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diy solar

Signature Solar and the EG4-6000EX-48HV

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PreppenWolf said:
Most of the issues I have seen since I started building my own system 5 months ago have been self inflicted. Half the items I see on this forum for EG items are fixed with a firmware upgrade. That's not SS's fault. They aren't your nanny.
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Problems I have Seen go from totally incorrect documentation to cables that don't work to Firmware issues to Inverters that have pieces rattling inside of them. I could almost forgive the last one but it has happened to so many people.

A company should never release a product with Firmware that has issues in it's core functionality.
Way to many times SS has released products that just don't work. The EG4 Battery could not start most inverters unless you used several batteries. This kind of Firmware issue is not minor, it makes the product useless. Then we had the endless Com cable wiring issues. You spend days wondering why the Inverter is beeping at you and then when you finally get through to the company they have no clue. Did no one at SS even hookup one battery to an Inverter and test the closed loop functionality before they sold them to customers? I suspect the answer is Yes!
But they don't care, they just wanted to get the product out the door and wasting time finding a solution is not profitable, especially when you have a forum full of guys who will do it for you.

No one is asking for a Nanny, they just want a product that works and one that has proper documentation.
Firmware is a huge part of the equation as you can see from Will P. last few videos. If it's not done properly the end user will spend days spinning around in circles with no possible solution.

Your evidently new here so you may not have any idea what people have been through over the last 12 months.
 
shopman said:
Well there you have another problem. They'll want to be paid $45 an hour to answer the phone. Until people are willing to accept an hourly wage based on their abilities, you can kiss the idea of bringing wide scale manufacturing back to America goodby. It's our own fault. Stressing that everyone needs a college degree has killed the trades. A few years ago I had to cut my adult children from the mother ship. No more free money, I work too hard for it. They both now work two jobs and are doing just fine. More Americans need to take this same attitude and return to the idea that it's their responsibility, not the governments, to put food on the table and a roof over their heads. Its called working for a living whether you like the job or not.

Ultimately, this comes down to just one thing. It's Americans wanting everything for nothing, plain and simple. Until that mindset of being paid $45 an hour to turn a screw changes, things will remain as they are. It's not just greed at the corporate level, it's greed at the individual level as well.
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That's a very factually incorrect and insulting thing to say. First, not all Americans are lazy; there are lazy people for sure. In fact some make a career living of welfare and scheming the system in every conceivable way. That happens because our government allows it and promotes it. Americans want a livable paycheck. It's not our fault the government has been printing money for decades, wasting and embezzling money and driving up inflation while paychecks have not even tried to keep up. Look at California and other liberal cities, they pay you for being a crack head and pooping on the sidewalk while the people working can't afford rent or food or medical care...but they are forced to pay for others. Should you make $20 dollars flipping a hamburger ...not 5 years ago but since we've printed over 10 Trillion in five years yes. In fact it's going to get a lot worse. So, what are honest people suppose to do.. work for wages that can't afford the basics in life? Stop blaming Americans and start blaming the corrupt traitors in DC that have sold out America.
 
CaptMichel said:
Ouch I just red. your story and it makes me think now and reconsider I have full 30k battery rack in my cart with 2 x eg4 6000 ex - 48hv I really thought it was the way to go. now ???? cn you tell me. you replaced with a magnum 4448 and the problem went away. I actually have a 4400w magnum but with wet cell batteries I am told it is not the best inverter to charge lfepo battry ? Do you have a secret potion to program that magnum inverter ? may be I could order their batteries 24v system since my inverter is 24v thanks for your infos
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I am running two Magnum MSPAE 4448 Inverters in parallel. You need to have the ME-ARTR advanced router to access the charging profiles on the Inverters. There is no LFP profile built into the programming, but they have plenty of custom settings. I am totally impressed with the Inverters. They just work and do not have the high idle current that so many of the other Inverters have. They are a bit pricy but worth every penny in my opinion. I set my Inverters to the CC/CV voltage option with a voltage of 55.4 Volts. This means the Inverters charge at the rated capacity of 60 amps until the battery gets to 55.4 volts. Then it starts to use the constant voltage of 55.4 volts so your cells do not get overcharged. Your cells are 24 volts but the same principle applies.
 
PreppenWolf said:
I think people who are calling for SS to be more like Victron don't understand market segmentation or how pricing works.

SS is not Victron. It's not their business model currently to be that type of company. Even if it is their goal later, you need to walk before you run. If they'd tried to be Victron, they'd need to have Victron prices. And if they were Victron it wouldn't be a DIY company, they'd be a plug and play company built around selling to installers.

SS is supplying a cost effective solution to a market clamoring for more options that "hand me $20k". Normal people cannot afford $5k or $10k for an inverter. DIY home solar insinuates you need to educate yourself about what you are doing and DO IT YOURSELF. Not rely on a seller to help design and troubleshoot your cobbled together system.

Most of the issues I have seen since I started building my own system 5 months ago have been self inflicted. Half the items I see on this forum for EG items are fixed with a firmware upgrade. That's not SS's fault. They aren't your nanny.

I bought (2) EG4 6500EXs because they were cheap and did 90% of what I wanted a solar system to do. Do I wish it had more features? Sure. Do I wish I didn't need to spend time investigating the NG situation? Sure. But is that the fault of SS? No. I chose to buy their product knowing what it was intended for and the market segment it was designed to serve.

Don't buy a Kia, then go whine on forums your car isn't a Lambo.
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I tend to disagree with this. A company that purchases equipment (especially from overseas) should have knowledge of what they are selling and should provide proper support. Manuals are an easy fix. Tech service should copy the manual into their mainframe and modify it as the the issues arise. As the product is sold make sure the customer knows an updated manual is available on their website. How hard can it be? The company has a responsibility to its customers. Not just limited to this discussion.
 
Sticky1 said:
I tend to disagree with this. A company that purchases equipment (especially from overseas) should have knowledge of what they are selling and should provide proper support. Manuals are an easy fix. Tech service should copy the manual into their mainframe and modify it as the the issues arise. As the product is sold make sure the customer knows an updated manual is available on their website. How hard can it be? The company has a responsibility to its customers. Not just limited to this discussion.
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I agree, but they are updating the manual. There has been a new version since I received my inverters this fall.
 
Sticky1 said:
I tend to disagree with this. A company that purchases equipment (especially from overseas) should have knowledge of what they are selling and should provide proper support. Manuals are an easy fix. Tech service should copy the manual into their mainframe and modify it as the the issues arise. As the product is sold make sure the customer knows an updated manual is available on their website. How hard can it be? The company has a responsibility to its customers. Not just limited to this discussion.
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Exactly ..it's very easy to Xlate a manual in todays time. They need to hold the manufactures accountable for testing the product before shipping them and provide a legally binding certification regarding this. Second they need to allow the customer the choice of having their products they buy tracked and when updates like firmware or recalls etc come out it auto email the client. SS nor anybody ought to get away with just dumping junk on the market..perhaps a class action would keep these companies from doing this.
 
realpinochet said:
Exactly ..it's very easy to Xlate a manual in todays time. They need to hold the manufactures accountable for testing the product before shipping them and provide a legally binding certification regarding this. Second they need to allow the customer the choice of having their products they buy tracked and when updates like firmware or recalls etc come out it auto email the client. SS nor anybody ought to get away with just dumping junk on the market..perhaps a class action would keep these companies from doing this.
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Good luck with a class action lawsuit. Not gonna happen…. All of the Solar purchasers; the retailers have to tell the Chinese we will not purchase their products unless they send a test unit and the retailer tests before selling. In a way all the diy’ers are doing this by viewing these forums. If it’s crap ? we won’t purchase
 
SO…. With all this being said; what would recommend to replace this inverter?
 
WindWizard said:
I am running two Magnum MSPAE 4448 Inverters in parallel. You need to have the ME-ARTR advanced router to access the charging profiles on the Inverters. There is no LFP profile built into the programming, but they have plenty of custom settings. I am totally impressed with the Inverters. They just work and do not have the high idle current that so many of the other Inverters have. They are a bit pricy but worth every penny in my opinion. I set my Inverters to the CC/CV voltage option with a voltage of 55.4 Volts. This means the Inverters charge at the rated capacity of 60 amps until the battery gets to 55.4 volts. Then it starts to use the constant voltage of 55.4 volts so your cells do not get overcharged. Your cells are 24 volts but the same principle applies.
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I’ve been running one of those Magnum’s non stop since 2008 in a hydro setup. I will be replacing it with two Victron 8,000W units from CC along with SOK batteries. The extra cost of a quality LF inverter over any of these cheap HF Chinese inverters like EG4 etc is 100% worth it.
 
realpinochet said:
Exactly ..it's very easy to Xlate a manual in todays time. They need to hold the manufactures accountable for testing the product before shipping them and provide a legally binding certification regarding this. Second they need to allow the customer the choice of having their products they buy tracked and when updates like firmware or recalls etc come out it auto email the client. SS nor anybody ought to get away with just dumping junk on the market..perhaps a class action would keep these companies from doing this.
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SS Mabe … tracking. Chinese NEVER. Although they probably already have your info; the US probably gave it to them
 
Sticky1 said:
SS Mabe … tracking. Chinese NEVER. Although they probably already have your info; the US probably gave it to them
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Yes, I'm referring to the seller like SS or watts etc. If I buy a eg4 their system associates it with my account and emails me when something is recalled or a firmware update etc.
 
I haven't checked recently, but pretty sure my review won't be on there. Though I am working with some people who may change my mind. We'll see.
 
WindWizard said:
I am running two Magnum MSPAE 4448 Inverters in parallel. You need to have the ME-ARTR advanced router to access the charging profiles on the Inverters. There is no LFP profile built into the programming, but they have plenty of custom settings. I am totally impressed with the Inverters. They just work and do not have the high idle current that so many of the other Inverters have. They are a bit pricy but worth every penny in my opinion. I set my Inverters to the CC/CV voltage option with a voltage of 55.4 Volts. This means the Inverters charge at the rated capacity of 60 amps until the battery gets to 55.4 volts. Then it starts to use the constant voltage of 55.4 volts so your cells do not get overcharged. Your cells are 24 volts but the same principle applies.
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So at this point I have identified an engineering firm that will create all the necessary paperwork for my permit. I still don’t know the best way to configure this project. It scares me to purchase inverters like this one only to find out I purchased a dud
 
People are having problems with the voltage jumping around when the units start. Ask NC73 about it.
Inverters going whacky trying to run them.
 
Schneider and outback are solid...I'm leaning on the xwpro 6848. If you don't have heavy inductive loads and want a easy install..solark seems to be a good choice from people on this thread. These are UL listed!
 
All Energies said:
My experiences with Signature Solar


I first became aware of Signature Solar about 18 months ago, from a solar customer who had a bank of EG4 batteries. The batteries were performing well and appeared to be very competitively priced.

Normally I avoid non-name brand solar equipment, however I also get many customers on a tight budget and don't want to leave them out. So I got in touch with Signature Solar and applied for wholesale pricing. I proceeded to place multiple orders and recommend them to other solar customers.

Their EG4 batteries work ok and I thought the new EG4 6000EX-48HV might be a good fit for some of my customers. I purchased two to resell and recommended two of my customers to purchase EG4 6000EX-48HV on their own, as well.

The two inverters I ordered arrived with the upper mounting bracket broken off. Upon further inspection, the bracket is only attached with four pop rivets. I thought, “No big deal, I’ll make my own improved version.” I attached to the upper threaded handle holes using angle steel.

The EG4 6000EX-48HV inverter does not list the idle consumption in any of it’s documentation, and now I see that’s probably because it consumes a lot! About 130 watts idle consumption for this unit. For comparison, a 4448 Magnum inverter consumes about 25 watts at idle and the OutBack 8048GSA consumes about 34 watts at idle. This is disappointing, but I decided I can accept this even though I don’t like it.

The biggest problem I have with this inverter is what happens when the lithium battery bank is fully charged. The AC output fluctuates a LOT, like 113-126 volts. It makes lights flicker and household fans etc speed up and slow down. This seems to be a problem with the built in charge controller. As soon as I turn off the solar input the problem stops. Also If I use a separate charge controller the problem does not happen.

I have been in touch with Signature Solar and at first I felt like I was getting somewhere. They acknowledged this is an issue and one lady in customer service says she herself owned the 6000EX, but ended up swapping it for the 6500EX-48 and no longer has that problem. I’ve been told that the solution for now is to keep a big enough load on the system, and they're working on a long-term solution….

This is not good enough for me and I decided I would like to return or exchange these inverters. That's when their customer service went from bad to worse. My wholesale account rep, Bruce, told me I need to complete a service request which entails sending them no less than 14 pictures. Not an easy task and the most leg work I have ever been asked for. I did this and then they told me my neutral and ground are swapped. This is not the case the wires are just labeled wrong (it happens).

So that's the end of them helping. For this problem I have called them 7 times and have emailed them numerous times. All we do is keep going in circles and blame-shifting. I am DONE with this BS.

Signature Solar has had so many excuses for poor business practices. Number one is “we are so busy” and number two is “we are short staffed.” Maybe cut back on the promotional sales and advertising, then?

As a human and a good business, our reputation is everything to us… I’ve lost some money over the years to keep our customers happy; it’s what good businesses do. I don't advertise, as word of mouth is all we need.

For one of my customers I did swap the EG4 6000EX-48HV inverter out for a magnum 4448 and no more problems! In the past 10 months I have spent over $64 thousand with Signature Solar and I will never give them another dollar.
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I am going through the same problem with signature solar right now!
 
Bripromo solar said:
I am going through the same problem with signature solar right now!
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I understand your frustration, but you aren't dealing with that same problem. We went through the troubleshooting steps with you, deemed that you have a faulty inverter and it's going to be replaced at no cost to you. Which was communicated to you just yesterday. I get that the troubleshooting process can seem like it takes a while, especially when you have such a large investment put in. But, we have to rule out the issue being repairable in the field or being the result of an application error before we are able to bring the unit back for a warranty replacement.
 
The thing is Ben I am running out of time, I am scheduled to travel overseas in the last week in January gone for 2 months cause of solar installations the Caribbean island and the British virgin islands I don't know if everything will work out before I leave! Quick question are those 6000ex inverter defective or just not designed properly I heard alot of terrible complaints about this inverter. ??
 
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