Grounding 6 EG4 LL V2 server rack batteries

MySolarAddiction · Oct 18, 2023

I'm about to have all of my equipment finally delivered to do my install and was wondering what current users are running grounds for 6 EG4 LL V2 batteries in a rack. In the videos I've seen so far I don't see ground wires connected to the grounding lug on each battery so I'm thinking they are grounding the cabinet? They come in a metal box and you would be installing them in another metal box that could be grounded. Will be doing this soon my rack will finally show up tomorrow according my last phone call with the freight company. Thanks for any advice in advance.

Shimmy · Oct 18, 2023

Usually you use a star washer on the bolts to penetrate the paint and bond the rack to the equipment, and then run a ground wire to the rack's grounding terminal.

Balrog006 · Oct 26, 2023

The mounting ears for the battery to rack connections have a non painted face that makes contact when connected with the mounting screws . This grounds all of the batterys to the rack. Each rack has a ground (equipment grounding lug) at the bottom of the case by the door hinge where the door is grounded. Run your ground (EGC) wire from that lug with the star washer to your system ground.

MySolarAddiction · Oct 26, 2023

Ok my fine forum folks I sent the same question to Signature Solar and they sent this reply

“As long as the battery bank is connected to the inverter properly and the inverter is grounded properly, the batteries and the rack themselves do not need any grounding wires as it will all be grounded through the negative line to the inverter.” ( see image of email )

Shimmy · Oct 26, 2023

muaddib721 said:
Ok my fine forum folks I sent the same question to Signature Solar and they sent this reply

“As long as the battery bank is connected to the inverter properly and the inverter is grounded properly, the batteries and the rack themselves do not need any grounding wires as it will all be grounded through the negative line to the inverter.” ( see image of email )

Wow... that seems like bad advice. It might technically be correct, but I doubt it. From an NEC perspective it is incorrect for sure.

MySolarAddiction · Oct 26, 2023

I'm grounding my cabinet

JBoffgrid2022 · Nov 19, 2023

Did you ever resolve this issue of "to ground or not to ground"?? I am embarking on installing four EG4 Powerlife batteries in my server rack and customer service AND the EG4 manual both said to not ground the batteries in the rack or the rack itself.... Wowza. Let me know what you think, thank you!

Instructions:

EG4 Lifepower4 and EG4 Battery Rack Interface

Grounding - Ensure that all batteries are installed in the EG4 battery rack using the mounting hardware provided. Connect a grounding conductor to the grounding lug (or screw) on the rack (or cabinet), then connect the grounding conductor to a grounding rod. ( Warning - DO NOT ground rack/cabinet or door to negative or positive bus bars)

Shimmy · Nov 19, 2023

JBoffgrid2022 said:
Did you ever resolve this issue of "to ground or not to ground"?? I am embarking on installing four EG4 Powerlife batteries in my server rack and customer service AND the EG4 manual both said to not ground the batteries in the rack or the rack itself.... Wowza. Let me know what you think, thank you!

Instructions:

EG4 Lifepower4 and EG4 Battery Rack Interface

Grounding - Ensure that all batteries are installed in the EG4 battery rack using the mounting hardware provided. Connect a grounding conductor to the grounding lug (or screw) on the rack (or cabinet), then connect the grounding conductor to a grounding rod. ( Warning - DO NOT ground rack/cabinet or door to negative or positive bus bars)

I think you are mis interpreting the instructions; you need to ground the rack and (indirectly) the battery cases; you just can't ground the battery terminals as the system is intended to float.

MySolarAddiction · Nov 19, 2023

If you're not supposed to ground the battery then whey does number six on page 4 of the manual say to make sure the battery and the rack are properly grounded. (see pic) Not to say you're wrong but if you are they should put better instructions in the manual. My batteries are LL V2's

Shimmy · Nov 19, 2023

muaddib721 said:
If you're not supposed to ground the battery then whey does number six on page 4 of the manual say to make sure the battery and the rack are properly grounded. (see pic) Not to say you're wrong but if you are they should put better instructions in the manual. My batteries are LL V2's

You are mixing terms; the cases need to be grounded, but the DC terminals should not be tied to ground.

JWLV · Nov 22, 2023

muaddib721 said:
If you're not supposed to ground the battery then whey does number six on page 4 of the manual say to make sure the battery and the rack are properly grounded. (see pic) Not to say you're wrong but if you are they should put better instructions in the manual. My batteries are LL V2's

Perhaps the instructions from the manual isn't perfectly clear. What I understand from that is the battery case (which is made of metal) should be grounded. To do this, you attach a screw to the case of the battery (not the + or - terminals), attach a wire to the screw, then connect that wire to the server rack. Then attach another wire from the server rack to earth ground somewhere outside of your house.

I don't have an EG4 LifePower battery so I can't say where the grounding wire should be attached. I do have 6 Ruixu batteries and there is a grounding hole and screw at the front of the battery. See attached picture where I pointed a red arrow to the grounding screw.

JBoffgrid2022 · Nov 23, 2023

JWLV said:
Perhaps the instructions from the manual isn't perfectly clear. What I understand from that is the battery case (which is made of metal) should be grounded. To do this, you attach a screw to the case of the battery (not the + or - terminals), attach a wire to the screw, then connect that wire to the server rack. Then attach another wire from the server rack to earth ground somewhere outside of your house.

I don't have an EG4 LifePower battery so I can't say where the grounding wire should be attached. I do have 6 Ruixu batteries and there is a grounding hole and screw at the front of the battery. See attached picture where I pointed a red arrow to the grounding screw.

View attachment 179327

This is exactly how I interpret this as well. The instructions are NOT very clear and should explain this in further detail. The battery bank (server rack) should be imagined as its' own system that does not get bonded to the rest of the systems grounding. The metal rack that houses the battery bank should be grounded that way if there were ever a current running through the case, it would have a safe way to find grounding.

ohsolar · Nov 28, 2023

See the yellow wire on the door. From there to the system ground. I have not figured out where on the mini-pdp(schneider xw system) it is yet :-(. If anyone has a picture, it would be great.

From Schneider doc:

Balrog006 · Nov 28, 2023

ohsolar said:
See the yellow wire on the door. From there to the system ground. I have not figured out where on the mini-pdp(schneider xw system) it is yet :-(. If anyone has a picture, it would be great.

View attachment 180078

From Schneider doc:

View attachment 180080

Why would it have to be grounded directly to the inverter when any point along the common system ground would be the same?

Balrog006 · Nov 28, 2023

JBoffgrid2022 said:
This is exactly how I interpret this as well. The instructions are NOT very clear and should explain this in further detail. The battery bank (server rack) should be imagined as its' own system that does not get bonded to the rest of the systems grounding. The metal rack that houses the battery bank should be grounded that way if there were ever a current running through the case, it would have a safe way to find grounding.

The batteries are designed to bond to the cabinets, thinking you’re just grounding a cabinet is false. The ground extending from the lug in the base of the cabinet that’s connected to the door with the yellow/green wire is both a cabinet ground and a battery ground. Unless you isolate all of the batteries from the cabinet, that is…

ohsolar · Nov 30, 2023

Balrog006 said:
Why would it have to be grounded directly to the inverter when any point along the common system ground would be the same?

That is my closest point

ksmithaz1 · Nov 30, 2023

I grounded mine, . . . but I'm not really sure what purpose this serves in a single feed DC battery case with a single pair dc connection to a bus bar. Grounding the (-) would be bad, grounding the (+) would be bad/worse, the insulated DC wire should really not be riding along with anything else, your AC should not be floating around in the cabinet, so I've been trying to figure out where the potential threat is. If you do ground it, now you could have potential to the AC somewhere, so if you were say leaning on the cabinet, and you touch a hot, or perhaps you roll the cabinet and slam it against something and pick up a hot... I dunno, enlighten me.

ohsolar · Nov 30, 2023

ksmithaz1 said:
I grounded mine, . . . but I'm not really sure what purpose this serves in a single feed DC battery case with a single pair dc connection to a bus bar. Grounding the (-) would be bad, grounding the (+) would be bad/worse, the insulated DC wire should really not be riding along with anything else, your AC should not be floating around in the cabinet, so I've been trying to figure out where the potential threat is. If you do ground it, now you could have potential to the AC somewhere, so if you were say leaning on the cabinet, and you touch a hot, or perhaps you roll the cabinet and slam it against something and pick up a hot... I dunno, enlighten me.

yeah, I ran my earlier system without it but trying to follow what Schneider doc had. This might help from @FilterGuy

How does your inverter deal with ground.

I tested the grounding of the AIMS 12v to 220v split phase inverter with a plug in receptacle tester. It shows that while in battery mode that the neutral is internally bonded to ground, therefore the neutral and ground are not bonded at the panel.

diysolarforum.com

How do you test this and make sure it is working?

ksmithaz1 · Nov 30, 2023

ohsolar said:
How do you test this and make sure it is working?

With a DMM? The problem with grounding something carrying a current is the other side. In a split-phase system grounding the Neutral creates a potential that is useful when running wiring throughout a structure to detect a fault and hopefully trip a breaker. In particular when you feed power to metal contraptions, you create the potential for a stray or broken conductor to energize the cabinet, which can then create a fault that pops a breaker. You also don't want any potential between ground and neutral that is what GFCI is all about, to keep you from getting zapped by touching something while touching something else that is grounded.

Once you start tying conductors to ground, if everyone doesn't agree on everything you can create issues rather than improve safety. Anybody here ever convert a (+) ground VW to (-)? That was always fun. So why is the distributor smoking at that capacitor right there?

SniperX · Apr 13, 2024

ohsolar said:
See the yellow wire on the door. From there to the system ground. I have not figured out where on the mini-pdp(schneider xw system) it is yet :-(. If anyone has a picture, it would be great.

View attachment 180078

From Schneider doc:

View attachment 180080

the installation manual of the XW Pro uses the big PDP. WHY they haven't written something for the mini is beyond me! I am searching this thread for that very thing.

Grounding 6 EG4 LL V2 server rack batteries

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