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  1. cwilken

    Monitoring software for Growatt-MPP Solar inverters

    I have been happily using the Growatt PV keeper for over a year and it works great. I had the same problems with the software at first until I right clicked the icon and selected "run as administrator" It never crashes now. It can also be used to change your growatt settings from the computer...
  2. cwilken

    Solar Panel Shade for AC unit design

    I am working on installing some on my roof with a NEM agreement. But until then if I keep my usage to three 230 watt panels I should stay under my baseline energy use.
  3. cwilken

    Solar Panel Shade for AC unit design

    The idea is to connect before the contactor so that it is feeding the main all day long. It would be wired in parallel at the air conditioner unit and turn on whenever the main and sub breaker were on. The IQ7 only is adding energy when it can feel existing AC and then it modulates to it and...
  4. cwilken

    Solar Panel Shade for AC unit design

    g I bought 20 230 watt solar panels with Enphase IQ7s. I might put some on my roof but I'm thinking of using some as shade structures around my house. I Imagine welding a 6 foot high angle iron structure to put one solar panel on as the shade structure over my AC unit. I would then plug it...
  5. cwilken

    enphase 7.0 to grid with minimum hardware

    No, but if you have anything to add Id be glad to hear it!!!!
  6. cwilken

    enphase 7.0 to grid with minimum hardware

    Thanks so much for this as I am using them as shade structures around a big garden and prefer to put them scattered about in 3 areas. This is very helpful! Now i will just wire 240 to these spots and put groups of 4, 6 and 5 together.
  7. cwilken

    enphase 7.0 to grid with minimum hardware

    Thanks everyone...I have one last question for Newbostonconst: 1. When you make your own cable there is not polarity with the two hot wires that interface with each IQ7???? 2. There is no issue in having more than one circuit that has a chain of IQ7s attached? For example if one circuit 100...
  8. cwilken

    enphase 7.0 to grid with minimum hardware

    Only 2 conductors??? That must be the two hots....correct?
  9. cwilken

    enphase 7.0 to grid with minimum hardware

    I have a digital meter as shown. Im wondering if my utility will measure the daily net amount or measure like you say both inbound and outbound AC and do the math themselves per day.
  10. cwilken

    enphase 7.0 to grid with minimum hardware

    Thanks Newbostonconst ! So from the picture I would cut the connector on the extended end and cap the connector on the other end. Then I would put a 3 or 4 prong 240 volt plug on the other end and plug it in or wire it directly to a 20 amp circuit. Is there a ground connector in there too or...
  11. cwilken

    enphase 7.0 to grid with minimum hardware

    Were you able to attach a cord to multiple IQ7s in parallel and plug them into a 240 outlet? Or were you able to sting a few panels together and use one IQ7 to plug into the outlet?
  12. cwilken

    Enphase IQ7-leaning stuff

    Why on a separate breaker if it were say just 2 amps on a 15 or 20 amp breaker shared with some other loads?
  13. cwilken

    enphase 7.0 to grid with minimum hardware

    So would it be possible to wire just a panel with a IQ7 microinverter to a 240v plug in order to reduce my homes phantom load or do I need more hardware interface than that? I'm thinking of not going over the daytime baseload. Could I wire two in parallel like that?
  14. cwilken

    enphase 7.0 to grid with minimum hardware

    Maybe there is no stepdown issue. I think I said that because of a lifetime of calling AC 110 and 220 when in fact it is 120 and 240. So does a IQ7 microinverter automatically match the frequency and voltage of the grid it is attached to or does it need an Envoy interface?
  15. cwilken

    Enphase IQ7-leaning stuff

    Could you wire a single panel and IQ7 to a 240v plug and have it work without any other interface? I'm interested in just reducing my homes phantom load.
  16. cwilken

    enphase 7.0 to grid with minimum hardware

    I have some Enphase 7.0 microcontrollers that I would like to hook up to some extra solar panels i have lying around and put a little bit into the grid if I could. I want to stay under the baseline amount that is used constantly all day. I don't have a net meter but just want to put a small...
  17. cwilken

    Valence U-Charge RT series 24 volt BMS Question

    I downloaded the spec sheets from the manufacturer. They said they could be put in series up to 48 volts. They dont seem to connect with cables in series like the 12v models do. So I have had them connected 2S2P for a month now. I just have to keep my inverter from going down to close to...
  18. cwilken

    noob top balancing - over charged my cells to 4.2v

    I think the reason top balancing is sometimes bad is precisely what happened here. But putting a set of batteries in parallel to charge for a while would balance their internal resistance forces. Im not sure why people like to balance all the way to the top. It can be dangerous if you...
  19. cwilken

    Monitoring software for Growatt-MPP Solar inverters

    PV Keeper works great with Growatt if you right click the icon for it and tell it to run as administrator. It will stop misbehaving.
  20. cwilken

    Growatt issues.

    If you got the Wifi dongle working that should be enough. I ordered one and I keep having problems with the installation. good for you for trying split phase!
  21. cwilken

    Growatt issues.

    if you have a computer near your unit install the PVkeeper software and a usb cable to the unit. This software shows a lot of what is happening and you can even change the settings with the program. If you do use it on windows 10 you will have to right click the icon and run as administrator...
  22. cwilken

    noob top balancing - over charged my cells to 4.2v

    If you were using a power supply you have the set the voltage and amps without a load and then connect it to the batteries and wait many hours until they come close to your set voltage input. I would put a small load on them to bring them down to your desired voltage.
  23. cwilken

    Growatt issues.

    Starting with your BMS: Your current allowable range of charge is very narrow(51-53.6) (unless thats log data). The battery will last super long that way but you could be holding a lot more charge if you change the max and min charge. I would look at battery data sheet for charging voltage and...
  24. cwilken

    Growatt issues.

  25. cwilken

    Growatt issues.

    This is a must see video for anyone having the Growatt 3000. It will teach you what all the abreviations mean and the subtle differences between settings. Im not positive that every program number is exactly the same but it should be.
  26. cwilken

    Growatt issues.

    oops the ES at the end gives it different specs: you will need to run two strings (series) of 6 for your panels. Your panels are 37.6 open circuit but 30.3 max power. six panels would get you up to about 182 volts a nice spot in that 120-250 vdc range. 4 panels would be about 120v and is too...
  27. cwilken

    Growatt issues.

    If you have this model then setting 12 you input voltage to go to grid and setting 14 tells you how the battery will charge by solar or grid
  28. cwilken

    Growatt issues.

    The 3000TL LVM has a PV voltage input of 145v (open circuit) and Mppt range of 60-115. This the model under discussion
  29. cwilken

    Growatt issues.

    If six panels were wired as per picture then you accidently put 6 in series resulting in the 193 volts. Your and my unit works in the range of 60-115 volts. If this is the case then the high voltage could have damaged it.
  30. cwilken

    Resettable Circuit Breaker - Voltage Drop

    They look pretty well made but I would be very happy to see a video with one of these that is heated up with a 50% amp load for 10 minutes then subjected to a 75% capacity and then a 100% capacity spike. I predict that when they are hot they will throw much lower than advertised!!! Im not...
  31. cwilken

    Resettable Circuit Breaker - Voltage Drop

    I have a "48 volt" battery that really goes up to 58 volts. All of the higher quality breaker switches go up to 44v or 48 volts in the self ratings. I prefer one that goes to 60 volts. Some people say they like AC like breakers but I don't know how they mount them without a box and using...
  32. cwilken

    Unable to change DALY BMS setting 'diff volt protect' and BMS is shutting down...

    Two additional things. 1. I went to google play and looked at the android app. There is an email address of the developer. I emailed him my problem and a screen shot of the setting that won't change on the app and what Daly BMS i was using. 2. My main problem I think now was not my BMS...
  33. cwilken

    Resettable Circuit Breaker - Voltage Drop

    I removed it and ordered a fuse block instead and a separate high amp battery switch. I am returning it to amazon so the vendor knows it is a problem.
  34. cwilken

    Resettable Circuit Breaker - Voltage Drop

    My inexpensive 80 amp breaker keeps throwing after 10 mins of AC at only 27amps!!!
  35. cwilken

    Unable to change DALY BMS setting 'diff volt protect' and BMS is shutting down...

    I am having the same problem that the phone app wont change the setting under "dif volt protect". It does what it looks like yours is doing. You put in the new value, push set, then password 123456, then your new input value just sits in the input field. The value does not change on the left...
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