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why isnt my EG4 inverter handling load

johnim

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May 25, 2022
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48
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Richmond, VA
I have an Eg4 all in one 3k inverter and a 48kw batt also from sig solar..I have plenty of solar and batt is full. I ran ac out as temporary 12ga house wire to run an ac outlet to run my 10gal compressor while I work on bus. it keeps tripping system but I'm not sure why because it's a 3kw inverter and I checked the load and it's maxing at 2kw but mostly 1.5kw while compressor running.
 
I have an Eg4 all in one 3k inverter and a 48kw batt also from sig solar..I have plenty of solar and batt is full. I ran ac out as temporary 12ga house wire to run an ac outlet to run my 10gal compressor while I work on bus. it keeps tripping system but I'm not sure why because it's a 3kw inverter and I checked the load and it's maxing at 2kw but mostly 1.5kw while compressor running.
I assume the compressor you are referring to is an air compressor. They tend to have a astoundingly huge amp draw upon startup. Once you have the compressor full of air the high amp draw usually takes more time to diminish. It could be overwhelming your inverter. You didn’t say how long your wire run is to the compressor but voltage drop from poor connections and long wire runs will cause your compressor to draw even more amps on startup.
 
Had to use a 50' extension cord from the outlet. with compressor running especially at first it's just under 2kw but since I had to turn it on and could not witness immediately after being turned on. There was also a 3' fan and bluetooth speaker using about 120 watts. So given that this is a 3kw inverter which I understood to be able to avoid being overwhelmed by a high start up draw piece of equipment. In fact, it also tripped with a 3.8 amp chop saw yesterday. And even when I unplugged everything but the compressor same thing. I definitely expect more from a 3kw all in one
 
Is the inverter tripping on startup of the compressor or while it is running?
 
not on start up. in fact when I plugged it in it ran until tank was full and during that time I watched the load on the inverter and only briefly just under 2kw but otherwise in the 1400 watt range
 
When it trips does it leave an error message or just trip a breaker?
 
You might be hitting low voltage cutoff how many amp hours of battery do you have?
 
battery is the basic 48v lifepo4 with 100a, yes one of first things I did was hook up inverter to battery with supplied cable, I don't have laptop and after spending two days trying and failing to get their smart ess app working I have no record of what was going on at shutdown..fyi no breaker actually trips the battery apparently just disconnects and I get the BP error but until I recycle the inverter and or battery my ac out is off
 
It sounds like a combination of inrush on the motor, plus voltage drop from the 50' extension cable.
Motor loads usually have very large inrush current demands during start up, once the motor is running, the load demands shift down to the "running" requirements, but getting them started is a huge load. These are normally listed as "surge" demand and it can easily by 2x, 3x the running amperage.
You won't be able to see the peak inrush without a very good clamp meter or oscope. It's usually happening just too fast to be captured on lower end meters.

Transformerless inverters do not handle those inrush demands as well as transformer models. Transformers have a little more reserve capacity and can smooth out the dips while the surge is occuring.

You've also got a very long extension cord which is inducing voltage drop on the circuit. As the volts drop, the amperage requirements go up, which is adding even more load demand on the circuit and inverter.

I don't know what the Bp Battery Disconnected error really means, but if the battery BMS is disconnecting under the load, then it's reading it either as a short circuit or over current and it turning off to protect itself.
 
Never use an extension cord with an air compressor. Instead, use a longer air hose. I have a Harbor Freight 100' air hose that I keep around for those situations. Ditch the extension cord and retest the air compressor.

You may still have a surge issue. There isn't much you can do but it sounds like you need a second battery to share the load.
 
unfortunately when ur dealing with a 40' bus tools must reach where the bus is parked and not the other way around. the extension cord was an unwanted necessity. the compressor is 13A and 120v and the inverter has a 150-200% overload protection for five seconds so i guess I'm expecting much more stability and comparing to real world ac power where I would not have that problem
 
I run a 3hp compressor w/25gal tank.
Cold Start with empty tank = minimal start surge, easy peazy.
Hot Start with Air Pressure in tank the Surge is Incredible as the pump has to push against pressure. It takes a 3X Surge Blast.
NO High Frequency Inverter will deal with that !!! Also @ 120V that 3X actually momentarily hits at 120V/47A (5640W).
3000W HF can only do 6000W MAX, while 3000W LF Inverter can handle 9000W.
 
I had trouble with my setup when my battery was out of balance. Now that that is fixed I use a compressor and a small welder no problem but they do blow through 5k of battery pretty fast. I’m likely to trip something once I’m below 30% battery.
 
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For load calculations motor inrush can be 6 to 10 times on start up without a soft start.
 
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