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Signature Solar EG4 6.5K Off-Grid Inverter | 6500EX-48

Has anyone tested this inverter with non-EG4 server rack batteries yet? If so, what were the results?
 
rhino said:
Are these inverters as loud as it sounds on the video? It sounded like the fans are on 100% of the time? If so why aren't they temp controlled instead?
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I am wondering this too.
Probably only Will has experience with both. ??
 
I have 12,000W of solar connected, so they are loud the moment I switch on the arrays. No different sound than any other inverter of this capacity.
 
The fans will also kick on when using AC battery charging (at least at >= 30A to the battery - I haven't tested lower) or when powering large loads. They're quite loud. I've actually changed the output source priority timer so that AC battery charging will not occur until I am up because unfortunately for me, the master bedroom is above the garage where the inverters are installed and it's loud enough (for me) to disrupt my sleep.
 
s9josh said:
How quiet do they get when there's no meaningful load on them?
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I haven't measured. With no charging, no PV, and low loads, I can't hear them unless I'm in the garage. Thankfully, this is about 95% of the time for my use case.
 
Will Prowse said:
Oh sure but you can still distribute them for cheap as a small business from another larger distributor. Same with victron. Sol ark is not special in this regard. Same with large volume solar panels. Typically small businesses and installers simply buy them from larger distributors for wholesale prices. This is actually common across most products. Doesn't sound like you understand the industry that well. What type of distribution or installation business do you run? What are you currently selling?
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Could you suggest a distributor, you might recommend, where the sol-ark inverters can be purchased for closer to wholesale?
 
Is it possible to set the EG4s to power the load (sub) panel only using solar and batteries and using AC power main panel only to recharge batteries when the PV Array cannot?
 
WattAboutThat said:
Can anyone determine if the 6500 inverters have an internal relay, that connects the Neutral to the Ground under defined conditions?

If such a relay exists, can we get a clear indication of which conditions cause the G-N to be bonded by closing the relay, and which conditions will cause the G N to NOT BE BONDED by opening the relay?
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Yes, the inverters switch both Hot and neutral. They also create an N-G bond when powering from the battery. They disconnect the bond when in pass-through mode.

1654101797225.png

WattAboutThat said:
And can this open or close of the relay be programmed or modified in the settings or parameters?
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As far as I know, the only way to disable the dynamic bonding is by removing the internal bonding screw. (I am not positive, but I am pretty sure the HOT, Neutral, and bonding relay of the internal transfer switch are all driven by the same signal and the internal software is unable to control the bonding relay independently)
 
Sundown said:
Is it possible to set the EG4s to power the load (sub) panel only using solar and batteries and using AC power main panel only to recharge batteries when the PV Array cannot?
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Yes, you should be able to do that by setting the output source priority (setting 01) to SbU (solar/battery/utility). You will also need to configure settings about your battery bank - if you're using EG4 batteries, they've made it really easy and the battery type setting 05 will have an EG4 setting that configures the bulk/float/low voltage cutoff parameters automatically. You'll also want to take a look at setting 11, which sets the maximum utility charging current (your wiring and OCPD in your source panel need to be sized according to how you configure this - the amps are battery amps, not AC input amps), and settings 12, 13, 16 (charger source priority; default is Solar first, then utility), 26 (bulk), 27 (float), 29 (low dc cut-off). These settings are all documented in the manual starting on page ~16. The device also supports more advanced modes where you can change the output source priority according to a timer (see page ~29). You can also change the charging source priority by timer (page ~30), though unless EG4 has made improvements to the firmware, I've found the timers to be a bit finicky. They don't always work reliably.
 
WattAboutThat said:
In other words, does the AC from the grid, used to connect to each inverter, need to be on alternate power legs from the grid?
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Yes, you need to use the alternate power legs. Otherwise, in pass-through mode you will only get 120V. I am pretty sure the inverters will detect this scenario and fault out if you tried to do it.

Also, if you choose to use an external transfer switch to allow you to bypass the inverters completely, be sure to keep the phase the transfer switch switches to is the same phase as is going into the inverter. Technically I don't see a big problem if you don't, but if you throw the external transfer switch while under load, there will be a sudden 180deg shift in the phase of the output. Most loads won't care, but why take a chance?
 
RichardfromEG4 said:
We are going to set this up and I'm going to manually check N/G bond in multiple configs just to test - right now there's a lot on the bench but it will be done soon.
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Where will all the results/information and configs tested be made available for public view?
 
FilterGuy said:
Yes, you need to use the alternate power legs. Otherwise, in pass-through mode you will only get 120V. I am pretty sure the inverters will detect this scenario and fault out if you tried to do it.

Also, if you choose to use an external transfer switch to allow you to bypass the inverters completely, be sure to keep the phase the transfer switch switches to is the same phase as is going into the inverter. Technically I don't see a big problem if you don't, but if you throw the external transfer switch while under load, there will be a sudden 180deg shift in the phase of the output. Most loads won't care, but why take a chance?
Click to expand...

But if that is correct - how do we know that the L1 and L2 phases from the inverter, are in sync with the L1 and L2 phases from the grid?

They are not tied together by a measurement device (like you would have on a grid tied inverter) - I would think there must be some other mechanism since only using as a source of power from the grid - wouldn’t the electronics use some kind of circuit to negate necessity of guessing which inverter phase is close enough in sync with the grid source phase???

thanks for the feedback

i am no expert
just brainstorming
what currently seems logical in my understanding
 
WattAboutThat said:
But if that is correct - how do we know that the L1 and L2 phases from the inverter, are in sync with the L1 and L2 phases from the grid?
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I have always assumed they are in sync..... but you are correct, I don't know for sure. I would have to go look at the documentation and see if they claim UPS (If it is UPS, I would definitely expect no phase shift at switchover of the internal transfer switch. If it does not claim UPS, I guess there is a chance they don't sync the output with the input.

(Has anybody got an oscilloscope you could throw on one of these?)


Either way, why not keep them aligned? If nothing more it is good practice to keep the phases separate throughout.
 
FilterGuy said:
I have always assumed they are in sync..... but you are correct, I don't know for sure. I would have to go look at the documentation and see if they claim UPS (If it is UPS, I would definitely expect no phase shift at switchover of the internal transfer switch. If it does not claim UPS, I guess there is a chance they don't sync the output with the input.

(Has anybody got an oscilloscope you could throw on one of these?)


Either way, why not keep them aligned? If nothing more it is good practice to keep the phases separate throughout.
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I concur with your assessment.

And join you in asking anyone else if they can scope these to see if they are somehow in phase etc.

Thank you for your thoughts on this.
 
WattAboutThat said:
I concur with your assessment.

And join you in asking anyone else if they can scope these to see if they are somehow in phase etc.

Thank you for your thoughts on this.
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The more I think about this, the more I would be surprised if they are not in sync...... but life has a way of surprising me.
 
FilterGuy said:
Yes, you need to use the alternate power legs. Otherwise, in pass-through mode you will only get 120V. I am pretty sure the inverters will detect this scenario and fault out if you tried to do it.

Also, if you choose to use an external transfer switch to allow you to bypass the inverters completely, be sure to keep the phase the transfer switch switches to is the same phase as is going into the inverter. Technically I don't see a big problem if you don't, but if you throw the external transfer switch while under load, there will be a sudden 180deg shift in the phase of the output. Most loads won't care, but why take a chance?
Click to expand...
Transformers, motors and reactive loads care. Switching phases like that can cause the iron core to saturate and that is equivalent to a short circuit at the input terminals. It results in very large fuse-blowing/breaker-tripping (inverter busting) surge currents.

If all your powering are resistive loads, lights, and heaters, then it's not a problem.
 
So after reading 20 pages of posts are we any closer to the correct way to setup/ wire two of these inverters in split-phase addressing the use or nonuse of the bonding screws when using the AC passthrough?.
 
bones1 said:
So after reading 20 pages of posts are we any closer to the correct way to setup/ wire two of these inverters in split-phase addressing the use or nonuse of the bonding screws when using the AC passthrough?.
Click to expand...
Well.... yes and no. There are two camps. One that says the multiple NG bonds are not a problem and leave the bonding screws and another that says the multiple bonds are an issue and the screws need to be removed in certain situations. I am in the camp that believes the bonds are a problem.

One bit of good news, I believe EG4 is working on a comprehensive response..... I hope we hear soon and the results will be interesting.
 
bones1 said:
So after reading 20 pages of posts are we any closer to the correct way to setup/ wire two of these inverters in split-phase addressing the use or nonuse of the bonding screws when using the AC passthrough?.
Click to expand...
And... I'm in the camp that says if you remove the bonding screw you will void the warranty and the TUV UL1741 certification. If that's not an issue for you, proceed as you like. I've built many commercial solar systems with string inverters where multiple N-G bonds were required for them to work reliably. When a unit is tested to meet a UL standard and deemed safe, it overrides whatever it says in the NEC regarding this issue because it was evaluated for the specific application.
 
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