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EG4 Chargeverter Battery/Inverter Communications

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Marobel

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Feb 29, 2024
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Long Beach, Ca
I am just wondering why, when using my new EG4 chargeverter integrated into my EG4 server battery rack, which is hooked up to my EG4 6000XP, the manual states “Do not establish communications between charger and battery if already using inverter to battery communications “ (accurately paraphrased). If I use the chargeverter to charge just a standalone battery then comms are needed. Just asking why does the chargeverter care? The chargeverter SOC states “Lost” on the display when not comm’d to the batteries. So how is the chargeverter knowing the SOC?

I did research an answer on this forum and on the WWW and could not find an anything.
 
Marobel said:
So how is the chargeverter knowing the SOC?
Click to expand...

It doesn't. It almost never matters.

The chargerverter is basically made from the same bits as the inverter/charger in an AiO unit. It's probably still based on the older Voltronics-type hardware while your 6000XP is a Luxpower product.

Connect both, and you're trying to establish communication between two different inverter/chargers and the battery. Hopefully, you intuitively see this as potentially problematic. If you don't, then it may help to understand that the AiO are designed to communicate only with identical models will all features present. It's pretty clear the chargeverter and your 6000XP only have "EG4" labels in common.

If there are no comms, it should just charge to the set voltage. If you insist on charging to a set SoC, you'll need to swap the cable back and forth.
 
The "new" EG4 Charge-Inverter manual shows that the RJ45 (RS485 bus) uses pins 1&2. EG4 typically uses pins 1&2 on their RJ45/RS485 ports for comms to other devices such as an Inverter, Solar Assistant or the BMS_Test software (only one at a time).

Specifically for the LifePower4 batteries pins 7&8 are used for battery to battery comms and pins 1&2 are used for Inverter comms.

If using an EG4 Communications Hub pins 1&2 are no longer connected to the inverter so I would suspect that connecting the ChargeInverter would not be an issue, much like using an external separate charger.

The manual might be assuming with BMS to Inverter comms that pins 1&2 are in use, you cannot have more than one "Master" on an RS485 bus.
I suspect that in the absence of comms the ChargeInverter uses the Max Charge Voltage and Max Charge Current you program in and with comms the ChargeInverter uses data it gets from the battery and overrides the Max Charge Voltage and Max Charge Current you program in.

I have not yet purchased the new ChargeInverter but will in the near future so I can break down the communications.
 
Thanks. I fully understand what you’re saying here. I wrote this in hopes of getting EG4, Luxpower, SS or anyone else to explain these types of instructions in the manuals rather than just thinking all of us are dummies and follow blindly along.
 
It will be a few months before I save the money to buy one, don't really need one but since I have 6 EG4 LifePower4 batteries it would fit in.
Just bought 6 more 550W PERC panels and another SunGoldPower battery.
My granddaughters suck up a lot of my "extra" money, they get more expensive as they grow.....
 
Right now, I have three 6000XPs, three PowerPro batteries, and a Chargeverter (among a lot of other stuff) in transit to me. The only thing I still don't really know how to properly connect is that Chargeverter. It would be very helpful if the nice folks at EG4 would publish a diagram here that shows this. They sell all this stuff, and market the Chargeverter as the thing to use when you don't have a giant generator producing pristine power. So....... A little help on now to make it play nice with all their other stuff would be just peachy. Please.
 
Madcodger said:
Right now, I have three 6000XPs, three PowerPro batteries, and a Chargeverter (among a lot of other stuff) in transit to me. The only thing I still don't really know how to properly connect is that Chargeverter. It would be very helpful if the nice folks at EG4 would publish a diagram here that shows this. They sell all this stuff, and market the Chargeverter as the thing to use when you don't have a giant generator producing pristine power. So....... A little help on now to make it play nice with all their other stuff would be just peachy. Please.
Click to expand...
Just got my new chargeverter today. I also got a 12V charger and I suspect it has been used. I need to call tomorrow to find out what they will do.
 
marionw said:
I have not yet purchased the new ChargeInverter but will in the near future so I can break down the communications.
Click to expand...
Any progress on this? Fully understand the availability of resources to do this, just curious if you had gotten anywhere. Thanks!
 
Madcodger said:
Right now, I have three 6000XPs, three PowerPro batteries, and a Chargeverter (among a lot of other stuff) in transit to me. The only thing I still don't really know how to properly connect is that Chargeverter. It would be very helpful if the nice folks at EG4 would publish a diagram here that shows this. They sell all this stuff, and market the Chargeverter as the thing to use when you don't have a giant generator producing pristine power. So....... A little help on now to make it play nice with all their other stuff would be just peachy. Please.
Click to expand...
Here is a diagram of one way you could connect the chargeverter to your system.

1718384973088.png
 
I called signature solar yesterday about the chargeverter GC. asked if the inverter can use RS454, and the chargeverter can use the can port. boy, that threw them for a loop. also asked if the chargeverter would cycle on and off per the settings on grid power. they didn't know.
 
Also, while we pitching ideas, what bms protocol does the EG4 monitor and is it compatible with any of the BMS protocols in a sungold solar wall mount battery SG48100M.
 
Jim_in_Sav said:
I called signature solar yesterday about the chargeverter GC. asked if the inverter can use RS454, and the chargeverter can use the can port. boy, that threw them for a loop. also asked if the chargeverter would cycle on and off per the settings on grid power. they didn't know.
Click to expand...
Are you asking if a particular battery (which one?) can talk RS 485 to a particular inverter (which one?) while simultaneously talking CAN bus to the CVGC? Your question sure threw me for a loop, so I’m not surprised that Signature Solar didn’t know what you’re talking about.

First of all the CVGC only has RS485, so you would want to ask if you can do it the other way around.

And sorry, I can’t parse the second part of your question either. Can you try again?

I mean, I have 18 KPV inverters, and PowerPro batteries, and a couple of CVGC, and I would love for them to all work together, so let’s see if we can figure it out.

I suppose the first question is if you can talk to the PowerPro battery using CAN and RS 485 at the same time.
 
Jim_in_Sav said:
Also, while we pitching ideas, what bms protocol does the EG4 monitor and is it compatible with any of the BMS protocols in a sungold solar wall mount battery SG48100M.
Click to expand...
Whichever EG4 you are talking about certainly has an online manual. If you look it up, you will be able to see which protocols it can be set to for either RS485 or CAN. Likewise, the Sungold battery will have a manual that will detail which protocols it can speak.
 
Jim_in_Sav said:
I called signature solar yesterday about the chargeverter GC. asked if the inverter can use RS454, and the chargeverter can use the can port. boy, that threw them for a loop. also asked if the chargeverter would cycle on and off per the settings on grid power. they didn't know.
Click to expand...

The Chargeverter would not automatically start or stop the charging cycle according to the parameters set.
1719521407064.png

It would be recommended to not communicate with the Chargverter and inverter at the same time.
1719521344919.png


The manual for the Chargeverter can be found here: https://eg4electronics.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/EG4®-Chargeverter-GC-Manual.pdf
 

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I have 2 sungoldpower 5000 watt AIO units, with 2 Sungoldpower wall mount 48 volt batteries. the batteries have one battery talking to one AIO. the AIO's are parallel in a 240 volt system, but they do not appear as a system on SolarAssistant, so I only see 1 leg. i want to monitor the batteries through the other leg.
The batteries have 7 BMS protocols to use. the Chargevertwer manual DOES NOT say which it uses.
the warning about the using the chargeverter when connected to the grid, to me, implies the AIO connected to the grid, not the chargeverter.
 
Jim_in_Sav said:
the AIO's are parallel in a 240 volt system, but they do not appear as a system on SolarAssistant, so I only see 1 leg
Click to expand...
Can SA be configured to see both inverters? I used to have two GoodWe inverters on SA and now have two EG4, so it feels like Sungold should work the same. Disconnect, discover them both, select them both, and reconnect.
 
wpns said:
The warning is about trying to communicate with the batteries using the ChargeVerter and the inverter simultaneously. Nothing to do with AC, it’s the RS485 communications
Click to expand...
Well,I beg to differ. the warning states the chargeverter will not work to the set limits if the grid is connected. I don't think EG4 envisioned the chargeverter being plugged into grid. but that's what i have done.
 
wpns said:
Can SA be configured to see both inverters? I used to have two GoodWe inverters on SA and now have two EG4, so it feels like Sungold should work the same. Disconnect, discover them both, select them both, and reconnect.
Click to expand...
According to SA, no, their software can not see 2 inverters doing split phase. which is ok. the split phase only runs the well pump maybe every other day.
 
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