Recent content by Sparky_SC

Glad you got it going !! The big problem with PVkeeper is that it crashes quite often. I don't believe Growatt has ever resolved that.

You do need to install the driver for the CP210 communications chip in the inverter. Here is a link to drivers for the chip https://www.silabs.com/developers/usb-to-uart-bridge-vcp-drivers?tab=downloadsn Look in your windows device manager after installing the driver, you can...

Joe has it right. I have been using Solar Assistant for almost a year now and it works great. They keep improving it too, one of the latest updates allows it to connect to some brands of BMS to directly monitor battery conditions. Being able to access it by either computer (locally or...

Unless your loads are quite small it would go to the grid every time a cloud passes by. Its not uncommon for my system to swing from 4000 watts down to 300-400W and back to 4000 as clouds pass by, the battery supplements those swings in sunlight keeping the utility bill small. Running...

I agree you can use the AC grid to supplement the load by setting the inverter to one of those modes BUT it sort of defeats the concept of a off-grid inverter ! The savings on your electric bill will be FAR less than a setup with decent battery storage.

No battery showing in your video. Although the inverter will work without a battery, its performance will be horrible as you are experiencing. The output is dropping off because there in no battery to supply power during temporary drops in solar (sun) power due to clouds passing etc. I...

Should have been a CD in with the manual, no dongle unless you buy the wifi adapter separately. You can download PVkeeper online.

PVkeeper is provided in the box with the Growatt inverter on CD. It is a windows program and connects to the inverter with the supplied USB cable. It is for local monitoring only and works reasonably well but not great. I used it for a couple months at first. Newer versions of it...

Kind of defeats the purpose of a smart BMS with integral SOC readout doesn't it? This is a 200A BMS and they also have a 300A version, use of a large battery shouldn't be unexpected. The whole point is why the 650AH limit? Its just a software change, comes down to poor engineering...

If a BMS disconnects for any reason and later reconnects that battery will not be at the same voltage SOC as the others and a large current can flow. As long as none never disconnect, no problem. Naturally, there is no communications between multiple BMS so one knows what the other is doing...

Yes, it is a limit in the firmware. I realize I can use the BMS, in fact I am using it. The problem is that you don't get a accurate SOC reading as I stated. The SOC readout is one of the best features of the JBD bms, plus something you need to know for obvious reasons. The numbers are...

4P16S with 180AH prismatics.

I recently got the JBD 7-20S 200A BMS and use it with the UART interface and PC application. I found it won't take battery capacities over 650AH and confirmed that with their customer support. I have a 720AH 4p16S pack and cannot get a accurate SOC reading as a result. I am using...

After buying 4 pcs of the JBD 7-20S 200A BMS I found when setting them up that they will not accept battery capacities over 650AH. I confirmed this with their customer support. I did not see it documented anywhere and post this to inform others. I have a 720AH 4P16S battery and cannot...

Yes, it is a beta release. I am not on the beta program and my solar assistant does not show a update available. (yet) Thanks for the good news! No doubt the non-beta update will be coming quite soon.