Sol-Ark 8K Model numbers?

Hi folks,

Looking into purchasing a Sol-Ark 8K Inverter but am struggling with finding any information on the different models. I've found the Sol-Ark 8K-P and 8K-ST.

If anyone could clear up the differences, I would be in your debt!

Kind regards from NB Canada!

I have not looked myself, but I can tell you SolArk's tech service line is VERY helpful. I would recommend sending them an email or giving them a call to answer any questions you might have. They might not be cheap, but their CS/TS is amazing...

Also, for the relatively small price difference, I would strongly consider moving up to the 12k if you think there's any chance you might need more power or expand in the future.

Wet1 said:

I have not looked myself, but I can tell you SolArk's tech service line is VERY helpful. I would recommend sending them an email or giving them a call to answer any questions you might have. They might not be cheap, but their CS/TS is amazing...

Also, for the relatively small price difference, I would strongly consider moving up to the 12k if you think there's any chance you might need more power or expand in the future.

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Thank you very much for taking the time to reply.

After having trouble figuring out the model numbers and reading more about issues with unbalanced legs, we decided to go with two SunSolar SP6548's.

Cheers!

ccpeabody said:

reading more about issues with unbalanced legs

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The unbalanced legs thing was based on a few people that failed to install the firmware updates and I think one guy online hooked a 77A air compressor to it and complained when it wouldn't run it. Another guy failed to follow the instructions, failed to install the updates, and kind of appeared that he was trying to make it throw an error on purpose.

With updated firmware, I think the Sol-Ark 12k can handle something like 4,800 watts imbalance before it throws an error which is an awful lot of imbalance in my opinion. The people that have updated the firmware and used some common sense in wiring their critical loads panel breakers have never had a problem with imbalanced legs. If you think about imbalance in a breaker box, any big load should be using a 240V breaker which rides both rails (bus bars) in the panel box so there's no imbalancing a 240V breaker (overload yes, but imbalance no). If you have 4,800 watts of imbalance it's due to your 120V breakers all loaded up on one side which I don't see occurring unless you're just not thinking when you wire up your breaker box, and/or you throw a lot of load onto as many 120V breakers you can that happen to be on the same side of the breaker box. For 4,800 watts, that would mean 3 toaster ovens running at same time it would handle if they were all 120V and had breakers on same rail. I can speak from experience, Sol-Arks technical support is very strong and willing to help DIY'ers. That alone was worth quite a bit. Anyone out there can correct me if I'm wrong and please do. Not saying you'll regret buying the SunSolar product because I know nothing about that brand, but I can say I have never regretting buying a Sol-Ark, not once, and that's speaking on the hardware itself, as well as the 10-year warranty and technical support. I run a well pump, a bunch of circuits, and assist (cover 100% if sun is out bright) my main service panel which has 2 deep freezers, 1 fridge ,a 5-ton heat pump with A/C, as well as multiple other circuits in use for computers, TV, range hood, and 2 dehumidifiers all on ONE 12K. My grid connection drops to zero at 8am and stays on zero until about 6pm each day, and I top off 20kwh of batteries by 11am each day that discharge about 11kwh during the night.

I also have looked at the 6548 inverters. Having an autotransformer certainly helps with imbalances (although one can be added to the SA product as well). The biggest thing that turned me off about those inverters is the very high idle/self consumption. Yes it can be overcome with adding additional paneling, but if you're using batteries also, adding additional batteries to compensate gets costly! In the end I just couldn't accept that much inefficiency. The common neutral thing bother me a little as well. Either way they are an attractive option given the price point if the self consumption isn't a concern for your application.

Wet1 said:

The biggest thing that turned me off about those inverters is the very high idle/self consumption

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How much idle consumption does the SunSolar SP6548 have? The Sol-Ark 12K has I think 60 watts idle consumption.

SolarHead said:

How much idle consumption does the SunSolar SP6548 have? The Sol-Ark 12K has I think 60 watts idle consumption.

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I don't recall off the top of my head, but I think it was north of 70W each (x2). And you are correct about the 12k being 60W. That difference really adds up quickly over time IMO.

The only thing most people don't like about the Sol-Ark is the price tag. But I see companies that hire plenty of help to cover technical support and customer service and provide them with benefits like health insurance, throw a 10 year warranty out there, and is UL listed equipment, the price does tend to need to be up there. And, the old saying "nothing more expensive than hiring a cheap attorney" comes to mind.

SolarHead said:

The only thing most people don't like about the Sol-Ark is the price tag. But I see companies that hire plenty of help to cover technical support and customer service and provide them with benefits like health insurance, throw a 10 year warranty out there, and is UL listed equipment, the price does tend to need to be up there. And, the old saying "nothing more expensive than hiring a cheap attorney" comes to mind.

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I've looked at a lot of inverters and have also patiently waited for new products to be released and/or be shaken out. 9 plus months later, I'm still waiting or have found myself disappointed with certain key aspects of cheaper alternatives. In the end, I keep coming back to the SA products as a proven benchmark. They aren't cheap, but UL listed, well sorted/built, incredibly flexible, good warranty with US parts and service availability, and unbeatable CS/TS. Those things are all very important and worth spending more on IMO. As much as hate to spend so much money on an inverter, and it will certainly drastically impact my initial ROI calculations, I will most likely just bite the bullet and pay now vs risk paying dearly later... Not to mention I like supporting US companies when possible.

Yes the price tag on the 12k really bites a big one. I was thinking to myself when I ordered it that am I crazy or stupid. But after seeing its quality build after it delivered, and me being able to go from ZERO knowledge about solar to within a few months time to basically eliminating my power bill and having backup power , while getting the expense handed back to me in 5 years, is almost unbelievable. You have to DIY, use the fed tax credit, and if you can sell back to grid that helps as well. My ROI before figuring out the sell back thing , was 7 years. After I got the sell back going it lowered my ROI to 4-5 years. If the power company increases their rates (they already announce they will), my ROI time will decrease some more obviously. I would not have been able to do it without YouTube, great people on this forum, the people at Sol-Ark, and the user manual as well as determination and knowing when to ask for help and not assume I knew what I was doing and guessing. I'm not certain I would have made it where I am now at, if I had gone with another brand of inverter. It was and still is the center piece of my entire solar system. With all of that and the price tag, I can still achieve 100% ROI in about 5 years.