ksmithaz1
Solar / EV Junkie
Great minds or something. This is my plan if I grid tie. I will bring a load side 2AWG in and tie it to the inverter bus
EG4 18kPV Q+A general thread
- Thread starter SignatureSolarJames
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ksmithaz1
Solar / EV Junkie
My whiskers are twitching. I'll guinea pig anything. I updated with my phone last time, which I find annoying but doable.
Luxpower_Gilbert
Luxpert @Luxpower USA Team
let me know but if your inverter is ok we don't recommend it
Eddie_LuxPowerTek
Solar Enthusiast
Good points to bring up, thank you.
2 things to mark regarding this matter:
I will check with the team to see if we can have an updated log file on the website.
2nd, there're some firmware versions newer than it's shown in the official release on the monitoring platform, which means we still consider testing versions namely for a small group of users in the testing phase.
It is too late for me to confirm if EG4 has received the container with this accessory yet, so essentially we have this. Please stay tuned for availability on Ss. If it hasn't arrived yet, it won't take long. @Markus_SignatureSolar
Yes, since that, we added the update log, and description on the APP/Monitoring web, so all users can see the update log files.Not sure if this ever happened? (post asking about release notes for the firmware)
EG4 new AIO rated 12K output and 18kPV aka "EG4-18Kpv-12LV"
Best solution if really worried is still going to be to use Solar Assistant assuming it will support it. That won't help though for the distributors who would want to look at settings and help configure or troubleshoot any issues. Even if the servers are physically in the USA I'm not sure how...diysolarforum.com
2 things to mark regarding this matter:
I will check with the team to see if we can have an updated log file on the website.
2nd, there're some firmware versions newer than it's shown in the official release on the monitoring platform, which means we still consider testing versions namely for a small group of users in the testing phase.
Quattrohead
Solar Wizard
I think they could run the fans or at least 1 a lot more. My unit is in a Florida garage and it gets up to 95 degrees in there and the inverter gets very hot. I can see the internal temperature in solar assistant. Then when the fans turn on due to load/production, the internal temperature actually drops by a considerable amount.
Quattrohead
Solar Wizard
I will wait for SS to supply a general release version, thanks for the offer though.
Zapper77
Renaissance Man
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EG4 monitor shows grid feedback in multiple reports. It appears that any grid feedback is erased/offset by incoming grid.
(Feedback didn't start until the sun came up)
I also included data from solar assistant. SA show 2 or 3 periods of feedback that consisted of 500 watts over 90 seconds.
(Feedback didn't start until the sun came up)
I also included data from solar assistant. SA show 2 or 3 periods of feedback that consisted of 500 watts over 90 seconds.
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Luxpower_Gilbert
Luxpert @Luxpower USA Team
would you like me update your inverter to fAAb-1111 this improves no export to the grid and ac couple. dm me you inverter or dongle sn.
When is that version of firmware going to be included in the app so end-users can upgrade it themselves?
Luxpower_Gilbert
Luxpert @Luxpower USA Team
pretty soon but i don't know the exact date.
Is there way can find out? Seems like this is a critical bug for anyone connecting to the grid to prevent sell back and should be released as soon as possible.
Or at least having some ability for end users to update firmware from a file like you are doing for end users. Would be easier to then have some page instructing people to do X, Y, Z to update their firmware to "beta" version if they need a certain issue addressed before it is released to production. I think some people (including myself) would not like someone connecting to my system remotely and updating firmware. I want to be in complete control of anything that changes on my system.
Watts Happening
I call it like I see it.
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Especially when people change passwords..
ckenny
New Member
Hello,
I'm new to the forum and have spent a lot of time in the last couple of months designing and installing a solar system with an 18kpv. Everything has gone well until I hooked up my solar strings to the inverter, but I have had big problems with the charge controller since I hooked them up. The setup at this point is 2 series strings of 9 x 460W panels on controllers 1 and 2. Total wattage should be about 8kw and about 10 amps on each charge controller. When the sun comes up in the morning the wattage slowly increases like it should, but then as the wattage goes over about 2kw, the charge controllers start acting really strangely. It will drop to zero and then increases to full amperage, maybe 8-10 amps in the middle of the day, and then immediately drop to zero again. It does this every 30 seconds for most of the day. I have verified this with my clamp meter. The kWh I'm getting from this over the course of a sunny summer day in south texas is ~24kwh which in my understanding is probably less than half of what it should be producing. The panels have no shading except for early morning and late evening. I have been on the phone with signature solar three times today and yesterday (Including over 2 hours of wait time) and have not been able to help me with this. In fact the last rep tried to tell me this was normal, which seems absurd to me. That really frustrated me after I have just spent $17K with this company. Anyone have any ideas, or anyone from signature or EG4 here that can help me? Thanks Colin
I'm new to the forum and have spent a lot of time in the last couple of months designing and installing a solar system with an 18kpv. Everything has gone well until I hooked up my solar strings to the inverter, but I have had big problems with the charge controller since I hooked them up. The setup at this point is 2 series strings of 9 x 460W panels on controllers 1 and 2. Total wattage should be about 8kw and about 10 amps on each charge controller. When the sun comes up in the morning the wattage slowly increases like it should, but then as the wattage goes over about 2kw, the charge controllers start acting really strangely. It will drop to zero and then increases to full amperage, maybe 8-10 amps in the middle of the day, and then immediately drop to zero again. It does this every 30 seconds for most of the day. I have verified this with my clamp meter. The kWh I'm getting from this over the course of a sunny summer day in south texas is ~24kwh which in my understanding is probably less than half of what it should be producing. The panels have no shading except for early morning and late evening. I have been on the phone with signature solar three times today and yesterday (Including over 2 hours of wait time) and have not been able to help me with this. In fact the last rep tried to tell me this was normal, which seems absurd to me. That really frustrated me after I have just spent $17K with this company. Anyone have any ideas, or anyone from signature or EG4 here that can help me? Thanks Colin
SignatureSolarJames
Try Solar, the Grid will always take you back
we have full remote support on any of these issues, please DM @EG4_Ty
Zapper77
Renaissance Man
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The password entry is tricky. Once you enter the password you can only use the touch pad. If you use the buttons after entering the password it takes you back to the main page. Or something like that. You also need to hit the corresponding "Set" button after making changes or they won't stick.
Gavin Stone
Solar Addict
Yeah I thought about mentioning that in a video but I thought I would just confuse people further. I did notice that the first day.
Zapper77
Renaissance Man
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Expectations - Sure at noon on a clear day right after a rain storm.
Reality - 80% rated capacity for 1 hour during solar noon. (More like 3K per string.)
Are your batteries full?
Did you check your connections...maybe a loose MC4 connection or a bad crimp.
Post a photo of the string connection inside the inverter.
Take a screenshot of the inverter PV string data.
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ckenny
New Member
Thanks for the reply. I have checked the strings and don't find anything loose. The strings are both going through the same pattern together, so it doesn't seem to be a problem with one string. The batteries are at a fairly low state of charge and the house pulls over 10kw most of the time in the middle of the day, so there is plenty of demand for the power. I see really good current, over 10 amps, and sometimes over 4kw per string, but it lasts for 3-5 seconds and then back to zero followed by a gradual climb back to 10 amps over about 20 seconds, then back to zero again, rinse and repeat, all day long. It seems abnormal to me. What do you think? Attached is a photo of the string connection. I can screenshot the pv string data tomorrow, but a single photo doesn't tell much about the situation because it is 8kw one second and the next zero. The voltage of course rises when the the current drops. Voltage at zero current tends to be about 400 and drops to maybe 360 during peak current. I have done resets, and this sometimes makes it run normally at a steady state for about 5 minutes, and then it reverts back to cycling from full power to zero every 30 seconds. Thanks again
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Gavin Stone
Solar Addict
The fact that it runs normally for a few minutes after its reset is what confuses me. Have you tried disconnecting one string to see if that helps? It shouldn’t make any difference really. But what you’re experiencing is really odd in the first place.
ckenny
New Member
I haven't tried disconnecting one string, but I certainly can tomorrow. I just can't wrap my brain around why the inverter is acting this way. Hopefully someone with more experience and expertise will be able to help me figure it out and fix it.
Zapper77
Renaissance Man
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Sounds like a bad connection.
42OhmsPA
What's in a title?
How many batteries are you running?
How many amps are you charging at?
Are you using battery communications?
What is the battery voltage when the mppts drop off and when they start acting normally again?
ckenny
New Member
I haven't tried disconnecting one string, but certainly can tomorrow. I just can't wrap my brain around why the inverter is acting this way. Hopefully someone with more experience and expertise can help me figure it out and fix it.
Markus_EG4
I am from Germany. Don't mean to come off rude
He’s one you can trust he’s on our team as well
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