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  1. U

    60 Amp 48V Charge Controller

    I have a MorningStar 60A 48V MPPT charge controller that I purchased brand new this summer. I installed it with a separate inverter, but decided later to go with a larger all-in-one unit when I had the funds to do the bigger project so I no longer need it. Product link...
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    Solar Design Attached / Comments?

    I can help you. I was looking for a way to send you a private message directly but does this website allow that?
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    SPF Growatt 5000 ES System. Design review and suggestions

    I'd like to remind everyone in this thread that if you have a breaker on your midpoint transformer and it trips, you will have a "lost" or "floating" neutral and your service panel will be feeding your 120V phases in series at 240V. Depending on what you have running, your 120V appliances could...
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    Question about Growatt AC IN

    I'm speaking to you from beyond the grave. I was electrocuted, and then I exploded.
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    Question about Growatt AC IN

    So I got off the phone with some tech guys at Signature Solar, and they say I can run 240V split phase into the N and L1 AC input terminals without a problem. I'll post an update if I die or explode.
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    Shed Solar - See any mistakes?

    I had the fuses and fuseholders left over from my car stereo days, and decided that rather than take up space in a toolbox, I should put them to use. I'm looking at DC breakers, but so many of them are made with iffy quality these days but I know 100% a fuse will blow on a short. Can you tell...
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    Shed Solar - See any mistakes?

    smoothJoey - I have new fuses coming in the mail. My loads are nowhere near 5kw anyway and I've lowered the charging rate limit on the inverter. The battery cables are a pair of 4 AWG on each terminal, equivalent to 1 AWG. Updated Diagram:
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    Shed Solar - See any mistakes?

    Johan, you found a mistake in my diagram! Yes, that's exactly how it is. I'm going to have to redo my schematic. acdoctor - I only had 60A fuses on hand (more coming in the mail soon hopefully), so I set max charging on the growatt inverter lower than that.
  9. U

    Shed Solar - See any mistakes?

    The transformer is wired directly to the buses, no breaker in between. I figure that since the transformer is a simple, large electronic component it has a low failure rate, and if anything does happen to it the output breaker (not pictured) inside the inverter or the input breaker on the panel...
  10. U

    Shed Solar - See any mistakes?

    Good eye. That was an older photo. Oops. Updated.
  11. U

    Shed Solar - See any mistakes?

    So this is my first solar install. I'm no expert, just a DIYer. I have 10 Heilene 320w panels on top of my shed. Cables run down to a combiner box, then DC runs out from that through an underground conduit to the house. I'm using a Solar Edge midpoint transformer and a Growatt 5000 ES...
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    Assistance with inverter choice Growatt 10k?

    The output power (amps x volts) of your panels are stated under test conditions. Life in the real world is less optimistic. I make my calculations at 80% of rated power or thereabouts. My panels are rated at 9.5 amps but at high noon on a crystal-clear day I've only ever seen about 8, and...
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    Sol-Ark needs a serious Change!

    People talk about using sufficient gauge wire for ground, but what is really "good enough?" I use a 2 AWG cable for my ground, but the distance to the ground rod is 40 ft. Any other route is impossible or longer due to the layout here. I do have the Midnight Solar MOV surge arrestors on the...
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    Question about Growatt AC IN

    Bud Martin Option 24 is in regards to AC output. My question is regarding AC input: What happens if 120VAC is fed into the "N" terminal (and 120VAC of opposite polarity on the "L" terminal) ?
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    Question about Growatt AC IN

    This is NOT a grid-tie inverter. It only pulls grid power when the loads are greater than the solar can provide alone. (At least that's how it can work provided you've changed the settings for it to do so.) I created a neutral (which is bonded to a ground rod) on the 240v output of the...
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    Question about Growatt AC IN

    Alrighty, here goes nuthin'. If something explodes, it's all your fault. ?
  17. U

    Question about Growatt AC IN

    sunshine_eggo, It looks like what you're saying is feed one hot leg of my utility mains into the AC input of the Growatt L terminal, and the other hot utility leg to the N terminal. I hope that N terminal is floating and not grounded. Remember, although this is not a "grid tie" inverter, it...
  18. U

    Question about Growatt AC IN

    What I'm afraid of is since 240V AC in the USA isn't a 0V Neutral and a 240V hot, but rather a pair of 120V hots in opposite polarity, it would be equivalent to feeding the neutral AC input terminal of the inverter with 120VAC instead of 0V. If this terminal looks like a short to ground because...
  19. U

    Question about Growatt AC IN

    Struc - Unless I'm losing my mind I saw DavidPoz (Youtube) connect the AC IN of his Growatt to utility mains in a video, and it worked. I just want to be 100% sure that there are no stray voltages, shorts, or bonding no-nos. At this precise point in time I'm not 100%. Attached is a diagram...
  20. U

    Question about Growatt AC IN

    I already have it wired for split phase out. Question is - how do I get AC in from grid without something exploding?
  21. U

    Question about Growatt AC IN

    Maybe an isolation transformer. But I shouldn't have to use one in the first place if I was indeed sold the USA model... Oh, this frustrates me as it's already installed.
  22. U

    Question about Growatt AC IN

    Signature Solar in Texas. Now that I look at Growatt's website, they have a USA model but Signature Solar doesn't sell it. WTF.
  23. U

    Question about Growatt AC IN

    Ok... this has got me flustered. I was told by the people that sold it to me that the model I bought would work in USA, and it was made specifically for us to create 240V (which is a setting option) and could be adapted to also supply 120V with a transformer.
  24. U

    Question about Growatt AC IN

    The Growatt 5000 inverter can use the AC input to supplement the solar power to assist in charging the battery or supplying AC loads. The AC INPUT is labeled in the attached picture Ground | L | N ...and it expects 230 volt input. I could run red and black phase outputs from a double-pole...
  25. U

    Should the neutral wire from an autotransformer be bonded to ground in the breaker box?

    Desert_AIP is taking the more correct approach to thinking about this. Electricity is best understood with mathematics. DC is easy enough. AC becomes complicated when you start to take into account such things as inductance, capacitance, resistance, reactance, back EMF, phase relationships...
  26. U

    Should the neutral wire from an autotransformer be bonded to ground in the breaker box?

    Looks like the transformer core and windings warm up from about 16-18 watts of losses. If the transformer can handle up to 25 amps continuous of mismatch, that's 3000 watts. You might be delivering 100 kilowatts down L1 and 103 kilowatts down L2 and the transformer would only run current from...
  27. U

    Could a keen eye have a look at my diagram.

    The label on the fuse came with the icon. Using a lower fuse until the big ones come in the mail. New diagram:
  28. U

    Should the neutral wire from an autotransformer be bonded to ground in the breaker box?

    Tony Scott and Supervstech: I watched the videos before I bought the equipment. I don't recall DavidPoz mentioning anything about ground-neutral bond, nor does he discuss the risks of a flying neutral if the circuit breaker between the service panel buses and the transformer itself breaks (at...
  29. U

    Could a keen eye have a look at my diagram.

    This is the current revision of my setup. What needs attention?
  30. U

    Should the neutral wire from an autotransformer be bonded to ground in the breaker box?

    See, that's the thing. There is no "output" (or input) - just three lead wires on the transformer - L1, L2, and N. I landed them on the bus bars. Some are saying that they need to connect through a breaker, but if I break the hots the neutral becomes unstable and suddenly you could see 240V...
  31. U

    Where does the Growatt SPF 5000 ES get its ground?

    I have less than 10 feet of romex inside the conduit. Above the ceiling, it goes through grommets and runs across the attic. As far as heat, I'm really not worried about it in this situation. If it's required that I use THHN wiring, then I would have to splice into my underground-burial cable...
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    Should the neutral wire from an autotransformer be bonded to ground in the breaker box?

    I just want to be sure that the circuit topology of the inverter won't know or care that its output goes to a transformer with a ground-bonded neutral tap. I hate smoke and sparks and lost $$.
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