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New EG4 Chargeverter V2

Brightside said:
Does anyone know if I can hook a chargeverter up to the Smart Load output of a Sol-ark or EG4 18kPV to charge a remote battery bank(seems like this should work fine)?
Basically I want to charge a large bank in another location when I have excess solar available.

Will the chargerverter just turn on and start charging when the smart load output turns on?

Is the chargeverter powered by the batteries when the AC is off?

Does the chargeverter remember V and I setpoints if battery and AC are both off and then turned on again?
Click to expand...
Yes, yes, yes, and yes.

SparkyJJO said:
Nice. V1 does not have a ramp-up correct? I think I recall some people noting that it would stall out their gen by near instantly trying to pull full power?
They really should advertise V2 (GC) has ramp-up if V1 did not.
Click to expand...
V1 did ramp up, but not as gradually or smooth.
 
Dexter, so I missed part of your generator/chargeverter story. You have 12 chargeverters connected to a large generator?
I have a 55 KW generator, natural gas powered, continuous rating, and I have thought about attaching a number of chargeverter type devices to it. But my battery bank would need to be a lot bigger in order to absorb that much power. Of course the generator doesnt need to be loaded to 100%.
 
Yeah, my parents have 164kWh of battery bank to dump into. Thanks @OpenNRG for being a ninja on the link!
 
HighTechLab said:
It's rather funny that the GC (stands for generator control) functionality was added due to feedback from this forum and now that EG4 developed and added it, people are upset that it made the product a bit more expensive.

That said, I think some of the differences with the new chargeverter is poorly noted and make the higher price a fair representation of the value added.

The new chargeverter has a removable input cord, so swapping from 120v plug to 240v plug is very easy. The output is now Dexgon (similar to amphenol) connectors so the output cords can be easily unplugged - and shops like mine will soon be able to offer custom cables could provide you whichever length and ring terminal config you like - or give you options if you need to move the chargeverter between systems. The screen is way better too, overall efficiency is significantly increased meaning less energy wasted as heat.
Click to expand...
Dexter....did you guys order a bunch of the DEGSON connectors in various configurations? You cannot get them in the states as far as I can tell and I don't think they are compatible with Amphenol connectors. https://www.degson.com/product/productlist20_4438066.html?lang=en
 
Mr onetwo said:
Dexter....did you guys order a bunch of the DEGSON connectors in various configurations? You cannot get them in the states as far as I can tell and I don't think they are compatible with Amphenol connectors. https://www.degson.com/product/productlist20_4438066.html?lang=en
Click to expand...
Are they different than these? https://www.digikey.com/en/products...ZX4AnAJYA7AOYgAvvMIsyIgK5iAMkQDWAAgAKmNdm7ygA

They sure look like they should be compatible. but guess someone would have to verify.
 
While I am somewhat interested in the communications capability of the new ChargeVerter, it sounds like they haven’t actually implemented any of the obvious integrations, nor is it clear that they ever will.

However, the price delta is reasonable, and you can’t get the old ones, so I have two of the newer ones on order, and I guess I can hope that they will allow integration with their 18Kpv and power pro batteries sometime in the near future.

I mean, I could query solar assistant for the battery SOC and then talk directly to the ChargeVerter with another RS485 or CAN interface, but that’s another Raspberry Pi and a bunch of when when (in an ideal world) that should all just happen automatically and seamlessly. Here’s hoping!
 
HighTechLab said:
It's rather funny that the GC (stands for generator control) functionality was added due to feedback from this forum and now that EG4 developed and added it, people are upset that it made the product a bit more expensive.
Click to expand...
Yes it looks like they really listened to the feedback.
It always amazes me how people will spend hundreds of dollars on a product and then make a hard pass on spending a few dollars more on the better model.
HighTechLab said:
That said, I think some of the differences with the new chargeverter is poorly noted and make the higher price a fair representation of the value added.
Click to expand...
The one feature that would have been nice is a slow ramp up on the charge current.
I also have mixed feeling on the benefits of Comm communication when it states that "the Inverter cannot be connected to Comms at the same time as the Chargeverter". That means you have to unhook the RS485 cable, which kind of makes the Auto Gen Start a little less attractive.

HighTechLab said:
The new chargeverter has a removable input cord, so swapping from 120v plug to 240v plug is very easy. The output is now Dexgon (similar to amphenol) connectors so the output cords can be easily unplugged - and shops like mine will soon be able to offer custom cables could provide you whichever length and ring terminal config you like - or give you options if you need to move the chargeverter between systems. The screen is way better too, overall efficiency is significantly increased meaning less energy wasted as heat.
Click to expand...
Seems like the extra $50 is not a bad for what you get.
I had to buy a Nema L5-30P to L14-30P adapter so that I could keep things neat and run it on 120V or 240V without messing with the wiring.
That was a $20 expense right there!
 
robby said:
It always amazes me how people will spend hundreds of dollars on a product and then make a hard pass on spending a few dollars more on the better model.
Click to expand...
It's a 20% increase in price.
And everyone has a different perspective on what better is.
Simple and reliable is what sold me on the original version. It just worked, right out of the box. The only thing that anyone might have wanted to change was the $2 plug. If they wanted to use it for 120v.
A more complex screen with more settings. And extra plugs and attachments to buy. Isn't my idea of better.

I have no problem with offering different versions for different customers.
I think that they should be offering both versions.
That's how you serve all of the customers.
And then you can discontinue the version that isn't selling. I'm pretty sure that we all know how that would go.
But forcing 100% of the customers to pay more for features that only 5% of the customers asked for, seems like a bad plan.
Not to mention that the original version was already established in the market. And the new version will have to be field tested for 6 months, all over again. Before we even know if it will be relatively reliable.
 
timselectric said:
It's a 20% increase in price.
And everyone has a different perspective on what better is.
Simple and reliable is what sold me on the original version. It just worked, right out of the box. The only thing that anyone might have wanted to change was the $2 plug. If they wanted to use it for 120v.
A more complex screen with more settings. And extra plugs and attachments to buy. Isn't my idea of better.

I have no problem with offering different versions for different customers.
I think that they should be offering both versions.
That's how you serve all of the customers.
And then you can discontinue the version that isn't selling. I'm pretty sure that we all know how that would go.
But forcing 100% of the customers to pay more for features that only 5% of the customers asked for, seems like a bad plan.
Not to mention that the original version was already established in the market. And the new version will have to be field tested for 6 months, all over again. Before we even know if it will be relatively reliable.
Click to expand...
I am just so glad I bought my 4 all at once, done.

Your post is spot on with my thoughts.......
 
Yeah, one is all that I should ever need. (Up to 120kwh/day)
I already have the two that I planned for in my system. (Will never run at the same time)
I would like to have a 3rd for a spare. I'll just keep my eye on the marketplace.
 
I agree. Kicked myself late last year for not stocking up on the many specialized and solid components needed. Hence I missed out on normal pricing & availability of the Original v1 Chargeverter. Now that I found limited availability, snapped it up.
I'm now doing this with everything in my system. (Thanks for advice @timselectric) (y)
My generator has no auto start anything. Manual pull-string startup. Suits me just fine. Stupid Simple.
 
timselectric said:
It's a 20% increase in price.
And everyone has a different perspective on what better is.
Simple and reliable is what sold me on the original version. It just worked, right out of the box. The only thing that anyone might have wanted to change was the $2 plug. If they wanted to use it for 120v.
A more complex screen with more settings. And extra plugs and attachments to buy. Isn't my idea of better.

I have no problem with offering different versions for different customers.
I think that they should be offering both versions.
That's how you serve all of the customers.
And then you can discontinue the version that isn't selling. I'm pretty sure that we all know how that would go.
But forcing 100% of the customers to pay more for features that only 5% of the customers asked for, seems like a bad plan.
Not to mention that the original version was already established in the market. And the new version will have to be field tested for 6 months, all over again. Before we even know if it will be relatively reliable.
Click to expand...
If this was the first version would you still find the price tag unreasonable?
 
robby said:
If this was the first version would you still find the price tag unreasonable?
Click to expand...
Yes, because you can get a budget AIO for about the same price.
Which is why version one sold like hotcakes.
It was just low enough (barely) to make it worth buying, instead.
 
There's a few. It's been a while since I looked.
Any of the rebranded Voltronics should have a lower priced model.
The other benefits are an extra MPPT and a backup inverter for emergencies.
 
Honestly,.. My use case is a "Chargeverter Lite" with only 1 of the power supplies to be 120V input only. Very basic settings for voltage and current and maybe a timer with the most economical display they can find.. Zero bells please..
 
SparkyJJO said:
Which AIO? Genuinely curious.
Click to expand...
SRNE HF 5kW or the HYP for a bit more.
~$520 for the HF.
Could probably find a rebrand for around the same price.
There are also the Voltronics like Tim mentioned, I don't see why a Growatt wouldn't work either.

I can see the appeal of the Chargeverter I just can't understand the price with all the "tier 2" AIOs on the market.

In the spirit of DIY you could also pick up a couple Emerson R48-3000E3 rectifiers for ~$160 bucks.
 
timselectric said:
Yes, because you can get a budget AIO for about the same price.
Which is why version one sold like hotcakes.
It was just low enough (barely) to make it worth buying, instead.
Click to expand...

Probably part of the EG4 master plan to have everything networked and connected. "Buy our stuff since it all connects together". I'm surprised they didn't add Bluetooth, Wifi and an Ethernet port to it. Geez.
A USB port to configure it would make sense. Anything else is pure fluff.
Checkout the thread on the Chargenectifier on this forum if you don't want to pay for the paint job and the screen.
 
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