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@Adam De Lay I wanted to say thanks for posting your "Different Ways to Ignore AC Input on a Victron MultiPlus 2 Inverter" video. Link is below. I recently invested in the Victron ecosystem (MP II 48/5000, Lynx Distribution kit, Cerbo GX, SCC, etc). With one Multiplus running single...

First and foremost, take it slow. Better to live for another day than fry your yourself or your system. It took me several weeks to get to know my system and a few days to get it turned on. Don’t expect to get things running in a couple of hours if you are new to Solar. A few points. 1...

Here is my 2 cents. This is a lot to unwrap. Leveraging your “guesstimate” numbers 3,000 kWh / month equates to 100 kWh / day and 4 kW / hr Double the that to 8 kW / hr to account usage during the day Double it again for inductive loads 16 kw / hr Add 50% so you don’t run inverters at...

Capacitors don't last but a couple of seconds at the very most. If you consider Victron the leader in this area, their 48v 1200VA (about 1000w) has an idle consumption of 10w. It's very difficult to see any other company / brand beat Victron's number.

I remember one more reason why I had to throw out ROI. Wife and kids don’t understand or appreciate the literal pennies that I am trying to save each day with this system. I am collecting those pennies back over 10 or 20 years along with the joy of power independence and redundancy. They...

I have a similar problem with trying to collect more solar energy. I would say you have to consider your system (usage, battery capacity). If you have a large battery bank, then put your panels facing south. Any energy collected will be stored and south facing collects the most energy in...

Thanks I'll give SmartESS a try when I get home. I watched the YouTube video on Solar Assistant and my OCD self likes it very much. Eventually, I will get it if no other app is working.

I just check my 90 day temp history in SA and max was around 120 F. The inverters are in the basement which is obviously cooler in both the summer and winter times. From my observations, running high loads or getting a lot of solar go hand in hand with loud fans and higher inverter temps. A...

Some comments in no particular order. You picked an inverter AC unit which is the best option in regards to energy efficiency and startup load demands I have a 12k Midea U inverter AC. At full power, I think it takes about 1kw. Full power occurs when settings are on high and the difference...

Not sure if it was mentioned. When batteries work, life is good. When batteries don’t work, you may wish that you bought batteries that you can view individual cell voltages … usually through communications or Bluetooth. When there is no visibility to individual cell voltages, best you...

Understood. Thanks again. Need to get it right the first time.

Again thanks for the responses. This is getting complicated. Thankfully I did buy a 48v charger from signature solar ($200). If I understood correctly, I can add an independent charger and clamp it to the bus bars and use my wifi Kasa plug to activate when I need to. I prefer not to...

I already have one EG4 6500EX and my load center wired for 120v on both legs working well enough minus the occasional flickering LED lights. Not trying to switch back and forth. Its more about testing my second 6500EX and deciding whether to go split phase OR keeping single phase 120v and...

Well, it gets a little better. SA will show both SOC % and voltage!! Now, just need to setup the communication between SA and the batteries.

An easy way to start is to look at your electric bill. Tell us your average monthly bill over 12 months and how much electricity in kWh that you use each month. List your major appliances eg how many -and what type for heating, cooling, cooking, laundry, water, and toys / hobbies. Examples...

Not sure why you want to control the voltage cutoff. My guess is it probably relates to optimizing battery utilization. Once setup, you really don’t have a need to change settings. I think Victron designed their inverters to protect themselves from people like DIYers from easily tinkering with...

I bought mine during Amazon's prime sale (about 1.5 months ago). Pecron had their equivalent sale as well. I don't have any long term usage comments. For the 80% charging issue, I have read that you may need to drain / use the unit until the battery is empty then charge it up to full. That...

I have an E2000LFP and like it very much but with most things, you need to use it as intended. The coffee maker and grill are your largest electric items by watts. In general, anything used for cooking, heating or cooling will use plenty of electricity eg 1000+ watts (easily 1500+). Knowing...

I would say part of DIY is to have some turn key components. Its good to have a variety of "tools" in your toolbox. I have a DIY Victron system and 3 solar generators (2kw, 600w, 256w) that I really appreciate when I am working on the Victron system. I sometimes need something that just...

Does anyone have a recommendation for an oscilloscope on Amazon? Looking for something for a beginner to check on my EG4 6500EX and keep in my "tool box". I have some mild flickering lights at times. Have not recorded on paper or took mental notes when it occurred, but I wanted to to begin...

You can definitely monitor the incoming PV and charge rate. Once your batteries are at 100%, the charge rate should be zero / near zero and your incoming solar would be enough to cover your house electric load.

The number 4 box that indicates 600v and 30A appears to relate to your solar panel (PV) connectors. 10 gauge (6 mm2) is rated for 30 amps.

A couple of comments in no specific order Good luck with signature solar support. Response time can range from 2 weeks to 999 years. Stay away from the 18kpv. Not worth it throw money away TWICE. Many issues with the 6500 and at the end of the day, the seller is responsible. There are no...

Those EG4 ductless units are quite expensive. A cheaper option where heat is not required would be the Midea U inverter style window AC units. A 12k unit cost about 300-450 depending on when it goes on sale. Can buy them direct from Costco and get it delivered for free. High efficient units...

Honestly, I don't plan to activate or connect the grid often. My 30kw battery bank covers me most of the time just fine during the summer time. Will have to see what happens during winter.

I have an E600LFP as well. I believe the MPPT will adjust the input as needed. 80v 9A is well within the limits of 40v to 95v limit and 15a limit. I can see you’re overpaneling since the max solar input is 400 watts and you have 590 watts. I use 4 x 170w panels in series’s or 80v 8.3A and...

Bump ... This always happens. Buy something and the price drops afterwards.

$1500 is not a lot and it needs to be safe / student friendly. My "first" reaction is to get something turn key like a Pecron E2000LFP ($1100 now, on sale for $850). That's basically a 2kw lifepo4 battery, integrated charger, inverter, blah, blah. All it needs are some solar panels (400 -...

Are there any inverters (AIO or piece meal approach (Victron?)) that have a programmable SBU function? I know the question is vague so here is my use case. I want my system to run on solar, a certain amount of battery, and utility covers the rest. For example, there is a 6kw load ( eg...

I ended up taking down the second 6500. My house loads don't need/use the combined 13kw let alone the 6.5kw. Plus I didn't like the additional idle power consumption of the second 6500. I agree with Capt Bill that keeping the load center and inverter at 120v means you get to use a cheaper...

I pretty sure the parasitic 50w won't show up on the SA totals tab. I'll take a picture later on tonight. Right now with some solar, it's drawing 1.4w

As stated earlier, this is a wild a$$ guess with little to no tangible information. The start of the calculation is 3000kw / month which equates to an average 4 kw / hour. Using this info, I am trying to size the inverter. This is my opinion and estimation. Enough said !!

Thanks again Adam I definitely want the Cerbo too. I'm being too stubborn right now and don't feel the $1900 is worth it for remote monitoring and configuration. I think I'll eventually warm up and get desensitized to the price the more I keep looking. I'll look at prices later, my guess is...

Also, giving them a little more time (a week?) to adjust and passively balance and actively balance with your BMS running the show. Some cells may need a couple of charge and discharge cycles to wake up and operate at full capacity. I'm kind of lazy and would not want to disassemble the battery...

If you are looking for a turn key solution, then the EB3000 add in battery is very versatile and can be used together with the E2000LFP or separately. Try to search for reviews of the combo. I vaguely seem to remember the while the idea is good in theory, there are some quirkiness. Both...

Thanks Q Dog, Seems like Victron approves 150 / 45 for the 4 parallel strings of 5 panels

Updating the firmware is the default answer to keep you busy and occupied and off their backs. Realize that the firmware you currently have was once the most current firmware and it was working at some level of functionality. Prepare to spend many hours working through your issues My...

I don't think that EF / Bluetti are in that market to supply 200A. My perception is that they tend to provide turn key solutions and charge a premium. Like you said, you have to get ridiculus and get say 10 EF units. If a house requires anywhere near 100A-200A of constant load, they are...

With 22 = aon, I hear the 6500 beeping throughout the day. Wish I received 1/10 of a penny every time it beeped. I would get some serious money.

I understand money does not grow on trees. My guess is that like many others in this forum, we/they tend to over build, myself included. I threw ROI out the window for many reasons. Mainly difficult to compute intangibles (eg joy of diy project, hobby, independence), unfair to exclude my...

Thank you! Here is a very, very quick analysis from the US market for a DIY battery.

Thanks for the responses.

If all connections are solid and there are no major manufacturer defects then the panels are likely working as intended. When you watch too closely, panels can appear to act weird. On most sunny days, I get 40-60% of rated power. On rare blips, I have seen it spike to 100% of rated power for...

I just browsed the manual online and it's a bit confusing. Better to let smarter people chime in.

I was eyeing the victron shunt for around $130 but prefer to wait til the system stabilizes. I'm okay with reading the voltages for the time being and understand they fluctuate with load. For SA, I have it set to read or use inverter values. I would love to use SA to view as much detail battery...

What are some things to look for when buying solar panels for diy ground mount? I want to steer away from voltage, current, and or physical size. I know for diy, you want to try and match up your inverter solar input (max VOC, max current, max watts) with the number of solar panels. I know...

Newbie question. Current setup and info One EG4 6500EX 6 Lifepower4 batteries 4kw PV array setup and working 6kw of panels waiting to be setup About 10 kwh used per day Have and connected grid power, but want to move all usage to solar or battery Is there a way to eliminate or minimize the...

Thanks Gavin, was watching your video today and that's how I learned about the SS credit.

For limited space applications (e.g. RV), the main driver is size of solar panel (including VOC and ISC or max volts and amps) and mounting kit. You likely want to pick panels that … 0. Figure how much electricity you use and how many days you want to survive with worst case of no sun or...

From my understanding the idle power is what is required to run the inverter. It should exist regardless of whether the inverter is idle or not. The idle power consumption is outside the scope of the inverter. In other words, it does not know that it is consuming that power. It's can be...

Most people on here build systems for their personal use and may bend / break the rules along the way and accept the risks. Now, if you plan to sell your house in the future with the solar system in place, that becomes more difficult from a legal / liability perspective. This decision will...

To the Op, you have a couple bad options ahead. It's good to know what you are up against. Pay with time (try to fix it) or pay with money (buy new equipment) or some combination. We on this forum can only provide a small amount of well intentioned support. Response times are relatively good...

A couple of comments -- Get a Lifepo4 battery. They can consistently discharge to near 0% for at least 2000 cycles. -- Flexible solar panels are not durable. I don't have direct experience with flexible panels. Go with standard, rigid panels if you can. They are cheaper as well. -- Spend...

I wasn't planning to connect SA to interface the batteries. It was a nice to have.

You should be able to setup your inverter and use a "user defined" battery option and set your battery voltages manually. With just 2 batteries, you should be able to get away with a direct parallel connection, but I really cannot say. You need to provide more info such as how long as the...

I dont know myself, but I would say it's about marginal cost. An extra $100ish dollars to protect the most expensive component of your system (batteries). Also, if the initial SPD doesn't clamp down on that spiked voltage enough at the PV inlet, the SPD on the battery may still be able to...

Batteries are in closed loop. In general, they charge to 90-100% by early evening time. After that, the house load is greater than any incoming PV. Due to trees / shade, probably 90% of the solar that gets to the battery is from 12 noon to 4pm. This system is still new so i monitor it...

You guys make a good point about the relatively higher Vmp required to charge a 48v system when Voc is capped at 100v (and less when considering temperature compensation). I think the 75 / 15 SCC is more than adequate for the OP’s 12v system for around $70. I run a 48v system and appreciate...

Thank you, thank you all Finally got the EG4 6500EX connected to the WatchPowe App !! Not sure what actually did the trick but here is a quick list. - Upgraded firmware to latest - Daisy chained an old router (100Mbit style) - Used weaker wifi security eg wpa personal - simple password -...

It's going to take me some time to connect the AC input line. Currently I have a 12awg extension cord for the sole purpose of charging the battery at night when loads are small and clouds are plentiful. I am in the process of buying an 50A rv extension cord, outlet, etc. I keep forgetting...

Configuration wise, both are good. App support is adequate for both. JBD likely has a passive balancer. Depending on the model, JK can be an active or passive balancer. Active balancing is good for batteries that have deeper discharges since they can be configured to actively balance...

Thanks for pointing me to the better breaker. $70 is worth it for the 200A version. The 160A version seems to take at least a month to get here. Now, I just need the price of the cells to drop back down to $79.

I downloaded the SA data but its difficult to analyze since it is not granualar and provides data points every 20 seconds. Instead, I browsed the charts and found a good example of the random nature of the shutdowns. There are 5 random shutdowns. Pictures below are for Friday morning 9/29...

The combination of a neutral ground bond plus ground wire provides the path.

Very clear, thank you. I have a question for you: during my last cycle, with charger at 55.20V, batteries got to 100% SOC and the BMS flagged alarm & protection but none of the batteries seemed to have turned off (with the red alarm light). See photo below. How could this have happened? To...

Also, when you link inverters together in parallel or split phase, when one inverter goes down, the system go down. In other words, your system has more points of failure.

Need a safety / sanity check. For a DIY 16s 280ah battery with two rows of 8 cells (see picture), what is the voltage at cell 8? I want to place a 100A mega fuse between cell 8 and 9. I think the voltage would be half the total voltage or nominal 25.6v. The reason that I ask is the mega...

First newbie question and more to come. I am looking at the Off-Grid EG4 System Kit. ✔ 2 x UL 1741 Standard EG4 6.5kW Off-Grid Inverters | 6500EX-48 - Split Phase Optional Output [120/240V] ✔ 6 x 5.12kWh EG4 UL Listed Lithium Batteries - 5 Year Warranty (10 year warranty with EG4-LL!) ✔...

Thanks for the responses I do have solar Assistant and haven't setup that automation piece. The way they word it, it is written wrong. The graph makes sense but not the instructions. I wish I could do some more testing but I have one main setup that is powering the house and it cannot go...

What are the 48v Lifepower4 battery setting when in closed loop communication? I think I heard or read somewhere, cannot remember where, that default soc of 20% is the shutdown threshold. I have one 6500 and 6 batteries. I have 3 more days of no sun. I want to charge (with grid or...

To connect multiple batteries to the Lynx power in, buy a sufficiently rated positive and negative bus bar. Connect that bus bar using equal or near equal length battery cables to each of your 6 batteries, then connect that bus bar to the Power In bus bar. As you added more batteries, get...

A couple of comments. Daly BMSs are sold on Amazon so they are easy to purchase which is why I have the 4S bluetooth version. Energy is energy. As long as your make 4 cells that the BMS can read, it should work. Its not optimal since each cell is composed of really 8 cells. To me, you...

Thanks for being thorough. The 170w panels are about 20v x 8.3A I typed it wrong since I don’t know the actual nomenclature of indicating what is in series and what is in parallel. It is 3 panels in series and another 3 panels in series. Those two set of 3 are then connected in parallel...

I'm going to answer as best as I can. For the parallel 120v single phase. The manual is correct but it is ambiguous. Inverter 1 Port A is the tiny two slot port that uses the red and black wires. Port B is the same except it is to the right of port A. You can accidentally install these wrong...

I put the jumper in the circuit breaker since that makes the panel / load center to be a single 120v panel. Without the jumper, it really is a dual 120v load center. Also, manual shows that you should have all inverters connect / feed / supply the same 120v leg.

Thanks for the responses. Probably some more context is helpful. It’s probably going to sound more like complaining My EG4 6500EX shuts down from time to time for about a second. All charts like PV input, AC out, battery out drop to zero / near zero. This totally annoying and appears somewhat...

Seems like you already have the solution based on your comment "What can I do to resolve these problems, short of replacing the inverters with something all together different and chalking this up to ... I'm just a sucker... don't by budget friendly inverter(s) ?" Right now, Victron Multiplus...

I found another time when the inverter shuts down randomly. This time, it was late at night and PV is zero. I had connected the AC input to charge the batteries. The house load was <500w.

I am no expert. Please proceed your own risk. I didn't have my inverters in parallel for more than a couple of days. I didn't need 13kw. Never hooked up AC input to them when in parallel. I would try to simplify the setup 1. Both inverters work in parallel single phase. Check! 2. Try...

The Victron Multiplus II 48 / 5000 / 120v are down to $17xx

Those fault codes are not really helpful. Do you have Solar Assistant or watch power setup so you can read settings from the inverter?

I’m trying to add some solar panels to my new Victron Smart Charge Controller 150 / 45 and connect it to my existing 48v off grid system (EG4 6500EX, 6 Lifepower4 batteries and 10k PV (yes its over paneled but still under max VOC). With my current setup and shade / trees, on an excellent winter...

For the same or very similar price, go with server rack batteries. First priority is to get the system to work. Once you get into work and it is stable, then feel free to go diy on certain upgrades. I chose not to go diy batteries since the price is virtually the same and I loose the...

I don't mind the 50w, I just want it to be taken from my battery bank. There's some principal / pride in being self sufficient.

I put 70 in the Self Consumption Power settings dialogue box. I interpreted that as the idle power of the inverter.

It's always a pain connecting different panels in the same series or parallel array. You either have to match up the amps or volts, that's if you are fortunate enough to have like minded panels. With 2 hours of sun per day at best, put your best panels to use and consider over paneling. In...

Where do / did you buy your BMS from a reputable retailer? I bought two Overkill 16S BMS ($160 each) from their website and one Daly 4s BMS ($60) from Amazon. The Overkill is priced higher but has an idiot proof warranty. I"m asking since I'm looking for something where the retailer /...

Almost forgot, I wish I had an inverter that I can program "gid assist". Don't know the actual name but want the grid to supplement the battery at a programmable threshold like battery powers tthe house from 0 to 3000w and the grid helps out beyond that. Right now my EG4 6500EX inverter cant...

I feel the same and don't want to charge from the grid. That's why I want to have some type of "Solar / battery shaving" where grid will be configured to shave off the peaks for the solar / battery. The concept is similar with grid shaving or victron power assist, but flip flops the grid and...

AC input is connected only to charge batteries when solar collection is poor. Leaving it connected draws about 50w when solar is down or during nighttime when solar is non-existent. Also, that defeats the purpose of trying to minimize grid use and maximize battery use. 18 = bon, alarm is...

I would say more info is needed. What is generating those load? Inductive or resistive loads? Use of electric based appliances? Dryer, water heater, garage "toys"?? Peak average 15 minute loads do not tell you how long the load is running. I have the Emporia Vue as well. The 17.6 kwh peak...

There was a lot of reading and I'm not an expert here. I thought over voltage would be around 3.7 or 3.8v considering max voltage per cell for lifepo4 is around 3.65 when charging them. I'm thinking of my 48v server rack battery which has a max of 58.4v or 3.65 per cell. Also, I think your...

Thanks for the responses. Locally, Facebook and Craigslist are sna desert and does not have anything. Since this is.diy, I have tended to stay away from larger panels. I am an army of one. They are heavier and as tall as me. I know they require less mounting hardware. That price point of...

Forgot to mention, if you go larger and less turn key, a server rack battery comes in a steel box, weighs 100 lbs, is not easily moved, and has 5kwh of energy. Price is about $1600 ($1400 + $200 shipping). Combine it with an all in one inverter and you'll be in the $2500 price range. This is...

Thanks. That was very helpful. I will get the 2/0 cables.

Another newbie question. I’m in the Midwest (Ohio). I have a pecron E2000LFP. Will be installing my dual eg4 6500 and battery bank over the course of a few weeks. Quick specs on E2000LFP 2kwh battery 2k inverter 4k surge Dual mppt 1200w max (really 2 x 600w max) My yard is full of trees...

The max charge and discharge current for a battery serves a different function. I would consider those to be stop gap / safety related items. I'm referring to having your inverter share or split the house electric load between solar, battery and utility. The inverters can handle sharing or...

Another newbie question. I'm working on installing the dual EG4 6500s with 6 Lifepower4 batteries. I will install the 2/0 cables from each inverter to 300A standalone bus bar. I will install 4/0 cables from bus bar to battery rack bus bar. Can I safely mount the 4/0 cables with 3/8 lugs and...

A few comments. 1. Use the Victron settings. The EG4 settings are too aggressive for a BMS with a passive balancer. Charge Current: 70 A Absorption: 55.20V (this is 3.45v per cell) Float: 54V Absorption Duration: 3.5 Hrs (This is okay) 2. The EG4 server batteries and nearly all...

I am looking to replace my one EG4 6500 with a Victron kit. Never used Victron before. Tired of mediocrity and want something that just works well. I am open to suggestions / critiques. Location: Northeast Ohio. PV array is oversized to compensate for shade / trees. Current system -------...