
  6. Sensor Discovery: Search and select available sensors from your Home Assistant system.
  7. Device Assignment: Map the discovered sensors directly to your linked generator profiles.

2 Live Status
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Each server is displayed in Settings with a real-time status card showing its active connection state (Connected, Disconnected, or Paused). You can tap any card to edit, reconnect, or pause updates.

Active Outage Control (Your First Run)
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Once setup is complete, you are ready to start monitoring.

1 Launching the Run
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Tap the large green Start Run button on the dashboard. This opens the wizard directly on the Fuel configuration step (pre-populated with your last session’s fuel/charge level). From there, you have two pathways to launch:

1.1 Quick Start
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Tap Quick Start to instantly begin the session using the current fuel level while preserving all your active load configurations (manual loads, selected appliances, and smart feeds).

1.2 Set Load (Guided Start)
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Tap Set Load to proceed to the load configuration step to adjust manual loads and toggle appliances before starting the session.

⚠️ Safety Gate (The 110% Rule): If the total sum of your active Appliances and Manual Loads exceeds 110% of your generator’s rated capacity, the Start button will disable to prevent physical damage. Shed load to proceed.

2 Monitoring in Real-Time
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2.1 Live Activities
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Swipe to your Lock Screen or look at the Dynamic Island at the top of your screen to see your live Time to Empty (TTE) countdown and current wattage without opening the app.

2.2 Refuel Mid-Session
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If you pour gas, swap a propane tank, or plug in a battery charger, tap Fuel (or Charge) on the dashboard dock. Select a preset (e.g., 25%, 50%, 100%, or up to the safety-capped 80% preset for propane tanks) or drag/enter an exact level. The TTE countdown adjusts instantly.

2.3 Adjust Loads
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Tap Watts on the dock to toggle appliances or slide manual wattages up and down using high-precision tactile sliders.

3 Stopping the Run
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Tap the red Stop button. Choose your resolution:

  • Stop Engine: Pauses the countdown timer (e.g., overnight shutdown) but keeps the run active for tomorrow.
  • Finish Run & Save: Saves duration, fuel used, and operating costs to your Logbook.
  • Finish Run and Delete: Discards the session data (best for tests).

Capacity Snapshot & Estimator (Before You Start)
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You don’t need to start a session to estimate how long your generator or battery will run.

  • Launch the Estimator: When a generator session is stopped, tap the "– –" Time Remaining widget on the dashboard to open the Capacity Estimate sheet.
  • Captured Snapshot: By default, the sheet takes a static snapshot of your current fuel/charge level and active loads (Home Assistant sensors, selected appliances, and manual loads) to show you how long the generator would run under these exact conditions.
  • Manual Estimator (Sandbox): Toggle Manual Estimate to manually simulate scenarios. You can drag a load slider (up to your generator’s rated capacity) and adjust fuel/charge levels using sliders and quick presets to immediately see the runtime impact.
  • Idle Diagnostics: If the load is set to 0W, the app will guide you to add a load and display the engine’s theoretical idle runtime (for combustion engines).

Maintenance Tracking & Logging
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Keep your fleet in peak condition by tracking service intervals directly within the app.

  • Setup: In the Garage tab, select a generator and toggle Enable Maintenance Tracking.
  • Configure Tasks: Enable specific maintenance tasks (Oil Change, Spark Plug, Air Filter, etc.) and enter their next due dates or due engine hours. Overdue items are automatically highlighted in red.
  • Log Completion: Tap Add Task to Log or the + button in the Maintenance Log sheet to record a service event (including date, engine hours, and notes).
  • History: View, edit, or delete past maintenance logs directly from the logger view.

GenDash — Stay safe and stay powered.