Sol-Ark problems by David Poz.. anyone else?

[Nobodybusiness]

Yeah it’s a little aggravating that a small load like that will trip the inverter. Since I’ve last posted we have got a little more accomplished and actually have my Fujitsu mini split up and running. So now we have a little heat when we need it. It was funny I cranked the heat up to 80° one day to see how the inverters would handle it. It was pulling a little over 6500 watts with no problem. However I think it’s extremely disappointing that a 5 1/2 amp router will shut the system down.
At this point with Sol-Ark not willing to do anything, I’m going to see how these inverters will run my entire house once it’s fully operational. We have all of our lights and outlets working with no problems, our mini split is working fine, so it’s just a matter of time before we install the rest of the appliances to get a true test of the system.
Only then will I know if Sol-Ark can get the job done or if I need to pursue legal action or some other inverters....
Engineer 775 told me he was going to talk to Sol-Ark directly to see if he could get anything done. That’s been weeks ago, and I have reached out to him a couple times via text messages to see if he’s gotten anywhere and at least my last checking in with him, nothing, so I assume he is no help either. He has been somewhat of a disappointment when it comes to the follow up service side even though he is a

Engineer775 is good with the sales and install.
Not so much with the follow up.

Good guy. I think he just has too many irons in the fire..

 

[houseofancients]

Shawn, after going back and forth between Sol-Ark and the vendor who sent me the 59V Sol-Ark 12K, I was trying to sell earlier, the vendor finally had me return the unit and they sent me a new outdoor Sol-Ark 12k 63V unit for a replacement. But, after David Poz, who like us thought that Sol-Ark was the best you could have, found out that his Growatt stackable system was superior to the Sol-Ark 12K in off-grid applications at a third of the cost, I am upset.

I have been upset with some of the so-called engineers at Sol-Ark since I spoke to the first one right after they came out with the 63V 12K model (never knew at that time they had made a 59V model). They argued with me that the Sol-Ark 12K 63V model could not work on lithium batteries. They were so sold on their own L/A batteries that they couldn't see beyond them. I don't think that they would still be in business now without a change in their philosophy. In my arguments to them regarding the 59V model I received, they had included the 63V manual inside for my installation instructions. This would have lessened the output of my batteries demonstrably.

So, I don't have any faith in Sol-Ark anymore and it is sad because I talked so many others into buying them. They are very DIY friendly but it comes at a huge cost. Growatt information wasn't available and it still has to prove itself in longevity.
I still think that we are going to need auto transformers, due to the inability of Sol-Ark to correct the problem in their software. How you can make them EMP hardened is something I can't help you with

maybe @Keith Gough could give some insights or advise here ?

 

[fisherus]

Shot a quick video to show how a small router shuts down my stacked Sol-Ark 12Ks. If you’re not familiar with the problem please read my previous posts in this thread.
This video shows the router starting up, video then switches to show the Sol-Ark screen to show watts, amp draw etc.. then Sol-Ark trips. The only items using power are 2 Sol-Arks, LED lights and then the router when I turn it on.
Please share your thoughts?

Shawn, my friends dual Sol-Ark 12K system does the same thing when his wife turns on her hair dryer. There has to be some type of distortion backing through the AC 120V system that creates a problem with the DC conversion rate in the Sol-Ark that is corrected by using an auto transformer. After doing some research, I have come to find out that Sol-Ark has had this problem with their 8K as well. There has to be something they have done wrong that they don't want to address and fix it. This is my take, anyway. I believe that Ben's Solar addressed this issue before David Poz did and installed an auto transformer in his home system to fix the problem. He was big on Sol-Ark installations in his business but I think he quit installing them after that problem surfaced.

 

[RV10flyer]

Totally off-grid and love it and our two DIY Sol-Ark 12K's, 20,640W PV, DIY wood/unistrut ground mount and 132kWh battery. We are running 3 split hp's (one vs and two with soft starts), 1 Fujitsu mini hp 9k, 80 gal elec wh, elec range, washer/dryer, more. No problems. I had a few flickers start with bathrroom led's, after I installed my Am Std 20 SEER platinum hp two years ago. I will occassionally notice an led flicker when large induction loads start. It is like a few milliseconds. I have 60 breakers total. My loads are well-balanced!?

 

[copec]

Totally off-grid and love it and our two DIY Sol-Ark 12K's, 20,640W PV, DIY wood/unistrut ground mount and 132kWh battery. We are running 3 split hp's (one vs and two with soft starts), 1 Fujitsu mini hp 9k, 80 gal elec wh, elec range, washer/dryer, more. No problems. I had a few flickers start with bathrroom led's, after I installed my Am Std 20 SEER platinum hp two years ago. I will occassionally notice an led flicker when large induction loads start. It is like a few milliseconds. I have 60 breakers total. My loads are well-balanced!?

That’s pretty impressive! Do you have some other threads or videos or something documenting your setup?

 

[RV10flyer]

That’s pretty impressive! Do you have some other threads or videos or something documenting your setup?

I won't ever post videos online but I will be glad to answer any questions you might have.

 

[mvonw]

I'm assuming that a 1600watt motor on miter saw would unbalance a Sol-Ark 12K, right?

I bought a 12K and and planning on using some inductive loads (off grid) and am looking at autotransformers to help mitigate this issues.

I was looking at the Victron 100A transformer and was noticing that the documentation for that unit states that you should not connect the neutral from the source (inverter) and only use the neutral from the AT to power the load.
Is this correct?

 

[robby]

I'm assuming that a 1600watt motor on miter saw would unbalance a Sol-Ark 12K, right?

Why? I just ran an 1800W 120V vacuum pump on mine this Sunday and it had no problems. Mine has never tripped due to load imbalance and I use 50KWh per day of power.

I bought a 12K and and planning on using some inductive loads (off grid) and am looking at autotransformers to help mitigate this issues.

Buy it if you need it but i would say run without it at first and see if you really have an issue, I doubt you will.

I was looking at the Victron 100A transformer and was noticing that the documentation for that unit states that you should not connect the neutral from the source (inverter) and only use the neutral from the AT to power the load.
Is this correct?

 

[Nobodybusiness]

I'm assuming that a 1600watt motor on miter saw would unbalance a Sol-Ark 12K, right?

I bought a 12K and and planning on using some inductive loads (off grid) and am looking at autotransformers to help mitigate this issues.

I was looking at the Victron 100A transformer and was noticing that the documentation for that unit states that you should not connect the neutral from the source (inverter) and only use the neutral from the AT to power the load.
Is this correct?

Not sure. I have a Solaredge and the Neutral is definitely connected to my inverters..

I have only unbalanced my inverters once and that was on purpose.
I use the transformer just as insurance not need.

 

[mvonw]

Why? I just ran an 1800W 120V vacuum pump on mine this Sunday and it had no problems. Mine has never tripped due to load imbalance and I use 50KWh per day of power.

Buy it if you need it but i would say run without it at first and see if you really have an issue, I doubt you will.

I was assuming (perhaps incorrectly) that if the saw (120v) was the only load on the inverter, it overload that leg on the inverter.
What am I missing?

 

[Nobodybusiness]

I was assuming (perhaps incorrectly) that if the saw (120v) was the only load on the inverter, it overload that leg on the inverter.
What am I missing?

It has to be a substantial imbalance.
I had to have 4k imbalances before I tripped mine.
Maybe it’s different for each setup??
Not sure. Just haven’t had any issues with mine..

 

[mvonw]

It has to be a substantial imbalance.
I had to have 4k imbalances before I tripped mine.
Maybe it’s different for each setup??
Not sure. Just haven’t had any issues with mine..

Thanks, that's reassuring. Anxious to get mine hooked up and find out. Still have 2 feet of snow on the ground...

 

[mvonw]

It has to be a substantial imbalance.
I had to have 4k imbalances before I tripped mine.
Maybe it’s different for each setup??
Not sure. Just haven’t had any issues with mine..

Are you off-grid or grid-tie?

 

[SolarHead]

The info below that I'm about to type is what I think I read somewhere but I would ask that you verify it with Sol-Ark first before relying on this info.

The 1400W of imbalance would trigger a fault with the older Sol-Arks. The newer Sol-Arks have a larger range of difference which is 4800W. With the inverter, you do not want to have too much load on a single leg of an inverter. This will cause the inverter to trigger a fault usually as a BusUnbalance fault. For example, the fault can occur when the load on a single leg such as L1 is greater than 4800W than the other leg L2. When connecting loads to your backup loads panel you will want to spread your loads out between each leg L1/L2 so that the loads that you have in place do not cause the inverter to go above 4800W on a single leg.

 

[SolarHead]

Also, I think its important to update the firmware since that seems to make a difference on how much you can put on each leg before it triggers an imbalance fault. I don't think (not sure about this) the guy on YouTube updated his firmware which was one of the problems. You don't need a transformer from my experience. 10kw to 12kw of solar panels on a ground mount, one Sol-Ark 12k, four LifePo4 batteries, and you're basically ready to rock.

 

[mvonw]

Also, I think its important to update the firmware since that seems to make a difference on how much you can put on each leg before it triggers an imbalance fault. I don't think (not sure about this) the guy on YouTube updated his firmware which was one of the problems. You don't need a transformer from my experience. 10kw to 12kw of solar panels on a ground mount, one Sol-Ark 12k, four LifePo4 batteries, and you're basically ready to rock.

Thanks very much for confirming that. I did read that (on this forum, I think) something along those lines, but it wasn't clear. I'll call Sol-Ark to confirm.

That's great to hear. I've got 6 server batts and 20kw of panels. I just got Starlink satellite internet, so having power and internet is a revolution (and, frankly, a little sad to be losing the 'old ways')

 

[SolarHead]

If you're really sad about the "old ways", buy yourself a 56k baud modem, get on dial up for about 3 minutes. That should cure your sadness.

I think you were also asking about the neutral. You run Neutral from the critical loads panel, to the Sol-Ark. You run it from the Sol-Ark over to your 60A breaker in your main panel (that is on the grid). If you're off-grid, then well, your critical panel IS your main panel. Either way, Neutral is connected, however you only bond Neutral and ground ONCE and that is at the main panel. Usually the electrician has already bonded N and G there at the main panel, or at your main just outside the house beside the meter base. DO NOT bond more than once in your entire system. It can cause problems. Thats the electrical system grounding. In regards to equipment grounding, you run a green wire from the metal case of your critical loads panel, to the SolArk. Green wire from SolArk to main panel. That's kind of it. The Sol-Ark requires bonding of N and G, but you only bond ONCE in your entire solar and home electrical system combined. I'm not an electrician, so I would suggest you verify anything I say, or ask a licensed electrician. And if you run the N wire through a knife-blade switch, don't cut the white wire, nor switch it. It runs all the way from the Sol-Ark over to your main panel, and that's where its bonded with the ground (green wire). I also like to check my critical loads panel box to make sure the green bonding screw has been removed. If there's a licensed electrician or someone that knows for sure, please feel free to chime in.

 

[SolarHead]

If you look at the diagrams in the Sol-Ark manual, they show L1 and L2 as well as grounding and neutral wiring diagrams. Pretty helpful. But if you have another brand/model of inverter, look at their manual , hopefully they offer wiring diagrams for various configurations.

 

[mvonw]

If you're really sad about the "old ways", buy yourself a 56k baud modem, get on dial up for about 3 minutes. That should cure your sadness.

Haha, the "old way" at my location is hiking to the top of a 4000 ft mountain and hoping that I can get a cell phone signal. Now I can work at my cabin, which is a both a plus and not.

 

[SolarHead]

Yea I worked from home for a year. That didn't last. Was horrible. I went to sleep AT WORK. I woke up AT WORK. I ate lunch AT WORK. Have to be careful what you ask for in this life. You just might get it.